(A Final) Birth Story
I woke up about 430am. I tried really hard to go back to sleep. I may have succeeded for a few minutes. Not sure. But I got up for good at 6am. David - who you will remember has been super congested and coughing - slept until 6 for he first time in 3 days and I asked him to lay back down. He did. Until right about the time we were leaving for the hospital.
I am congested too. And have a headache. Which is just awesome to try and push out a baby.
We arrive at the hospital and do all the paper work. Get inside. Get dressed. Get IV prepped. Our nurses name is Cary. She has been an L&D nurse for 24 years. She has 5 children, the oldest is 37 I think and the youngest is 18? Something like that. She is very nice. Her family knows these three boys who were in Lewis's fraternity. In fact her oldest son dated our friend's now wife. Small world. Or as Lewis said, that's just Celina.
She checked me, found me to be same as doc yesterday. 4 and a lopsided 90. Kind of uneven. I am just grateful - FOR ONCE - to have agreement. My nurse seems really competent.
When she was checking me - I had mentioned before that I didn't think baby was down - she pushed on the baby's head a bit, and I could feel the baby kick in my ribs when she moved slightly from that. The nurse said that because she went up and came straight back down, she was pretty engaged, and ready to go.
Get antibiotics and fluids going. I'm congested and wishing I had taking tylenol before I left. Waiting on orders from doc to start the pitocin. At 11 the nurse comes back in to start that.
Ugh. Waiting has been the pits.
I had a few contractions leading up to 11. And with a single drip of 1ml of pitocin I'm having more. They feel exactly like what I felt last week. So not super painful but distracting. Still pressure in my back which does worry me. Hope she's not sunny side up.
Nurse is at lunch and when she comes back we'll probably up the drip since I'm not responding negatively.
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The drip was upped. I started having contractions. They weren't too bad. Felt just like what I had last week when the baby did not come. Doctor came in about 1 and broke my water. First time I'd ever had water broken before I had the epidural. That was weird.
Contractions pick up in intensity. Start thinking about drugs. I don't know when I got the epidural. Based on what I was texting ... I sent a text at 1:45 that said hurt hurt hurt and someone in front of me for epi. At 2:30 I sent a text that said epi in.
But it didn't take away all the pain.
I had what they kept calling a "hot spot". My lower right hip. Every contraction I felt digging right there and boy howdy did I want to holler. When the nurse was in I didn't (something about strangers and acting right) but when she wasn't man I was swearing some. I hurt a lot. It would have been worse with no drugs but man was I writhing. I wanted to push too. So I hit the button or she came in and I said we need to try something different.
She came in. Because the baby's heart rate kept falling. So she moved me to lay on my left side and baby did better but I had to wear oxygen - again. A third time. I knew why. It hurt so bad I was holding my breath and that's a big no no. Lewis was yelling at me after that to breath deep and I may have yelled at him at one point. Can't be sure.
Anyway. She came in and I said it hurts and she fixed the baby heart thing and then she said well lets see and I was fully dilated but baby high so thought maybe relax and labor down but I was in too much pain (this is all getting out of order, I think I was a 10 before the pain started really kicking in).
Anyway I try to push and it feels better to try to push but I want to bear down and we're not ready for that but almost and it felt like an eternity but Lewis says it was like two minutes or less and then the stirrups are up and the doctor is there and I'm pushing and pushing (I kept apologizing to people too) and one push the doc says "this baby has a ton of hair!" The second push the doc says "look dad! Mom you're going to be shocked by this hair." Third push she's here. Good solid cry.
Full head of hair. Eyes yet to be determined. Eye lashes, which isn't common either. She is beautiful and we love her.
Julia Rose was born at 3:36pm on February 26th. She weighed 7lbs 11oz and was 19in long. She is the shortest of all my babies, and weighed just slightly more than G and less than D. She is amazing. And I can't believe she's mine.
I am congested too. And have a headache. Which is just awesome to try and push out a baby.
We arrive at the hospital and do all the paper work. Get inside. Get dressed. Get IV prepped. Our nurses name is Cary. She has been an L&D nurse for 24 years. She has 5 children, the oldest is 37 I think and the youngest is 18? Something like that. She is very nice. Her family knows these three boys who were in Lewis's fraternity. In fact her oldest son dated our friend's now wife. Small world. Or as Lewis said, that's just Celina.
She checked me, found me to be same as doc yesterday. 4 and a lopsided 90. Kind of uneven. I am just grateful - FOR ONCE - to have agreement. My nurse seems really competent.
When she was checking me - I had mentioned before that I didn't think baby was down - she pushed on the baby's head a bit, and I could feel the baby kick in my ribs when she moved slightly from that. The nurse said that because she went up and came straight back down, she was pretty engaged, and ready to go.
Get antibiotics and fluids going. I'm congested and wishing I had taking tylenol before I left. Waiting on orders from doc to start the pitocin. At 11 the nurse comes back in to start that.
Ugh. Waiting has been the pits.
I had a few contractions leading up to 11. And with a single drip of 1ml of pitocin I'm having more. They feel exactly like what I felt last week. So not super painful but distracting. Still pressure in my back which does worry me. Hope she's not sunny side up.
Nurse is at lunch and when she comes back we'll probably up the drip since I'm not responding negatively.
---
The drip was upped. I started having contractions. They weren't too bad. Felt just like what I had last week when the baby did not come. Doctor came in about 1 and broke my water. First time I'd ever had water broken before I had the epidural. That was weird.
Contractions pick up in intensity. Start thinking about drugs. I don't know when I got the epidural. Based on what I was texting ... I sent a text at 1:45 that said hurt hurt hurt and someone in front of me for epi. At 2:30 I sent a text that said epi in.
But it didn't take away all the pain.
I had what they kept calling a "hot spot". My lower right hip. Every contraction I felt digging right there and boy howdy did I want to holler. When the nurse was in I didn't (something about strangers and acting right) but when she wasn't man I was swearing some. I hurt a lot. It would have been worse with no drugs but man was I writhing. I wanted to push too. So I hit the button or she came in and I said we need to try something different.
She came in. Because the baby's heart rate kept falling. So she moved me to lay on my left side and baby did better but I had to wear oxygen - again. A third time. I knew why. It hurt so bad I was holding my breath and that's a big no no. Lewis was yelling at me after that to breath deep and I may have yelled at him at one point. Can't be sure.
Anyway. She came in and I said it hurts and she fixed the baby heart thing and then she said well lets see and I was fully dilated but baby high so thought maybe relax and labor down but I was in too much pain (this is all getting out of order, I think I was a 10 before the pain started really kicking in).
Anyway I try to push and it feels better to try to push but I want to bear down and we're not ready for that but almost and it felt like an eternity but Lewis says it was like two minutes or less and then the stirrups are up and the doctor is there and I'm pushing and pushing (I kept apologizing to people too) and one push the doc says "this baby has a ton of hair!" The second push the doc says "look dad! Mom you're going to be shocked by this hair." Third push she's here. Good solid cry.
Full head of hair. Eyes yet to be determined. Eye lashes, which isn't common either. She is beautiful and we love her.
Julia Rose was born at 3:36pm on February 26th. She weighed 7lbs 11oz and was 19in long. She is the shortest of all my babies, and weighed just slightly more than G and less than D. She is amazing. And I can't believe she's mine.
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