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| Me and my belly upon arrival at the hospital |
I will give you the non-gory birth story (not that there is that much gore but I will leave out the gross bits for those of you that don't want to hear it) about how out little baby girl came into this world. I can't write a birth story without some uncomfortable words like umbilical cord, birth canal and pushing so if those things make you uncomfortable just look at the adorable photos and come back tomorrow some Halloween goodness.
We went to the hospital Thursday night (October 20th) at 11pm so I could get this drug called Cytotec that was supposed to get me ready for labor. If you know me you know that 11pm was late for me to be up. I was also a bit nervous about this drug that would help me go into labor. I didn't really want to be induced until a week after my due date and Friday was actually five days, I think my want to not be pregnant anymore was greater than my wish not to be induced. Well, we got there at 11 and the nurse told us we didn't have to be there until Midnight. Wah Wah. We just walked around the hospital and goofed off for an hour until it was time to settle into our room
The nurse came in and got us situated and around 1:30 they started an iv and checked my cervix. I was dilated to a 3 so they said they couldn't give me the cytotec because I was too far progressed. Sweet!! She said another nurse would be in around 4:30 or 5:00 to start pitocin. I was having random contractions but I had been having those for about 3 weeks, nothing that stayed or got stronger. There was a girl down the hall who we could see on a monitor was definitely having some pretty strong contractions, we thought she must be close to having her baby. We watched the monitor like it was reality TV as the little squiggles went up and down and then they stopped. Right after they stopped we heard loud cheering coming from the room. It seemed she had an audience of more than the allotted two people and they were pretty enthusiastic about what was going on.
After the excitement we both tried to sleep, I was in the hospital bed and Steve on the couch bed in the room. We have a hospital that is brand new and super nice but the "dad" beds were made to last for many years therefore aren't too comfortable in the first few years of use. I think we each slept for about two hours before the nurse came in at 5:30 to start pitocin. (This is a drug that makes you have contractions.) Here we go, bring on the contractions. I started having them pretty regularly and around 7:30am. At first they were slightly uncomfortable and then they started getting more uncomfortable so I told the nurse I was ready to get my epidural. My doctor was coming in at 8 and I was trying to wait until then to ask for it but I asked slightly before. The anesthesiologist, who I know, had already come in and talked to us but at the time I didn't really need one yet. He mentioned that everyone would probably want one at the same time. This is exactly what happened. There was someone getting an epidural and two other girls in front of me, poops.
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| The oxygen mask looks good right?? |
The anesthesiologist came in a little after 9 to give me my epidural. Ahhh, some relief! I was very happy to see him walk through the door. The contractions were downright painful by this time as well. I mean I was trying to laugh and make small talk but it was hard through the wrenching that was happening in my gut. I asked him to give me a lower dose than what they normally do so I could still move my legs and feel to push. Let me explain something about an epidural for those of you who haven't had one. It is a strange feeling but both mine have been wonderful. It feels cold going into your spine and then it starts spreading through the lower half of your body. Both times my right leg has gotten numb before my left let. The pain was dulling and I could still move both legs but the right leg was tingling like it was asleep and the left one was just losing some feeling. My right leg felt like it weighed 500 pounds. I kept having Steve help turn me over and pick up my right leg until some of the feeling came back. I turned over on my left side so the medicine would spread evenly. Until it did I could feel the contractions on the left side of my body but not the right.
While I was sitting up for the epidural I was having strong contractions and the nurse said she thought things were progressing pretty quickly. She came in about 20 minutes later and checked me and I was dilated to a 9, holy wow! She said I would be ready to push in about 30-45 minutes. Another holy wow! I immediately called my mom and told her to get her butt over there so she could be in the room. Steve's mom was at the hospital but working so we knew she would come over after she got off work. I was hoping they could both be in the room again. Well around 10:30 it was time to push. This went on for around an hour and Isla, like her brother Cian was face up while making her exit (or entrance) when she was supposed to be face down. This makes it harder for them to come out and this stubborn little chick would make a move backward for each more forward. I have described the pushing feeling to friends but I will leave my description out this time as it is not dinner time material. I will say that the moment your child enters the world there is a huge amount of physical relief.
Steve was wonderful during the process and finally our little girl came into this world! My doctor said she had the umbilical cord wrapped loosely around her neck which is why she kept trying to move back into my belly. Steve got to cut her cord. She was beautiful and she has her eyes wide open taking in everything around her. They got her cleaned off and let her stay in the room with us for an hour before taking her back to weigh her. This was awesome because I was able to nurse a little and spend time with my new favorite little girl.
Isla Katherine George
born: October 21, 2011 11:27 am
6lbs 10oz; 19 3/4 inches
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| Isla and Mommy |
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| Isla and Daddy |
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