She's Here!

On Thursday, February 23rd, we welcomed Mary Amelia in to the world! Here is the birth story of our little due date baby (FYI - this is going to be a bit detailed and graphic):

As you know from previous posts, I was heading in for my appointment with Dr. Morton on Tuesday knowing that part of that appointment would be scheduling an induction. So off I went, knowing that at the very least I would leave with an end game plan. Everything looked great at my appointment - strong heartbeat, measuring on time etc. I had seen a lot of people online (yes, I was reading through community message board postings) saying that they were having their membranes swept/stripped. Essentially, this is when the doctor separates the amniotic sac from the uterine wall during a cervical check. This is thought to encourage labor in some women. Since this was my 40 week appointment, I thought 'what the heck?' and asked Dr. Morton's opinion. From her strong positive response, I was somewhat surprised she hadn't already mentioned the idea to me! Dr. Morton explained that both of her own children were born within a short time of this procedure; which she considered to be a minimal agitation technique that will only work on women who are likely to go into labor soon anyways. She asked if I was interested, and I said 'Sure; why not?' We then talked about the plan should I reach induction. Our final eviction date was set as Friday, March 2nd. Even though I wanted to continue in to the following week if possible, Dr. Morton was going to be on call that day and couldn't guarantee another doctor would see me the next week. So things were tentatively scheduled, and I made my follow up appointment for Wednesday the 29th. Dr. Morton kept saying that she really didn't think I was going to make it that long, but was clear she was speaking statistically.

That night I experienced some mild cramping, which was nothing unusual after a cervical check, and certainly to be expected after a sweep. The next day I experienced what they call 'bloody show.' So I went about my normal business at work, wondering if I was in labor or this was still just normal after effects from the sweep. I remember having contractions throughout the day at work that seemed regular, but nothing that I timed. I must have had some sense that things were happening though, because at the end of the day I made sure that I took home anything that I didn't want just sitting around at work for 3 months....

Once home Trip and I went for a walk, then made dinner. (Thank you Reva for our frozen Marie Callender's meal! It was the perfect thing for that night!) The contractions were slightly more intense and more regular so Trip and I decided to time them. If I remember correctly, our 60 minute average was contractions lasting approx. 45 seconds coming every 2-3 minutes. At this point I was pretty sure something was happening, but didn't know if it might peter out. I took a shower to help relax, and since nothing was painful or disruptive I went ahead and got ready for bed.

My intentions were to sleep for as long as possible. Knowing that either 1) I would wake up with intense contractions or 2) things would peter out and I'd be glad for the sleep. Unfortunately, I had totally forgotten about option 3) staying awake because as soon as I resolved to get some sleep the contractions would become too intense. As you may have guessed, my body went for option 3.

At this point, Trip was asleep on the couch, trying to rest up and dealing with a headache. So I was up wandering the house with intense (not painful, but disruptive) contractions trying not to wake him up, but not being able to stay still. Before long contractions were timing at 1+ minutes long, arriving every 2 minutes or so. Around 12:30, I decided that I needed some emotional support, so I called my mom. Why didn't I wake Trip up? Well, I now knew this was the real deal, and he would need all the sleep he could get - especially with a headache - since I would be waking him up before too long! And my mom was going to fly in from New Mexico, so as much head start as I could give her would be good :-) We were on the phone until around 2:30, when I decided to try and relax a bit before waking up Trip. My plan was to wake him up at 3 and then try to head for the hospital around 4.

So 2:30 AM found me getting ready to take a shower to help ease some of the intensity of the contractions. This was wonderful, and I would recommend a hot shower to any woman in labor! I was just getting ready to think about climbing out to get Trip, when he came to find me. "Was it raining when you started showering?" he asked. "Nope, why?" Apparently there was a thunderstorm that had rumbled through - and now Dakota and Raleigh were missing. Awesome. So off Trip went hunting down our dogs. Thankfully Raleigh was right by the front door, and easily went to the back yard. Dakota? Well, as is typical for a stubborn dog, Trip had to chase him around the neighborhood a bit. I spent that time putting out our spare key and making sure our hospital gear was ready to go.

By 3:30 the dogs were taken care of and Trip was packing the car. I called and left messages at work, and then called the OB's office. The next 30 minutes were spent waiting for a return phone call. When I didn't hear from the doctor by 4 AM, we left for the hospital anyway. The answering service actually called back to ask if I had heard from the doctor yet, which I thought was amazing! On the way to the hospital, the doctor on call let me know that she was transferring my records to the hospital where my progress would be checked and a decision made from there.

We arrived at Maternal Assessment around 4:30 in the morning, where I was put on fetal monitors and checked internally. I was really disappointed to learn that I was STILL 2cm dilated and 90% effaced. NO progress since my appointment on Tuesday. Trip later told me that he remembers them saying 2.5cm, but still. Thankfully the monitors clearly indicated I was experiencing regular and intense contractions. The on-call OB gave me 1.5 hours to labor in Maternal Assessment before a recheck and decision about admission. She also thankfully gave me permission to have only intermittent monitoring during that time. So I broke out my iPod and started listening to my 'Early Labor' playlist. Somewhere on the internet I had read that instrumental jazz and classical music was the most beneficial music for women in early labor. Go figure. I had about 9 tracks that I kept listening to, which were really helpful! I was also provided with a birthing ball to use, and Trip and I walked around the halls a bit. The worst part was that I had hoped to jump back into a shower at the hospital since it was so helpful at home, but the rooms in Maternal Assessment are shower-less. Boo!

Around 6:45 AM, the nurse came back to check, and I had progressed to 4cm! So, the on-call doctor had me admitted, and I was transferred to a labor and delivery room. I remember that the contraction in the wheelchair was very uncomfortable! This is also when I requested they call a doula - one of the perks of laboring overnight was no one else had requested her services yet that day. Once in L&D, I was again hooked up the monitors and told I had to keep them on for at least 20 minutes. The nurse then proceeded to take my medical history, and place my IV line. Well, my assigned nurse tried to place my IV twice, then had to call for back up... Then the back up, who got the line successfully placed nearly pulled it out by tripping over the line. Thankfully Trip was paying close attention and was able to yell for her before my IV was ripped out!

During this time the contractions were pretty intense and painful, but I was able to laugh and joke in between them. I switched music playlists, and Trip had a laugh when I told him my theme song for the day was "Break My Stride". Of course, I was listening to an a cappella version sung by the Brown Derbies, so I broke out singing along with the chorus. After all of my check in time (which felt like forever, but was only 20-30 minutes), I asked if I could get in the shower. They removed my IV line, rigged up a cover for the port with a latex glove, and I stumbled into the bathroom.

I had been looking forward to getting back in the shower ever since 3:00 that morning. The relief from the water was heavenly, even if I had to kneel on all fours to get it to hit my back in the right spot. Unfortunately, this relief was short lived. I was barely in the shower for 5 minutes when I heard a pop, and then saw a gush - my water broke - it was 8:40 AM. My nurse had told me that they would have to do another internal as soon as my water broke - yuck! So I allowed myself a slow minute to pull out of the shower, while Trip alerted the nurse. Needless to say I was frustrated that 1) I was still at 4.5-5cm and 2) I was now bound to the monitors. Yuck! So I spent the next hour or so laboring both next to and on the bed.

Approximately 20 minutes later, my doula Debbie arrived, and according to her records, I was 7 cm. This seems totally amazing to me, but I really had zero sense of time once in the L&D room. The next 2 hours were pretty intense and painful for me. My contractions were incredibly intense. Thankfully they slowed down, so I had a four minute break in-between, where I was able to rest. Trip's hand got pretty damaged during this time from my nails, and I will admit to biting him on the knuckles once too. During this time, I also was screaming - loudly. The doula kept trying to get me to grunt instead, but that just wasn't doing it for me! Trip describes my screaming as very 'operatic' and in keeping with my soprano singing range. At the time I did become concerned about what other patients must be thinking, but Trip and Debbie helped me keep focused on the present. Since these contractions were so intense, and I felt like I needed to push, I kept asking to be checked. There was slow progression to 8, then 8.5cm. Finally, at 10:50 AM I was almost fully dilated, except for a little 'lip' (they're were calling it 9.5 cm). The next 15 minutes were terrible because now I REALLY wanted to push, but was told I couldn't.

Finally, around 11:00 AM, I was declared fully dilated and ready to push. Dr. Gee had been called, and suddenly the room was a swirl of activity. Thankfully they pre-prepare the delivery table etc., so it was just a matter of breaking down the bed etc. Everything was quickly in place, and I began to push. Three contractions, 9 pushes, and 15 minutes later, Mary Amelia arrived! She totally shocked the doctor and the nurse, who both thought that pushing was going to last for a while. In fact, right before the final push there was a conversation between the nurse, doula, and doctor about whether I needed to stop, slow down or keep going. I don't remember who said what, except for Dr. Gee who said, "Oh no - she can't stop now!" Somehow I don't think she realized I was listening because it caught her a bit by surprised when Amelia arrived only seconds later!

Amelia immediately grabbed onto Dr. Gee's gown with a super strong grip. It was also discovered that she had a knot in her umbilical cord. Thankfully the knot wasn't tight, and had not prevented her from receiving any of the needed nutrients, but Dr. Gee decided to send it to the lab anyway. Trip remembered to ask them to wait to clamp the cord, but I'm not sure if it happened or not since they reconfirmed with me, and I was a little out of it at this point in time.... But he cut the cord, they wiped her down, wrapped her up, and then placed her on my chest.

Later Dr. Gee told me she was going to try and get me to slow down a bit, but that it became obvious that wasn't going to happen. In the end I had only a 2nd degree tear, which she said was normal for first time moms. All of the hospital staff were incredibly supportive of my non-medicated delivery, and I kept hearing positive comments about being their star client, which made me feel really good. There is no way that the delivery would have gone as smoothly if it hadn't been for Trip's support. Although we had discussed the desire to have a non-medicated delivery, we had no way of knowing how either of us would react in the moment. At home, Trip would jokingly provide mock support, which had me slightly terrified to be honest. I knew that he wouldn't bring that kind of attitude in to the labor suite, but it left me with little indication of how he was likely to react. The basic story is that he was amazing! I really feel like we probably could have continued without the doula, except that it was great to have hands to squeeze on both sides of the bed. Trip helped me to use my music, remember my breathing, relax between contractions etc. He was present the whole time, both physically and mentally. I am so glad that we were able to enjoy the birth of our daughter together; relying on each other to make it a memorable and joyful experience.

Welcome to the world little Amelia - we love you with all that we are, and can't imagine what life was like without you!