the day you were born

written 9/25/09:

So I've finally decided to set aside some time to type out my birth story (thank GOD for NFL Sundays -- c is willing to do just about anything so long as the game is on!) I tend to be quite winded about this experience so bare with my length please.

Our scheduled induction was to begin Tuesday morning at 7am. My midwife decided to have me check in the night before and start a dose of Cervadil. So Monday we just about went nuts waiting for the time to leave for the hospital. Woke up early, waited forever, made unnecessary trips to the store, left the house too early, ate my "last dinner", shopped some more nervously and for the first time EVER SO totally was loving shopping the baby section. We were beside ourselves with excitement.

We finally made our way to the hospital and got checked in. They really didn't ease me into much of anything and placed the IV lock right away. I was terrified (haha!) of the IV and honestly, it HURT. Then they put in the cervadil and thus began my crampiness that never amounted to anything. I had a rough time sleeping in the uncomfortable bed and with frequent checks from the nurses, even with my Ambien.

c & I woke up the next morning at 6am and I got to take a shower before starting on pitocin. They checked me at this point and the Cervadil had done nothing to help me dilate but had succeeded in effacing me a bit more and softening everything up. At 7:00am our new nurse arrived and it was a really good family friend of my c's. She was SO sweet and I am so glad we had a familiar face to help us through the process. They hooked up my pitocin and almost immediately I began to feel contractions. I was SO happy but it didn't last for long. At 9am my midwife came in and out of nowhere announced she was going to break my water. At this point I had progressed to a 2 or 3 (I think) in two hours!

After she broke my water my contractions started coming on top of each other. I was miserable. I thought to myself that the first few cm were supposed to be the easiest but it did NOT feel easy. c was so wonderful and attentive the entire time, thats the one thing that sticks out most about this time in my head. I was in a crazy amount of pain but it was bearable because he was so supportive.

An hour after they broke my water I was desperate for relief. I kept telling c "I just want to take a shower!" but obviously anything involving water wasn't an option now that I was on the pit. At this point we decided to ask for the epidural (which i'm GLAD i did which you will realize in a sec)

The anaestesiologist came in to administer the epidural and I lost it. I had really done a great job of maintaining composure until then but now I was sobbing uncontrollably. c just held me while she administered it and whispered in my ear all the wonderful things about our LO and how everythingw ould be worth it. I started to feel a stabbing pain in my stomach and tingling in my right foot. Something didn't feel right. She finished and it didn't take me long to realize that it wasn't working the way it was supposed to. All the sudden I had a lot of back pain and I was feeling all my contractions but couldn't feel or move my right leg. Eventually, after lots of "fighting through it to see if/when it'd kick in" the nurses summoned a different anaestesiologist and they completely replaced my epidural. Immediately I felt a difference and it was that "I wouldve kissed the guy if I could" moment.

After that it seemed like smooth sailing except that my progression has signficantly stalled. I was stuck at a 5 for a few hours and then again at 7 for several more. Time was going by SO slowly but the epidural worked so well that I was TOTALLY content. c and I joked around all day, I was sitting up in bed, and constantly being told "you don't SEEM like you're in labor."

After being stalled at 6-7 for several hours, my MW started warning me that we might be looking at a c-section. I'm so glad that I prepared myself mentally ahead of time because if I hadn't I think my outlook would've been much worse (though my preparation didn't help AT ALL for calming fears) She told me she'd give me "a little more time" and this was around 6:00PM. At 8:00 she came in and checked me. She didn't even tell me if we'd progressed at all or not but instead just said "Well, I think we're going to try to push. Are you ready?" I think I must've looked as wide eyed then as I did when I first found out I was pregnant. I had been feeling exhausted but as soon as she said that I got a huge rush of adrenaline and was READY!

The next contraction we pushed and pushed. MW & our nurse both said I was doing an amazing job but that we were only at a 9 and the entire last lip of my cervix wasn't dilating fully around LO's head so when I was pushing, my MW was attempting the help my cervix stretch. We pushed through several more contractions and then Kathy (MW) finally said she wouldn't try anymore because she didn't want to tear my cervix or cause it to swell from irritation and that she was going to call the OB and discuss the c-section.

They brought in all our "birthday party" gear and prepped me for surgery. The first anaestesiologist (the one who did it wrong) came in and put the c-section epidural into my IV. I think this caused some sort of fear in me because I knew she had done my other one wrong before but honestly she was just changing out a bag so I shouldn't have been scared. After getting that I instantly started violently shaking. I had been shaky from the epidural ALL day but this was much worse than before. I cried and was terrified. c was (as he was every step of the way) absolutely wonderful and encouraging through it all. His support through all of this made me love him more than I ever thought I could. They wheeled me back and I cried like a baby. They set everything up and tested my anaestesia. Then they started and pushed and pushed and pushed. It was a REALLY odd sensation and I could see how hard they were pushing because I was watching them practically bounce up and down above the covering. c watched and kept me updated on what was happening. Finally after A LOT of pushing he told me she was out. And immediately they told him he could follow them to the table. I was shocked that they wouldn't show her to me and cried when he left me and I didn't get to see her.

It felt like years before I heard her cry but when I did it was amazing. I know they say theres nothing like it and theres a reason you hear that so often. It really is a moment I won't ever forget. For what seemed like hours they worked on her. I could hear her cry from time to time and c crying and telling me she was beautiful.

After what felt like a lifetime he finally brought her over to me. I could hardly move so I just stroked her face with my finger and tried to give her a kiss though I couldn't get my head off the table. It seemed like he stood there with her for 5 seconds before they told him to take her back to the room. They wheeled me back. I was surprised to see family in our room already since c & I had already discussed wanting our personal time. but apparently the staff had let people into our room before we were even there??? I was livid, to be honest. But I was so exhausted and in shock that I all I cared about was seeing my baby and if that meant having others in the room- fine.

The unfortunate thing is it was only one family of the three that were there to see us. At that point I felt pressured to let everyone in because I felt it wasn't fair to let one of c's family into the room to see LO when the other two families waiting in the room as they were told. So I told c to let everyone in (about 20 people) It makes me cry when I look at the pictures family took of me post-op because my eyes are barely open and I'm just trying desperately to hold my child. Eventually the 2 families that stayed in the waiting room realized quickly that it probably was in my best interest that they gave me some time to recoup and to feed LO (she was rooting like crazy and I was extremely anxious) and everyone got out.

From there it was fairly smooth sailing. She was beautiful and more than I ever could've dreamed. Recovery was rough and but I did get up and out of bed by day 2 and was walking around fine by day 3. Feeding was a rough go since I didn't have very good support from hospital staff because L&D was so packed that week (75 babies or something nuts like that) but after getting home and settling in- I finally got to heal and now we're doing great!