(no subject)
Oookay. Finally getting around to this!
I'm placing this under a cut, it's pretty long and there are quite a few pictures.
Around 9:00 pm on June 28th I started getting labor pains in my lower back that were increasing in intensity. I had an appointment to see my midwife the following morning, so I decided to just try and sleep while I could because I knew things were finally getting started. The next morning I woke up to even more intense labor pains and decided to let my mother know what was going on. Of course, she freaked out and we all hopped in the car to head to my appointment. As soon as we got in the car, I started getting contractions that were exactly 4 minutes apart. When we arrived at my doctor's office, I explained the situation to the receptionist and she told me to go ahead and get to the hospital. We did so, and they got me into L&D pretty quickly.
They hooked me up to the monitors to watch the baby and time my contractions. They were about 3-4 minutes apart at this point and my waters had not broken. I was consistently losing large chunks of my mucus plug with the contractions and I had only dilated to 2 cm. They informed me that they would be doing regular checks on me & if I had not dilated more in the next couple hours they would be sending me home. I was outrageously upset at this point because I was in so much pain and discomfort. They called Tesha, my midwife, and she came in to explain to me that she wanted me to labor at home for as long as I can so I could be "comfortable" and shower and such if I wanted to. She also explained to me that she wanted to see me at my next appointment on Wednesday and if I hadn't had the baby by then that she would go ahead and induce me the following Monday. I was a little confused because I couldn't quite understand how I could possibly labor for an entire week, but was at least excited to receive a date in which we would get things rolling.
Disappointed, we headed back home after being given a couple pills to relieve my pain and help me sleep. She also prescribed some ambien to help with the sleeping. When we got home, I immediately hopped in the tub to see if it would take the edge off of the contractions. It didn't really help much for those, but it definitely calmed my nerves and made me feel a little better. After that I jumped into bed with Jose and slept for about 7-8 hours. I woke up around 11:30 pm with contractions so intense I was crying and couldn't talk through them. They also seemed to be much closer together than 4 mins now but I was in far too much pain to worry about timing them. I called labor & delivery after a couple hours and they told me to come back in. We got everyone in the car again and arrived at the hospital around 2:30 am.
As soon as I stepped out of the car to get into the wheelchair, my water broke. They quickly sat me down in a wheelchair and got me into my room after answering a few quick questions. As I was standing in the bathroom to change into the hospital gown my water broke even more and made a huge mess on the floor. They got me settled in and allowed my mom and Jack to come back with us. At this point they had called everyone under the sun and told them I was in labor. Erick and Sue showed up not long after that to calm me down and generally be supportive. Eventually they got my epidural administered. I kept jerking away on reflex as he was doing his thing, I felt bad because he kept asking me to sit still. It wasn't very painful, but it did sting and the sensation it gave was surprising and uncomfortable. They made everyone leave the room for this. When he was done I felt a gush of cold fluid flowing down my spine, and it felt so nice and refreshing.
They administered a catheter and then informed my family that they could come back in. I finally fell asleep for a while, and woke up a few hours later to several visitors. Uncles, friends, grandparents, etc. showed up throughout the day. Either my epidural was wearing off or my contractions were getting stronger because I ended up in quite a bit of pain 2 or 3 times during the whole ordeal. Family and friends kept sneaking into the room somehow, they only allow 3 people at any given time in the L&D room and at one point we had 6 people total. I think my nurse got sick of asking people to leave. :P Erick kept hiding behind curtains when she would come in. I thought it was rather funny. During all of this my blood pressure was extremely high and my blood count was low, as well as my magnesium and potassium levels. They decided to give me a bit of pitocin through my IV to help get things going since my water had broken. I don't remember the time, though I wish I had noted it to see how quickly it sped things up.
They checked me throughout the day and at around 4:30 my pain was starting to come back. It was unbelievable how painful the contractions were, and I couldn't move around much or change my position because they were monitoring my BP and wanted me to stay on my left side. They explained to me that the epidural works by Gravity so if I lay on one side for a long period of time, the other side wouldn't be getting much of the epidural and wouldn't be in pain. However there wasn't much they could do about it because of my blood pressure. My right side was on fire. I applaud all of these women who went through this without medication, seriously. After that explanation the nurse did another check and I was 9 1/2 cm dilated. She then called Tesha and I began pushing.
Tesha was like a drill sergeant - she was so motivating. She's such a tiny, sweet girl. Hearing her yell at me was so surprising. :P She had me pushing with each contraction. I had my mom on one side and Jose on the other holding my legs for me. When I pushed I was told to hold the backs of my legs, push my elbows out to the side, and push as hard as possible for as long as possible.. preferably for at least 10 seconds. 3-4 sets of this per contraction. I barely made it to 7 seconds before having to stop until Tesha started yelling at me.. lol. Then I barely made it to 10 seconds. The pushing was not painful at all, I think they shot a small amount of stuff into my epidural line before I started pushing. I felt cramping in my lower abdomen, like a strong period, as well as a bit of pressure down low. I had a tight band there that was keeping me from being able to push the head through, so Tesha had the nurses prep for her to cut it to make things a little easier. I was still doing sets of pushes while waiting for them to do that. I rested a moment, took a deep breath, and pushed like hell because I really didn't want to be cut. :P And her head finally came out! I felt it pop out, and Tesha yelled at me to push a little more and she dislodged the baby's shoulders and she came right out.
They tossed her into my chest and suctioned her nose and mouth. She started crying immediately, and she had SO much hair. Her head was full of black hair, which is now turning brown. :) They took her off my chest after Jose cut the cord. Tesha then reached in and pulled out the placenta. I think the size of the placenta scarred Jose. He will never be the same again. :P After that, things started to go wrong. Tesha looked really concerned and explained that I was really, really hot. They decided to let me hold the baby for a minute before taking her to the nursery for her antibiotics because she had a temperature as well. They put her in my arms and started to raise the head of my bed. As they did that I immediately got extremely weak, my vision blurred, and my ears felt like they were filling up with water. I called for someone to take the baby because I knew I was passing out and something was wrong. I guess they called Tesha and Dr. Marquette immediately, because they showed up not too long after that. When I woke up they had made everyone, including Jose, leave the room. I had an oxygen mask on now and that made me feel much better - at least until Tesha showed back up and started pressing on my tummy and reaching inside of me and pulling out blood clots.
I can't explain how painful this was. I was screaming at the top of my lungs in agony, pretty much. I had never felt anything that painful in my entire life. Tesha looked really concerned now and said that I wasn't bleeding. She then quite literally jumped onto my bed and put all of her weight on my stomach and a HUGE amount of blood clots came out. I guess I was clotting, not bleeding? Marquette came in and started pushing on me too, and while he was doing that a few nurses were trying to get another IV started. I guess I had lost enough blood to the point where it made it difficult for them to get it started. They literally stuck me about 5 times in each arm. I was in so much pain and so out of it at this point that I didn't really feel the needles. Marquette said he was happy with the amount of blood he had gotten out and that everything should be fine now. They tried to sit me up a second time, and I passed out again.
When I woke up they had started a blood transfusion. During my hospital stay I ended up having to get 5 units total. Eventually, after getting some blood, fluids, and antibiotics I started to come around and feel better. I was still having issues with my BP so they didn't want to take me to a recovery room just yet. They put me on blood pressure medication after having me see a kidney specialist, who told me that I have gestational hypertension. I only pushed for 23 minutes. I started at 5:30 pm and she was born at 5:53 pm. Even though I had that "tight band" I only had a first degree tear that required 3 stitches. My fever, as well as the baby's, went down pretty quickly. They brought the baby back in later that night for 30 minutes for me to see her, and took her back to the nursery.
Eventually they moved me to a postpartum room and brought the baby in to stay with us. :) I was also allowed to try breastfeeding at this point. A lactation specialist came in and helped me out with that. It's proving to be quite a challenging feat, but I'm not giving up just yet. Surprisingly enough I feel pretty good. The pediatrician said that the baby has a small heart murmer - but that all newborns generally do. Regardless, he referred us to a cardiologist at shands, who she'll be seeing on the 8th.
Her apgar scores were 8,9 and she is 21 inches long. She weighs 8 lbs 12 oz and all of her other tests came out perfect. She has my blood type, O+. Jose is an amazing father. He has been doing so much for me and the baby, I don't know how I'd do it without him. He fell right into the father role. He's not nervous or scared, he acts like he's been doing this all his life. :)
<3
Oh! and Nick and Amanda came to visit us a couple times. :)
And.. before we went home. :)
And.. after we got home.
..I guess she was done taking pictures. :P
I'm placing this under a cut, it's pretty long and there are quite a few pictures.
Around 9:00 pm on June 28th I started getting labor pains in my lower back that were increasing in intensity. I had an appointment to see my midwife the following morning, so I decided to just try and sleep while I could because I knew things were finally getting started. The next morning I woke up to even more intense labor pains and decided to let my mother know what was going on. Of course, she freaked out and we all hopped in the car to head to my appointment. As soon as we got in the car, I started getting contractions that were exactly 4 minutes apart. When we arrived at my doctor's office, I explained the situation to the receptionist and she told me to go ahead and get to the hospital. We did so, and they got me into L&D pretty quickly.
They hooked me up to the monitors to watch the baby and time my contractions. They were about 3-4 minutes apart at this point and my waters had not broken. I was consistently losing large chunks of my mucus plug with the contractions and I had only dilated to 2 cm. They informed me that they would be doing regular checks on me & if I had not dilated more in the next couple hours they would be sending me home. I was outrageously upset at this point because I was in so much pain and discomfort. They called Tesha, my midwife, and she came in to explain to me that she wanted me to labor at home for as long as I can so I could be "comfortable" and shower and such if I wanted to. She also explained to me that she wanted to see me at my next appointment on Wednesday and if I hadn't had the baby by then that she would go ahead and induce me the following Monday. I was a little confused because I couldn't quite understand how I could possibly labor for an entire week, but was at least excited to receive a date in which we would get things rolling.
Disappointed, we headed back home after being given a couple pills to relieve my pain and help me sleep. She also prescribed some ambien to help with the sleeping. When we got home, I immediately hopped in the tub to see if it would take the edge off of the contractions. It didn't really help much for those, but it definitely calmed my nerves and made me feel a little better. After that I jumped into bed with Jose and slept for about 7-8 hours. I woke up around 11:30 pm with contractions so intense I was crying and couldn't talk through them. They also seemed to be much closer together than 4 mins now but I was in far too much pain to worry about timing them. I called labor & delivery after a couple hours and they told me to come back in. We got everyone in the car again and arrived at the hospital around 2:30 am.
As soon as I stepped out of the car to get into the wheelchair, my water broke. They quickly sat me down in a wheelchair and got me into my room after answering a few quick questions. As I was standing in the bathroom to change into the hospital gown my water broke even more and made a huge mess on the floor. They got me settled in and allowed my mom and Jack to come back with us. At this point they had called everyone under the sun and told them I was in labor. Erick and Sue showed up not long after that to calm me down and generally be supportive. Eventually they got my epidural administered. I kept jerking away on reflex as he was doing his thing, I felt bad because he kept asking me to sit still. It wasn't very painful, but it did sting and the sensation it gave was surprising and uncomfortable. They made everyone leave the room for this. When he was done I felt a gush of cold fluid flowing down my spine, and it felt so nice and refreshing.
They administered a catheter and then informed my family that they could come back in. I finally fell asleep for a while, and woke up a few hours later to several visitors. Uncles, friends, grandparents, etc. showed up throughout the day. Either my epidural was wearing off or my contractions were getting stronger because I ended up in quite a bit of pain 2 or 3 times during the whole ordeal. Family and friends kept sneaking into the room somehow, they only allow 3 people at any given time in the L&D room and at one point we had 6 people total. I think my nurse got sick of asking people to leave. :P Erick kept hiding behind curtains when she would come in. I thought it was rather funny. During all of this my blood pressure was extremely high and my blood count was low, as well as my magnesium and potassium levels. They decided to give me a bit of pitocin through my IV to help get things going since my water had broken. I don't remember the time, though I wish I had noted it to see how quickly it sped things up.
They checked me throughout the day and at around 4:30 my pain was starting to come back. It was unbelievable how painful the contractions were, and I couldn't move around much or change my position because they were monitoring my BP and wanted me to stay on my left side. They explained to me that the epidural works by Gravity so if I lay on one side for a long period of time, the other side wouldn't be getting much of the epidural and wouldn't be in pain. However there wasn't much they could do about it because of my blood pressure. My right side was on fire. I applaud all of these women who went through this without medication, seriously. After that explanation the nurse did another check and I was 9 1/2 cm dilated. She then called Tesha and I began pushing.
Tesha was like a drill sergeant - she was so motivating. She's such a tiny, sweet girl. Hearing her yell at me was so surprising. :P She had me pushing with each contraction. I had my mom on one side and Jose on the other holding my legs for me. When I pushed I was told to hold the backs of my legs, push my elbows out to the side, and push as hard as possible for as long as possible.. preferably for at least 10 seconds. 3-4 sets of this per contraction. I barely made it to 7 seconds before having to stop until Tesha started yelling at me.. lol. Then I barely made it to 10 seconds. The pushing was not painful at all, I think they shot a small amount of stuff into my epidural line before I started pushing. I felt cramping in my lower abdomen, like a strong period, as well as a bit of pressure down low. I had a tight band there that was keeping me from being able to push the head through, so Tesha had the nurses prep for her to cut it to make things a little easier. I was still doing sets of pushes while waiting for them to do that. I rested a moment, took a deep breath, and pushed like hell because I really didn't want to be cut. :P And her head finally came out! I felt it pop out, and Tesha yelled at me to push a little more and she dislodged the baby's shoulders and she came right out.
They tossed her into my chest and suctioned her nose and mouth. She started crying immediately, and she had SO much hair. Her head was full of black hair, which is now turning brown. :) They took her off my chest after Jose cut the cord. Tesha then reached in and pulled out the placenta. I think the size of the placenta scarred Jose. He will never be the same again. :P After that, things started to go wrong. Tesha looked really concerned and explained that I was really, really hot. They decided to let me hold the baby for a minute before taking her to the nursery for her antibiotics because she had a temperature as well. They put her in my arms and started to raise the head of my bed. As they did that I immediately got extremely weak, my vision blurred, and my ears felt like they were filling up with water. I called for someone to take the baby because I knew I was passing out and something was wrong. I guess they called Tesha and Dr. Marquette immediately, because they showed up not too long after that. When I woke up they had made everyone, including Jose, leave the room. I had an oxygen mask on now and that made me feel much better - at least until Tesha showed back up and started pressing on my tummy and reaching inside of me and pulling out blood clots.
I can't explain how painful this was. I was screaming at the top of my lungs in agony, pretty much. I had never felt anything that painful in my entire life. Tesha looked really concerned now and said that I wasn't bleeding. She then quite literally jumped onto my bed and put all of her weight on my stomach and a HUGE amount of blood clots came out. I guess I was clotting, not bleeding? Marquette came in and started pushing on me too, and while he was doing that a few nurses were trying to get another IV started. I guess I had lost enough blood to the point where it made it difficult for them to get it started. They literally stuck me about 5 times in each arm. I was in so much pain and so out of it at this point that I didn't really feel the needles. Marquette said he was happy with the amount of blood he had gotten out and that everything should be fine now. They tried to sit me up a second time, and I passed out again.
When I woke up they had started a blood transfusion. During my hospital stay I ended up having to get 5 units total. Eventually, after getting some blood, fluids, and antibiotics I started to come around and feel better. I was still having issues with my BP so they didn't want to take me to a recovery room just yet. They put me on blood pressure medication after having me see a kidney specialist, who told me that I have gestational hypertension. I only pushed for 23 minutes. I started at 5:30 pm and she was born at 5:53 pm. Even though I had that "tight band" I only had a first degree tear that required 3 stitches. My fever, as well as the baby's, went down pretty quickly. They brought the baby back in later that night for 30 minutes for me to see her, and took her back to the nursery.
Eventually they moved me to a postpartum room and brought the baby in to stay with us. :) I was also allowed to try breastfeeding at this point. A lactation specialist came in and helped me out with that. It's proving to be quite a challenging feat, but I'm not giving up just yet. Surprisingly enough I feel pretty good. The pediatrician said that the baby has a small heart murmer - but that all newborns generally do. Regardless, he referred us to a cardiologist at shands, who she'll be seeing on the 8th.
Her apgar scores were 8,9 and she is 21 inches long. She weighs 8 lbs 12 oz and all of her other tests came out perfect. She has my blood type, O+. Jose is an amazing father. He has been doing so much for me and the baby, I don't know how I'd do it without him. He fell right into the father role. He's not nervous or scared, he acts like he's been doing this all his life. :)
<3
Oh! and Nick and Amanda came to visit us a couple times. :)
And.. before we went home. :)
And.. after we got home.
..I guess she was done taking pictures. :P