Welcome Home Brianna Taryn Grounds!

Mary Lee during labor

During a contraction...Mom wanted to take a picture...ha ha!
Brianna is here!

Getting ready for her first bath...

Weighing her...She was 5 pounds, 10 ounces

Someone was NOT happy...

Brianna has a birthmark on her back.

The doctors are watching it, but think it will eventually fade.

Getting her eye drops...

Mommy's first time to hold her after she was all cleaned up.

Worn out but SO WORTH IT!!!

Daddy's turn. His shirt says, "I am the Daddy!" on the back.

Our beautiful little girl!

Smiling for the camera...so tired at this point yet I could not sleep because I was too excited!

Yes, we are already teaching her manners.

As you can see, she already knows how to cover her mouth when she yawns. :)

Skin to skin with Daddy.

Well, as you can see, Brianna is here! Here is our story on how she got here:

Eric and I left for Presbyterian Plano Hospital at 4:30 a.m. in order for me to be induced or as my doctor said, to "press the go button." We arrived and checked in and were sent up to Labor and Delivery. As soon as we got into our room, I was told to change into the hospital gown and then lay down so that they could start my IV. We had the BEST labor and delivery nurse, Lauren, that one of our close friends (who used to be a labor and delivery nurse there) set us up with. Lauren started my IV and then hooked me up to the monitors. She had to watch me for 30 minutes to see my levels and all of that. During those 30 minutes I had 4 contractions (I only felt one though). So my contractions at that point were about 5-6 minutes apart. I was dialated a 2 1/2 and effaced 75% at that point. They then started the Petocin (labor inducing drug that goes through the IV...sorry if I spelled it wrong) at a level 6. By the end of the labor, I think I was at a 28 or 32 for the level... At 6:00 a.m., Dr. Levy, my OBGYN, came in and broke my water "to get things going." He had a surgery at 7:30 a.m. so he had to get things going early. After he broke my water, the labor really started and my contractions got stronger and stronger. I wanted an epidural but was too scared of the needle (never should have watched the videos of what they do). Lauren, the nurse, kept coming in and saying, "Are you sure you are not ready for the epidural yet??? Your contractions are getting closer and closer together and stronger. They are now about 1-2 minutes apart. You know once we request the epidural, it will take about 45 minutes to an hour before you get any relief because we have to page the person to do it." Well, about 12:00 p.m., I finally decided I was ready for one. My contractions were pretty strong by then (and all in my back since her head was facing my belly button...they should be facing your butt for the best delivery). The anesthesiologist came in. She was EXCELLENT. Let's just say that I wish I would have gotten the epidural A LOT earlier. All I felt when she gave me the epidural was a tiny pinch like an ant bite. The videos forget to mention that they numb you before putting in the huge needle. THANK GOODNESS!!!

Around 2:00ish Lauren came in to check me. I was then a 4 and 80%, so she said, "It will probably be about 4-5 more hours until you get to hold Brianna." Eric then said, "Okay, since it's going to be a while, I am going to get something to eat and I will be back." (Note: I did not want him to eat in the room because I was STARVING and was not allowed to eat.) He then headed off to eat about 2:15ish. Around 2:50, Lauren came in because my monitor of Brianna was going crazy...the heartbeat was going way up and way down. It ended up that that's what babie's heartrates do right before they deliver. She checked me and said, "Oh my gosh. You are a 10 and 100%...we need to start pushing." I freaked out of course because Eric was not there. I called Eric and said, "COME BACK QUICK!!! It's time to push!!!" He said, "WHAT? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? They said 4-5 hours! I am on my way." He ran up to the room and then we started the pushing at 3:00 (I know this because Ellen was just starting on the TV). We called my doctor at 3:15ish and he said he would be there in about 15 minutes because he had one more patient that he had to get to before if that was okay. I kept pushing and then Lauren told me that I had to stop or Brianna would arrive before Dr. Levy did. I just could not stop. He FINALLY arrived at about 3:55 p.m. When he arrived he said, "Okay...you are a lot faster than I expected. We are going to deliver on the next contraction." (You only push during contractions. At that point I had had about 6-8 contractions that I had pushed on). Unfortunately, I did not deliver on that contraction, but I did the next one! Brianna Taryn Grounds arrived at 4:00 p.m. on the dot, weighing 5 pounds, 10 ounces and was 18 3/4 inches long. She immediately became the LOVE OF OUR LIFE. :)