SHE has arrived!

Reina Lakshmi Aiyer was born April 9, 2017 at 4:04am weighing 7lbs 2oz and 20 inches tall. Our youngest member of the family is our biggest and tallest!

When I went in to my 39 week appointment, I was confident I would hear that golden phrase, "labor is imminent!" But instead I heard shocking news and walked away in tears. During my examination they determined the baby's head was in a transverse position (sideways) and not fully engaged in my pelvis. So baby's head was down, but not in the right position for a natural delivery and also not low enough. I was told the chances of a C-section were high if baby didn't turn. The midwife gave me one week to turn the baby on my own and booked me in for an appointment the following week, 1 day after my due date, to discuss delivery options. 

The next day I booked a private ultrasound to verify baby's position. I was secretly hoping the midwife was wrong but the ultrasound confirmed what we already knew (Happy Birthday to me). I was very discouraged by this point because I knew its very hard to change baby's position this late in pregnancy. The only glimmer of hope I had of having a natural delivery was for baby to miraculously turn during labor. 

My due date came and went and the next day we headed to my appointment knowing baby hadn't changed position and I prepared myself for the worst case scenario. Although baby hadn't changed position, my body was progressing and the midwife said those glorious magic words. She told me it was highly likely I would go into labor within 24-36 hours and then we see baby's position at that time. I was so happy to hear this news and my faith was restored in avoiding a C-section. 

48 hours came and went and there I was 3 days late and STILL pregnant. I was swollen, tired and fed up. I didn't want to be pregnant anymore. I texted the midwife to let her know nothing has happened and asked to see her that morning to discuss my options. Fortunately, the option of artificially breaking my water and waiting for spontaneous labor was available to me so we booked ourselves in for the next day, giving baby one last chance to exit on his/her own. 

We arrived at the hospital around 2pm all set and ready to go only to hear that there were no rooms available and we would have to wait a few hours at least. Luckily we came prepared for a long night ahead and played cards and listened to music to pass the time. By 6pm we were taken to the labor ward and as we walked into our room I instantly remembered this was the exact same room I delivered Rayan. I felt a rush of excitement and calmness wash over me.

My water was broken at 8pm and by 9:30pm I went into labor on my own. (Woohoo!) With every contraction it looked like baby was moving farther down and into the right position. We were good to go! Towards the end of the 6 hours that I labored, it was becoming harder to trace baby's heart rate and a pattern emerged that baby's heart rate kept decreasing with each contraction and taking too long to recover. The doctor walked in and told us we needed to get baby out NOW. He suggested the use of forceps and we reluctantly agreed. While he was prepping, they encouraged me to keep pushing and under the threat of forceps, I found the strength to push that baby out. We were just in the nick of time because baby was born with the umbilical cord around her neck:(

We heard the words "its a girl!" but all I could see was that cord around her neck. It took me a minute to snap back to reality and I had to check to make sure I heard them correctly. A GIRL?!?!?!?! We all thought we were having a boy. I would have bet the house on it. Well except for Ram who changed his mind after my 40 week appointment, saying only a girl would cause all this drama and arrive late to the party... 

But Reina is anything but a diva! She is my dream baby. She is such a sweetheart and practically sleeping through the night already. I hope I didn't just jinx myself, but this baby girl has made the transition to a family of five the easiest I could have ever imagined. Riya is obsessed with her baby sister and so pleased to have one. Rayan is still a bit clueless and just points at Reina and gets in her face as if to say, "who is this kid?"

Here are some pics of week 1 with our baby girl: