We are so happy to welcome beautiful Palmer Tay Harrison into our family. She was born on Monday, July 11, 2011 at 5:55 p.m. She was 6 pounds 10 ounces and 20 inches long. She was and is absolutely perfect!
July 11 was my due date and I had an appointment with Dr. Black that morning. We knew there was a possibility I could be induced that day, but didn't want to get our hopes up too much in case it didn't end up happening. I'd been having contractions for a couple of weeks, but they were irregular and varied in strength. I'd begun dilating a couple of weeks prior also, so we knew my body was getting good and ready to bring her into the world finally. We were so ready to have our baby and had tried all kinds of methods to try to get her here for the week before my due date. It wasn't meant to be I guess.
Dr. Black checked me and I was almost four centimeters dilated and 90% effaced. I'd had contractions all during the night but they hadn't become regular. He asked what we wanted to happen and I told him we would like to have a baby that day if he felt ok with it. He said he felt great about it because my body had progressed as far as it had at that point. Yeah yeah yeah!
So they got me all settled into my room and got me hooked up to the Pitocin. They started at a low dose and my contractions became regular and stronger almost immediately. Around that time it started to become a little more real that we were actually going to have our baby in a few hours. We could not have been more excited!
The next time they checked me I had only progressed to 4.5 centimeters dilated, but at least it was progress.
Taylor's parents had hopped in their car and headed down from Salt Lake as soon as Taylor called to tell them she was coming that day. It was so nice of them and we were glad they were able to be there when the baby was born. They stayed for a couple of days and were super sad to say goodbye to little Palmer when it was time for them to go home.
A few hours later the anesthesiologist came in to get my epidural going. At that point my contractions weren't too bad yet, but they like to get the epidural in early so they don't miss the window if things start progressing too quickly. The anesthesiologist was awesome! He explained every single thing he was doing and made sure I was comfortable and relaxed. It was not even close to the nightmare that I was fearing; it was painless and quick. My right side went numb immediately and he said to kind of tilt my body so that the medicine would flow to my left side hopefully. As the time passed I continued to be able to feel my left side. The contractions got stronger and stronger and way close together. I could feel them really well on my left side. After a couple of hours of that the anesthesiologist came back and explained that he would try to re-adjust the catheter to see if we could get my left side numb. He did warn me that sometimes there will be a nerve block around a nerve or group of nerves that just keeps the medicine out. I was praying that would not be the case for me. He jimmied it around in my back and then had me lay on my left side again. Pretty quickly I started to feel my left side go numb and I was so very happy about that. As soon as the anesthesiologist was content that all was well with the epidural the nurse wanted to check my progress. She checked and was surprised to find that it was time to start pushing! Right then Dr. Black came in to see how things were going so he checked and confirmed that it was time to get the party started. He left to change into scrubs and the nurses busily got everything in place for the delivery. I just couldn't believe that I was so close to finally meeting my little girl. I was a little nervous because I had no idea how long I would have to push, but mostly I was just so excited and ready! My mom and Taylor were in the delivery room and after pushing through eight-ish contractions little Palmer made her debut! Before I was able to see her I heard her little cough and then the cutest cry in the world. I was already in love. They cleaned her off a bit and Taylor handed her to me. I have never seen anything so perfect in my life! I can't put into words the way I felt at that moment, but any parent can understand exactly how Taylor and I were feeling.
We were able to bring Palmer home on Tuesday evening. Her aunts, grandparents and cousins absolutely love her (I'm sure her uncles do too, but they just don't show it in the same way). My mom has been SO helpful. She is amazing and Palmer, Taylor and I will be forever grateful for her help this week. Palmer has been a GREAT baby! She sleeps well (so far), she nurses great and she is just so sweet! I can't get enough of her and I am just so grateful that she gets to be a part of our family. I'm not sure why Heavenly Father would trust us with this perfect little soul but I have a new resolve to be a better person and to teach little Palmer all of the things she'll need to know to live a great life. Somehow my love for her grows every day, which I wouldn't have thought possible when I first held her in my arms.
I had the best doctor and nurses and wouldn't have changed a thing about Palmer's arrival. My recovery has been awesome and I have felt great since we left the hospital. This experience has been amazing and I am so excited to introduce Palmer to the world and the world to Palmer.
40 weeks! This picture was taken Sunday evening, the day before Palmer was born.
First family picture...don't mind my hair.
First of many naps the two of us will take together. This was a couple of hours after Palmer was born. She is so sweet!
Car ride home - how exciting!
