Caution: graphic content
Well, I 've been home for all of 4 hours now and have just finished catching up on email and other being-at-home-things. So now, for your reading pleasure,
Seren Emily Courtright: this is the first few days of your life!
I went in for one of my routine check-ups on Thursday and my blood pressure was unusually high, so my doctor insisted that I stay the night. He also mentioned that I would probably want to call Stephen to let him know that things would probably be well under way sooner than anyone expected. About an hour and a half later, Stephen arrived. We were both pretty nervous, but our jitters turned to boredom after I had been moved to a private room, attached to an i.v., catheterized, and my blood pressure re-tested about every 30 minutes for 28 hours. My brother, Jimmy, had stopped by on Thursday night hoping to catch some part of the action and stand by for support, but was disappointed and had to leave for work Friday morning. Finally, on Friday morning, the docs okayed my labor to be induced. They placed 3 tablets on my cervix over the course of 15 hours that were supposed to help my cervix soften and start to dilate, but since my i.v. was pumping magnesium sulfate into my arm for my high blood pressure (mag sulfate is also used to delay labor in pre-term pregnancies), nothing happened. Once this conclusion was reached, pitocin was added to my i.v., which is a drug used to start labor contractions. Around 4am Saturday morning, the doc checked my progress and manually broke my water. At that point, I was in hard labor and the contractions were getting harder to manage. I was put on fentanyl for pain, which, looking back, I am thankful for because it made it so that I was 100% lucid and in the moment during each of my contractions, but I was passed out in between. Passing out meant that I got to rest when I wasn't trying to push a baby out- good stuff. I do, however, remember the last few pushes vividly. Just before her head came out, the nurse told me to reach down and touch the top of her head and at that moment, time seemed to stop while I lightly rubbed the slimy-soft crown of her head. Three pushes later, her head and shoulders had passed through and I could finally relax as the rest of her body followed. The nurses rested her on my stomach while Stephen cut the umbilical cord. What seemed like two minutes later, one last push passed the placenta and I thought it was over... but I was wrong. Because of the mag sulfate, I also had mass amounts of blood clots. Trust me, passing a human being the size of a football through a hole the size of a softball is no big deal once you have been through the agony of two nurses working together to manually remove blood clots from your uterus; one pressing on your belly button hard enough to massage your uterus back into its original position while the other dives in wrist deep, pulling out what looks like fistfuls of fresh chicken bits. Needless to say, I was glad when they finally left the room and I could writhe in pain in peace. Our beautiful daughter, Seren Emily Courtright, was born at 4:56am MDT, 6lbs 3oz, 20¼ inches long. The next few days were filled with a series of tests, cramps, and hospital food. I am both happy and proud to report that Seren is doing just fine and continually amazes me with how smart, aware, and strong she is.
Now if I could just convince Stephen that he doesn't always have to be holding and spoiling her, things will go just fine. Then again, I'm glad he has a little girl to dote on... the pride and joy that he has expressed over her the last few days are priceless.
For more pics, check out Stephen's lj:
sveeb.
Seren Emily Courtright: this is the first few days of your life!
I went in for one of my routine check-ups on Thursday and my blood pressure was unusually high, so my doctor insisted that I stay the night. He also mentioned that I would probably want to call Stephen to let him know that things would probably be well under way sooner than anyone expected. About an hour and a half later, Stephen arrived. We were both pretty nervous, but our jitters turned to boredom after I had been moved to a private room, attached to an i.v., catheterized, and my blood pressure re-tested about every 30 minutes for 28 hours. My brother, Jimmy, had stopped by on Thursday night hoping to catch some part of the action and stand by for support, but was disappointed and had to leave for work Friday morning. Finally, on Friday morning, the docs okayed my labor to be induced. They placed 3 tablets on my cervix over the course of 15 hours that were supposed to help my cervix soften and start to dilate, but since my i.v. was pumping magnesium sulfate into my arm for my high blood pressure (mag sulfate is also used to delay labor in pre-term pregnancies), nothing happened. Once this conclusion was reached, pitocin was added to my i.v., which is a drug used to start labor contractions. Around 4am Saturday morning, the doc checked my progress and manually broke my water. At that point, I was in hard labor and the contractions were getting harder to manage. I was put on fentanyl for pain, which, looking back, I am thankful for because it made it so that I was 100% lucid and in the moment during each of my contractions, but I was passed out in between. Passing out meant that I got to rest when I wasn't trying to push a baby out- good stuff. I do, however, remember the last few pushes vividly. Just before her head came out, the nurse told me to reach down and touch the top of her head and at that moment, time seemed to stop while I lightly rubbed the slimy-soft crown of her head. Three pushes later, her head and shoulders had passed through and I could finally relax as the rest of her body followed. The nurses rested her on my stomach while Stephen cut the umbilical cord. What seemed like two minutes later, one last push passed the placenta and I thought it was over... but I was wrong. Because of the mag sulfate, I also had mass amounts of blood clots. Trust me, passing a human being the size of a football through a hole the size of a softball is no big deal once you have been through the agony of two nurses working together to manually remove blood clots from your uterus; one pressing on your belly button hard enough to massage your uterus back into its original position while the other dives in wrist deep, pulling out what looks like fistfuls of fresh chicken bits. Needless to say, I was glad when they finally left the room and I could writhe in pain in peace. Our beautiful daughter, Seren Emily Courtright, was born at 4:56am MDT, 6lbs 3oz, 20¼ inches long. The next few days were filled with a series of tests, cramps, and hospital food. I am both happy and proud to report that Seren is doing just fine and continually amazes me with how smart, aware, and strong she is.
Now if I could just convince Stephen that he doesn't always have to be holding and spoiling her, things will go just fine. Then again, I'm glad he has a little girl to dote on... the pride and joy that he has expressed over her the last few days are priceless.
For more pics, check out Stephen's lj:
sveeb.