Finding the Forseters: Welcome to the World, Baby Dagny

Just three days short of her due date, Dagny Eaton Forseter arrived to meet us. My labor and delivery with her was similar to Finley lengthwise, but not in the gritty details. About 4:45am, I began to feel some cramp-like contractions but they were fairly far apart and I wasnt' sure they were truly contractions. But by 5:30, I knew I wasn't going to get any more sleep and the contractions were certainly getting closer to together but not consistent. Dan got up for work a bit before six and I filled him in on the situation, though as we spoke the contractions went from five or six minutes apart to more like three or four. Hm. I called the doctor and spoke with the on call nurse who said that despite my water not breaking yet, I should head to the hospital since Finley came so quickly the first time around.

Thankfully, my mom was staying with us and I just had to nudge her awake so she would be on call for Finley whenever he woke up. For better or worse, the little guy got up just as we were getting ready to go and there were tears all around as he wanted to go with us to the hospital :( Trying to console a 30 lb toddler in your arms while breathing through a contraction was something! We left him in the good care of his Grammy (who informed us he stopped crying soon after our departure) and drove off to Newton-Wellesley. To my surprise, the contractions seemed to stop completely as we drove and it occurred to me that maybe this was a false alarm...arg. However, not a minute later they began again and continued as we made our way through the parking garage, ER, and up to the antenatal unit to get hooked up to the fetal monitor. I was 4cm dilated and experiencing contractions every 4 or 5 minutes so unlike with Finley, there was time to get a non-stress test done for the baby and time to, foreign to us, wait. But things were fairly quiet on the floor, so they moved us to a labor and delivery room down the hall to get settled. I was experiencing "toe curling" contractions and being asked to rate them on the cartoonish pain scale...how medically accurate...I tried walking around, sitting down, laying down, and eventually hopped in the tub in the bathroom to get some relief. No dice. Without pain meds (this time I had time to choose an epidural, but declined), I could feel everything and it was no picnic. Barbara, our delivery nurse, was fantastic and with Dan, they made me feel like we could do this.

I was ready to get out of the tub and once in bed, things really got moving and before I knew it the doctor was called in and we were in business. Unfortunately, I was also hooked up to an IV to replenish the fluids I had "tossed" earlier in the process and while it was unpleasant, I was nearly dehydrated to the point of concern and the IV kept me strong enough to move ahead. The baby's heart rate stayed steady throughout everything and I was able to push whenever I was ready (unlike big brother, Finley, who needed more coaxing down the canal). With great coaching from the doctor and nurses and encouragement from Dan, I buckled down and after six or seven rounds of pushing through contractions, our little girl came out purple as a blueberries and screaming her lungs out at exactly 9:42am! What sweet relief to have her on my chest and see her beautiful face (angry as it seemed).

I got to hold her for a long time before she had to get poked and prodded, but when it was time, Dan went with her across the room while I got cleaned up, too.

Here she is resting in her bucket after her long journey. She weighed in at 8 lbs 2 oz and 20 inches long.

Some final name discussions were had and she was branded Dagny Eaton Forseter just in time for her big brother to arrive and meet her. Grammy and Finley were thrilled to come to the hospital and I couldn't wait to give Finley a huge hug. He brought in the loveys he picked out for Dagny and climbed right up in bed to be with us.

We had a lovely visit that included chicken fingers with fries for lunch.

Finley was quite sweet and very interested in Dagny, though he was also very interested in sitting right next to me for most of the visit (which was fine with me, frankly). Finley gave Dagny the two loveys he picked out for her and she "gave" him a Rescue Vehicles book and two matchbox trucks (a grill truck and an ambulance) which he LOVED. It was hard to say goodbye, but Finley went back home with his beloved Grammy with a promise from Dan that he would be back to play with him and put him to bed later.

Dan's parents arrived from NY just in time to sneak in before visiting hours were over and Dagny was a perfect grandchild :)