Elena's Birth Story
About three weeks ago, I went and got a Google phone. I like it, and it has helped me keep up with people the past week. It's kind of difficult to write out anything long, though, and this is only the second time I've been able to get to the computer. I wanted to write out Elena's birth story before I forgot too much of it.
I woke up to go to the bathroom about 4am last Tuesday, January 12 and I had some pretty strong leg cramps, so when I went back to bed I put the heating pad in between my legs. I drifted in and out of sleep for a little while, and then I woke up because my water was breaking. I'd read that it could be a trickle or a gush, and this was definitely a gush. I woke Ben up and said "my water just broke!" and he said "are you sure?" and I said "yes!"
Our due date was February 3, and while we were aware that she might come early, we weren't really prepared for quite that early. I was thinking that she wouldn't come before January 20 at the earliest. My doctor was out of town until the 13th and I didn't want to have the baby with whoever was on call, so part of that was also hopeful that the baby would wait. Also my dad recently had surgery and can't drive long distances, and I wanted him to come down for this.
We called the on-call number and they told me to come in right away. I even had them check with the on-call doctor because I knew labor could take a long time and didn't want to sit around forever. But they said come in right away. We live about a 3 minute drive from the hospital, so we decided to take showers first and get things ready. The on-call lady said she thought that was probably a good idea.
So we had nothing packed. The clothes I would have packed were dirty, so I dressed myself up like a hobo and put a bunch of hobo clothes in my suitcase, along with some snacks and a couple of outfits for the baby, which was a slight challenge because I had no idea how big she would be. We jumped around nervously for about an hour doing all this stuff and then we went to the hospital.
During this time I started to feel what I assumed were contractions, I hadn't had any before. It was kind of an achiness that took over my body. I was expecting more of a tightness but it wasn't quite like that. Felt more like I really had to go to the bathroom. It wasn't too bad at this stage.
We got to the hospital about 5:45 and checked ourselves in. I got settled in the delivery room and in the delivery bed, which was kind of surreal. It was hard to wrap my head around the fact that I was going to have a baby in this bed. The nurses did an internal exam and I was already about 3-4cm dialated. Which is kind of amazing, because a lot of people are in labor for hours to get that far, and it had been about 2 hours since my water broke. (Although it's possible I was in labor for a while before that and just didn't notice because I didn't know what the contractions felt like.) I got hooked up to an IV and a penicillin drip (which was actually pretty painful).
The nurses did a shift change and Rita came in. I saw Rita the week before when I went for a baby scan and really liked her. And she remembered me. The contractions had increased in intensity, so we talked about an epidural. I was kind of reluctant, but ultimately decided to get one.
We turned on the TV and called and texted people and waited. Ben's parents arrived, and my aunt and cousin. My dad was on the fence about coming, he couldn't really drive and my mom is terrible on the highway. They later decided to come down that afternoon. I didn't want either one in the delivery room with me, so I told them to decide on their own but I hoped they could make it.
Here's me in the delivery room, with my phone.
The contractions started to get a lot worse. I decided on the epidural at 7, and I didn't get it until 9 because there was an emergency. By that time they were about three minutes apart and really painful, and I was glad I had requested one at 7. I was throwing up after some of them were over, which, I know is not a big deal to some people, but I haven't been sick since May 2006, so I clearly don't throw up that often. I glad I got to see what the contractions were like and didn't just get the epidural right away, since I was on the fence about it.
Got the epidural (the anesthesiologist group are actually clients of ours!) which took about a half hour, then the nurse had me lay on alternate sides for 20 minutes to shift the baby around. She did another exam and I was about 7 cm dialated. She said we'd have a baby by lunchtime. What!
The epidural wasn't as bad as I thought it would be - I could still feel and move my legs, it was just numb. I could kind of feel the contractions still, but they weren't nearly as painful. At about 10:30 the nurse came in and said it was time to start getting ready for delivery. What!
They started bringing stuff in, and people with scrubs and masks were starting to gather. The on-call OB/GYN had come in a few times, and she came back with some residents, and Rita, and some other people I guess, I don't know. It was a blur then, and it's still a blur now.
Here is some of the stuff they brought in.
Eventually they told me it was time to start pushing during the contractions. Since I could kind of feel them, I started trying to push, which took some knack because I couldn't feel anything. I had Ben holding one leg (which is not what we planned, but we didn't argue with it) and a resident holding the other, and Rita and the OB/GYN yelling at me encouragingly. Push, push, push, and then all of a sudden there's a baby. What!
They checked out the baby's vitals and cleaned her up a bit. Ben stayed with her for this, and I watched them because they were doing things to my downstairs lady parts that were gross and I didn't want to see. I had an episiotomy (which the doctor DID NOT tell me was happening, so I'm a little upset with her and glad that the birth was so uncomplicated because if that's how she rolls, no thanks - not that I mind getting one if it's needed but I would have liked to have discussed it with her and see if tearing would have been better).
We decided to name her Elena Lily Williams. We liked the L's. Mostly I refer to her by ridiculous cute names at this point though.
Here's a picture of me with the baby. She's all gross and covered with baby stuff.
Here's a better one.
Here's one of Ben.
We had about an hour of bonding time with the baby, and then they took her away for more tests. I got some lunch and visited with our guests while Ben stayed with her at the nursery. She had low blood sugar (because I hadn't eaten in forever, I'm guessing) so they gave her a bottle (even though I am breastfeeding, but it's fine if she needed it) and warmed her up (because she got chilly during bonding time, I guess). We moved to a recovery room and she came back after what seemed like forever away. There was some grossness with the downstairs region that made me kind of never want to get up or go to the bathroom ever again. My parents came down briefly, then we had some more bonding time, then more guests, plus SUSHI, which was lovely.
Family portrait
Now that we've been home a few days, the time at the hospital was kind of dream-like, although it didn't really seem like that at the time because you want your clothes and your bed and to STOP BLEEDING. Nurses came and checked on us all the time. I had a roommate (a 19-year-old with a c-section) until a room freed up and they moved me. We learned how to give her a bath and basically just hung out and ate hospital food and watched television. No one needed a walk. Someone came to clean the bathroom. It was nice. Since we've been home, it's been hectic with guests and making sure the baby is still alive and entertaining guests and feeding her every twenty seconds and remembering to eat myself (you'd think that wouldn't be hard to remember). I understand this calms down a bit after a few weeks. So, you know, more posting then.
I woke up to go to the bathroom about 4am last Tuesday, January 12 and I had some pretty strong leg cramps, so when I went back to bed I put the heating pad in between my legs. I drifted in and out of sleep for a little while, and then I woke up because my water was breaking. I'd read that it could be a trickle or a gush, and this was definitely a gush. I woke Ben up and said "my water just broke!" and he said "are you sure?" and I said "yes!"
Our due date was February 3, and while we were aware that she might come early, we weren't really prepared for quite that early. I was thinking that she wouldn't come before January 20 at the earliest. My doctor was out of town until the 13th and I didn't want to have the baby with whoever was on call, so part of that was also hopeful that the baby would wait. Also my dad recently had surgery and can't drive long distances, and I wanted him to come down for this.
We called the on-call number and they told me to come in right away. I even had them check with the on-call doctor because I knew labor could take a long time and didn't want to sit around forever. But they said come in right away. We live about a 3 minute drive from the hospital, so we decided to take showers first and get things ready. The on-call lady said she thought that was probably a good idea.
So we had nothing packed. The clothes I would have packed were dirty, so I dressed myself up like a hobo and put a bunch of hobo clothes in my suitcase, along with some snacks and a couple of outfits for the baby, which was a slight challenge because I had no idea how big she would be. We jumped around nervously for about an hour doing all this stuff and then we went to the hospital.
During this time I started to feel what I assumed were contractions, I hadn't had any before. It was kind of an achiness that took over my body. I was expecting more of a tightness but it wasn't quite like that. Felt more like I really had to go to the bathroom. It wasn't too bad at this stage.
We got to the hospital about 5:45 and checked ourselves in. I got settled in the delivery room and in the delivery bed, which was kind of surreal. It was hard to wrap my head around the fact that I was going to have a baby in this bed. The nurses did an internal exam and I was already about 3-4cm dialated. Which is kind of amazing, because a lot of people are in labor for hours to get that far, and it had been about 2 hours since my water broke. (Although it's possible I was in labor for a while before that and just didn't notice because I didn't know what the contractions felt like.) I got hooked up to an IV and a penicillin drip (which was actually pretty painful).
The nurses did a shift change and Rita came in. I saw Rita the week before when I went for a baby scan and really liked her. And she remembered me. The contractions had increased in intensity, so we talked about an epidural. I was kind of reluctant, but ultimately decided to get one.
We turned on the TV and called and texted people and waited. Ben's parents arrived, and my aunt and cousin. My dad was on the fence about coming, he couldn't really drive and my mom is terrible on the highway. They later decided to come down that afternoon. I didn't want either one in the delivery room with me, so I told them to decide on their own but I hoped they could make it.
Here's me in the delivery room, with my phone.
The contractions started to get a lot worse. I decided on the epidural at 7, and I didn't get it until 9 because there was an emergency. By that time they were about three minutes apart and really painful, and I was glad I had requested one at 7. I was throwing up after some of them were over, which, I know is not a big deal to some people, but I haven't been sick since May 2006, so I clearly don't throw up that often. I glad I got to see what the contractions were like and didn't just get the epidural right away, since I was on the fence about it.
Got the epidural (the anesthesiologist group are actually clients of ours!) which took about a half hour, then the nurse had me lay on alternate sides for 20 minutes to shift the baby around. She did another exam and I was about 7 cm dialated. She said we'd have a baby by lunchtime. What!
The epidural wasn't as bad as I thought it would be - I could still feel and move my legs, it was just numb. I could kind of feel the contractions still, but they weren't nearly as painful. At about 10:30 the nurse came in and said it was time to start getting ready for delivery. What!
They started bringing stuff in, and people with scrubs and masks were starting to gather. The on-call OB/GYN had come in a few times, and she came back with some residents, and Rita, and some other people I guess, I don't know. It was a blur then, and it's still a blur now.
Here is some of the stuff they brought in.
Eventually they told me it was time to start pushing during the contractions. Since I could kind of feel them, I started trying to push, which took some knack because I couldn't feel anything. I had Ben holding one leg (which is not what we planned, but we didn't argue with it) and a resident holding the other, and Rita and the OB/GYN yelling at me encouragingly. Push, push, push, and then all of a sudden there's a baby. What!
They checked out the baby's vitals and cleaned her up a bit. Ben stayed with her for this, and I watched them because they were doing things to my downstairs lady parts that were gross and I didn't want to see. I had an episiotomy (which the doctor DID NOT tell me was happening, so I'm a little upset with her and glad that the birth was so uncomplicated because if that's how she rolls, no thanks - not that I mind getting one if it's needed but I would have liked to have discussed it with her and see if tearing would have been better).
We decided to name her Elena Lily Williams. We liked the L's. Mostly I refer to her by ridiculous cute names at this point though.
Here's a picture of me with the baby. She's all gross and covered with baby stuff.
Here's a better one.
Here's one of Ben.
We had about an hour of bonding time with the baby, and then they took her away for more tests. I got some lunch and visited with our guests while Ben stayed with her at the nursery. She had low blood sugar (because I hadn't eaten in forever, I'm guessing) so they gave her a bottle (even though I am breastfeeding, but it's fine if she needed it) and warmed her up (because she got chilly during bonding time, I guess). We moved to a recovery room and she came back after what seemed like forever away. There was some grossness with the downstairs region that made me kind of never want to get up or go to the bathroom ever again. My parents came down briefly, then we had some more bonding time, then more guests, plus SUSHI, which was lovely.
Family portrait
Now that we've been home a few days, the time at the hospital was kind of dream-like, although it didn't really seem like that at the time because you want your clothes and your bed and to STOP BLEEDING. Nurses came and checked on us all the time. I had a roommate (a 19-year-old with a c-section) until a room freed up and they moved me. We learned how to give her a bath and basically just hung out and ate hospital food and watched television. No one needed a walk. Someone came to clean the bathroom. It was nice. Since we've been home, it's been hectic with guests and making sure the baby is still alive and entertaining guests and feeding her every twenty seconds and remembering to eat myself (you'd think that wouldn't be hard to remember). I understand this calms down a bit after a few weeks. So, you know, more posting then.