we got to the hospital at 9AM Wednesday, July 2, 2003 for
our scheduled induction. once we got into our room (about 9:30AM), an
IV was put in my right wrist, and a bag of fluids and a bag of
Pitocin was started. I was already contracting about every 8 minutes
(very minor contrax), and was dialated to 3cm, 80% effaced. our nurse
was fantastic! her name was Cherry, and she was a very happy, upbeat
person who loved to talk! LOL, she told us all about her family, her
vacations, her whole life..and it really helped to keep me calm and
not really think about the whole "medical" part of the
labor..hospitals kind of give me the creeps, and she made me very
comfortable:) the man was doing great also...he was very calm and
supportive, but his excitement showed, also! he really helped me a
lot to concentrate on breathing thru the contractions..even though
they were still relatively easy to get thru. I was in the rocking
chair for about the first hour of Pitocin, and that helped a lot to
just not be "in bed". I also was listening to my WalkMan radio to
some talk radio (Howard Stern and then another local talk radio show)
to keep my mind off of the labor and to keep me distracted from
staring at the monitors! the man thinks I am crazy for liking Howard Stern...says I am most likely giving our unborn child potty mouth syndrome via the sound waves)
My Dr. came in at about 10:30AM and broke my water, and it had a bit
of meconium in it. Cherry explained how when the baby was born there
would be a few extra people in the room (resp. therapist, neonatal
nurse) to help suction out the baby really well. After he broke the
water, I got back into the rocking chair and the contrax. really
picked up in frequency and intensity. I was no longer able to talk
thru them, and the man was helping me by telling me the peak was over, so
I could know the worst part of each one was behind me. I stayed in
the chair for about another hour, and then needed to change
positions..but the pain was so bad I couldn't really decide what I
wanted to try..so the man suggested the birthing ball. He was going to get
it from the closet, but the contrax. started coming about every
minute, lasting 30 seconds all of a sudden, and I had a death grip on
his hands, so he stayed with me:) I was sweating so bad...I kept
getting waves of nausea...and then right when I was sure I could not
take it anymore, the contrax. would taper off, and I could relax,
catch my breath...and asked for the epidural. The anest. had already
been in to see me, interview me, etc., so all I had to do was ask,
and wait... I have to say that that 30-45 minutes was the toughest period
of time of the labor and delivery. Cherry helped me to the bathroom
to try to empty my bladder, which I did, but it really scared me when
I saw all of the bloody show in the toilet..I knew it was all
happening much much faster than my labor with my son, and I was happy
about it..but I really felt at my wits' end from the pain and the
sweating and the nausea. I was just ready to get some relief so I
could try to relax more and let it all happen.
I got back into the bed with Cherry's and the man's help, and was sitting
up with my legs hanging over the side of the bed, waiting for the
anesth. It took a little longer than Cherry thought it was going
to...another patient was taking longer than usual to get numb. Anne
(anesth.) came in and got everything ready. I have to say, she was
great also! She was very calm, talking me thru the procedure, and I
am so happy to say that it did not hurt at all! (I had a lot of pain
with my previous epidural) She gave me the first test dose, and we
waited about 10 minutes...one leg was much more numb than the other,
so she gave me another dose, repositioned me, and within another 10
minutes I was in much better shape. the only thing I do not remember
happening with my son's labor was some extremely violent shaking after
the 2nd dose was administered. I was shaking so hard I was gritting
my teeth because if I didn't, my teeth were chattering so hard
together I thought I was going to break them! they kept assuring my husband
and I that this was all normal, and he was rubbing my legs and face
with a cool cloth. the sweating stopped immediately, and the nausea
was gone...after about 10 minutes, the shaking subsided to just a few
shakes off and on every few minutes. I had a button attached to the
epidural where I could up the dose if I needed to. I used that about
2 times, I think throughout the remainder of labor. I was extremely
comfortable...could feel the contrax., but was able to breath thru
them, concentrate, and talk once again. the man, on the other hand, could
have used a dose of some meds by that time to calm him down..he got
so stressed seeing me like that...I felt bad for him:(
by this time, my family had arrived, and my husband's mother arrived right at
3PM. I was able to talk, was starting to feel some pressure during
each contrax, but not an overwhelming amount. I told Cherry this, and
she said, well, let's check you and see where you are...you may be
close to 10 cm if you're starting to feel some pressure. everyone
went out to the waiting room, thinking they could come right back in
after the exam. well..the baby had other plans! I lifted my leg for
Cherry to check me, and she took one look and said, oh my..we're
going to have a baby! I said, really? I'm ready to push? and she
said, oh no..you don't push at all..I'm going to get everyone here
first!! my husband and I kind of looked at one another puzzled...surely this
was going to take longer than this???? within about 10 minutes the
Dr., the RT, the NICU nurse, and Cherry and another nurse were there.
they got my legs up into the rests, and Dr. Pena asked if I was ready
to have a baby? I said I sure was, and gave my first push. the nurses
and the RT(a guy) all started saying wow! look at that pushing! oh my
gosh, this baby is ready to be born! my husband was stunned....the Dr. asked
if I wanted to feel my baby's head...and I reached down , thinking
surely I can't feel this baby's head yet..I've only pushed 1 time???
but I reached down, and felt the top of my baby's head covered with
hair!!! I was so surprised and overwhelmed...I was ready to push
again, and with the next one, out came the head! the Dr. suctioned
her well, she began to cry, and I gave one more little push and
looked down as she came into the world at 3:52PM :) she was bright
pink, crying, and wonderful! the Dr. knew we didn't know the sex of
the baby, and that was so exciting to hear him say..it's a girl!!! the man
and I were crying, and saying how our son was right all along..he knew
it was a girl baby from the time we told him he was going to be a big
brother:)
my baby girl got suctioned and wiped up a bit, and then they brought her over
to me. she did not need to go to the NICU, and she bright-
eyed...looking up at me and taking it all in. I had one small 1st
degree tear, which got 2 stitches, and the placenta was delivered
right after that...we stayed in there for about an hour, she nursed a
bit, and then I remembered everyone was still in the waiting room!! I
had Cherry go tell them they could come in...and wow, was everyone
surprised to see me now at 4:50PM holding a baby!
we got moved up to the Mother/Baby floor about an hour or so later,
and got settled in. the nurse took Erin to the nursery for her first
bath and check-up with the pediatrician on call. I ordered some
dinner!
my sister had brought our son to the hospital, they had arrived just
after the delivery..he is very much in love with his little sister:)
once they brought her back into the room, he climbed up into bed with
me and the baby..and he sang Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to her, really
softly into her ear! it was so sweet..and no, we don't have it on
tape:( in fact, we don't have any video of in the hospital...due to
the man filming just a bit in the labor/delivery room, and then he left
the light on and ran the battery down! LOL, poor guy...he feels awful.
we were released and went home July 4th. omg, it feels good to be home!
..as a family of 4:)
and here she is today, as a 5 year old....a whole hand...going to Kindergarten next month and a big sister now, herself. she is my little dancing queen:)
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