Mariana Charlene is Finally Here

We are finally so proud to announce the arrival of our Mariana Charlene (pronounced not like "Mary", but with the "ah" sound: mah-ree-AH-nah) It's meaning is a combination of "star of the sea" and "favored by God". How appropriate that she was floating in a huge sea of amniotic fluid, keeping her in the womb for so long! She was a whopping 8 lbs, 4.6oz, 20 inches long, 14.5 inch head, born on 6-15-10 at 6:55 pm. Induction #2 (with pitocin) led to an unanticipated spontaneous water breaking, followed by a very short active labor and pushing. My water broke at 4:29pm, while we were waiting for an OB to come to break my water! She was late, we were antsy, and a bit discouraged because an earlier OB simply refused to break my water. (We overheard he had been playing golf, so apparently he didn't want to be bothered with us) However, God's plan is always bigger than ours and my water broke on it's own. I had been dilated to 4 cm when my water broke, and within a half an hour went to 6cm, then another half an hour to 8cm, and then another half an hour to 9.5cm. Needless to say, it went very fast after my water broke and my uterus was finally able to do it's work of contracting down. The excess fluid I had was keeping it from contracting well.
I had been so disappointed because I was really hoping for an all natural birthing experience, free from drugs and medical intervention. Besides Pitocin, I got my wish! I was able to deliver Mariana without pain meds, after half an hour or so of pushing! I felt so empowered after, and have felt really great since. The experience was amazing, and was culminated with Phil delivering (really just catching) the baby on her way out!
So far, her temperment is great. She latched immediately and is making poopies and peepees (as we call them in our house) like a champ! WE ARE SO BLESSED! See comment below for a description of photos. The last photo is actually a picture of MYAH! They sure look alike!