MEET GABRIELLA ROSE! – The Love Notes Blog

At 11:25pm  on February 29, 2016 the contractions began. After a few episodes of Braxton Hicks, somehow I knew this was really it– BABY TIME!!!! By midnight we were on our way to the hospital. With a 45 minute drive ahead of us, I was trying to just stay calm & breathe through the contractions– which started out pretty intense from the beginning. We brought Giovanni with us & Tom & I were both a little apprehensive about how things would go, but it definitely didn’t lessen the excitement of Gabriella’s arrival! Our baby girl was finally coming!!!

We got to the hospital & stupid, stubborn me refused a wheelchair at the entrance, lol. Luckily it wasn’t a far walk, I could tell things were going way faster than they were with Gio. & even though I knew fooooor suuuuure I was in labor (& ready for an epidural anytime!) the nurses still had to do their thing & make sure I really was. I just laid on the bed motionless, not making any sounds & focused on staying calm during each contraction.

Tom strolled Giovanni up & down the halls trying to get him to sleep, & came in to check on me frequently. I wasn’t sure how I was going to handle laboring alone, but it actually helped me stay focused. I was relieved, though, when Gio finally fell asleep & Tom could be next to me, asking if I needed anything, telling jokes to the nurses & replacing the wet cloth on my forehead