The Birth Story

Our little lady was due of Christmas Eve but was too cozy and warm to even think about making her debut on time. Brad and I had waaaaay to much fun together over Christmas break awaiting her arrival.

Dec 29th (night before being induced): We laid in bed wide awake until after midnight trying to calm our brains down (especially mine). Thoughts like I cant believe the day is here already...Am I ready for this baby?...Life will never be the same again...Holy cow, I have to get up in 4 hours...etc.

Dec 30th

4am: We woke up and ate a "light breakfast" as encouraged by the hospital. We said family prayer, gathered and packed the last few things we needed and headed out the door!

5:20am: We were admitted, I changed into my awesome (why isnt there a font for sarcasm?) hospital gown and we were shown into the birthing suite. Ok, St. Vincent's has huge, comfortable, inviting birthing suites and I just loved being in mine. There is a bench in the window just big enough for the husband to sleep on. Very nice!

7am: After 3 trys with the needle (which is ALWAYS the case when I get an IV), the nurse got the IV running and started me on pitocin (synthetic oxytocin). Contractions at this point were minimal and painless, so both Brad and I were able to sleep for a few hours which was fabulous.

9am: I woke up with a growling stomach and realized there was no way the Malt-o Meal I ate at 4:20am would get me through the rest of the labor and delivery. They discourage the eating of solids after labor begins, but the thought of eating NOTHING for the next 12 hours was too much to handle. After 2 lollypops and trying to get Brad to sneak me some crackers, we asked the nurse if the whole “no food” rule was true....which it was. However, our awesome nurse told us they had a “clear liquids” menu that I could order from and drink as much as I want! So I got a big meal of chicken broth, jell-o, and a protein shake and felt muuuuch better.

11am: Contractions started to become painful, but manageable. The dose of pitocin was upped every 30 mins and now I was really feeling the effects. I still hadn't dilated much, so I was holding off on the epidural which they recommended. I tried different breathing techniques aaaaaaaaaaand they did almost no good. Brad threw on The Office on our mini DVD player to help distract me which helped much more.

1pm: Contractions were totally KILLER. Coming every 3 minutes and lasting for 1 minute. Yikes. I was ready for the epidural but, surprise surprise, my stomach was growling again. I knew that after I got the epidural I could only eat ice chips so I decided to order one more serving of clear liquids. Well, it took forEVER for the food to arrive (about 50 minutes) because it was lunch time and everyone was ordering food. When it finally got to me, I had a very difficult time eating it because of the contractions and by this time I was in tears and so ready to be out of pain.

3pm: I got the epidural which was completely wonderful. I have absolutely no regrets nor shame in getting one. I am totally cool with people doing whatever they feel is right and best for them as far as pain relief goes, but it really gets to me when people badmouth each other's choices when it comes to labor and delivery, especially when people think hospitals are evil and epidurals are for the weak and faint of heart. Just had to throw that out there :) The great thing about my epidural was that I had a lot of sensation: I could move both my legs, I could feel when they checked me for dilation, I could feel the contractions coming and going. The difference was that it was all painless- the epidural took the 'bite' off everything. It was a great decision for me.

My doctor came in to check my dilation and effacement (only at 4cms and about 90% effaced) and he broke my water. Time to get this show on the road.

Brad and I took another nap after the epidural which was nice- I was able to conserve energy and get ready for the grand finale!

5pm: Woke up from my nap and was checked by the nurse: 9cm and 100% effaced! Yay! It was sweet to have dilated 5 cms in 2 hours. They let me continue to dilate fully and and prepped everyone for delivery.

7pm: I started pushing which was much harder than I thought it would be. I gave me a pretty wicked headache just 20 mins into it which made me nervous for the rest of what was to come. I tried different positions (side lying, etc) but personally found being in the sit-up/crunch position the most natural.

I have to say, my doctor was just awesome. He was determined to deliver the baby so even though he was done with his work day at 5pm and the doctor on the floor could have delivered Saige, he hung out at the hospital and visited me regularly during the pushing stage. He said he wasn't going anywhere until my baby was delivered. This was such a comfort to me!

8:30pm: Pushing, pushing and more pushing. This is when I hit my low: at one point during a contraction, Saige's heart rate when way down. My doc told me calmly that we would have to keep an eye on this and if it continued to happen, I needed to be prepared for a possible c-section. Well, that was the last thing I desired (although I am so happy they are available for women who need to have them) and I got really scared. I cried and took a break from pushing (oh, ps, contractions were painful now- the epidural didn't protect me from the wrath of the hardcore pushing and contractions!). This was the "I can't do this anymore" stage of the game which most women hit. Luckily, Saige's heart rate never dropped like that again which was great. I got my second wind and was determined to get that baby OUT! After an episiotomy and a grand total of 2 hours and 15 mins of pushing, out little Saige was born at 9:12pm. The doctor put her right up onto my stomach and I got great cuddle time with my wee one!

I have to say, Brad was the absolute best coach for me during the entire day- he was supportive, encouraging, helpful and loving. Several nurses even pointed that out. I love him so very much!

And that's a wrap, people. Sorry for both the delay in getting this up on the blog AND for the long story. It was a wonderful day and now I have my precious baby.

...pictures of Saige to come :)