Hi, sorry it's taken me so long to post this blog. She was born Friday, July 14th at 8:18 pm. Exactly one week early! Yay! So, here's how it all went down...and this is mostly for my future recollection than anything, so if you hate listening to people rambling on about their birth stories, you may not want to read on! Hahaha... :)
Ok, so my appointment was at 9:15 am on Friday morning. I had been having a little cramping all morning which turned into some light contractions in the office. The doctor checked me and I had gone from 1 cm to 3 cms. She said that I was probably in latent labor and she doubted I would make it through the weekend. Then she proceeded to help me up. I asked her about the 'stripping the membranes thing', and she said, 'oh yeah, do you still want me to do that? Lie back down'. So, then she stripped my membranes which is basically just them using a finger to seperate the bag of waters (membranes) from the bottom of your uterus. It's supposed to release a chemical or hormone or something that usually triggers labor. She said I should have some cramping and bleeding, but nothing to worry about, and gave me 48 hours. So, I left the office and called Brian with the good news. By the time I has halfway home, I was having what started to feel like real labor pains that waxed and waned and I didn't know if I should be driving or not. But I got home, safe and sound and laid down on the couch. My mom was there, as she was watching Julian for me. The cramps went away after a bit, and I suggested going to lunch. Julian and I rode in my mom's van with her (thank goodness!) and we stopped at the bank drive-through. Well, by the time we left the bank, I couldn't stay in my seat, I was in so much pain! It felt like contractions that we right on top of each other. I kept trying to tell my mom that maybe it was gas, and she said, 'no, you know the difference between gas and contractions, we're going to the hospital'.
Brian was already set to leave work at noon, and this was about 11:15 so I called him and told him to leave work now, that I was on my way to the hospital. By that time, I felt like all I wanted to do was get out of that car and walk the rest of the way to the hospital (which is only like 3 miles from my house). My mom got us to the hospital, dropped me off out front, and had the van valet parked. I ran (well, mostly is was a brisk walk) in through the front entrance and to the elevators to head to the labor and delivery ward on the 2nd floor. This woman was also waiting on an elevator and I was pacing back and forth when the doors opened. I was at my farthest from the doors and paced back toward the elevator, but I was too late, the doors had already begun to close. I stuck my hand in and literally tried to push the door back open and with my other hand hit the up arrow again. By this time, another man came to wait for an up elevator (why was no one trying to help me!?). So, the doors opened and I got in, and so did the man, and I hit the 2nd floor button. When we got there, the people moved aside and I waited for the doors to open (which seemed to take like FOREVER!). The man and the lady asked me if I was OK (finally!), and I said, 'if these doors ever open, I will be!) and they nervously laughed. So, I went to the nurses station and started to check in, and by that time, my mom had made it up there as well. She had to wait in the L&D lobby with Julian while I went into triage. They hooked me up to monitors and such, and then Brian got there. *Whew*!
(this is a long story)
So, the nurse checked me and asked what I was at my dr.'s office and said I was the same (which didn't surprise me), and told me to walk around for an hour and that she would call my dr. and check me again for progression. Well, after an hour, I hadn't made any progress and my dr. requested that I walk around again for another hour, which I was happy to do, because the only time I was comfortable was when I was walking. Everytime I got in that bed I was writhing around in pain. Well, after that 2nd hour, I still hadn't progressed and I was really worried that they were going to send me home. She called my dr. and she gave me a choice; either take Ambien and go home and sleep until I get worse and come back, or try walking around for another hour. Well, as most of you know about my last experience with Ambien, I chose the walking option. This did the trick. The contractions became much more intense and I was huffing and puffing and slowed way down in my walking. When she checked me that time, I was dilated one more cm to almost 5. So they checked me into a room at around 5 pm that eve. The anesthesiologist was already at the hospital, so I receieved my epidural pretty quickly and I told him I didn't want one quite as dense as my last one, and he respected my wishes and I has happy again. BUT..... then, the doctor came in and broke my water and I had thick meconium, so they called in the pediatricians. Then, by the time I was 7 cms, almost 8, I started to feel my contractions again, ever so slightly, but I didn't say anything, cause I didn't mind a little contraction action, I mean, I wanted to be able to feel where to push and when. But they got stronger and stronger, and the epidural had pretty much worn off and I started to transition, so they were the absolute WORST of the bunch.
SO they called in the anesthesiologist, but he was in doing someone getting a C-section, so it was a while before I saw him again. He finally made his appearance, and told me at this point, he would have to bring out the big guns, and I said that was fine with me! Once I was feeling a little more comfortable, the doctor checked me again, and said I was 9 cms., 100% and that I could push to 10. So, I pushed a couple of times, and voila, 10 cms. So they all prepped and I was getting ready to start pushing for real. By this time I was getting a little nauseous, but that subsided, and I pushed for all of 20 minutes before she made her entrance into the world. I never thought I would be one of those women who says things like, 'I can't push anymore' but I was. The whole event was so exhausting that I really felt like I couldn't push. They usually count you through a push from 1-10, but I was only making it to 8. The dr. offered to give me an episiotomy, and I took it. I was also against having an episiotomy, but at that point, she said if she did one, I could have her out in one push. She was right. Because of the meconium, they had to pass her off to the pediatricians and I didn't get to have her on my chest, and Brian did not get to cut the cord. They even had to whisk her off to the nursery, which made me pretty sad, but I totally understood. I just wanted what was best for her. Everyone actually left the room. I sat there all by myself. So, I decided to make a few phone calls, and then my mom came in. She wanted to see Adia, so I called Brian on his cell phone and asked him if my mom could look in through the window of the nursery to see her. He asked the nurse, and she obliged. Then my mom went down to see her.
Finally, they wanted to move me to my postpartum room, so my mom and the nurse helped me gather my things, and they wheeled me down to the room, just as we passed the entrance to the nursery, Brian was bringing Adia out, so they followed us to the room. We had a rough night that night. Brian had to sleep on the floor, as they did not have any fold out beds or cots for him to sleep on. I was in excruciating pain all night from the episiotomy. All they were giving me was motrin every 4 hours or so. By the next morning, my doctor came to see me and said I could go home that night if I wanted to. Brian told her about all the pain I had been in and she told the nurses to give me a combinationof tylenol 3 and motrin. She also gave me a prescription for tylenol 3.
The following week was no picnic either. I was only able to lay down. I couldn't sit up or stand for long periods of time. All I could really do was lay there nursing Adia. Brian changed two sets of diapers and fed Julian all while keeping the house somewhat clean! By the 2nd week, I was feeling better and welcomed visitors. Of course, it was still difficult trying to manage on very little sleep. Brian had to go back to work by that third week and left me all alone with two babies under 2!
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