"A Baby Story"

Ok, so I'm going to try this again, as I had this post almost complete when I accidentally deleted it all. I was so mad! Anyway, this will most likely be a LONG post, so sit back, relax, maybe grab a warm beverage...just a thought.

Now lets see, where did I leave off? I believe my last post was around week 37 when I wasn't induced. For the remainder of week 36 and 37, after my first induction scare, I was put on bed rest due to my elevated blood pressure. Bed rest stinks, although I didn't have to load the dishwasher or take down the Christmas tree right away, which was nice. I would go on a daily outing to CVS to check my blood pressure, and come back home, although occasionally I cheated and grabbed dinner before heading back to the homestead. I kept up that schedule until my 38 week appointment on Monday, January 11th.

I went in to my 38 week appointment on the 11th, and I was nervous even before I did the routine testing. I knew that I was lucky not being induced at 37 weeks (my blood pressure was elevated and my platelets were dropping, but steadily picked up, saving me from a 37 week induction), but they never guaranteed me anything. I could have had the baby anytime at that point. My doctor told me that she would definitely induce at 39 weeks, but if my blood pressure was slightly elevated, or if my platelets had dropped anymore, she would induce me earlier than that. Anyway, back to my 38 week appointment. I got called back to do the routine testing, and the last test the nurse did was my blood pressure. As the nurse strapped on the cuff, I knew it was the moment of truth...134/90. It was over. I knew what my doctor was going to say. As I walked back to the waiting room to wait for the doctor, I caught Colt's eye from across the room. I was smiling, but also sick to my stomach from nerves. He knew what I was going to say too. It was obviously not a "good" situation, because my blood pressure was high, but we were also relieved to be having the baby, and not be put on bed rest again. They assured me at 37 weeks that the baby would most likely be fully developed and I was 38 weeks at that point. I finally got called back to see the doctor. When she reviewed my results, she confirmed our suspicions. She said at that point she was obligated to induce me for my own health. The baby was doing great, but it was me that she was worried about. She wanted to send me to St. Joseph's Hospital that night to start the induction, and she asked if I was comfortable going to that hospital, since I had never been there before. I asked if there was any way I could go to UCH (University Community Hospital), because I had been there several times before visiting my cousins after they had their babies, my cousin Lauren used to work in Labor and Delivery there and knew all of the nurses and doctors, and we had been there when we had to go to Triage for testing. She told me to go home and REST, and prepare to be induced the following night at UCH. She would be there on Wednesday morning to deliver the baby. Colt and I were so thrilled that she would be delivering Cash. We chose an OB practice that had several female doctors, and we weren't guaranteed to have a certain doctor deliver us. We had seen Dr. Polender several times throughout our pregnancy, and had been dealing with her exclusively those last few weeks. We filled out some paperwork in the office, and made our way back home to wait it out. I won't lie...Monday night and Tuesday morning/afternoon were horrible. I was SO NERVOUS about the induction that I basically threw up the entire time I was home. I wish I could have enjoyed those last two days of my pregnancy, but I was so worked up. Side Note: It turns out that all of that throwing up helped the process along, because my cervix was closed at my appointment on Monday, and I had dilated 1.5 cm by Tuesday night. I was really wound up on Monday night, so Colt took me for a late night drive which was nice. Tuesday morning/afternoon was spent laying around, being sick to my stomach, and packing our things. I had heard some good stories about induction, and some horror stories. Finally we made it to Tuesday evening, and it was time to go to the hospital.

Colt packed up the car with our things, and two diaper bags, one for baby necessities, and the other full of fun baby outfits! It was a pretty quiet 10 minute ride to the hospital, besides Colt sweetly trying to calm me down. We got there around 7pm and my parents were waiting in the lobby. The security guard said they could come up and visit once I got settled in my room. It seems strange, but I will always remember the elevator ride up to the second floor. I had been in it several times before, going to see Tara and Lauren's babies, as well as when we had to go to Triage in the weeks previous. I kept thinking, the next time we're in this elevator we'll be coming back down with a baby. Colt gave me a reassuring kiss, and we stepped out to make the long walk down the Labor and Delivery hallway. We checked in with the nurse and she showed us to Labor and Delivery Room 4. Our nurse, Sara, took my blood pressure and had me leave a urine sample. "Now I have to do some mean things to you," she said. That is always a really calming thing to hear. She inserted my IV, which was apparently the "mean thing", although I didn't think it was bad at all. She started me on some fluids, which made my fingers swell up! She also gave me a little bit of Zofran, which is an anti-nausea medication. That helped settle my nervous stomach! After that my parents were able to come up. We sat there and talked, and laughed while the fluids were going through the IV, until the nurse came in and said it was time to start the Cervidil. I had been very nervous about this, maybe more nervous than anything else. I had heard mixed reviews on Cervidil, which is a cervix softener. Some women said it wasn't bad at all, and others said it was way worse than any other part of labor. Its basically a little piece of fabric that is placed on the cervix to soften and dilate it. I didn't think it was that bad. It was very uncomfortable, and not something I'd volunteer for, but it wasn't horrible. It stung for a few seconds afterwards, but after that I couldn't even feel it. My parents were allowed back in the room to hang out for a while longer. I wasn't allowed to eat or drink anything for two hours after the Cervidil was placed. At the time I wasn't even hungry, so it wasn't a big deal. Around 10:30pm, the nurse came in and said the baby was perfect and that I could eat a little bit early if I wanted to. Colt went to Subway and got me a steak and cheese sub! Delicious! After I ate, the nurse came in and gave me some Ambien to be able to sleep. My parents left around 11:30pm, so they could make it back the next morning at 7am! I had never taken Ambien before, and it hit me pretty fast. I fell asleep fairly quickly, but I only stayed asleep for about a half hour. I had some crazy, 3D dreams during that half hour though! I remember having to go to the bathroom during the night, and the nurse unhooking me from my IV so I could walk, and being really dizzy and wobbly. After that half hour, I was up the rest of the night, give or take a few minutes of sleep here and there. The contractions started to get really uncomfortable during the night, but I got through them. Around 7am the next morning they started the Pitocin. The contractions started coming really close together, and were pretty painful. They asked me if I wanted the epidural, but I opted for a shower first. After my shower the nurse called the nurse anesthetist in to prep me. She put the plastic paper over my back, and cleaned the injection site. They wanted me to put my elbows on my knees (not an easy feat for a VERY pregnant woman) to let my spine poke out more, making it more visible for the Anesthesiologist. It was painful to be sitting so slumped over, especially when I was contracting so hard. I started to get nauseated, which was scary because the last thing I wanted to be doing when someone was shoving a needle in my spine was throwing up! I calmed myself down, and waited patiently for the Anesthesiologist. THEY COULDN'T FIND HIM! The nurse was paging him all over the hospital, but it took several minutes for him to get to my room. Finally he arrived, and gave me the epidural around 9am. Many women had told me that it was painful, but I didn't find it painful at all. They numbed the area with a small shot, and then gave me the bigger shot. Neither one was painful. It almost felt like when the dentist numbs your tooth. When they inserted the needle, it felt like they stuck it a little more towards the right than the center, but as I had never had an epidural before, I didn't say anything. A few minutes later it started to take effect. It was glorious! I was able to talk again, and didn't feel any pain. I could still feel the contractions somewhat on my left side, but it wasn't painful at that point. Dr. Polender came in after my epidural to break my water. That was a weird feeling! It didn't hurt at all, as I was numb from the waist down. The rest of the day was spent talking with family, and laying around. To be honest, I'm not really sure what all happened between the hours after my epidural to when I was 8cm. Colt left for a little while to grab a shower at home. My dad texted him something, and ended it with "10/4". Colt thought he was saying that I was 10cm and started freaking out! Haha! Colt's mom, Sharon, was at the hospital, and she came up to the room to visit for a while. Grandma Dee and Grandpa Sal came by also. My cousins Tara and Lauren came up to the room as well but by the time they arrived, my contractions must've been really hard, because I could feel them again. I could feel a ton of pressure and pain, and it was coming quickly. I told my nurse what I was experiencing, and she called the nurse anesthetist to come back in. I had to explain what was going on to her, and she gave me a small dose of something (I guess it was the epidural--I knew what it was at the time, but I forget now) to help with the pain, through my epidural catheter in my back. After that, I was feeling good again. My doctor came in to check me, and I was at 8cm! That was at about noon. I had dilated from 2 or 3 cm to 8cm in just a few hours. I decided I better take a nap before having to push. I laid there, and was in and out of sleep for about an hour. Colt was playing some music on our laptop while our mothers and my sister sat in the room talking (other family members were in the waiting room). Like I said, I was in and out of sleep, but I remember Colt playing two specific songs on the laptop. The first one is called, "Alright For Now", and the other is called, "Angel Dream", both by Tom Petty. Colt used to play them over his headphones for the baby when I was pregnant. I loved both of those songs before, but now I associate them with Cash's birth and they've become so special. My doctor came in again around 1pm, and checked me again. "Oh yeah...his head is right there," she said. "Does that mean I'm 10cm?" "Definitely! Time to push," she said. I started pushing around 1:00pm. I was very nauseated which they said was a good indicator that my body was ready to deliver. The first few pushes were rough because I was so sick to my stomach. My mom held the barf bag to my mouth as I pushed. Maybe too much information, but hey, this is a BIRTH STORY! Colt took his place in the chair beside my head. I didn't want him to move around too much because he gets very faint in medical situations. He got up a few times to splash some water on his face in the bathroom that was in our room. He was very sweet and encouraging. My sister was roaming the room taking pictures, and my mom was holding my left leg and watching my progress. I would push for 10 seconds, exhale, inhale and repeat 2 more times before I could relax for a few seconds. On my first push, they could see the top of his head! I only pushed for 40 minutes, and there he was! My mom cut the cord, as Colt was in no position to do the deed and gave her the go ahead. I was SO thirsty after delivery that I must've drank my weight in fruit punch.

I decided I should start a new paragraph to explain how it felt to see our baby for the first time. I was worried that because I had an epidural, I wouldn't be able to feel ANYTHING related to delivery but that wasn't the case. I could feel his head come out, and then his little shoulders slide out after. My last push was such a relief. They suctioned out his mouth and nose and I heard him cry. It was the sweetest sound I've ever heard. He had a very squeaky (adorable) cry, which he still has. The doctor gave him to me right away. Colt jumped up from his chair to see his son. We were all crying. He was so beautiful. I'll never forget the feeling of him in my arms for the first time. He was so warm, wet and slimy, but I didn't care. It was so surreal to know that he was mine. I got to hold him for about a minute before the nurse took him over to the warmer, which was in my room, to clean him up, measure and weigh him. He was born at 1:48pm, weighing 7 lbs. 8oz. and 19 3/4 inches long. As the doctor was "tying (or sewing) up some loose ends" I was laying on the delivery table taking pictures of Colt and Cash. The nurses were laughing at me. Who takes pictures while they're still on the delivery table!?! The baby didn't leave my side at any point (other than about 1o minutes for the circumcision) the entire time we were in the hospital. We jumped right into parenthood! A little while after delivery we were moved up to Mother/Baby. I was SO TIRED! The nurse helped me into a wheelchair and laid the baby in my arms. I was worried that I would drop the baby, because I was so drowsy. My eyes were rolling back in my head. I hadn't had good night sleep since Sunday night, and it was Wednesday afternoon!

We made it to our room on the Mother/Baby floor, and were quickly greeted my our new nurse. She checked me "from head to toe", and checked the baby out as well. The lactation consultant visited us as well. I felt bad because I was literally falling asleep as she was talking to me. I don't know if she noticed or not. Cash was a great nurser in the beginning. He nursed for the first time for about 40 minutes! We had given him a pacifier before I tried to nurse him, so he had the sucking reflex down already! In the days following he had some trouble wanting to nurse because my milk still hadn't come in. We stuck it out through a few nights of "cluster feeding" and he's a great nurser now. The rest of our stay in the hospital consisted of visits from family members, nurse checkups and trying (and failing) to get some sleep. One of the nights in the hospital I only got 45 minutes of sleep! For some reason, I didn't feel tired...yet.


I think I will make a seperate post about our time since the delivery. We couldn't be happier. Cash is such a blessing, and we're so thankful that he is healthy and happy. Even Moe seems to like him! As I type this, he is sniffing the baby, and laying his head down beside him, and Cash is putting his hand on Moe's face. So sweet! Thank you to all you readers out there who have stuck with us through the long (and ridiculously informative) pregnancy posts. I hope to continue the blog with updates from our life as a family. We love all of you guys! Stay tuned!