17-5-2009 - Birth story and pictures!

My mood while writing this blog: Hungry

On Wednesday, May 13, I went to the hospital around 6:30am for my induction. At this point I was 41 weeks and 1 day. Per an agreement with my doctor, they broke my water around 9 am, and started pitocin around 9:30.

During my pregnancy I was determined to have a natural birth. I was 100% anti-epidural, and was working hard on researching ways to succeed in these plans. Sadly, it didn't go as I planned. My BP was very high when I arrived at the hospital (156/109) so I was confined to the bed for monitoring. They had to constantly check my BP and give me blood pressure medicine, so I was pretty much stuck on my back.

Eventually the medicine started working and my BP went down to around 120/90. It was much better, and I was allowed out of bed. Sadly, at this point, my contractions were coming 2 minutes apart and I couldn't walk or stand through them so I just stayed in bed. Switching positions even became a huge pain. I got up to go to the bathroom and was in there for 30 minutes because I kept having contractions while trying to stand up.

I went into the hospital at 2 cm and 75% effaced. At 5 cm I was ready for some sort of pain medication so they gave me Stadol. It worked through literally 3 contractions! LOL! All it did was make me not care that I was in pain, but I could still feel it. At this point Kaydence's heartrate dropped into the 90s so they immediately moved me to my left side. Her heartrate kept dropping, so I flipped to my right side, was given oxygen, and it came back up. Because of this, I was now stuck on my right side for the remainder of my labor. After what seemed like eternity, I was 7 cm and requested an epidural. At this time my contractions were very painful and 1 minute apart. I literally was getting no break, and was in tears because I just wanted a minute to breathe without a contraction. The doctor was doing the shots during contractions so I didn't feel anything. After she was done, I felt 2 more contractions and that was it.

After I got the epidural I fell asleep. I remember being amazed that I could still feel and move my legs, but I lost all feeling in my abdomen. It was nice. Around 4:30 my best friend arrived at the hospital so I woke up to talk to her. At 5 a nurse came in to check me and said I was 10 cm and ready to push. We did a bunch of practice pushes, but I couldn't feel anything so I don't think I was pushing correctly.

Around 5:30 the pushes became effective. The nurse could see the top of Kaydence's head, and everyone in the room was in awe of how much hair she has! So, the nurse brought a mirror so I could see her hair. The mirror also allowed me to see when I was pushing correctly, so things quickly progressed. At this point I could feel that I was tearing. The nurse was concerned that the epidural was wearing off, so I pushed the button for an extra dose. By 6, I was completely ready. While the nurses and doctor were running around getting ready, I was still pushing. My doctor had to tell me to stop because her head was almost completely out no one was near me to catch her. Oops... lol.

Once everyone was in place, I pushed twice and out she came. After her head came out, it felt like the rest of her just slid out. It was amazing. My friend recorded the whole thing, and I've watched the video a few times since. I still can't believe such a big thing came out of a little hole. LOL! I ended up with a 2nd degree tear, and I was informed after delivery that there was meconium in my water.

Anyway, she was born at 6:06pm (exactly 12 hours after I received word that I could come to the hospital for my induction!!). She was 6 lbs 11.8 oz, and 20 cm. At discharge two days later, she was 6 lbs 5 oz. She is breastfeeding well, and is doing amazing.

One thing I find interesting is how much I love co-sleeping. During my pregnancy I decided not to do it because I didn't want to risk hurting her. Our first night home, she refused to sleep unless she was being held. I was exhausted so I just laid her down in my bed, and feel asleep with one arm over her. She immediately went to sleep so I was hooked. Hopefully I can get her to sleep in her crib one day though.

Last night she slept from 10pm-2am, and 3am- 8am. Her sleep schedule is awesome!!

Thanks to everyone that offered me words of encouragement and advice throughout my pregnancy. I love and appreciate all of you.

Kaydence's first time in her car seat:

Kaydence sleep on my lap:

Glamour shot: