Baby Alexandria Is Here!

So this post is SUPER delayed... better late than never, no?
On 1-12-12 I had my 37 week appointment. I woke up early, got ready for my appointment, and to meet Melissa for Brunch at Kathleen's afterwards (so I had skipped breakfast). On my way out the door, Ray had joked that two of his work buddies had told him not to be surprised if he got 'the call' after this appointment. I assured him that wasn't going to happen...I had been at a 0 the last two weeks, and nothing that drastic had happened since then.
As soon as I went back, they took my blood pressure. The nurse looked concerned, and re-took it. My blood pressure has ALWAYS been super low, so I've never worried about it during the pregnancy, or thought that this could send me into early labor. The nurse took my BP again, so I knew something was wrong. I asked if it was high, she said it was... I asked how high.. she didn't tell me because she didn't want to scare me. She called another nurse to take it. She got the same result... 140/92. I saw my doctor, and she ordered a sono and told me her inclination was to deliver the baby today.
The sono showed that my fluid levels were good, but that Alexandria's heart rate didn't look as good as they wanted. So off to L&D we went.
Once admitted, they started monitoring the baby and me. The alarms kept going off b/c my heartrate was so low, and BP was so high. Baby's heartrate was low when we were first admitted...which caused Dr. Pao to decide we were having this baby that day. Pictocin was started...and then fun began.
4 hours into the induction, Dr. Pao tried to break my water (while i was at a 1/2 cm)..OUCH. She was unsuccessful..I got my epidural, and she tried again. She was successful...and it didn't hurt (only b/c I couldn't feel it). At this point, I was getting extremely anxious...not a fan of the numbness in my legs. I had an epidural where I had control of the amount I was receiving....and didn't once push the button to increase the medicine...I was terrified of losing all feeling in my legs. I could feel every contraction still. Dr. Pao checked me again, 9 hrs into the induction.. I was at a 1 1/2. Alexandria's heartbeat wasn't looking all that great, so they decided it was time to have a c-section.
Alexandria was born at 8:54pm, on 1-12-12, weighing in at 5pounds 10 ounces, and 19 inches long. Her umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck twice-- which meant she couldn't drop, and as a result, I wasn't dilating. Her lungs were suctioned because she wasn't breathing. As soon as she cried, and they swaddled her, Ray held her for the remainder of the surgery. I cried as soon as I heard her cry...and then worried about my stomach moving with every cry as they were cutting me open. haha
Initially, they thought she was fine, and didn't need to go to the NICU, but on 1-13-12, she was having trouble regulating her temperature. They took her back to the nursery and decided to bottle feed her, so see if calories would help her regulate. She didn't take the bottle.. at this point, they decided the NICU was necessary. She stayed in the NICU for 6 days... and it was 6 grueling days. =/

Here's what you're waiting for:) More to come soon!