Documenting for Posterity

So...waiting game is over! Woot!

Aslynn Jean Mecham was born on January 19th, 2009 at 8:45 PM. She was 7 lb. 13oz. and 20 1/2 inches long.

The "Lynn" part of her name is for her aunt Stefanie and my best friend Becky - they both have forms of "Lynn" for a middle name. Aslynn has amazing women to look up to.

Here's my labor story for you. If you don't want to know - I'm going to get detailed - you can just skip reading this part and look at the pictures.

I went into labor around 6 AM on Monday morning. My contractions stayed about 2 minutes apart all day, increasing in intensity.

I had a doctor's appointment at 2 PM but I wasn't going to last until then so I called at 12:30 PM and went in. When my doctor saw me he said, (this is a direct quote) "I don't think you are in 'real' labor yet. Women in the later stages of labor's eyes glaze over and they look like they are going to die." He checked me and I was dilated to a 2 and 60% effaced. He told me to walk around for a couple of hours and come back at 4 PM.

The walking didn't work out so well. I tried my hardest, I really did. We ran some errands, but I ended up going home.

I took a hot bath and sat on my exercise ball and bounced. I had back labor so I asked Luke to massage my back with tennis balls. Apparently he was pushing REALLY hard, though it didn’t feel like it at the time, because now my lower back is bruised and swollen.

When I went back at 4 PM the doctor took one look at me and said, “Oh, now you look like you’re in labor.” I was dilated to a 4 a little more effaced. He offered to strip my membranes or give me a pill to help me sleep through the contractions. I opted for the pill. I wanted to labor at home for as long as I could stand it.

I took the pill at 4:30 PM and by 5:30 I still couldn’t sleep. Contractions were coming harder so I would pass out for a minute (literally) before another contraction would wake me up.

We went to the hospital at 6 PM. I was dilated to a 7. The doctor came in within a half hour and broke my water and by that time I was dilated to an 8. I received my epidural at when I was dilated to a 9. She was born at 8:45 PM. I have a small pelvis and in order for her to be born without my dislocating my pelvis Aslynn had to be vacuumed for about 10 seconds.

She didn’t cry when she was born. She’s just watched everyone.

Bre’s List of Things a Woman in Labor Must Have
1. Ginormous exercise ball to bounce on during contractions. REALLY HELPS!
2. Tennis balls to have your husband massage your back with. MARGINALLY EASES PAIN!
3. Epidural. WHOEVER INVENTED THE EPIDURAL DESERVES CELESTIAL GLORY. I will remember her birth as something beautiful and not as something painful. I was alert and awake, able to participate and enjoy it.






Being a mom is awesome!