The short story - Kaylee Elizabeth arrived at 2:08pm on Wed Jul 20th after 10 hours of labor and 2 hours of pushing. She weighs 6 pounds 7 oz and is about the cutest thing I've ever seen, not that I'm biased or anything.
The long story -Tuesday I had my final doctor's appointment at 40 weeks and 2 days. I left with the knowledge that I was 80% effaced and 3 cm dilated and had an appointment at the hospital to be induced at 7:30am Wed. Scott and I spent Tuesday afternoon/evening frantically cleaning the house (not that you could tell at this point) and generally being excited that we would meet our baby soon. I was a little anxious/disappointed about not going into labor and having to be induced, but ultimately was excited.I managed to get some sleep around midnight to try to get some strength for the upcoming events. I was extremely annoyed because I kept having to pee every 5 minutes and kept thinking I was never going to get rest. I also started to get some cramping and decided to go downstairs and watch tv with Scott who was still up. While we were watching he noticed me tensing up and asked if I was ok. I told it him was just nerves and not to worry. Well, he started timing my "nerves" and we discovered they were reliably lasting 45sec- 60 sec each and were coming at 3 minute intervals. I stayed home for about 30 minutes before he convinced me we needed to go to the hospital. They just didn't feel like labor should feel like (in my head) and I was sure we'd get to the hospital only to be sent home and come back. I mean, what are the odds I'd go into labor on my own 5 hours before a scheduled induction?
Well, pretty good apparently! I was hooked up to the machines and sure enough, I was having contractions! After the initial hep lock hookup and vital readings I was allowed to wander around the hallway to try to stay comfortable. The L/D nurse let us into the Mother/baby section and we literally did laps around the nursery and nurses station. The visual definitely helped as the contractions became stronger. There is nothing like seeing a cute newborn in front of you to help motivate you to get through labor so that you will have your own baby in your arms.
From 4-7 am we both napped, then called our families to let them know we were in the hospital. Of course that was the one day that my mom had to work until 2pm but my dad called her cell to let her know she needed to leave early if at all possible.7:30am (ish) my doctor came in to see how I was doing. She did a cervix check and I had dilated to 5cm while I was asleep! She ruptured my membranes, which was a very very strange feeling and let me know that while she respected my desire to go med free, there was a prescription for Stadol for me and the anesthesiologist was in the building.
My sister in law showed up about then and she and Scott provided great entertainment/distraction for me as the contractions started getting harder. I just kept on going into myself and thinking "30 more seconds, 20 more seconds, 10 more seconds" and then coming back to the conversation. Scott and I went to take another hike but the motion immediately had me throwing up the liquids I had been drinking. We ended up back in the room and just paced around there.
Around 11ish contractions started to get really troublesome. Scott and I went into the shower and it was amazing! Hot water hitting on my back while the cold tile was against my forehead and forearms. He kept on rubbing my back and sides while I breathed through the contractions.We left the shower and I tried the yoga ball. I think at that point I was too far along because it put way too much pressure on my pelvic region to be at all effective at reducing pain. When the nurse came in for my 15 minute monitoring session I decided to curl up in the bed and try to block out the world.
That's when things got really interesting. Now the contractions hurt, and enveloped my whole body. My thighs alternated between going numb and feeling as if they were on fire and I started moaning in a low pitch. H was there with every contraction talking to me, telling me the pain was worth it for our baby girl, how proud he was of me for doing so well, and telling me when the contraction began to subside. At this point some of my waters also started gushing out with contractions which gave a feeling of relief.Around noon the nurse came in a bit rushed and said "those last contractions looked like pushing" and did a cervix check between contractions.
Sure enough I was fully dilated and the baby was moving on out! I was informed to not push until the Dr got there which was not fun at all. The nurses and H coached me through and I remember going "Oh thank God" when the doctor finally walked into the room.Then the long battle began. Kaylee was face up and was having a really hard time getting out. H was on my right giving me strength and encouraging words while his sister was on my left with a cold washcloth for my forehead and neck.
After 1 hour 45 minutes my strength was waning fast. The doctor asked if she could do an episiotomy because all of the natural methods of stretching were not anywhere near letting the baby out. I gave her permission because at that point the baby just needed to be out. My mom then came in to offer encouragement as well.5 pushes later Kaylee came flying out into this world like a rocket!
One minute I can feel her crowning and the next she's laying on my chest looking at me with those pretty little eyes. I remember thinking "Omg...I have a baby...did she really come out of me?"She was taken to the baby bun warmer for her tests and to get wiped off while the doctor put me back together. Her rapid entry resulted in a third degree tear for me as well as a massive hemerroid. She received a 9 on her initial tests and later passed her sugar tests with flying colors. My supposedly massive GD baby was 6 pounds 7 ounces and 19 2/4 inches long. She has a bit of bruising on her head from being face up but was otherwise a perfect little girl.
While stitching me up the doctors and nurses kept commenting on my natural birth. They said I was probably the easiest patient they ever had as well as the quietest, and everyone else currently in L/D were heavily medicated! I received high fives as they wheeled us to our room and everyone said they were proud to have been there to watch my labor and were amazed at how well I did.
All in all, I am very pleased with my hospital natural birth. Everyone was encouraging and it wasn't the scary experience I had been expecting.
Things that went according to plan *going without pain killer *H being amazing *using the shower, birthing ball, and walking as pain relief
Things that didn't go according to plan *episiotomy *being able to drink water/sprite throughout labor (YAY) *I had an audience while pushing. Sil, mom, H, Dr, L/D nurses, plus about 5 new RN's who had never seen a natural birth before. I didn't care at that point
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