I may have to do this in little mini-chapters because I have so much to say and seem to only have five minutes online at a time. This is the fourth time I have logged in and haven't even had a chance to post once!!
So for everyone wondering- Hayley Nicole graced us with her presence on Friday October 27th at 7:14pm. She was a robust 8 pounds 9 ounces and 20.5 inches long. YEAH. She is one healthy kid. Apparently the healthiest in the nursery. I'm secretly applauding my little over-achiever already.
We checked into the hospital at midnight as planned and they put us up in one of their labor and delivery mini-suites. It was pretty nice actually. It pays to have friends that work at the hospital you plan to deliver at. My husband and my best friend were both there for me even though we knew that it could be hours before the Pitocin really worked it's magic. Of course, the optimist in me was hoping that I would be one of the lucky few where the Pitocin kick started labor and miraculously just a few short hours later the baby would arrive. Yeah. No such luck, but the story is good anyway.
They started my Pitocin and we all settled in for a long night of waiting. There was a fold out couch in the room that folded out into a twin size bed. Bless my husband and my best friend- they had to share the little couch but they were good sports about it. The Pitocin started around 12:30 am. Nothing exciting. The nurse came to dial up the Pitocin about every half hour but even an hour later I had felt nothing.
She checked me and I was only 2cm dilated. Hell, I went in there 1-2 dilated. So far not great. I finally fell asleep since the contractions were a joke. At 3:30am I woke to a troop of nurses hovering over me. "WE NEED TO MOVE THE BABY". What? Yeah, I know, that's why we're here. To move this baby. Ohhh. You mean it is in distress? I had four nurses heaving and pushing to try and get a better read on the heartbeat. It had gone from a steady 140-150 beats per minute to a scary 78-80.
Not two minutes later they chose to break my water and install the internal heart monitor on the baby's head. I was scared to death but once we saw the heart rate stabilize I was a little excited. After all, once the water breaks that is when the real labor starts, right?
Ummm. Not exactly. She kept dialing up the Pitocin and the contractions were still pretty mild for another hour or so. Finally around 5:30 am I was uncomfortable enough to ask her to check if I was eligible for the heralded epidural. They don't like to administer them until at least 4cm but I was begging. I was almost 4cm so she went for the anesthesiologist. Of course, the most popular guy in the hospital. He did a great job and I was in heaven after he left. He had to stick me twice which I didn't much mind- and really, the pain of getting the epidural was nowhere near as scary as I had worked it up to be in my head.
I was checked each hour and labor was progressing very slowly. Only half to one centimeter per hour. They had dialed up the Pitocin as high as they could and the contractions turned into rolling waves instead of sharp spikes. They had to turn it off. I was disappointed to say the least. They turned it back on about an hour and a half later and the contractions turned spiky again. However, at this point, even though I was dilating, the baby was not moving down at all. Apparently the contractions were not strong enough to move her.
Around 3:30 pm we found that I was dilated to a ten but the baby still needed to come down. It was determined that the contractions were not going to push her down so they wanted me to try pushing. I pushed for about 40 minutes with absolutely no progress. She was happy where she was at- her heart rate was not distressed whatsoever with my pushing. I was worried that maybe she had some problems with her umbilical cord- maybe she was hog-tied and couldn't come down. They told me that they would think that too except for the lack of distress in her heart rate.
The doctor finally got tired of waiting and showed up around 4:15. After all, it was a Friday afternoon and he had given his staff a half day. I just turned it into a whole day for him. He checked me too and said that they were going to turn off the Pitocin again and have me rest. This is the first time he suggested that it was possible she wasn't moving down because she didn't fit. The scary C-Section conversation was initiated.
I wasn't having any of that. I wanted a vaginal birth for numerous reasons and C-Section never even entered my mind even as a back up plan. He had to go make rounds at another hospital but he told me we would talk when he got back.
I cried and cried on my best friend's shoulder. As always, she was a total pillar for me and she helped me work through my issues. I decided to give it one more try pushing, so that I could say I really did give it every opportunity. The doctor came back from his rounds and we all pushed together for another twenty minutes or so. I managed to move her down just a tiny bit, just enough for my husband to see that she had black hair, and then we decided that C-section was going to be our only option.
They whisked me off to the OR. My husband can barely handle being near a hospital, much less in an operating room so he was excused to wait near the nursery. My sister and best friend got to come with me (another story for another day- apparently anesthesiologists think they are GOD and they get to rule the OR.)
I was involuntarily shaking uncontrollably. It was a horrible feeling to know that I couldn't stop the movement and I was worried that the bottom half of me would shake too much for them to get a good incision. I had no idea that the shaking was occurring only at the top of the draped part of my body.
I was waiting for the narrative to begin. You know, the doctor kindly saying "we are cleaning off your abdomen to begin your incision. Now we are making the first cut." Yeah, that only happens on the Discovery Channel shows. In reality the doctors were talking about sports, vacations, and other random things that I didn't pay attention to. I asked my sister when they were going to start and she told me they were actually getting ready to pull the head through. Just goes to show you what anesthesia really does!
They pulled out her head and I was told that she had the chubbiest cheeks going. It took them a bit of tugging to get the rest of her out and that was when we found out it was a girl. I was dying. I was happy with a girl but all along I was so convinced (for no real reason) that it was a boy. They held her over the drape for me to see and I was crying so hard I couldn't stop. She was amazing. And so healthy!!!
They cleaned her up, I got to kiss her goodbye, and she went off to the nursery to show up all the little frail babies.
She is beautiful. She has a full head of black hair. She looks like her dad (which I had prayed for regardless of whether it was a boy or girl because I love my husband's features). She is so strong it is unbelievable- already holds up her own head and is so alert you sometimes really think she is a month older than she really is.
At six days old she has already captured the heart of the household and both her daddy and I are totally wrapped around her tiny finger. We can't stop staring at her she is so beautiful, and we can't stop kissing her when she is in our arms. I cry every now and then (like right now) when I think of everything we have done to get to this point. We are so blessed and so fortunate to not only have a baby after unexplained infertility, but to have one as healthy and beautiful as we do.
As I now hear her crying and my husband desperately trying to soothe her without interrupting me I know I must sign off. But I will get back online soon as I already have several "funnies" to share.
