BIRTH STORY!

I woke up at 4:30 on Sunday morning to a contraction and bloody show. Honestly I was in denial that labor was starting since I was scheduled to be induced at 8pm that night. The rest of the day my contractions slowly grew in intensity and frequency. I tried to stay busy to keep my mind off the induction and to help the baby descend more. The baby was super active and causing me real pain with her movements.

By 7pm my contractions were manageable but I had to breathe through them and were coming at about 3-5 minutes apart. Steven had been gone all day and when he got home we immediately left for the hospital. I found it so ironic that baby girl had waited until the very last minute to come. :)

They were ready and waiting for me at the hospital and confirmed that I was in labor. When the OB came in to check me I was 3cm dilated and 70% effaced, -2 station. I felt so strangely relieved that my body knew how to have a baby even if the doctors told me I was past due. She knew exactly when she wanted to arrive.

They still decided to use pitocin and I was put on a low dose. They respected my decision for a natural birth and I had a great team of coaches helping me breathe through the contractions. At some point I completely lost track of time and it was taking all the mental power I had to breathe through the contractions. My memory is fuzzy but I know that when they checked me again I was 5 cm, 90% effaced, and 0 station. However the contractions were coming back to back with no rest and with each one my head would pound, I would get very dizzy, and soon was nauseous and vomiting. The baby's heart rate kept dipping and they needed me to switch positions frequently. At one point I remember the Dr and about 6 people rushing in because her heart rate had dropped so low. They broke my water and put an internal monitor on the baby's head so they could watch her more closely. I couldn't keep up with it all and felt so overwhelmed. My Mom and husband asked if I wanted the epidural and I honestly couldn't see me going for a few more hours like that so I gave in. I felt terrible for giving in to the epidural but honestly I knew my body and in my current state I knew I couldn't do it. Steven and Mom were so wonderful at making me feel better about my decision and all of the nurses said I did wonderfully for how intense the contractions were. The anesthesiologist came in right away and when they turned off the pitocin to put the epidural in I felt a huge difference in the contractions. I think if I had been able to go all natural I probably would have been able to do it.

The epidural worked wonderfully and since I wasn't in nearly as much pain they turned up the pitocin really high and very quickly by 6:00 am I was at 10 cm, completely effaced, and +1 station. Because the baby had moved down further my left side wasn't as numb and I could feel the contractions only on one side. I'm sure feeling them on both sides would have been worse but it was agony and the anesthesiologist came back in to adjust the catheter on the epidural and soon all I felt was pressure.

They decided to sit me up and let the baby labor down so pushing would be easier. This phase for me was far more intense and painful than the previous part of labor. I didn't expect to feel much since I had the epidural but I felt my cervix and everything below that. The pressure was unlike anything I felt before. I started feeling the need to push and all of my concentration was focused on breathing through the need to push. By this point I was on oxygen to help the baby and doing my best to remain calm. After what seemed like an eternity, a large group of people finally came in and said I could start pushing.

The rest is a blur. Pushing was very difficult. I could feel everything so that wasn't the problem, it was just such an intense mental and nerve overload. My pushes were effective and strong but she was taking a while to descend. Soon her heart rate was dropping and they would only let me push every other contraction. They brought in the hospital's Lamaze teacher to coach me and as we got closer to crowning they brought in even more people. They kept having me change positions and raising and lowering the bed. Not pushing through those contractions was impossible and I was starting to become afraid that she wouldn't come out. After her head was finally past my pubic bone things happened quickly. I heard someone yell "get Peids in here and tell them to run!". Steven was crying and as her head emerged I heard a collective "whoa". Apparently she was much bigger than anyone had anticipated. I remember not hearing the beeping of her heart monitor and the OB said in a very stern voice, "It's very important that you push this baby out right now." I was so scared and pushed so hard I thought my eyes would pop out. Finally after 2.5 hours of pushing I felt her head come and then the rest of her body and a huge release. She didn't cry at first and they didn't put her on my chest.

Everyone ran to the other side of the room while the OB worked to control my bleeding. I felt like a tidal wave was carrying me away. I honestly didn't feel anything for my baby after that. I thought I would cry or have some emotions but I felt nothing. Finally she made a sound and that brought me back. Apparently the cord was wrapped around her neck. After they worked on her for a little bit she pinked right up and was fine. My sister said she came out with her eyes open and she didn't close them for another 2 hours. I couldn't believe how calm and alert she was, just looking around.

I had a 2nd degree tear that took a while to stitch up. The Dr. said I had lost a lot of blood but wouldn't need a transfusion thankfully. Nobody told me until after the fact that I had Pre-Eclampsia also. They tested our sugars and we were both fine. Finally they put her on my chest for skin to skin and it was such an amazing feeling. We had our first nursing session and she latched with out a problem. The OB told Steven that if I didn't have the epidural I would have needed a c-section.

It was such a blessing to have my Mother amd sister in the delivery room with us. I'm so glad they were there.

Katelyn Michelle arrived at 10:12 am on September 27, 2010. Weighing 8 lbs 12 oz and measuring 20.5 inches long.

She stole our hearts immediately and I'm still in awe that we made such a perfect little girl. She knew her Daddy's voice right away and already has some of his personality. I can say with all certainty that this was the hardest thing I've ever done, but by far the most rewarding. We love her so much and now our family feels so complete.

More pictures to come...