Welcome to our blog! Enjoy!: 2 becomes 3! :)

Where in the world have I been?!? Crazy busy, that's where!! Haha let's see... I guess I should start where I left off before. So much has happened since then, it's crazy!! I can't believe how quick it's gone & how much my life has changed already!!
Well, after my last post, that thurs. May 12th, I went back to the doc to do a non-stress test on the baby and have my BP checked again. The non-stress test just involved them hooking up a monitor to my belly and giving me this button thing to push every time she moved so I they could track her heart rate when she was moving. So I did that, everything looked good, but my BP was still pretty high, higher than they would've liked for it to be anyway. I had my normal weekly appointment that following Monday so they just told me to drink lots of water and take it easy for the next several days and they would repeat the non-stress test on Monday and see where we were at then. So I went back to my appointment on Monday and when I got there my BP was 142/102. The highest it had ever been. It was kinda scary & nerve wrecking, not gonna lie! They hooked me up to the machine for the test and monitored her for about 30-45 min. They came in and did another BP check and it had gone up even more, 148/110. They decide the baby looks good so they send me out to do my urine sample, since I couldn't leave one when I first got there, and then sat me in the little waiting room while I waited for the doc to see me for my actual appointment. She was at the hospital for an emergency c-section, but should've been returning shortly. The next thing I know, the nurse comes to talk to me, saying she just spoke with the doc at the hospital and that the doc said because of my BP issues that she wanted me to go to the hospital and also to let me know I was "not going home without a baby"!!!! HOLY CRAP! Immediately I could feel my heart rate increase immensely! I'm sure my BP went through the ROOF then!! My SIL had brought me to my appointment, since my hubs thought I needed someone to babysit me ;) so I went out to the big waiting room to tell her & then we headed to the hospital!!
When we got there, I called Justin at work and told him it was BABY DAY & then we had to go check in with the front desk, that took awhile to do all the paperwork. After all of that was finished they shipped us on up to Labor & Delivery. When I got to my room, the doc stopped by to tell me they would be inducing me (it was about 10am) later that afternoon, probably around 3pm. She told me they had lots of women up there in labor or being induced that day so we'd just have to play it by ear. She told me to just get settled in and relax until that point. So, I got into my lovely gown and they took my vitals and put in my IV and all that fun stuff & then I made the phone calls to everyone to let them know it was happening today! After that, Heidi & I just relaxed in the room until Justin got there around 12:30 or so. We still pretty much just hung out, anticipating 3pm. I don't know about everyone else, but it seemed to FLY by. I couldn't believe it when the doc was back to break my water, it felt like I should've still had hours to go! After she broke my water, it was only about 10-15 min. before I started to really feel contractions already. I had a really great nurse to start off with, so I was feeling very confident that things were going to go my way and that I would be able to do this without getting an epidural. So, I suffered through contractions until about 7:30pm or so. They were getting more and more intense and I was getting to the point of having to really concentrate on the pain to get through it. Justin was soooo great the whole time. He was by my side, holding my hand, rubbing my back, telling me I could do this and how great of a job I was doing. Everything I could've asked from him, he did. Then we got a HORRIBLE nurse at shift change & everything went downhill.... FAST. They ended up having to put in an internal monitor on the baby, in her head, because she was moving around so much that they kept losing her on the external one. The doc & the nurse previously had to put it in, and re-put it in because it came out. There were absolutely no problems both times. Then I get this horrible nurse who seems to be in a completely crappy mood, was old enough to be my grandma and just acted like she had no bedside manner whatsoever. I immediately went into panic mode. Everything was getting intense & stressful and I hated that she made me feel like that when I hadn't even felt close to that before. She ended up having to put the internal monitor back in at one point & checked my progress at the same time. It was the worst experience ever. I ended up screaming & cussing at her, which surprised even me, and I was bawling. She was so rough with me and she kept trying to stick things in holes that didn't exist! It was soooooo awful. :( I knew then that things were not going to go my way..... I still toughed it out until about 10pm, then I decided I was going to have to get an epidural. I was not progressing and I know it was because I couldn't relax and I couldn't get focused on anything because she stressed me out wayyyy too much. I knew that if it was this bad already, how was it going to be going further and especially when it came time to push?? I had also just been told they would be starting me on Pitocin to increase my contractions to get labor going more since I wasn't progressing on my own. So, even though I was really, really hoping not to have to do it, I got an epidural. I was finally able to relax and rest and I ended up progressing pretty quick after that. I ended up being told I was going to start pushing at about 2am. I only ended up pushing for 20 min.! It was crazy. Even the doc & the bitchy nurse told me several times they were surprised at how quick I got it done! :) I only pushed 1 set (3 total pushes) by the time they called the doc in to deliver, and she was OUT! :) Griffyn McKenna Showalter -7lbs 4oz & 19.25 in long! It was crazy. It wasn't really at all what I was expecting. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it was different. lol It took a LOT of concentration & a lot of work. I just kept envisioning the cheeseburger I was going to be able to eat afterwards, after not having eaten for about 36 hours!!!
The first cry. WOW. She really is real & she really is HERE!! I couldn't believe it. Even listening to her cry and then when they laid her on me and I could see her, it still seemed totally surreal. I couldn't believe I was a MOTHER, I couldn't believe I had a DAUGHTER. Wow......... Totally crazy and beautiful and wonderful and amazing all at once. I couldn't even tell you all of the things I felt at that point. It definitely was unlike anything else I've ever felt before. :) We had our whole families there the entire time, waiting it out with us. Everyone finally went home about 4 or so I think. We didn't get much sleep that night/morning. Partly because we were both just on such a high to have a DAUGHTER! It was/is soooo amazing. We had several visitors the next day and both of our families allll came back as well. They were such troopers!! We ended up having to stay that whole day that she was born (17th) and got to go home around noon on the 18th.
I can't believe she is almost a MONTH old already!! So much about her has changed! It seems like sometimes I wake up in the morning and she looks different than she even did the day before. It makes me sad that it's going by so quickly, but it also gets me excited for the future and all that she will do & be! I can't wait. She is such a blessing to both of us. It's truly amazing.
I think, if it was even possible, I'm even more in love with my husband than I was before. In addition to being such an amazing husband, he is SUCH an incredible dad. I couldn't have asked for a better man to be my daughter's father. He is so attentive and just loves to hold her and look at her. He looks at me almost every single day and just says "look what we did." :) It's amazing! Parenthood is everything I thought it would be and even so much more. I feel incredibly blessed to be able to share it with such a wonderful man. We are definitely enjoying every single minute of everything. I'm even thankful for the spit up and the poopy diapers!! lol I love it. I absolutely love being a Mother. I truly believe it's what God put me on this planet to do. Every single day I am thankful that He's given me this amazing opportunity. I am so, so blessed.
So, as of now, we're still just waiting on the AD thing. Justin is getting ready to go to AT for 2 weeks this weekend. He's going to ask them then what the status is on his paperwork. I'm really hoping that we hear something soon, as to whether or not he's been approved. Once that happens, assuming it does, then he will have to figure out an MOS and then what schooling he'll go to for that. That will depend on how long the school is and when they have an opening for him to go, aka when we can get out of here! Soooo... we're just waiting on that right now. We are definitely enjoying being around the family, both of ours, while we wait though! It's been wonderful! But, being here for over a year now, we are both starting to go a little stir crazy. I can't believe it's been a year already! It's gone by soooo quick!
Other than that, lol (as if that's not a TON) there's not a whole lot going on. We are just enjoying our incredible life. We are thankful for each other & for our beautiful new daughter. :)
I will leave you with a few pictures! :)