She was finally born on July 8th at 8:16pm, weighing 8lbs 1oz, 20 inches long!
My mom and brother came into town the night before to take care of the kiddos, while I was induced the next day. It really put my mind at ease, knowing they were in good hands.
I went in the hospital at 6:30am, so I could get hooked up to antibiotics and get started with a little cervical ripening. Which ended up being 2 doses that have to be four hours apart from each other or any other medical induction. Fast forward through 11 boring, unproductive hours, and Mercedes (midwife extraordinaire) suggests we move onto pitocin. And finally I got real contractions!
For the first hour, I could easily deal with the mild contractions, while chatting with Mercedes and Jessica (our nurse). They seemed a bit oblivious when things started changing. I called Ken over so he could start some counterpressure.
That was helpful for a bit, but eventually I decided to try a hot shower to ease the back labor. Hot water spraying hard on my lower back. In what seems like no time, it was more than I could handle and I asked to have the pitocin shut off. It was minimally better for a few minutes, but soon I wanted to be checked for dilation so I could be encouraged by my progress. But that was a bust. I had only moved dilated an additional centimeter, bringing me to a six. I had been hoping for an eight.
I knew I couldn't handle any more, certainly not the minimum hour or two I was anticipating. So, I changed my plan and I called for an epidural. It took a few requests between and during contractions to convince Ken and the medical crew that I was serious. Unfortunately, the anesthesiologist at the hospital was occupied with a surgery or something lame like that. So they had to call the back up, who would be drive in and be her in only 20 short minutes. At this point I accused the nurse of lying, so now you know how classy I am in duress.
Then Mercedes broke my water and informed me that the baby had finally dropped and that I was fully dilated. I came to term with the fact I was going to get no pain relief and I began pushing! Within a couple of minutes, she was born and in my arms! I got a shot of Nubain because the contractions were still overwhelming after she was born. It was wonderful, but it made me too drowsy to hold her. So Ken held her while I delivered the placenta and got stitched up. It was about 10 minutes after she was born that the anesthesiologist walked in with her crew.
Ah, well.
Fast and terrible labor, and a beautiful baby.
Of course, we didn't get to sleep that night because of all the vitals that needed to be taken for the next few hours.All those hours gave us time to debate names until we finally decided on Norah Margaret. But the next morning the kids came to visit. It was beautiful to see them meet their new baby sister.
The best part was getting out of the hospital and being home with my THREE children. It makes these moments possible:
Special thanks to this woman, who filled my fridge twice, landscaped, picked fresh blueberries, cleaned my house to a state I don't think it has seen before and had so much fun with the older two that they barely missed me! She's extraordinary!
