This morning could have been really, really bad. I usually have no problems parking in my office building's garage. But today, I managed to wedge my car into the tightest parking space known to man. (to be perfectly honest, the space wasn't small, but the angle sucked. but I *did* manage to wedge my car in the space). I'm not exaggerating when I say that there was maybe one inch between the right side of my car and the garage wall. If I would have backed out, my mirror would have been torn off. I tried a few small maneuvers but I'm pretty sure I only made it worse. I knew I was stuck and didn't have the skills to get my car out of there without damaging it, so I went to the experts.
One of the garage attendants came out to help me and when he saw my predicament, he exclaimed, "Oh my goodness!" in his cute little old man way. I had my head in my hands as he started backing it out, just waiting to hear metal meet concrete. But wouldn't you know it, he backed that Subaru out with no problem or hesitation.
When he got out, I gave him a HUGE hug. I need to bring him cookies or something.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Sydney's Birth Story
I actually started writing this on March 10th - four days after she was born. I didn't want to forget anything, but of course I did. Thankfully, our doula also wrote her version of the birth story so that gave me more details. It's really long but I wanted to include as much detail as I could manage so we'd always have it.
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Sydney’s due date was March 2 and I had a doctor’s appointment that day. I was only about 2cm dilated and 60% effaced and my doctor was pretty insistent to schedule an induction for March 7. I really wanted to go to at least 41 weeks by myself (March 9th) so I called the office back to reschedule to the 9th. That meant another ultrasound and doctor appointment on the 7th , so I scheduled everything and prayed that she would come on her own.
On March 3rd, I started trying various methods of natural induction that I had read about as safe. On March 3rd (a Thursday), I walked around the mall for about an hour and then went to an acupuncture appointment. Most of the needles were inserted in my lower legs and feet with just a few in my hands. The appointment only lasted about 20 minutes but was extremely relaxing (I even fell asleep). The doctor said that something should happen that night or the next day. Friday, March 4th, I booked a massage for the morning and ended up with a massage therapist who had a lot of experience with labor inducing massage. She focused on my feet, lower legs, hands, and lower back with lots of trigger points all over. The massage was so relaxing and she said to come back on Monday if nothing happened over the weekend.
Well…it could have been a combination of everything I tried, but I lost my mucus plug on Friday night around 8-9pm. It was clear, but a large piece, so that gave me hope that something would happen in the next few days.
On Saturday, I woke up around 7 but stayed in bed until around 8. Around 8:15, I felt some mild contractions, and after five hit within the hour, I decided to get out of bed to see if they would continue. The contractions continued on a regular basis without much intensity, but I sort of figured labor was in the early stages.
James and I hung out all day while I texted our doula, Becky, and we let our parents and close friends know that things were happening. I lost another large part of the mucus plug (that had some bloody show); this really let me know this was it! We were both excited and used some of our nervous energy cleaning around the house, but then relaxed and watched movies. TheHangover was especially entertaining and laughing felt great. I used a contraction timer on my iPhone and lived most of that day in increments of minutes. My parents drove down from Pennsylvania and arrived around 7pm. By 9pm, my contractions were more intense and closer together, so we decided to head to the hospital.
We got to triage in L&D and they monitored the baby and me. She was looking great with a wonderful heart rate, but I was measuring only 2cm dilated (same as my appointment earlier that week) and my blood pressure was really high. I had readings like 181/93 and 157/97, so the nurse told me I would not be going home…which was fine with me!!
After being transferred to our new room (which, by the way, was huge and awesome), we all just hung out for a bit. Becky arrived in time for the doctor to check my progress. By 12:30am, I had progressed to 3cm and was 90% effaced which gave me some hope! The doctor was still concerned about my blood pressure and advised that we may have to decide on an epidural or magnesium to help bring it down. Becky, James, and I talked and all decided that the epidural would be the choice if I had to make one. By this time, the contractions were getting really intense and I had already been in labor for 17 hours, so I was beginning to doubt my plan of a natural labor. I put on some music and labored through a few painful contractions while listening to some of my favorite music: Zero 7, Sia, and Everything But the Girl.
A nurse came in later to check my progress (upon my request) and the examination had me in tears. It was soooo painful but thankfully Becky held my hand and helped me through it. We were all disappointed that despite even stronger contractions, I had only progressed to 4cm. At that point, I decided that I had had enough pain and really needed rest in order to push later, so I decided to have the epidural. I had been in labor for about 20 hours.
The anesthesiologist arrived pretty quickly and everyone helped talk me through what to expect as far as the local numbing agent and then of course the giant epidural needle. (I didn’t see the needle until after it was administered. Holy Crap!) The local was a little painful, but I’m sure not as much as the other (bigger!) needle. It was more uncomfortable than painful, but soon provided sweet relief. I was surprised that I could still feel and move my legs but thankfully could not feel any more contractions. We all decided to get some rest; my parents slept in the waiting room, Becky headed home, and James and I napped in the room. The IV bag emptied at one point and set off an alarm that woke both of us up, but we were able to get a few hours sleep anyway. I had to keep switching sides since whatever side I wasn’t laying on would decrease the effectiveness of the epidural.
The doctor checked me again around 7:30 or so and I was still only at 5cm dilated, which almost had me in tears. He decided that we should try pitocin in order to get the contractions closer together, especially since I had been in labor for almost 24 hours. At some point along the way, my water broke, but I wasn’t sure when. Most likely before I even got the epidural, but it was a slow leak. I think that put all of us a little bit more on edge since there was now a clock ticking.
My best friend Nichole arrived around 8:30am and I was so happy to see her. My blood pressure kept fluctuating so they changed the cuff to the other arm and it went back down. The doctor came in to check on me again around 10:30 and I was still only at 5cm, so he started talking about the possibility of a c-section. That was the word I did not want to hear, but I knew that I was not progressing well. He said he would give me two hours and if I wasn’t at 6cm by then, the c-section was the only answer. Unfortunately, we didn’t make it to two hours because the baby’s heart rate kept dropping during the now very intense contractions. I knew this was a possibility with pitocin, but the doctor also said that there could be other reasons she was going into a bit of distress each time. He stopped the pitocin in hopes that the baby would respond better during contractions, but after careful monitoring, he saw that she was not responding well even without the pitocin. The decision was made to do the c-section just a little while after 11am. Despite the c-section being the last thing I wanted, I didn’t allow myself to get upset or overly disappointed. I knew that I’d have a hard time recovering from feeling sorry for myself so I tried to stay positive and took a lot of comfort in the fact that we’d meet our daughter very soon!
The team that prepped me for surgery was great. I got more medication, James put on scrubs, and they told me what to expect. My dad gathered all of us together and prayed, which is when I nearly broke down, but I somehow managed to hold myself together. I was wheeled into the OR at 11:48am and the procedure began at 12:08pm. It was a very weird experience, but James stayed by my head and held my hand the whole time. He and I just stared at each other the whole time and barely spoke. I just kept praying for all of us to stay calm and that she would be safe. Once I heard her little cry, I started crying too. They held her briefly over the curtain so I could see her (she was all screams and flailing arms and legs) and then she was whisked off to the other side of the room for clean up and tests. James was called over and when they asked him if he’d like to cut the cord and he said yes, my tears started all over again. He was able to bring her over to me while they finished stitching me up and all I could do was touch her and stare. I couldn’t really move due to the medication so I just stared and cried at our baby. Our daughter.
James went with the nurses to the nursery for Sydney’s shots and bath while I was taken back to the room. His parents had arrived shortly after I was taken into surgery and I’m so happy that they were able to be there to see James with Sydney in the nursery. The medication (probably the morphine) made me really sleepy and out of it so it was easier for me to keep my eyes closed and just focus on taking each breath. My mouth was so dry so the nurse allowed Becky to give me some ice chips, which helped a lot. It didn’t take long before I started waking up a bit and feeling started to come back to my arms. Then all of a sudden there seemed to be a million people in the room. James brought Sydney in to see me and all I could see was my husband walking towards me with our brand new daughter. I couldn’t stop crying. I was still numb and a bit out of it, but it was such a great moment for our new family of three. The lactation consultant came by and tried to help with breastfeeding, but I was too woozy to really understand her or follow instructions. Then the nurse tried to help (baby opens mouth, shove your nipple in? no thank you!) and I should have just asked her to stop and asked for Becky to help me.
I was then wheeled into my new room, where we’d stay for the next three nights.
Next up: The first three days with our daughter (in the hospital). ☺
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Sydney's Birth Story
Sydney’s due date was March 2 and I had a doctor’s appointment that day. I was only about 2cm dilated and 60% effaced and my doctor was pretty insistent to schedule an induction for March 7. I really wanted to go to at least 41 weeks by myself (March 9th) so I called the office back to reschedule to the 9th. That meant another ultrasound and doctor appointment on the 7th , so I scheduled everything and prayed that she would come on her own.
On March 3rd, I started trying various methods of natural induction that I had read about as safe. On March 3rd (a Thursday), I walked around the mall for about an hour and then went to an acupuncture appointment. Most of the needles were inserted in my lower legs and feet with just a few in my hands. The appointment only lasted about 20 minutes but was extremely relaxing (I even fell asleep). The doctor said that something should happen that night or the next day. Friday, March 4th, I booked a massage for the morning and ended up with a massage therapist who had a lot of experience with labor inducing massage. She focused on my feet, lower legs, hands, and lower back with lots of trigger points all over. The massage was so relaxing and she said to come back on Monday if nothing happened over the weekend.
Well…it could have been a combination of everything I tried, but I lost my mucus plug on Friday night around 8-9pm. It was clear, but a large piece, so that gave me hope that something would happen in the next few days.
On Saturday, I woke up around 7 but stayed in bed until around 8. Around 8:15, I felt some mild contractions, and after five hit within the hour, I decided to get out of bed to see if they would continue. The contractions continued on a regular basis without much intensity, but I sort of figured labor was in the early stages.
James and I hung out all day while I texted our doula, Becky, and we let our parents and close friends know that things were happening. I lost another large part of the mucus plug (that had some bloody show); this really let me know this was it! We were both excited and used some of our nervous energy cleaning around the house, but then relaxed and watched movies. TheHangover was especially entertaining and laughing felt great. I used a contraction timer on my iPhone and lived most of that day in increments of minutes. My parents drove down from Pennsylvania and arrived around 7pm. By 9pm, my contractions were more intense and closer together, so we decided to head to the hospital.
We got to triage in L&D and they monitored the baby and me. She was looking great with a wonderful heart rate, but I was measuring only 2cm dilated (same as my appointment earlier that week) and my blood pressure was really high. I had readings like 181/93 and 157/97, so the nurse told me I would not be going home…which was fine with me!!
After being transferred to our new room (which, by the way, was huge and awesome), we all just hung out for a bit. Becky arrived in time for the doctor to check my progress. By 12:30am, I had progressed to 3cm and was 90% effaced which gave me some hope! The doctor was still concerned about my blood pressure and advised that we may have to decide on an epidural or magnesium to help bring it down. Becky, James, and I talked and all decided that the epidural would be the choice if I had to make one. By this time, the contractions were getting really intense and I had already been in labor for 17 hours, so I was beginning to doubt my plan of a natural labor. I put on some music and labored through a few painful contractions while listening to some of my favorite music: Zero 7, Sia, and Everything But the Girl.
A nurse came in later to check my progress (upon my request) and the examination had me in tears. It was soooo painful but thankfully Becky held my hand and helped me through it. We were all disappointed that despite even stronger contractions, I had only progressed to 4cm. At that point, I decided that I had had enough pain and really needed rest in order to push later, so I decided to have the epidural. I had been in labor for about 20 hours.
The anesthesiologist arrived pretty quickly and everyone helped talk me through what to expect as far as the local numbing agent and then of course the giant epidural needle. (I didn’t see the needle until after it was administered. Holy Crap!) The local was a little painful, but I’m sure not as much as the other (bigger!) needle. It was more uncomfortable than painful, but soon provided sweet relief. I was surprised that I could still feel and move my legs but thankfully could not feel any more contractions. We all decided to get some rest; my parents slept in the waiting room, Becky headed home, and James and I napped in the room. The IV bag emptied at one point and set off an alarm that woke both of us up, but we were able to get a few hours sleep anyway. I had to keep switching sides since whatever side I wasn’t laying on would decrease the effectiveness of the epidural.
The doctor checked me again around 7:30 or so and I was still only at 5cm dilated, which almost had me in tears. He decided that we should try pitocin in order to get the contractions closer together, especially since I had been in labor for almost 24 hours. At some point along the way, my water broke, but I wasn’t sure when. Most likely before I even got the epidural, but it was a slow leak. I think that put all of us a little bit more on edge since there was now a clock ticking.
My best friend Nichole arrived around 8:30am and I was so happy to see her. My blood pressure kept fluctuating so they changed the cuff to the other arm and it went back down. The doctor came in to check on me again around 10:30 and I was still only at 5cm, so he started talking about the possibility of a c-section. That was the word I did not want to hear, but I knew that I was not progressing well. He said he would give me two hours and if I wasn’t at 6cm by then, the c-section was the only answer. Unfortunately, we didn’t make it to two hours because the baby’s heart rate kept dropping during the now very intense contractions. I knew this was a possibility with pitocin, but the doctor also said that there could be other reasons she was going into a bit of distress each time. He stopped the pitocin in hopes that the baby would respond better during contractions, but after careful monitoring, he saw that she was not responding well even without the pitocin. The decision was made to do the c-section just a little while after 11am. Despite the c-section being the last thing I wanted, I didn’t allow myself to get upset or overly disappointed. I knew that I’d have a hard time recovering from feeling sorry for myself so I tried to stay positive and took a lot of comfort in the fact that we’d meet our daughter very soon!
The team that prepped me for surgery was great. I got more medication, James put on scrubs, and they told me what to expect. My dad gathered all of us together and prayed, which is when I nearly broke down, but I somehow managed to hold myself together. I was wheeled into the OR at 11:48am and the procedure began at 12:08pm. It was a very weird experience, but James stayed by my head and held my hand the whole time. He and I just stared at each other the whole time and barely spoke. I just kept praying for all of us to stay calm and that she would be safe. Once I heard her little cry, I started crying too. They held her briefly over the curtain so I could see her (she was all screams and flailing arms and legs) and then she was whisked off to the other side of the room for clean up and tests. James was called over and when they asked him if he’d like to cut the cord and he said yes, my tears started all over again. He was able to bring her over to me while they finished stitching me up and all I could do was touch her and stare. I couldn’t really move due to the medication so I just stared and cried at our baby. Our daughter.
James went with the nurses to the nursery for Sydney’s shots and bath while I was taken back to the room. His parents had arrived shortly after I was taken into surgery and I’m so happy that they were able to be there to see James with Sydney in the nursery. The medication (probably the morphine) made me really sleepy and out of it so it was easier for me to keep my eyes closed and just focus on taking each breath. My mouth was so dry so the nurse allowed Becky to give me some ice chips, which helped a lot. It didn’t take long before I started waking up a bit and feeling started to come back to my arms. Then all of a sudden there seemed to be a million people in the room. James brought Sydney in to see me and all I could see was my husband walking towards me with our brand new daughter. I couldn’t stop crying. I was still numb and a bit out of it, but it was such a great moment for our new family of three. The lactation consultant came by and tried to help with breastfeeding, but I was too woozy to really understand her or follow instructions. Then the nurse tried to help (baby opens mouth, shove your nipple in? no thank you!) and I should have just asked her to stop and asked for Becky to help me.
I was then wheeled into my new room, where we’d stay for the next three nights.
Next up: The first three days with our daughter (in the hospital). ☺
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