Once we got home....  

 

The cats are protecting their sister.  

And some of us are sleeping a lot in any position possible.

Hello everyone,It has been a glorious week as Shea gave birth to our first child, Annika Michel Moss.  We chose Annika mostly because we like the way is sounds but also since it is Scandinavian.  Michel is Shea's middle name (pronounced Michelle).  She arrived on Tuesday, September 16th at 8:36am. 

  

Shea had her first contraction on Sunday night around 11pm.  They increased slightly at about 3am, however by morning they were not serious enough to go to the hospital.  I went to work on Monday morning, however I left at 3pm so Shea could go and see the doctor.  The doctor said she was 90% effaced and about 2cm dilated.  We were told to go home and come back when the contractions increased.  The doctor said that could take a couple of hours or a couple of days.  So, we headed home and I had one more thing to do, mow the lawn.  I mowed and as I finished Shea said that I had to stop and take her to the hospital.  We arrived at the hospital around 8pm and were sent to triage where they determined that Shea was 4cm dilated.  We were admitted and the whole process began.  The contractions worsened to the point that Shea could no longer take the pain and an epidural was administered.  This took place around 11pm and Shea was at about 5cm.  The nurses told us to get some sleep, yeah right.  At about 3am the doctor checked her cervix once again.  We were at 5cm and were not progressing as they liked.  So, they advised that we start Pitocin in order to progress her labor.  Once the Pitocin started the baby's heart rate dropped from 150 beats per minute to 60.  Alarms started going off and eight nurses ran into the room to reverse the drug.  The baby's heart rate rose back to 150 beats and the whole episode lasted 30 seconds but seemed like an eternity.  It was not a good experience, but everything turned out fine in the end.  Around 4am the doctor broke Shea's water, however this was not successful in speeding up the labor so the doctor convinced us to retry the Pitocin around 5am.  They promised the Pitocin would not have the same negative effect and it did not.  The doctor and nurse shift change took place at 7am and Shea's OBGYN came in around 7:20am.  Shea was thrilled and he exclaimed that Shea was fully effaced and 10cm.  It was go time.  I was very scared at this point since I thought I would pass out if I watched the baby come out.  The nurses convinced me that I would be ok and that I should hold Shea's leg and help coach.  I am glad they convinced me as I experienced the most wonderful aspect of life to date.  It was amazing watching, helping, coaxing, and comforting.  I cannot express my feelings in words, but the result was absolute bliss.  Below are some photos of our first daughter.