Here she comes... via C-section
She always seems to be dong something with her little hands.
First bath - She LOVES getting her head washed.
Warming up under the lamp, again she has her hands by her face.
Daddy with Laney in her going home dress.
Well we never heard anything on Wednesday about being induced. The doctor's office called us first thing Thursday (3/5/09) morning and told us that our OB would not be in the office, but they would leave the message for her. They didn't know if she would be by to pick up the message or not. So, Jordan and I spent the rest of the day relaxing and wondering if I would be getting induced that night.
At about 4:30 I took my blood pressure and it had gone up to 147/90. It was disappointing to see, because it had been staying low. It made me a little worried. So at 5 o'clock, when my OB office was officially closed and I knew my OB was on call at the hospital, we made a call to Labor and Delivery. We told them that my OB was on call and was thinking about inducing me. I gave them all of my background info and told them my latest blood pressure. They said they would call my OB and get back to me. So about 5 minutes later my phone rings and it was my OB. She said, well I think we should deliver this baby TONIGHT. The nerves hit me again, but I was so excited to hear that I would be meeting my daughter really soon. She called the nurses to make sure they had a room for me, and sure enough they wanted me to come in ASAP.
We were expecting to be induced, so the car was already loaded!!! We took the dogs to my parents and headed straight to the hospital. We got to the hospital around 6:45pm. They took me straight to my room, which was HUGE!!!! I got in my gown and waiting for the OB. While we were waiting, Jordan went and got all of our stuff from the car. My OB and all the nurses said to make it our home for the next few DAYS! I wasn't dilated or effaced at all, so they said it could take a while to get my body ready.
So here is an overview of what happened during labor and delivery:
6:45: Arrive at hospital and fill out paperwork/answer TONS of questions
8:00: Officially induced - They placed the tiniest pill of cytotec near my cervix. This is used to help dilate and soften the cervix. It also made me have contractions. They had to wait 3 hours and then they would decide if they would give me another pill of cytotec, pitocin, or "the balloon"
9:00: I got an IV, this was something that I was scared about the most. Well my nurse poked me about 5 times, and couldn't get it to work GRRR. Then she called IV therapy and they were wonderful! They put the IV in a nice location and it really didn't hurt at all. The first lady made me feel like a pin cushion.
10:30: Guess what... they checked me and I was dilated to a 2, and was about 75% effaced. It was very good that I was making progress so quickly. Unfortunately the pill gave me too many contractions so they couldn't give me another. Instead they were giving me "the balloon".
11:00: "The balloon" - They inserted it. Can you say OUCH!?!? I think it was the most painful thing I have had before. It was very uncomfortable, especially when they were trying to put it in when I was having a contraction. It didn't help that "a resident" was doing it, and she had to reposition the thing quite a few times, and even had to take it out and redo it once. Finally they called my OB in and she did it herself. It caused STRONG contractions right away and in no time I was in a lot of pain. It was so painful that I began puking... YUCK!!! I NEVER puke, but I just couldn't help it. It wouldn't have been too bad, but my contractions were about 45 seconds and I would have one, then have a 1o second break, and then another. Then I would have about 30 seconds to recover and get the contractions again. I felt like I was never able to recover from the previous contraction. This is what I found online about the balloon:
A foley catheter is used by some health care professionals to help the cervix dilate. A thin, plastic catheter with a small balloon on one end is inserted into your cervix. Water is slowly pushed through the catheter, allowing the balloon to inflate. As the balloon inflates, pressure is exerted against your cervix, causing your body to release prostaglandins. These hormones then cause your cervix to dilate. Once your cervix has dilated enough the balloon falls out and the catheter can be removed.
We had a long night. When I woke up at about 8am I felt well rested, even though I was awake every time I had a contraction throughout the night. Which was about every 5 minutes. They gave me some pain medicine through my IV, so that helped. Jordan was snoring on the bed they had for him, and my mom was trying to sleep on a hard wooden rocking chair. We were just waiting now, I was suppose to wear the foley catheter for 12 hours, and at 11am my OB would be in to check and see if I had dilated. They had also been giving me very small amounts of pitocin through my IV all night to help ripen my cervix.
1:00: Well, my OB was very busy so I didn't get checked until 1pm. When they checked me they were very surprised at how much progress I made! I had dilated to a 6, and was about 80% effaced. Then they decided to break my water and crank up the pitocin. I was given the option to have an epidural before or after they broke my water and I chose before. :)
2:00: Epidural Time!!! Let me tell you, epidurals are WONDERFUL! I am a very strong advocate for them. My epidural ended up actually being a spinal. That means that I was COMPLETELY numb from the chest down. I couldn't even move my toes. They let the medicine wear off, and then I wasn't completely numb - to where I couldn't feel anything. Now, I could feel pressure and my contractions. It wasn't painful at all though, Hallelujah!
4:00: They checked me again. We were expecting to see some progress, but I was still the same. We cranked up the pitocin to make the contractions stronger.
8:00: They checked me again. Guess what, STILL the same. I had made no progress since 1:00 and it had been 7 hours. My contractions were wonderful they said, even though I was pain free - YAH for epidurals!!!! They were very strong and had a very regular pattern. We began talking about a C-section. If I didn't make progress the next time they checked me I would most likely have to have a C-section.
I knew this was coming, and I was very prepared for a C-section. All the ladies in my family have had C-sections, and I think God just prepared me for a C-section my entire pregnancy. I wasn't too worried, I was just very excited to meet my little girl. Actually, Jordan and I both packed our bags expecting a 3 night say just in case I had a C-section.
10:30: They checked me again, and guess what. NO PROGRESS. It has been 9.5 hours and I had not dilated at all and our little girl was still very high, and not dropping down. Thus, I most likely have a very narrow hip cavity (same as my mother), and I would have to deliver via C-section. I wasn't disappointed at all, but then I was beginning to get nervous. I had never had any kind of surgery, and I didn't like the idea of being cut open while I was awake.
They began prepping me for surgery, and I was in the surgery room for about 20 minutes. It was the longest 20 minutes of my life! I was so nervous. The anesthesiologist was trying to joke with me and chat, but I just sat there closed my eyes and was trying to relax. I don't know how many times I prayed, but I prayed A LOT. God calmed my nerves and I was finally able to relax, and then Jordan came in, and I was very ready to see my baby and have the surgery complete.
The surgery began, and it took about 5-10 minutes before Laney was "born". Jordan looked beyond the blue cover and saw them getting ready to take Laney out. He saw her right away, began crying and saying, "Oh my gosh honey she is so beautiful". He said it over and over again, and the funny thing is that he couldn't even see her the first time he said it. Then we heard the most wonderful sound EVER, our baby was crying. All of the pain and nerves went away, and all I could focus on was my baby. They were cleaning her up and checking all her vitals. Jordan went over there to take pictures, and then they handed her to Jordan and he brought her over to me. Jordan and I were both crying and in awe of the precious bundle of joy that Jordan was holding.
After she had been born, about 10 minutes later, I started to feel burning and pain. I told the anetheologist, and she began trying to make the feeling go away. Well, it just got worse and in a few short minutes I could feel everything. I had what was called an "open window". That means that I was completely numb, except in this one spot. The one spot, just happened to be right where they were performing the surgery. The pain was very intense, and before I knew it Jordan was kicked out of room and they were putting an oxygen mask on me to put me to sleep.
I was very thankful to be put to sleep, because it hurt so bad. When I woke up, they were taking out my epidural and moving me into another bed. I was then rolled into the recovery room, and I was greeted by Jordan and our baby girl Laney. He told me how much she weighted and all of her statistics. Then I was able to hold her and breastfeed her. It was the most amazing feeling holding my baby, and looking at her in the eyes. She was so alert, and seemed to be so content.
After being in the recovery room for a while they finally pushed me up to my room and our families got to come meet Laney, and watch the nurse give her a bath. By now it was 2:30am, but we were all awake with adrenaline. Laney was a very popular baby, at one point there were 20 people in the waiting room waiting to meet her! By the time the last person left it was 4am, and we had too much excitement to sleep. I think I might have got 30 minutes to about an hour of sleep before our first visitors arrived at about 10am on Saturday morning. I didn't feel too tired though. We were busy with visitors the entire day, and by the end of the day I was very tired.
Saturday night was horrible. Jordan and I were both exhausted and the nurses woke us up about every 5 minutes! We tried so hard to sleep, but I kept checking on Laney to make sure she was ok and once I finally fell asleep I would get woken up by a nurse. At one point, I was trying to feed Laney, but I could hardly keep my eyes open. I asked Jordan to try and keep me awake, so he grabbed a book and started to read it. It was so funny, because he was reading the book like a drunk man! He was just saying weird things and slurring his words. He was making up almost everything he was reading. It was so funny, but that shows just how exhausted he was.
On Sunday we had a few visitors, but we were able to get some sleep. The following night was much better as well. Laney slept very well, but again the nurses woke us up several times. They checked her hearing and said she passed all the tests.
It was Monday now, and it was finally time to go home. We left the hospital at about 3:30. It was so exciting taking her home. Jordan was so afraid to drive. I thought it was so cute how nervous he was, but then we were headed home with our bundle of joy. We had arrived there on Thursday as a couple, and now we were leaving as a family of three. Our lives were changed forever, and we had a joy that we had never had before. Laney is a true blessing and she has once again showed us what an amazing God we have.
