Start over

Well now that baby Leila has joined us I hope to do regular blog updates. I've turned this leaf over many times so we will see how it goes. We are very happy to have brought home our little girl. I will start off with this post of her arrival. Saturday morning around 4:30 I woke up needing to use the restroom, and having a very sharp back pain. I was able to fall asleep again but woke up several more times to the sharp pain. I was able to fall asleep after each one, but after 6 or 7 times of waking up I thought something might be up. Around 7 I decided to take a bath to see if it would help the back pains. I suspected my water had broke, and after my bath I told David I thought it had, and that I was having contractions. We decided to go in to the hospital to make sure. Now, we'd been in several times because I'm paranoid, so I was hoping we weren't having a false alarm. David ran around finishing packing (we had most everything ready) while I fought contractions. We hadn't had breakfast so we stopped through the McDonalds drive through just in case. I kept thinking that it wasn't really labor, but then a contraction would come. We got to the hospital and David got me a wheelchair. They took me back and the nurse hooked me up to the monitors and then checked me. I was dilated to a three, 90% effaced, and my water had broke. I was in labor! I was so excited, I couldn't believe it. I was scheduled to go in Sunday night, and they would start a medication that softens the cervix, then Monday morning they were going start petocin and induce labor. Because I hadn't progressed at all beforehand, my dr warned me that my body may not handle inducing labor well, and since baby wasn't dropping she might not handle it well, and so my chance of a c-section was increased. I really didn't want that, so I had been talking to baby, telling her that they were going to make her come so if she wanted any say, she had to come before Sunday night. She listened well and I was very excited. They admitted me, and took us back to room 113 which, ironically, is where my cousin Jill had delivered her baby 3 days before. While they started things, like my IV and taking blood I called mom and asked what she was doing. She said she and dad were getting ready to go to salt lake to help aunt Debbie. I asked if she'd rather come to the hospital. She got really excited and couldn't believe we were there. I told her what had happened, and then she said they would come over. David called his parents to let them know, and I sent a text to all my siblings. Mom and dad showed up and we talked for a while, very excited. Contractions kept coming but they weren't too bad. At one point they stopped, and the nurse called the dr. He had her start me on petocin since my water had broke, but I wasn't technically in labor any more. The petocin kick started contractions again and they started coming very quickly. I could still talk through them but they weren't pleasant. They had said I could get the epidural any time, but I wanted to see how it went. They did say that since it was the weekend, it would take time for the anesthesiologist to get there, so keep that in mind. When the contractions started getting faster I decided I wanted it. After he got it put in, my legs started going tingly, but I could still kind of move them, and the contraction main went away, which was awesome. After I was good and numb, they checked me again, and I was at a 6, and very thin. However, it turns out I had two bags of water. So the dr decided he would come break it. I warned them that I had extra fluid and they were glad because it took a bunch of towels to soak up. David didn't watch, but he said he could hear it. After that I moved pretty quickly, I did have to get another big dose of the pain med I the epidural because I pushed the button but it still started wearing off. The second dose really numbed my left leg, but the contraction pains were gone. When they checked me again I was fully ready except for the station, the dr wanted me to rest and descend, which is where you just rest and let the contractions push the baby further down. They said it helps not tire you out from pushing. Around 5:45 they decided to have me start pushing. I got the hang of it, and the dr came to watch a few, and said they were good pushes. Next thing I know a bunch of people are coming into the room, including my nurse from all day. She was off at 6 but said that since I was so close she wanted to stay. The dr was there and kept coaching me through the pushing. I pushed as hard as I could, and watched in the mirror to encourage progress. Each push I could see her head move a little. Finally her head was out, and then the rest arrived. She was bluish purple but I was ready for that, our class had said that would happen. David cut the cord, then went with her as they whisked her away and started cleaning her up, and the respiratory therapist started checking her out. Unfortunately she had extra fluid in her lungs, and her oxygen level was lower than it should be. They took her to the NICU and David went with her. I was pretty upset because I didn't get to hold her. They put her on my chest all wrapped up and said not to squeeze her, she was still pretty blue. It really scared me, but I had to get stitched up (I had a minor tear) and then they gave me dinner. After a little while the respitory therapist came in and wanted to update me. He said she would do ok for a while but had moments where her breathing wasn't normal. He told me he was sorry they had to take her away, and that he was going to go back and check on her. If she was doing good they would bring her back, if not, he recommended I get wheeled down to the nursery so I could start feeding her, because she wouldn't come back until about 10. Luckily about 5 minutes after he left David came in wheeling the crib. She was doing ok, and we were together as a family. I'm very glad everything went smoothly, and that I was able to deliver her naturally as opposed to a C-section. I never could have imagined the joy that comes from bringing this beautiful little girl into the world. I love her more every day and am enjoying the time I get to spend with her.