Delivery

Let me try and put down all the details while I still remember somewhat clearly.

May 19th - Monday, went to work and felt pretty normal, had dinner and laid in bed. Began feeling the "painful contractions" the Dr was always talking about around 8pm or so, but at about 10 minutes apart. Around 9pm they become more frequently. About every 5 minutes. This is the criteria according to Dr Baylor. Every 5 min for 2 hours. So around 11:30pm Joe and I decide it's time to go. We drop off the animals at Nana/Papa's in case I dont come back for awhile.

Get to the hospital around 11:45. Nurse examines me and she gives me somewhere between 2 and 2 1/2 cm dilated. Same as Dr Baylor on the previous Friday. Hmmmm I become concerned that I am going home with sleeping pills and made to come back later the next day. She says go walk around the hospital for an hour. Joe and I walk as I continue to have contractions down the same hallway everytime. I finish and the nurse examines me again. She says 2 1/2 cm, close to 3. She asks me "Do you want to go home, or are you ready to have a baby?" Joe and I dont even hesitate, and I dont think even look at each other. We both say "Yes, we want a baby!"
So she works her magic and dilates me to 3cm, I suppose this is the proper amount to be admitted.

They bring me into the labor and delivery room. Probably around 2am or so. Alot of things running through my mind at this point "OMG I am having a baby" and then I think about how it's perfect timing. It's during the week (a plus for larry and kris and the kids, an SLT meeting miss for dad, and just everyone getting off a workday) as well as by the time things really get crackin and me dilating further it will be time for people to get up anyways. So it's not some crazy 3am delivery.

I get lydocane to help give me an IV, since I mention that I never had one and was sort of nervous about it. The nurse Leslie was excellant. She practically pampered me. I get the IV then. She says let's wait till about 6am or so to get the anestesiologist for an epidural. In the meantime though, so you aren't feeling those pesky contractions let's give you some staydol (same thing larry had during his stomach pain hospital stay). I am LOVING this woman, let me tell you. I am completely relaxed and actually fall asleep. But I have the craziest dream about a baby by the sewer and then running over my cat boomer :( Joe is making calls to everyone and they began showing up a little after 6am.

But first I get my epidural! This deserves it's own paragraph simply for the timeless anecdote that will be told over and over from here on out. So Dr comes in. Says I will feel a bee sting. It seems to be taking longer than I though it would. Later I find out that he tried once and hit a blood vessel. I am holding on to Joe so that I dont move. Moving with long needle in the back is BAD. VERY BAD. He sprays something on my back and my chin is touching my chest like he told me to do. I think I am talking to Joe when I say "Get your hand off my IV" fairly forcefully. Then I hear a female voice say "oh I'm sorry" I look up and it's the nurse. I ask her "where is joe" and she says "right over there" and points to a chair. I look over and say "what happened?" Apparently the spray got Joe woozy and disoriented and he had to sit down. I am shocked because this is so unlike him. I am the one who gets sick over every little thing (emotional) :) while he walks around videotaping kris/logan birth without a care in the world. It's just funny to me...the whole thing.

Ok so nurse breaks my water, I get pitocin and epidural all around the same time. I labor comfortably for hours. I have visitors in and out, as well as a new much meaner nurse who gets irritated ALOT at all the people in the room. Too bad for her. My blood pressure is shot the whole time. Very low. 70 over 40 was the lowest I saw. Epidural was causing this I guess so the gave me effederrine to bring it back up. Needless to say I threw up at least 6 times due to all this fluctuation. Strange thing is Baby girl's heartrate and BP never waivers, it's fine the whole time. This continues until about Noon. As they are checking my progress from time to time the nurse says "I feel her head, and OMG she has some HAIR....about an inch long" Mom and I and Joe all laugh and joke about just pulling on her hair to coax her out. But no such luck....ok so now they are ready for me to begin pushing around 12:30 or so. I push for an hour and a half but for whatever reason little girl is not "coming around the corner" or getting past a cert ain point. What I didnt know then was that my epidural was shut off at this point, so I can feel the pushing better. My Dr, btw Dr Baylor is on vacation, so my delivery Dr is Stephanie Michele. She says she has a C section to do at 2pm and maybe this time will allow me progress further while she is gone for 45 min to an hour. She says "We may have to do a vaccum suction or a c-section, if you dont progress" I start to cry. This was NOT in the plan. I dont want either one of the those things. Simultaneously, I start feeling MAJOR fast and furious contractions and ask what is going on. This is when nurse tells me the epidural is OFF. um...what??? Then TURN IT BACK ON. ugh...that whole thing took about 30 min to bring what seemed to be the THIRD anestesiologist in and fix me up. I am comfy again. Oh btw did I mention that I am crying somewhat hyserically during this whole time because of the painful contractions I am having and just being scared in general about what might happen. I probably didnt mention it because it was not one of my finer moments :)

Ok Dr comes back in around 2:50pm or soand I begin pushing again. She says I made progress and I am completely relieved. But we will still have to do a vacuum. I dont care as long as it's not a c-section. I push for about 10 to 15 min on my own, get close to "coming around the corner" and then she brings out the suction and I push about 3 more times. I have Joe and Mom and all the nurses rooting for me. Yelling "I see her, you are almost there" Now that is surreal. I am about to have a baby. Its an unbelievable feeling. Out she comes and they ask Joe to cut the cord. He does, she is crying and has her bowel movement of meconium, just like she is supposed to. I am in a haze still because of the medicine. They wisk her away to the little incubator crib thingy. I can't see a thing. EVERYONE is around her. I hear them say she weighs 7lbs 11 oz. I am relieved. A nice healthy size. Joe comes over and says "what questions do you have?"
I say "what color is her hair?" and he laughs. "it's dark he says" then I say "10 fingers, 10 toes?" he walks over to check...and says "yes". :) I relax and lie down. Someone says "Did you call time?" Then someone else says "3:22" time of birth. Everything seems fine now. They clean her up and bring her to me. IT IS SURREAL. I have a baby. ME? I actually did it and now I am a Mom. I smile and hold her. Baby Casey is here....hair and all :) She is healthy and everything is normal. Mission accomplished. SIGH.......