This was by far the biggest, most profound day of my life. Pardon me while I document the long version. Mostly for my benefit of record keeping.
Rewind to the week of February 11th. I had my 39 week appointment that Monday, we were dilated to a 1.5, I had lost my mucous plug a week prior and felt perfectly fine.
Tuesday I started to feel some Braxton hicks contractions while at work, and left around 2-3 that afternoon and decided that working from home the next day would probably be best.
Wednesday morning at 3:30 I woke to real contractions. It was a shock, far different than anything I'd felt up to that point. I was able to sleep through to the morning, and by 7 a.m. light contractions were coming around 6-10 minutes apart. I attempted to work throughout the morning but by Noon I wasn't able to focus much, so I went ahead and set my out of office and logged off. I grew more uncomfortable as the day wore on, Phil was beside me through it all helping me monitor the contractions and relax as much as we could. By 10 p.m. I couldn't take it anymore. There was no position I could get comfortable in, contractions were now coming 3-5 minutes apart and I was ready to head to the hospital. Bags were already packed, we quickly arrived to St. Luke's about an hour later. I was checked in triage, and was only dilated to a 2. I couldn't believe it, I was in that much pain and only at a 2!?!? We were told to walk the halls for an hour and we'd check again to see if any progress was made. Without my water being broken, I couldn't be admitted just yet. The hour of walking was dreadful, we stopped every few minutes to sway through the pain. My husband was an incredible labor coach, I could have never done it without him. He reminded me to breath. He made sure I was hydrated. He kept me calm. He talked of how thankful and amazing this journey was.
After the walking I was checked again, and as I laid there in pain I looked up at the clock and realized it was now past midnight. I wished Phil a Happy Valentine's day and we kissed, talking about the possibility of her coming on this day. Back to business, I was still only at a 2. At this point the nurse suggested we try the jacuzzi for another hour to see if that could move things along. I remember thinking of how nice it was to have my belly submerged in the big tub. But as far as the pain, it didn't help at all. Contractions stayed strong and constant. It was now past 2 a.m. I'm checked again and still no progression. Pain is so intense I'm vomiting. The nurse consults my doctor by phone, and explains to me that there's simply nothing we can do but be sent home and wait it out. I literally cried out in desperation. She suggested we administer a shot of morphine and phenergen to help me get as much relief and sleep as possible until I dilate further.
Arrived back home around 3:30 that morning, I didn't notice much relief from the injection. But Phil did say I was able to sleep just a bit in between some of the contractions. By 7 a.m. I was writhing on the bed yelling out in pain with each contraction. He was there rubbing my back talking me through breathing exercises. That went on until 10 a.m. and FINALLY at 10:20 exactly my water broke. I remember looking at him with a smile, realizing we could now really go to the hospital and get this party started. We spent the next 30 minutes closing up the house, me taking a quick shower, pausing for contractions. Which looking back is quite funny, I would stop whatever I was doing to get on all fours and sway through it, Phil running to my side of help apply pressure to my hips and rub my back. Finally we're out the door around an hour later. My goodness, the pain was so intense, that was the longest car ride of my life!
We arrived at the ER, I was ushered into a wheelchair and rushed upstairs while Phil parked. It took about 40 minutes to get admitted and into a private room. At this point I was begging for an epidural. The nursing staff was amazing, they handled everything quickly and efficiently. The epidural happened soon afterwards and was probably the scariest moment for me. I was dilated to a 3 1/2 and had no idea how I could sit still through a contraction, but thankfully I did it. It took effect in about 20 minutes and the relief was so incredible. We spent the rest of the afternoon resting as much as possible. By about 5 p.m. my Doctor was there to check my progress herself, I was now dilated to a 5. Checked again in two hours, still at a 5. She at this time suggested we use Pitocin to augment the process. Pitocin was the one thing going into labor that I wanted to avoid. We had a discussion and she helped me understand the differences between induction and augmenting with the drug, and with that I understood and felt OK with the plan. We set that into motion and by 10 p.m. I was now at a 10 and ready to push. My doctor had to leave me at this point and have a partner of hers step in to deliver, as she had an early morning flight and needed to get home to pack. We hung out a little longer to rest and let the baby come into optimal position. Pushing started at 11 p.m, and our sweet pea arrived at 1:27 a.m.
After 4+ years of trying...9 months of gestation...46 hours of labor - our baby girl was here. We were parents. It was surreal, so much in fact that I didn't even have tears to shed. This calmness overcame me as the doctor brought her up on my stomach. There was no moment of worry such as counting toes or waiting for a cry. Just this overwhelming calm sensation. My heart was so full of love and thankfulness. She quickly opened her eyes and looked right at me. I'll never forget that moment. Phil was beside me with tears in his eyes, touching her with me. We reveled in the moment as a family of three. Waited about 5 minutes or so to cut the cord, I wanted to wait and let the cord blood stop pumping. It was surreal to keep that connection with her outside of me for a few minutes longer before Daddy cut the cord. I then brought her to my chest for the first time, she latched well.
We then got busy with the postpartum process. My placenta was quickly delivered, which felt so good, talk about relief! There was some stitching required due to a stage 2 tear. Daddy was across the room with the nurses manning the camera as Anita was weighed, cleaned and bundled up. we were both in this state of sweet euphoria, kept looking at one another and just smiling. I was being taken care of by my wonderful nurse, walked to the restroom, washed up and changed into a clean gown. A delicious tray of fresh food was set up for us, which consisted of croissant sandwiches, fresh fruit, juice and yogurt. I was so relaxed and happy. By this time it was about 3 in the morning when we were wheeled up to the 8th floor to our recovery room and settled in for the evening. Daddy was then tasked with changing his first diaper, I tried breastfeeding a little bit more. we were finally left alone just the three of us to get some sleep, which only consisted of 2 hours. Morning had come and our doctors were coming in and out to check me and baby.
We were running on adrenaline at this point. Anita was in the nursery for her check, and we walked over to oversee her first bath. We looked up during that and saw my Aunt Vicky, who worked downstairs, had come up to see us. Anita's first visitor, it was a sweet moment seeing a family member, I remember crying as I hugged her and showed off our sweet little baby. The rest of our stay was wonderful. I was well taken care of by Phil and my nurses. Breastfeeding took great focus. Friends and family visited when we allowed it, we loved sharing the moment. Daddy got a chance to go home for a shower each day. Most importantly Anita was doing so well, alert, happy, and the most beautiful little girl I have ever seen. We left on Sunday afternoon.
And now for a few photos...
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