Jennelle Kate Furness.

January 23, 2013.

The day that my heart swelled to a point where I literally thought it was going to burst.

The day my life was forever changed, for the better. 

The day that my love for my husband grew more than I thought possible. 

The day we met our angel. 

That morning was absolutely surreal. Neither of us could sleep. I had gestational diabetes, and so instead of letting my body go into full-blown labor, my doctor scheduled me to be induced at 7:30 AM. 

(HOLD UP. Chipmunk cheeks anyone?!) 

For once in my life (and mostly because my husband was driving) we were on time, checked in, and getting settled into our cozy little room, 209, just after 7:30. Grammy Teri got there just after. :) (Have I proclaimed to the world how incredible my mother is?! 'Cause she is. Just sayin'.) My nurses name was Heather, and she was fantastic. (Funny story, she actually used to live in the neighborhood that I grew up in!) After the hello's and the walks down memory lane, I changed into that beautiful hospital gown and got all hooked up to the machines that would tell me that baby girl was still safe inside. I LOVED being hooked up to those machines. For the entire time I was in labor, I could hear her heartbeat. Her perfect sounding wonderful little heartbeat.

Through the IV in my hand, I started the patocin and some other antibiotics to make sure our little angel arrived here safely. Soon after getting hooked up the contractions came on FAST and HARD. The only thing I could think about was getting that epidural and getting it on the QUICK. Heather was so sweet and mentioned that I could get the epidural at any time, but that some women like to experience the contractions for a while before they call in the anesteiolgoist. I am NO hero and told her to get that homie into my room as fast as possible! 

My anasteiolgoists' name was Glen. I really like Glen. Glen made the pain go away. :) Getting the epidural was scary, but it only hurt for a second and was only a fraction of pain compared to what was going on before. Toddy held my hand the whole entire time. What a guy. <3 After the epidural was in place, things slowed down. Todd and Grammy Teri were right by my side the whole morning, making sure I had everything I needed. How did I get to lucky to have the worlds greatest support team? Russ Smith, our doctor and friend!, came in periodically to check on me, and how I was progressing. Every 30 minutes I was supposed to switch sides I was laying on so I could make sure the epidural was reaching all of me. But the thing was, once it kicked in I literally had NO control of my lower body! Toddy had to do alllll the heavy lifting! (and when I say heavy... I mean HEAVY ;) ) At one point, I started punching my own leg and asked Toddy, "What is this thing in my bed?!" "Uh, thats your leg, Cort." Oh, well good to know the epidural was doing its job. :) 

By this time it was about 11 A.M., and the waiting game began!  Russ came in to break my water, and Heather continually checked to see how dilated I was. It had been a while since we got there, and nothing had happened in about an hour or so, so cute Toddy asked if it was ok if he went downstairs to go grab something to eat! (He hadn't eaten anything all day!) About 5 minutes after he left, Heather came in to check on my dilation progression and told kind of squealed and said, "OH, you better call your husband to get back up here right now or he's going to miss the birth of his child!!" Uhhh, WHAT?! In my mind I thought, "wait!! I'm not ready yet!" Everything was so low key (Grammy Teri even went home to get me a more comfortable pillow because she's adorable like that!) I didn't know how to shift my mind and emotions so quickly to gear up for what I was about to do. But I called Todd and he said he literally dropped his tray from the cafeteria and SPRINTED back up stairs... cutie. :) They taught me how to push briefly, but I didn't want to start until Todd was there. But the second he arrived, the pushing began! 

I was pushing for only about 10 minutes when Russ told me that the chord was wrapped around Ellie's neck and so she wasn't coming down like she should, but I continued to push because her oxygen levels and heartbeat were stable. After another contraction/push, Russ then informed me that he was going to perform an episiotomy to help get her here faster and so we could unwrap that chord as quickly as possible. I didn't care what he did, all I wanted was my baby on my chest, crying like crazy! Just seconds after the episiotomy, I pushed one last time and then I saw her. 12:54 pm. Russ lifted her up and set her on my chest. I can not adequately describe my feelings in that moment. I just, can't. Tears streamed down my face as I whispered my first "hellos" to my daughter. 

You were purple. Like, really purple and not crying. You looked like you were trying to cry but you weren't making any sound. Bad. So after the chord was cut, they took you from me to assess you and make sure everything was fine. I looked over at the nurses who were cleaning you and helping you breath and I saw Wendy Barlow, our lifetime friend Lauren's mom! How incredible; blessings! Seeing her helped calm me down, because I was kind of freaking out. I told Todd to follow you to make sure everything was ok! They succoned out your lungs and then I heard it. I heard your cry for the first time. Oh, it was beautiful and perfect. They wrapped you in a blanket and put an adorable little hat on you and brought you right back to me. There you sat in my arms, with your father leaning in to put his arms around both of us. We were us. Our little family.

You were here. You were safe and YOU WERE OURS. Our perfect little angel. Fresh from heaven. 

What a day. <3

*After birth complications and hotel stay at the hospital will be saved for another post.