Thursday, January 6, 2011

the birth story

if this birth didn't teach me that things will work out the way God wants them to work out, then i'm not sure i'll ever learn that lesson. this was an amazing experience, but dang was it tough.

the back story leading up to the day:
from the moment that i found out i was pregnant, i knew that i wanted to try to have a vaginal birth and forgo having another cesarean. after all the pep talks and reassurances from the doctor that this was a great plan, we found out that the copay on a hospital stay would go up $900 at the beginning of the new year. i also found out that the baby was measuring 1-2 weeks ahead of schedule, meaning he/she was big. i started to get nervous that if i waited til the end, i wouldn't be able to have a vaginal birth regardless of how hard i tried. plus, i didn't want to spend more money to have a c-section than i had to. i know. it's pretty ridiculous that i'm monetizing the birth of my second child. so two weeks before my due date, i scheduled a c-section for december 31st; the perfect low copay tax-deduction baby would arrive new years eve. but honestly, i prayed daily that God would start contractions early and i would have this baby early.

the actual story of the day:
i woke up at 4am on december 30th to a contraction. no big deal since i've been having them for months. then about 15 minutes later, i woke up again. this happened over and over until about 6:30 when i thought it was a good idea to start timing them. i got up, showered, and had contractions every 8-10 minutes. this continued for about 3 hours, when they started getting down to 5-6 minutes apart. i insisted we get lunch before i called the doctor, because honestly, i just wanted to eat before they told me that i couldn't. i called in after lunch, when contractions were 3-4 minutes apart, and ended up going to the doctor. the doctor said that i was 3-4 cm and head to the hospital immediately. the day before i was at zero centimeters and the doctor told me that things were not going to progress quick enough and i would be having a c-section, so i was pumped to say the least.

at 4pm, we arrived at the hospital and got hooked up. she broke my water, and i immediately went to 8cm. oh, and i got the epidural. fantastic decision. for the next 3 hours, we peacefully waited and waited and waited until i finally progressed to 10cm. i almost didn't believe the doctor that it was time because she was unbelievably calm and patient, a trait i would appreciate immensely later.

time to push. and push. and push. and push. i wasn't making a ton of progress, so dr. haab got the vacuum out and suctioned the baby over my lower vertebrae. apparently, my lowest vertebrae tilt inward, which makes it nearly impossible for a baby's head to get out unaided. which is why finn couldn't make it out and i ended up with a c-section the last time. needless to say, i was a little depressed when the doctor said that there was a very good chance this wouldn't work and that i would be wheeled into the o.r. in the next few minutes. but i just kept pushing. and pushing. and pushing. i looked down at one point and thought the doctor might just climb into my vagina completely. it was not fun. so not fun.

but after two hours, we were as close as close could be. after two hours of pushing, i was exhausted and just wanted him/her out. i now understand why women scream so much once they get that close to the end. it's painful. they had kept the epidural on the lowest dose so i could feel as much as possible, but i didn't want to feel as much as possible any longer. after a disgusting episiotomy that i watched in mirror (yugghh), three contractions and lots of shrieking later, SHE was born. our perfect little girl.

two days later, we named that little girl adelaide marjorie and now i can't imagine our lives without her.

2 comments:

  1. awww i love her so much already.

    also, i just google'd "episiotomy".... yikes. :)

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  2. Welcome to the world Ada Bug! And, thank you Katie for the opportunity to watch this wonderful little lady come into the world. You worked so hard to get her out, but is she ever worth it!

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