NOTE: This post will probably be long and descriptive. There will be a lot of detail for journal purposes. I will also be writing about things that might make some people uncomfortable. If it does I am sorry, but I feel like I need to have things written down and recorded so I remember what happened both during and after her birth. Feel free to skip this post if you feel so inclined.
It has been a week and a half since we have had our little girl in our lives. I look at her and can't believe sometimes that she is ours. It was a very long and hard process to bring her into this world and has left me not wanting to ever do it again, but loving what I have!
It all started at our Dr's appointment on March 17th where my blood pressure was WAY too high. 156/106 I believe. They took it on my other arm and it was 149/99. Both were bad and so my Dr sent us right over to the hospital to be induced. We were excited to finally get to be done with this pregnancy and have our baby in our arms. They started me on a medication to help soften things up about 12:45pm and then about 11pm I was started on the Pitocin to get my contractions moving along. I tried to be brave and tough it out while I was on the first medication, but those contractions were getting really bad so I broke down and had my epidural at 9pm. All I have to say is Epidurals are sent right from heaven! All through the night we tried to sleep but it is hard when someone is coming in the room every hour to check your blood pressure and temperature. A few times the Dr came in and they had to insert a device to check how hard my contractions were because the monitor on my stomach wasn't telling them what they needed to know. Then a couple hours after that, they had to place a monitor on the baby's head to make sure she was doing ok because the monitors no longer were working for her. It was the first monitor placed that my Dr went to break my water but realized that it had already been broken. I think I know when it happened but the nurse who checked for it after I told her I thought it had broken, wasn't sure after the test and didn't bother to check again. No big deal though.
We were moving along nicely at this point and I was feeling fine. At about 3am I started to feel a little pain in the birth canal. It came with the contractions and got to be uncomfortable. We called and got another dose of pain meds. It still didn't take away everything but made things a little more comfortable. Then an hour later, I somehow pulled a muscle in my upper back. It was horrible pain that left me unable to move for about an hour. Kelvin and our nurse put ice packs on it and massaged it until I could at least somewhat move. Another hour after that (5am) I started to feel more pain in the birth canal and once again got another dose of pain meds. At 6am though I was feeling ok. I tried once again to sleep but wasn't successful. We were both surprised that I hadn't delivered yet because they checked me at 3:30 and I was dilated to a 7. I went from a 4 to a seven in one hour. Then at 4:30 they checked me again and I was only an 8. It didn't make sense to us at the time but we just thought that my body wasn't going fast. When I finally got some relief from all the pain at 6am I thought it was going to be ok we just have to be patient.
Our nurse came in about 6:45 and told us that she was leaving and that there were 2 student nurses there that day. She asked it we would be ok having one of them participate in the birth of our child. We didn't mind and told them that it was ok. She then told us that there is a make and female student nurse and asked if we would be more comfortable with either one. We said we didn't mind and ended up getting the male student nurse. Funny, but this ended up being a blessing for us during the birth and last stage of my labor. The Lord sure works in ways we never comprehend.
We didn't like the new nurse. When she came in the room she was asking me all sorts of questions that she should have already known by looking at my chart and talking to the other nurse. Then when I pushed my medication button, she asked why I did that. I had to explain to her that the anesthesiologist told me to push the button when ever I could to stay on top of the pain because we were having some problems. I was thinking "Hello! I am having a baby and you are asking me why I need pain medication?" She was also very rough. Not gentle or sensitive at all. Luckily the student nurse came in with her and introduced himself. He was very very nice and got me ice chips whenever I needed them (I hadn't eaten anything since 10am the day before because I wasn't allowed to on the medication they used to start the labor). This was really nice because it was at this point that I needed Kelvin with me every minute! The nurse we had had all night had stopped my pitocin because she said I was having too many contractions which is why I didn't progress farther than an 8 all night long. We didn't know this had happened but the nurse that came on duty that morning started it back up again but DOUBLE the normal dose.
This is when the problems started. The contractions got VERY hard VERY fast! It was a shock to my system and when I was already having problems with the epidural, it hit me like a ton of bricks! I started to feel every contraction and the pain was getting so bad that I couldn't even think and could hardly catch my breath between the contractions. I would pant and moan and try to do everything I had been taught in the childbirthing classes to relax through them and try to make them bearable. It didn't help too much. I called for the anesthesiologist again to give me another dose, but they couldn't. My epidural had stopped working for some reason and they couldn't give me anything more because it wouldn't help. The sensations in my legs were coming back and I knew I was in for a long hard road. I always wondered how women would fall asleep between contractions, now I know! My poor body was working so hard with no breaks that after 2 hours it had nothing left and I would fall asleep between all my contractions. Kelvin told me that it was so hard for him to watch me go through all that pain and that i could hardly respond to him. (I have a higher tolerance for pain so I was not just being a baby like I was told by one person) After an hour on this dose she came in and upped it again to TRIPLE the normal dose. If you could only imagine how awful these contractions were. Usually you have time to build up endorphins in your body to help you cope with the pain, but I got nothing! Then finally 9:45am came and they checked me again (rather roughly) and said I was ready to start pushing. The nurse immediately put the bed down and I asked if it could be set up while I pushed. She promptly told me no that i would have to do it this way. (Just saying again, we really didn't like her)
I began to push with each contraction and it did feel better but it was still really painful. Kelvin was a trooper through it all too. He really stuck by my side and gave me lots of support and encouragement. After an hour of pushing the Dr came in and was trying to deliver the baby. I ended up pushing for 2 hours trying to get her head out (3 hours of pushing total). I was in so much pain and so exhausted that I didn't recognize what was happening then, but looking back on it all now I now see what was going on. When she was crowning, she stopped coming out. It was a scary situation because she was down so far that the only alternative would have been to push her back in and then do a c-section. Her head started to swell and I couldn't push her out. I was trying and trying and my Dr was getting worried. She was focused and calm and collected through the whole thing though. Every time I would push Kelvin told me that she would literally pull on the baby's head. After an hour of trying to get her head out, things became a little more dangerous. The baby had not moved very much and everyone could tell that I didn't have much left to give. At the end of the 3 hours, I somehow pushed her out. I can only tell you that the strength didn't come from me. It hurt the whole time she was crowning and with each push, but the worst pain came when she was finally delivered. I have to say that that was the WORST pain I have EVER experienced in my entire life! I didn't think I would live through it but I did. After she was finally out, the nurses put her on my chest but I didn't even have much energy left to look at her.
They took her away to clean her up a bit and I still didn't even really realize that she was mine. All I could do was lay there and breathe. I closed my eyes and then the Dr started to rub my stomach. That hurt too! Apparently the placenta was almost completely detached from the cord. She had to try to manipulate it to come out or I was going to end up having surgery to get it out. I didn't realize then either that this was not a good thing. When she finally got it out after about 10 min (which was another small miracle in of itself), she started to stitch me up. I had a 3rd degree tear and it was pretty bad! As I lay there on the bed, she gave me a shot to numb me up while she stitched, but she didn't give me quite enough because I still felt her sewing me up. All I could do was lay there and under my breath I was saying ouch because I didn't even have energy to say it hurt. The Dr took about 20 min to stitch me up and then gave me a big hug before she left. I got to feel what labor was like with an epidural but still had to give birth naturally. Not the way to go I must say! Total labor time was just shy of 24 hours. All I have to say is that I have the best Dr in the world! She was the one who was the best qualified to help me through this ordeal and I believe that Heavenly Father put her there for me at that time. She was encouraging me thorough all the pain and discouragement and never showed when she knew things were going wrong. Obviously I can't describe accurately what happened while I was delivering her, but it was quite a traumatic experience. Things might have gone another way had she not been there. I thank Heavenly Father for giving us the Dr we needed.
The baby came out at 12:13pm on March 18, 2010 at 8 pounds and 5 ounces, 21 inches long with an enormous head! The Dr had expected the baby to be 1 pound less than she was. This was why I had such a hard time delivering her, she was just too big for my poor body. The Dr tried to feel what direction she was facing, but couldn't reach down far enough to feel her ears. That was how big the baby was, they couldn't even reach to feel her ears. It's no wonder that I tore so bad. After the Dr was done, I just slept. I vaguely remember my mom coming in after the baby was born and Kelvin was with the baby while they were taking care of her. She did come over to me and kissed my forehead and told me I had done it and then I fell asleep. Apparently, our family could feel that something was wrong that morning and my mom was getting very uneasy. She ended up canceling her Dr's appointment and rushed up to the hospital. It was a good thing that she was there though to give Kelvin some support after the baby was born. She bought him lunch and was a great help when things calmed down a bit. The male student nurse that was there through the delivery was great. He would pat my leg and tell me I was doing a great job after every push. He will be such a great nurse, so gentle and kind, completely opposite of what our nurse was. When Lydia was born, Kelvin told me that the guy was completely smitten with her too. He couldn't believe what a miracle he had just witnessed. Kelvin was also smitten with our baby from the moment she was born. He was worried that he would be grossed out by the whole process, but after he knew that we were both going to be ok he ended up saying it was one of the coolest thing he had ever seen. He is so in love with our little girl.
I slept for about an hour and then they took me to the postpartum room. I was very sore, tired, and starving. When we got into the room, Kelvin went with the baby for her first bath and I got lots of instructions on how to care for myself the next few weeks. The nurses here kept telling me that I had a really bad tear and I needed to be careful so it heals properly and I don't get an infection. (I found out that if you have a 3rd or 4th degree tear, how it heals could affect your delivery of other babies. In other words, you might have to have a c-section.) After I ordered some light food and tried to sleep a little more, I was doing alright. Our poor baby had such a swollen and sore head that you had to be careful even touching it or moving her because she would whimper in pain. Even the nurses would ask when they came in "Is this the baby with the sore and swollen head?" It was sad to see but she was doing much better by the next day. We were in the hospital for 3 days, they wouldn't let us go early because of my wounds. I was very glad to be going home when the day arrived (except for having my meals brought to me in bed, that was rather nice).
I am now recovering well and the baby is doing great. Kelvin was off of school and work all last week because it was spring break. It was such a great relief to have him home with me, and between my mom and his mom, I have been able to rest a bit and get a good start on the road to recovery. Thanks for all the help!!!
I feel really good these days (if not a little sleep deprived). I gained a lot of weight during the pregnancy and it really started to weigh on me. (ha ha, no pun intended!!) I did everything the Dr told me too and I kept gaining weight like crazy! After a few months, the Dr told me that all I was gaining was water weight and to not be too concerned. I tried to believe her but still got a little depressed. Well, here I am a week and a half later and I have lost over 30 pounds! I still have more water to lose, but I am feeling so good and looking so good too! I actually have a skinny face and legs again! I will still have some real pounds to lose after all the water is gone, couldn't really avoid that, but for the most part the weight is going fast. The fun part is the little triumphs each day that I celebrate. Like being able to tightened my shoe laces, or dropping a bar of soap in the shower and being able to bend over and pick it up. Things like that that are so fun to do again because I haven't been able to do them for a long time.
On our way home from the hospital
We are finally home! Her first moments in our apartment.
Nap time with Grandpa
Grandma meeting her new grand baby! This is Kelvin's mom who came all the way from Texas to help... or to play with the baby. Take your pick!
I wore these pj's as a new baby too! I was a lot smaller than she is. She doesn't really fit too well in them lengthwise. She was 21 inches long when she was born, but I had to get a picture of her in them.
Dave, Paula and Sammie brought us dinner one night and Sammie was so excited about the baby. She was even more excited about holding her.
My dear sweet husband! He had just woken up from a nap he had with the baby. He loves that little girl so much!
And here is my beautiful baby! I love her eyes. She has always been quite alert for a newborn. But then again, she is developing quite fast too. She tries to hold her head up and does pretty well, she also tried to roll over on me the other day. She was mad that I was changing her diaper and tried to get away. She couldn't get past her arm, but it is still pretty impressive for a week old baby to attempt.
