Our squeaky little bundle of joy has arrived, and we love her sooooo much. Consider this her "birth story" post. Reader's discretion is advised…because really… it just is.
Jump back to Monday, 2/24- the day before I'm due. I go in for my check up at the doctor's office. I haven't dilated anymore (still just over a 2), and I was frustrated. I had been walking and doing CRAZY things to try and get her to come out. The doctor asked if I would like to schedule an induction. Knowing it would be daaaaays (eternity) if not a week (eternity and a half), I decided to schedule an induction. If she came before then on her own- PERFECT! If not, I knew that she would be here soon. Heaven forbid the poor child over-bake. The nurse called the hospital to set it up, came back in the room, and she says "How does tomorrow night sound?" Guys…pretty sure I wet my jeans. TOMORROW?!?! So much for "mentally preparing" and all that crap! Needless to say, I agreed, called Nate in tears, and went home to start getting things ready.
Then the doctor's office called…..
It went something along the lines of "the hospital screwed up, they can't take you when they said they could, how about Thursday?" Okay, don't be messing with the overly pregnant lady's emotions. I had finally come to grips with having a baby SO SOON, and now I have to get unexcited and unstressed so I can live through the next 3 ish days. Rude.
That. Entire. Week. Was. Terrible.
I walked. And walked. And walked. And did all sorts of crazy things to *hopefully* get her to come before my induction date. No such luck. I was just a basket case, ready for her to come out. After days of pacing (literally) it was Thursday at 5 o'clock. I was scheduled to go in at 8. I called the hospital to make sure it was a go, and to much disappointment heard the words, "Sorry, our floor is full still. We don't have room for you. Call back at 8 to see if anything has changed." So we called back at 8. Then 9. Then FINALLY at 10:00 pm the hospital called and said, "We are ready for you!" I tried to calm the thrashing elephants in my stomach as Nate threw everything in the car. I mean really, I was about to experience something I had never done before. It was scary! Not to mention, I DESPISE hospitals. Oh, and all those *lovely* horror stories you hear about people giving birth. Okay, forget it. I was a hot mess.
We got to the hospital at about 10:30 pm, got all checked in, and I sat in the bed just staring at the wall while my husband rummaged through the cupboards and whatever else he could find to keep himself occupied. Two nurses came in, one to ask me a million questions, one to get my IV in. If you saw the picture of my arm, you can see the nurse had a rather difficult time. She ended up blowing 2 of my veins, but finally got a vein on the third try. Seriously, that hurt SOOOOO bad. I was like "Really? I'm already in pain, and this is just for the IV? Fetch! I'm in trouble!"
My nurse started me on a pill that worked to help soften the cervix. She came back at about 3:30 to give me my second dose. She asked if I was having any cramping or anything (like I was supposed to). I replied with "Nope! I just hate this bed and the sound of the blood pressure monitor!" Theeeeeen I started cramping. I would compare it to wimpy and not very strong "that time of the month" cramps. I could still sleep (not that I was sleeping) through them.
Come 7:30 am, Friday 2/28, I hadn't dilated anymore. I was FURIOUS! They called the doctor, he said to do another dose and that he would be there soon to break my water. He came at about 8, did that, and the cramping started getting progressively worse (which is a good thing, right?). The contractions started getting harder and harder as the morning went on, and at about 11:30 the nurse said, "I'm going to call and see if we can't get you your epidural. You shouldn't be in this much pain. I can tell you're hurting." Seriously. Those contractions were gnarly. "Control your breathing!" my foot! Anyway, so then mister man came and did the epidural and it HONESTLY was not that bad. The stupid IV attempts were 10 times worse than the epidural. Once those meds kicked in, I was a totally better person. Just ask my husband. Before I was not a very happy camper, and I'm pretty sure I caused Nate's fingers to go blue. He's so awesome. :) I was back to cracking jokes and being hilarious…and on a strict ice chips diet. That was not my favorite…until they introduced me to their Mango flavoring. It was like a snowcone. Best day ever.
At about 1 or 1:30, the nurse came in and started the Pitocin. I was still a super happy camper. 2 hours later, the nurse came in and was like "Wow, are you hurting? You shouldn't be! You should just feel pressure!" I said, "Um…Yes I'm hurting. I don't know why, but it's bad." "OOOOOHHHH!" She says. "That's why you're in pain. You're baby is pushing on your bone trying to descend! You're farther along than we thought!"She ended up checking me, baby was literally RIGHT there, and I was successfully at a 10. She let me rest and "labor down" for a bit. She said I would need my strength and rest for what was up ahead. It was nice to be able to rest for a little while. She came back and suggested we start pushing just a little. We did that off and on for a little while when she said, "Okay, we better stop. I've delivered babies before, so I know I can do it, I would just rather not. I don't get paid the big bucks to do that." The doctor was in shortly, I pushed one set of 3, then once more and she was here, big screams and everything! I couldn't believe how fast the entire afternoon had gone. It felt like a whirlwind. I couldn't take my eyes off of her as they cleaned her up and weighed her. One of the coolest moments of my life was sitting there holding this precious baby with my husband by my side leaning over the rails of the hospital bed. That will be something I will cherish forever.
And that's my story. "Recovery" hasn't really been recovery. I have felt really great, and there wasn't anything afterwards the doctors were concerned about. In fact, the doctor that delivered Paisley said, "I promise I don't say this to everyone…but you *literally* made childbirth look easy." I almost feel that way, too. People kept teasing me saying, "Well duh, she's an Idaho farm girl!" That's right. But all those horror stories didn't come true, it wasn't as bad as I had hyped myself up for. Today I'm feeling very fortunate and blessed that everything went as smooth as it did.
Now the little bug is two weeks old, 8 & 1/2 pounds, and nothing but lovable, kissable cheeks. I sure am glad that Heavenly Father trusts me enough to be her mom.
She loooooves making kissy lips. HAHA
Oh, and making HILARIOUS faces.
Sidenote: Because inquiring minds often ask, her middle initial comes from both her beautiful grandmas, Launa & Laurel.
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