Well, here it goes. Life takes interesting turns that you never expect and all of a sudden you wake up in a different place than you started. With that said, I'm the happiest I've ever been and that is all because of the unpredictable turns my life has taken. So, like I said, here it goes. I became a mom 4 weeks ago today and man has life taken its biggest turn yet....This new phase of my life began on December 6th, 2008. That was the day I took my 6th pregnancy test, a digital one in which there could be no confusion...we are having a baby! After going through all the different emotions that come along with this realization and settling on the emotion of excitement for now, the "morning" sickness began. Anyone who has had this knows there is a reason I put morning in quotations. You've also got to understand that my hobby is food, so the 2+ months I was sick was total torture. Next came the blissful 2nd trimester. We went on two vacations, I started doing pilates, and food sounded great again. The nesting began and I started registering for everything from a diaper bag to things I'd never heard of, like the Bumbo seat. Apparently babies require a lot of equipment. Who knew. Onto the 3rd trimester when work as a bartender became increasingly difficult, not to mention slightly embarrassing. I mean seriously, how many of you dreamed of becoming a mother while simultaneously shaking cosmopolitans and salting margaritas? Oh and no, I didn't make better tips. Okay, so I'm getting big and uncomfortable and finally understanding why pregnant women agree to anything that will get the baby out. My labor story began on a Monday afternoon, 9 days before my due date.
August 3, 2009
1:00: I get back from a grocery store trip and feel like maybe I peed a little. The thought crossed my mind that it was my water breaking, but I had heard that if your water broke, you would not be in doubt, so I figured it wasn't my water breaking because...well...I was in doubt. After a conversation with Matt, he convinced me to check in with the doctor's office anyway. The nurse advises coming down the hospital just to be safe.
3:00: Its confirmed, my water has broke! They will be checking me into labor and delivery as soon as a room opens up. Matt is on his way! I knew there was a reason I packed that hospital bag a month early.
7:00: After 5 hours of sitting in triage and watching The Newborn Channel, we finally get a room.
8:30: The baby's heart rate drops to around 80. The labor nurse has me try all sorts of positions to get it back to normal with no luck. She then informs me she will be pressing a button and when she does a ton of people will be rushing into the room. Don't be scared, she says. Uh okay. Indeed upon pushing the button, what seems like a scene from Grey's Anatomy begins. I'm told to relax and when they are finished everything will be explained. Long story short, the heart rate comes back to normal, I am given the epidural early in case of a possible c-section, and I've got a fetal monitor attached to the baby's head between my legs.
1:00: I get back from a grocery store trip and feel like maybe I peed a little. The thought crossed my mind that it was my water breaking, but I had heard that if your water broke, you would not be in doubt, so I figured it wasn't my water breaking because...well...I was in doubt. After a conversation with Matt, he convinced me to check in with the doctor's office anyway. The nurse advises coming down the hospital just to be safe.
3:00: Its confirmed, my water has broke! They will be checking me into labor and delivery as soon as a room opens up. Matt is on his way! I knew there was a reason I packed that hospital bag a month early.
7:00: After 5 hours of sitting in triage and watching The Newborn Channel, we finally get a room.
8:30: The baby's heart rate drops to around 80. The labor nurse has me try all sorts of positions to get it back to normal with no luck. She then informs me she will be pressing a button and when she does a ton of people will be rushing into the room. Don't be scared, she says. Uh okay. Indeed upon pushing the button, what seems like a scene from Grey's Anatomy begins. I'm told to relax and when they are finished everything will be explained. Long story short, the heart rate comes back to normal, I am given the epidural early in case of a possible c-section, and I've got a fetal monitor attached to the baby's head between my legs.
Let me just pause to say: EPIDURALS ARE AWESOME.
Okay, so from the time I get the epidural to sometime after midnight, Matt and I try to sleep. Yes, I was going through labor and having contractions AND napping. At some point after midnight I start to feel contractions. But not in the way you may have seen in those videos shown in the labor classes. These contractions were more like cramps or a case of bad gas and were more a nuisance than something I had to manage.
August 4, 2009
3:00 A.M: The labor nurse asks me to let her know if I start feeling any pressure on my rectum.
3:05: Oh, THAT pressure? Uh yes, I'm feeling it. So, she decides to check and see how far I'm dialated. (Let me remind you that I had not been check for dialation since 3:00 P.M. the day before...I was at about a 1 at that point) She laughs and says oh you're already at a 9 1/2!!! Its almost time to push!
3:30: The doctor finally comes in. I could write several pages about this doctor and what an odd experience he was, but its a tangent I don't want to go off on at this point.
4:00ish: I start pushing. It is exhausting and I have no idea how women do this for an hour let along several hours. Luckily, my baby is already so low (I thank the 36 stairs leading to my front door) that her head and all the hair growing on it are already visible with my first push. After about 20 minutes, her heart rate drops again. They try to wait for it to come back up, but it doesn't and they don't want to risk any complications so again the troops are called in and delievery begins. Fortunately because she was so low they didn't have to do a c-section, but unfortunately that meant that they would use forceps to get her out quickly.
Okay, so from the time I get the epidural to sometime after midnight, Matt and I try to sleep. Yes, I was going through labor and having contractions AND napping. At some point after midnight I start to feel contractions. But not in the way you may have seen in those videos shown in the labor classes. These contractions were more like cramps or a case of bad gas and were more a nuisance than something I had to manage.
August 4, 2009
3:00 A.M: The labor nurse asks me to let her know if I start feeling any pressure on my rectum.
3:05: Oh, THAT pressure? Uh yes, I'm feeling it. So, she decides to check and see how far I'm dialated. (Let me remind you that I had not been check for dialation since 3:00 P.M. the day before...I was at about a 1 at that point) She laughs and says oh you're already at a 9 1/2!!! Its almost time to push!
3:30: The doctor finally comes in. I could write several pages about this doctor and what an odd experience he was, but its a tangent I don't want to go off on at this point.
4:00ish: I start pushing. It is exhausting and I have no idea how women do this for an hour let along several hours. Luckily, my baby is already so low (I thank the 36 stairs leading to my front door) that her head and all the hair growing on it are already visible with my first push. After about 20 minutes, her heart rate drops again. They try to wait for it to come back up, but it doesn't and they don't want to risk any complications so again the troops are called in and delievery begins. Fortunately because she was so low they didn't have to do a c-section, but unfortunately that meant that they would use forceps to get her out quickly.
4:24: Leila Frances enters the world. It was by far the most amazing, crazy moment of my life. I saw her pulled out from my body and my jaw dropped. Of course I knew there was a baby growing inside my belly, but to actually see a real human baby come out of your own body is pretty damn crazy. I looked over at Matt and he was looking at me the same way...like "what the @$#%!"
They quickly began cleaning out her nose and mouth and washing her. Matt took video and many pictures. I watched from a few feet away while the doctor and resident finshed up whatever it was they had to finish up. I could have cared less what was going on between my legs. Again, thank you epidural.
After a few minutes, Matt placed Leila in my arms. And so "it" begins....
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