Anna's Birth Story and a Short Update

So I have always wanted to do a birth story post! I love reading them when others post about them, and I want to write it down before I forget what happened. Bringing a new life into this world is beautiful, and was one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had. It is long, so kudos if you get through it! If you make it, there may be some pictures at the end to reward you! (Of course, if you are like me, you quick scroll down to look at them before coming back to read).

I am going to start with Friday, July 5th, the day after my due date. I had an ultrasound, a Non-Stress Test, and my 40 week appointment scheduled for that day. Jeff was off that day so he went with me, which I am thankful for! The ultrasound was just to measure fluid levels, and all was good. Once again she was waving at us during the ultrasound! :) We went to the Non-Stress Test, and during the test I was having contractions, though they were very small so I wasn't feeling all of them. She also wasn't moving around a ton because it was a sleepier time of day for her. They were having a hard time getting her to move to measure her heartrate. When I had contractions, they noticed her heartrate dropped. The doctor didn't want to do my appointment, he wanted me to head to Labor and Delivery and be hooked up to one of their machines for monitoring. I was nervous that something was wrong, and wondering if they were going to induce me. We only live 5 minutes from my doctor's and 5 minutes from the hospital, so we decided to swing home, let the dogs out, sweep and vacuum, and grab my bags for the hospital in case they decide to admit me. We also stopped at Subway on the way to the hospital so that I had something to eat in case I was being induced. We were hooked up to the machines and monitored for a few hours. I think because I stopped to eat, it gave her energy and she was very active. They didn't notice any problems with her heartrate. They were also PACKED that day, so they couldn't induce me. They set up an induction for Tuesday, July 9th and sent me on my way.

Saturday we spent time with family, but I really wasn't having any contractions. Sunday, July 7th, I woke up and was feeling contractions every 15 minutes or so and they were stronger than any of the contractions I had before had been. They weren't painful, but they felt like they were pushing baby down, which I hadn't felt before. I downloaded a contraction timer app for when I needed to start timing and went about my day. Jeff was at work and I was wondering if I would have to call him to come home, but they weren't close enough for me to feel that I had to. He got home and I told him about my contractions. We had dinner plans with my parents that night for my birthday and since they were 10-15 minutes apart at that time, we decided to keep our plans, even though it was 30 minutes away from our house and the hospital. I did have to breathe a bit through a few contractions during dinner, and I noticed they were getting closer together. I told my parents that I wouldn't be surprised if tonight we went in, but we weren't sure since we have had days where I've had contractions and then they would go away. Driving home I noticed they were getting closer together so I started timing them. They were 5-9 minutes apart. My doctor's office told me and all first time moms to call when they are 5 minutes apart, 1 minute long, for 1 hour, so I knew it wasn't yet time to call. We watched some TV and I continued to time. After an hour I noticed they were 3-5 minutes apart, so I called and we went in. They still weren't strong, but I felt a lot of pressure. They put me in the Early Labor Room (not fully admitted) and hooked me up to monitors. They also checked me and I was still barely a centimeter dilated. They started to get more painful at this time, feeling like cramps. After an hour on the machine I still wasn't progressed, so they had me walk around. After an hour of walking around I progressed from barely a centimeter to a full centimeter, however, they weren't convinced I was in labor. (I was convinced, but what do I know?! Haha!). They told me I could be in false labor, gave me Percocet and Ambien and sent me home to sleep and make the contractions go away. They told me to come back in if they were more painful... I didn't understand how they could get any more painful. Famous last words...

We went home and I went inside and up to the bedroom. I had no sooner made it to the bedroom than I felt HORRENDOUS pain. I kept thinking (remember I am on Percocet and Ambien, so not quite all there) that I was a Barbie having my legs ripped off. I would pass out between the contractions, and then they would wake me up and I would cry and try to make them stop, but they wouldn't. Eventually I started throwing up from the pain and told I was done and we were going back in. It was barely an hour since we were sent home. I should have just stayed...

We went in and they checked me in the Early Labor room again... I had dilated 3cm in the hour I was gone and was officially being admitted in labor! My original plan was to labor until I got to 5cm and then get an epidural. Haha. You can plan all you want... it doesn't mean it will happen! I was progressing so quickly that my pain was unbearable and I wanted an epidural immediately. They hooked me to an IV to give me fluids and gave me Stadol while they waited for the anesthesiologist to come. Stadol rocked because I was out of it between contractions and, while they still hurt, it took the edge off my contractions and it also made me out of it when the epidural was being placed. The anesthesiologist was my favorite person in the entire hospital. I really was so comfortable before he even left the room! I am pretty sure I told him he was an Angel. Haha!  Somewhere around 5:00 or 6:00 Monday morning my mom showed up to hang with Jeff and me. I dozed on and off between them checking me. I quickly progressed to 6 cm and then started to slow down. They decided to give me Pitocin and place an internal contraction monitor to make sure the contractions were strong enough for me to deliver the baby. They also had to give me Oxygen, which I was on throughout my entire labor and pushing because baby wasn't really very active. The Oxygen was torture because it made me very thirsty and I could only have ice chips. They broke my water and noticed Meconium in the fluid, so they had to have NICU in the room when I delivered... which made the number of medical staff in the room when I was delivering jump from a midwife and two nurses to: a midwife, two L&D nurses, 3 NICU nurses, a doctor from my practice, and resident doctor as well. Around noon I started to feel pressure from the baby dropping. They checked me around 1:30 and I was all but fully dilated. They wanted to let me get that last little bit dilated and they wanted the baby to move down on her own, so they decided to wait an hour. They topped off my epidural so I could handle the pressure a little more. At 2:30 they checked me and it was PUSHING time! I kicked my mom out of the room. I wanted it to just be Jeff, and me, and the 8 doctors and nurses that were in the room (but really Jeff and me. I told her she wasn't there when baby was conceived, so she couldn't be there when baby came into the world. She was A-OK with that! I really wanted a special small family moment before everyone else was there). I pushed for 2 1/2 hours... I believe she was turned sideways because my hip was KILLING me! They wouldn't tell me. At 4:50pm my baby girl entered the world. I wanted Jeff to tell me if the baby was a boy or a girl. It was a beautiful moment and I will never forget it. She had a head full of brown hair. They didn't want her to cry because of the meconium, so they took her after they put her on my chest and cleaned her off and cleared her out and did their other assessments before bringing her back to me. She was having some trouble breathing, so they had a respiratory therapist come check her out, but she ended up fine and we were OK to keep her with us!

Once I was stitched up and holding my baby girl, Jeff went and brought my parents in. When they came in I choked out that she was a girl, but I couldn't tell them her name. Anna is named after my great-grandmother, my mom's grandmother, who was so special to me. Jeff had to tell them the name. They stayed and visited, saw Jeff hold her for the first time, and then my mom held her a bit before we headed to the Maternity section and they headed home for the night.

Anna is just over 2 weeks old now and it is so hard to believe! I am feeling pretty good, though I do get sore after walking around for a few hours. I did manage to get out on my own for a bit today, while my mom kept an eye on my munchkin. It was very hard to leave and I was gone not even an hour, but I still was out! I've already lost 15 of my 19 lbs that the dr's office said I gained! Wahoo!!! I still have 13 total to lose until I am at the weight that I know I was just before I found out I was pregnant, but according to the doctor's office I only have 4 lbs to lose. I feel like a deflated balloon still and am very excited to get back into shape, but I know I am not completely ready for a hard workout. I do try to walk at least every other day, when the heat won't melt me. I will be signing up for a fall 5K, and Jeff and I are going to do Insanity together.

OK... here are a few pictures and then I am headed to snuggle. I will post more about our first two weeks, including my struggle with breastfeeding, in my next post! KUDOS if you made it to the end!