I've been wanting to get my birth story up on here for several weeks now because I don't want to forget it...I want every detail documented for myself and for her when she's older. So here we go!
Thursday, December 18
I've mentioned in previous posts that due to an anterior placenta, I didn't feel her move all the time. It would make me nervous a lot, but she would always give me a kick or a nudge just in time to put my mind at ease. Well, not this day! This day she was silent...I hadn't felt her move since Wednesday night and by the end of the work day, I was a nervous wreck. I decided to put my mind at ease and run up to L&D to be monitored. They hooked me up, found the heartbeat right away, and got me set up to be monitored for at least an hour. Now, on another side note, I had been having Braxton Hicks contractions pretty regularly since about 27 weeks. But when they hooked me up, I was having very regular contractions that were clearly not Braxton Hicks. BH contractions have no pattern to them. But the ones I was having Thursday were very regular, and stronger than how BH ones would show up. In fact, there were two other women in there trying to be in active labor, and my contractions were stronger and more regular than theirs! They called my OB, Dr. A, and she told them to send me home to rest and drink plenty of water since I'd be back at her office the following Tuesday for a 37 week appointment and growth scan. But the sweet nurse at the hospital said, "Honey, you're not going to make it to your due date with contractions like these. I predict you'll have this baby within the week." WHAT?!?!?! I thought I had at least 3.5 more weeks to get things done! First babies never come early! So we left the hospital that night with a new sense of urgency to get things done. Things like install the car seat base, pack my bag and her bag, finish the nursery (which was only about 60% done), deep clean the house, etc. We decided that Sunday would be devoted to getting all these things done.
Friday, December 19
Did I mention how on Thursday the child didn't move? On Friday, she moved like crazy! Squirmed, kicked, rolled, punched, etc. All. Day. Long. I have video of it! She moved from the time I got up until the time I went to bed. I worked that day knowing I needed to get all my loose ends tied up because in my mind, she'd likely be here around December 30th. With the holidays, that meant I only had about 3 or 4 more work days left. Jay was off work that night so we decided to get all of Christmas shopping totally done so we could enjoy the rest of the weekend. We had his family's big Christmas in Scottsboro planned for the next night so we had a little mini date night with Dinner after shopping. I should have known things were about to change, though... I was more swollen than I had ever been during the whole pregnancy. Not just a little puffy...full on edema. You could push in on my ankles and pull your fingers away and see the imprint. I joked that they looked like a tempurpedic mattress! And they weren't going down when I got home and put them up. But my BP was fine. I went to bed early and decided to just sleep it off and get up the next morning ready to tackle the day!
Saturday, December 20
Jay had to work that morning from 9-1 so I was excited to have the morning to myself at home. I had plans to pick up the house, wrap our Christmas purchases from the night before, work in SB's room, wash some of her clothes...just a list of little things for the day. I drank some coffee (decaf) in bed and watched a little Bravo from 8:00 to about 9:15. Got up to use the bathroom. And it happened. I was leaning forward to wipe (TMI, sorry) and I was peeing again. A lot. Like a whoosh of a ton of it. So I sat back down thankful I hadn't peed my pants and it had gone in the toilet. But I realized it wasn't stopping...I couldn't stop it. It was just pouring out (TMI again, sorry). And it hit me...my water just broke. MY WATER JUST BROKE!!! Oh my gosh - we're having a baby! TODAY! I stayed sitting and went through my mental checklist on what to do (relatively calmly I might add). Pad - I need a pad (OK, so let's just agree that there will be several more TMI moments in this post, which will be long. So if you're even still reading, you've been warned!). But I have to get to the closet to get the pad. So I grab a towel (yes, it was THAT much fluid), stuff it between my legs, and waddle to the master bathroom to get a pad and my phone (at this point I still haven't told Jay). I thought when your water broke it was just a small rush of fluid and that's it, you're done. Oh, no. Your body continually replaces the fluid. And it's more of a giant waterfall of a gush every time you bend or move. I get to my phone first and call Jay. Here's how that convo went:
Me: Hey, babe? Uh...my water just broke. I'm in labor...
Jay: Are you sure?
Me: Unless I've been peeing non-stop for 5 minutes now, yes, I'm sure.
Jay: Do I need to come get you to go to the hospital?
Me: Um...YES!
At this point I am positive there is no way I can get a pad on by myself so I just stand there with a towel between my legs waiting on Jay to drive the 6 minutes home from work. In the meantime, I decide to call my parents and sister. My parents were in Rome (GA, not Italy, duh) to help move my sister into a new house. So my sister answers my mom's phone:
Me: Hey, guess what? My water just broke. I'm in labor - we're having a baby!
Sarah: Holy $#!%. Mom? Elizabeth's water just broke.
Mom (in the back ground): WHAT?!?!?
Mom (grabs the phone): Oh my gosh, are you sure?
Me: Yes! Why does everyone keep asking me this? Jay is on his way home to get me.
Mom: OK, your daddy and I are heading home to get packed. We'll see you in a few hours. Your sister is going to go ahead and leave in an hour. Call me when you get to the hospital.
Jay finally gets home, sees the towel (which is now soaked) and I think it hits him that this is really happening. Bless his heart, he helps me into a pad, which I now realize after soaking through a towel is going to be about as effective as trying to stop a waterfall with a cotton ball, loads me up into the car and away we go! Hey - I've noticed that while sitting, there does not seem to be fluid coming out anymore. Maybe it's done? Hooray! We live about 5 miles from the hospital I had chosen to deliver at so on the way, we call the OBs answering service and leave a message. We pull up to the door and Jay lets me out to head on up while he parks. Guess what? I was wrong about the fluid stopping. Very, very wrong. The moment I stood, it was like the flood gates opened. That pad was worthless. I made it in the lobby, onto the elevator, up to the second floor and to the maternity ward doors. This particular hospital is a private hospital with strict security. You have to pick up a little phone and tell the nurses at the desk why you're there and they buzz you in. They normally pick up the phone with 1-2 rings. That day? It rang about 10-12 times before someone finally picked up! At this point, I'm literally standing in a puddle of water. After I've left a trail from the lobby all the way up there. Sorry about the mess, Crestwood Medical Center! I get buzzed in and am greeted by a calm nurse who confirm with one look that I am, in fact, in labor. At least he didn't ask me if I was "sure".
They get me hooked up and I'm having regular contractions, but I'm not really feeling them. Baby's HR is great, my BP is good, and we're off and running! They check for dilation and I'm at a 1. Really? After contracting since at least Thursday and my water breaking, I'm only at a 1? Ugh. So they call Dr. A who is not the doctor on call that weekend, but she's actually at the hospital that morning anyway performing a surgery. She comes in to see me after she's done and tells me the wonderful news that she plans to deliver me, even though she's not on call. THANK YOU, Dr. A! She also says she's going to help us speed things up, but to not really expect a baby until sometime tomorrow morning. Hello, pitocin.
The funny thing about pitocin is, you go from "hey, this labor thing is pretty fun!" to "Well, that escalated quickly." They upped the pitocin every 15 minutes and while I felt the contractions getting stronger, they really weren't that bad. It started like barely noticeable period cramps and just slowly got stronger. But they stayed very tolerable for at least a few hours. They started to get annoying around 2:00 that afternoon, but my parents were close. I knew there was a synthetic morphine I could have in my IV until I decided I was ready for the epidural, but I wanted to wait until my parents got there so I was completely alert. During all that time from when we got to the hospital around 9:45 until my parents got there at 3:00 I was talking to people on my phone, talking to Jay and his family and my aunt, putting on makeup (yes, makeup - hey, I arrived in ratty old pajamas), playing games on my phone, watching TV and devouring orange popsicles. I hadn't had breakfast yet when my water broke and you can't eat while in labor in case you have to have a c-section so I was STARVING pretty much the whole time. When mom and dad got there, I talked to them for a little bit and then got the morphine. Hindsight 20/20, it didn't do much more than take the edge off.
By about 5:30 the contractions went from "painful, but I can breathe through them" to "holy hell, I swear this baby is cutting her own way out of me". Things went downhill in the pain department that quickly. But I wanted to wait until 5cm to get the epidural because I had heard horror stories about it wearing off on one side or wearing off all together. And last they had checked me I was at about 3cm. So I soldiered on and left a wake of carnage in my path including saying horrible words to Jay, my mom, his mom, the nurses, and anyone else in my path. Finally, at 7:00 the nurse said, "are you sure you're not ready for the epidural? It will take the anesthesiologist about an hour to get here and get it all ready..." I'm sorry, what?? REALLY? You mean he isn't just here, waiting? GET. HIM. HERE. NOW. I didn't care anymore. I know in reality I had only been truly hurting about an hour and a half. But it was horrible pain and my contractions were 1 minute apart so as soon as I'd come off one, the next one was already building so I wasn't even getting relief between contractions. And I could no longer talk through them. I was on my side and would just squeeze the rail as hard as I could. By the time the anesthesiologist got there about 7:45, I was in no way able to sit up for it. He had to do it with me laying on my side. Prior to going into labor, the epidural was one of my biggest fears (along with tearing and pooping while pushing). Truth be told, the epidural was a piece of cake. The hardest part was having to be still during contractions. He numbed me up really good with lidocaine first so when he actually put the epidural catheter in, all I felt was a little bit of pressure. And just like that, it was done. And I could tell within minutes that the contractions were not as painful. Within 15 minutes I couldn't even tell if I was having one...we only knew by the monitor. Ladies, get the epidural! Seriously! I regret waiting as long as I did. I am terrified of needles to the point where I fainted when I got my ears pierced, but this was easy as could be. I didn't have to suffer!
Once it had kicked in, they checked me again. "OK, you're at a 9 - it's time to start pushing!" I remember saying, "What? You mean I don't even get a nap?" So everyone was ushered out except Jay. Jay had one leg and Dan'l my male nurse (yes, male nurse - never thought I would be OK with this but he was seriously the best nurse in the world!) had the other. He instructed me to grab my legs, lean forward, and push. So I did. Or I tried. "I can't find my legs." "Am I pushing?" "I can't lean forward...my boobs are numb." "Uh...I need help." All things muttered in the next 5 minutes. So we got my mom and sister in there to help. And help they did! They would help sit me up each time I had to push. I still couldn't tell if I was pushing or not because I literally felt nothing, but they assured me I was. I still remember vivid details of this time. I remember my mom looking and seeing her crowning and being excited that she had hair. I remember Dr. A finally getting there and thanking me for it not happening at 3:00am. I remember pushing for only about 30 minutes or so total and only about 2 or 3 times for the doctor before she told me to stop pushing. "Stop pushing? Why?" and before she could answer, my beautiful baby was on my chest, screaming her sweet little head off. I was in total shock...awe...and love. She was here! She was beautiful! The next 20 minutes were so surreal, but yet so vivid. I remember they immediately got her skin to skin with me while they were wiping her down. We tried to nurse, but she wasn't having it (and that would become a source of strife for the next three days). I remember Jay getting to cut the cord. I remember them having to massage my stomach because the placenta didn't want to detach since it was still early. I remember the sound of delivering the placenta. I remember cradling and loving on my new baby while also watching my doctor stitch me up (two little stitches for a second degree tear). I remember my heart exploding as I watched Jay hold her for the first time and the two of them looking into each other's eyes. I remember saying to her, over and over, that I was her mama and had waiting for a long time for her. I remember mom, Dr. A and I debating on what we thought she would weigh and all being shocked at how big she was for how early she was. I remember the flood of visitors coming in once I was cleaned up. I remember being thankful I was still 100% numb from the boobs down. And I remember being STARVING!
Our family and loved ones stayed and passed her around for a while. And then suddenly, it was just the three of us (plus Dan'l the male nurse). They got us moved down the hall to a (huge) room and Jay and I just looked at each other in disbelief. Our lives were changed forever. And it was the best change in the world!
Looking back, I had an amazing labor and delivery. Except for that hour and a half where I was in extreme pain, it was all very tolerable. Crestwood was an incredibly calm and soothing place. I was the only one in labor and the only one there. I had amazing one-on-one attention and the nurses were outstanding. Kind, reassuring, and very capable. God took care of us that day and has done that very thing for the past 9 weeks. I can't believe I have an 8 week old who will be 2 months old on Friday. WOW! Some days it feels like yesterday and other days I can't remember life without her. We've had ups and downs as all new parents do. We love her more than we ever thought possible.
"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made..." Psalm 139:14
