Lauren Faith's Arrival!

 Lauren Faith arrived five weeks early on Thursday, September 25, 2014 at 7:02pm.  She weighed 5lbs 12oz and was 19 inches long.  For being so early, she was a good size, but she needed help with breathing, so they took her to the NICU. 

 I was able to hold her for about five minutes before they took her to the NICU.  I wasn't able to hold her again until Sunday morning, once she was over 48 hours old.  Everything seemed fine with her to me, so when they said she had to go to the NICU, I was not only shocked, but scared too. 

 Minutes after her birth

 Here we are the morning of Lauren's arrival.  I woke up around 3am to use the bathroom and noticed liquid coming out of me quite slowly.  Rusty happened to already be up, so I went into the office to tell him, and the both of us were unsure what to think.  I couldn't go back to sleep, so I researched what might be happening online, and I found out I could be having a gradual water break.  I just assumed from hearing others' experiences that if my water broke, it would  be a gushing and obvious sign.  Well, it continued to happen throughout the morning, and I also started having mild cramping/contractions.  I called my doctor's office when they opened to inform them, and my doctor told me to come to Labor and Delivery.  Rusty automatically interpreted this to mean I was having a baby that day, but I decided to be cautious.  I didn't know what to think about her coming five weeks early.  We packed our bags like we were staying there a couple of days anyway, and we left for the hospital.  They did a swab test to detect if my water broke, and it was positive, so my doctor opted to induce labor because the risk of Lauren getting an infection if we didn't was greater.  I was already dilated at 3cm, and stayed that way after getting the epidural and pitocin.  At 5pm, I still was at a 3, so we were thinking it was going to take a while.  Then, when the nurse checked me around 6:45pm, she saw Lauren's head.  Dr. Campbell and Rusty almost missed her delivery!  Rusty actually was the person who "delivered" Lauren.  He wanted to do it, and Dr. Campbell was okay with it as long as I was okay with it.  After she was born, they automatically put her on my chest before taking her to get cleaned.  She seemed like a good size, so I just automatically assumed she wouldn't have to go to the NICU.  During labor, we asked the nurses what the chances of her going to the NICU would be for her age.  They said she was a 50/50; some 35 weekers go straight to the newborn nursery while others go to the NICU.  I kept asking what her weight was after she was born, because I wrongly assumed that if she weighed enough, she'd not have to go.  They were so focused on giving her oxygen while cleaning her up, they weren't weighing her.  

Another long feet, long toes girl