Ashlock Family: Welcome Baby Elise!

All the Gory Details and Some Slimy Photos too!
On Thursday, June 13, 2013, we welcomed Elise Anne Ashlock into our family!
Not expecting to go into labor this early, we were diligently trying to complete a few household projects, get haircuts, etc, but Elise had other plans. She was ready to join us, and we are so happy to have her here!
My labor was surprisingly similar to my labor with Jeremy. My water broke around 9:15 in the morning, and I called Christian at work. He came directly home from work and started packing our bags for the hospital (which we were planning to do...) and making arrangements with his parents to come and take care of Jeremy. I, on the other hand, was sure that I needed to empty and load the dishwasher and make our bed. After almost 9 years of marriage, he knew better than to try to stop me! :) So, between phone calls to my doctor and all of our parents, we prepared for the arrival of Baby Girl.
Thankfully, Jana was able to take care of Jeremy until Christian's parents could come down from Benicia. It was wonderful and reassuring to know that Jeremy was well cared for while we were at the hospital!
We arrived at the hospital around 11:30 AM, checked in, and waited for my doctor to arrive.

Contractions were very weak but were coming about every 4 minutes, according to the monitor, even though I couldn't really feel them. We were instructed to go for a walk around the hospital and come back "huffing and puffing" in order to help get the contractions going. However, by the time we got back from our walk, my contractions had completely stopped. So, I was put on pitocin. Throughout my pregnancy, I had hoped to stay off of pitocin with this birth, but in the moment, I was just excited to get things moving!
Christian and I hung out all afternoon. He was an amazing husband (as always!) and coached me through the contractions as they got stronger and stronger. Around 7:15 PM, the nurse checked me and said that I was only 3 cm dilated...ugh...After hearing that, I was ready for some pain relief. About an hour later, my doctor arrived, and aha! labor was progressing very quickly--I was 8 cm dilated.
Around 10:00, my doctor announced that I was complete and would be ready to push really soon! She went to prepare and when she came back, we were all very excited. She reminded me of the plan for pushing--on the first push, she said, "ok stop!" My response? "No stop!" She put on the drape and the nurse called for an additional nurse. On the very next push, Elise Anne Ashlock was born!