Baby Zoe has arrived!

WARNING: This may be more info that you care to know...if so then just check back tomorrow when the pictures of our sweet baby Zoe are posted (or skip to below the *** marked below) ;)

Last Thursday I had my 39 week appointment. Dr. said I was showing to be dialated at 3.5...so not much change from the previous week at 3. He offered to help matters along by stripping the membranes, so I agreed. It was a relatively painless process but proved to be effective. As the evening wore on, I did start having more contractions. After eating a spicy Pad Thai dinner out with Ricky and Derick we came home and went for a family walk...well curb walking for me and scooter racing for them. A little more contractions but still mild. As we put Derick to bed that night at 745pm I thought I better pack him a little suitcase...just in case he ended up needing to go to his aunt and uncle's house that night...as I didn't want to be doing that once real labor kicked in.

Ricky and I enjoyed watching the Olympics...and it was about 9:45pm that the contractions became 5 minutes apart. They weren't too bad so I wanted to wait it out at home as long as possible (as we only live 2 miles from the hospital). At 11pm I told Ricky to go to bed and thought I would get some rest as well...knowing could be a long night. Yeah right, resting while one is in labor does not really happen. So I walked around our walkin closet while catching up on my Route 66 bible reading. At around 1am I woke Ricky up and said we better call his brother to get Derick as the contractions were 2-3 minutes apart. Dennys arrived to get Derick and we headed to the hospital arriving about 1:40am.

Apparently 3 people had just checked in and we were #4. They did send me into the triage room right away and got me hooked up to all the monitors. The nurse came in and measured me at 4.5...so a little more progress. But wow..once I layed down did the contractions intensify. I let her know that I did want an epidural but would hold out for a little while longer. She said I had to be admitted to Labor and Delivery first and since we were #4 we had to wait to be processed and she left the room. What seemed like and eternity, but in reality was about 30 minutes I sent Ricky to check the status. They said they called my Dr. and should be admitted shortly. A few more minutes she came back to check me and then left the room. A couple of them came back and then wheeled me in. I could see my Dr. in the hall which was a hopeful sign. He came into my room and I asked "Can I have an epidural now?" He replied, "You don't have any time. You are dialated at a 9 and won't last 3 more contractions." WHATT?? I didn't sign up for this..but when you are in an extemely painful state just struggling to breathe..it's hard to find the energy to complain. Ricky ran out to the car to get our bag which contained the camera. It was at that time I overheard a nurse saying she didn't think he would make it back in time for the birth. WHAT was this I was hearing?? They told me to breathe through the next contraction to give my husband a minute to return. He walked in the room and they told be to start pushing. The first one I had no idea what I was doing so it was a wasted effort. They then explained exactly what to do and that it would go fast. [I really thought they were telling me what I wanted to hear and it could NOT go fast enough as I was on my deathbed in pain]. Well I should have trusted them as 2 pushes later out came our precious baby girl. I was shocked... and it was only 3:09am...less than an hour and half since arriving at the hospital.
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Zoe Isabel Ruiz weighed in at 6lb. 10oz and was 19.75 inches long. She had a head full of black hair (something I adore in the hispanic genes) and beautiful skin coloring. At first glance she looked very much like Derick, but more and more people are saying they think she looks more like me with a little bit of Ricky...the exact opposite of what we hear about Derick. Regardless of all that, we love and adore her...what a precious addition to our family.

We are sleep deprived and enduring the challenges that come with a newborn. Derick is excited a good portion of the time yet going through his own adjustments of having to share his parents. It has been a whirlwind weekend of family visitors so I am looking forward to some quiet days adjusting to be a family of 4 together. I am also looking forward to taking some pictures of our precious little one and will download some of the first few days. So please check back soon for that!