I finally sat down and wrote it!!
Meadow’s Birth Story
Meadow Adisen
Born: December 2, 2006
Time: 6:13 am
Weight: 8 pounds 9 ounces
Length: 20 inchs
After being in early labor since Tuesday November 28, I went in to my OB and had her strip my membranes (I was 1 centimeter dilated) on December 1st at 1pm. Dh and I went out to lunch and then to the mall to walk and try to get active labor started. It was really beautiful because the mall was all decorated for the Holidays and it was a very happy, exciting, and calming place to be =) My contractions started slowly but soon started to get more regular. So we left the mall after a few hours and went to Target which was a little closer to the hospital. My contractions became much more closer together and became very painful. We actually had a lot of shopping to do so we were there for about an hour and by the time we were ready to leave I could barely stand because the contractions were so strong. We got to L&D around 6pm and I was 2 centimeters. They sent me off to walk around the hospital for 2 hours which was pretty much the last thing I wanted to do since I had already been walking for hours before that
but I went and talked on my cell to my friends and my Grandma to pass the time while dh read his book (he refused to do anymore walking lol!) At 9:30pm I went back to get checked and I was 4 centimeters!! They had me hooked up to the monitor which I complained about and told them that I wanted to get up and walk some more (heck I was getting excited now!!) so they put me on the walking monitor and I walked around my room and then sat on the edge of the bed for a while. My dh went home to walk the dogs and get Elle to sleep for my Mom. I refused the Pitocin that they wanted to give me and told them that I preferred to labor on my own. They kept asking me if I wanted anything for pain (seriously they asked me at least 7 times) I told them I would let them know when I needed something. Around 1am they told me that they wanted to break my water at 3 am and asked me if I was planning on having an epidural. I said I would have one right before they broke my water. They started giving me lots of IV fluids which made me shake uncontrollably. My nurse told me that it was because the fluids were cooler than my body temp and I needed them quickly so that I could get the epidural (?). I got my epidural around 2am and it made me feel very warm and comfortable. I was finally able to get comfortable for the first time in months and it felt wonderful!! They turned down the lights and dh and I went to sleep. I didn’t really sleep so much as rest and relax. I remember feeling really safe and peaceful. Which is not something I expected from a hospital birth since I hate hospitals. They came in around 3:30am to break my water and I was at 5 centimeters. They started to give me a very small amount of Pitocin because my contractions started to space out. Around 5am my nurse came in and woke me up to ask me if I was feeling pressure with the contractions. I said “no” but I guess because I was sleeping I did not notice it. With my next contraction I definetly felt pressure so I buzzed my nurse to let her know. The Resident came in to check me, I was complete and he told me that Meadow was facing up. They paged Dr. Ellman and started getting me ready to push. They left the lights off in the room and just turned on the overhead spot lights. I really liked that it was not all bright, cold, and sterile feeling. Once Dr. Ellman got there I started pushing. Pushing was long and hard. I was very grateful for the epidural. I pushed for over 45 minuets because she was facing up it was very hard to push her out. Finally her head came out and I think I said “OMG she is huge!!” a few seconds later she was completely out and getting cleaned off. I pushed out the placenta which felt almost as much a relief as when Meadow came out. Dr. Ellman said that it was a very heavy Placenta. She guessed it weighed about 3 pounds. Bill gave her the cord blood donation kit and then she sewed me up. I had a 2nd degree tear and I was extremely swollen from pushing!! They wrapped Meadow up and gave her to Bill who brought her over to me. I could not believe how different she looked from Elle. For some reason I thought that she would look exactly like Elle (lol!) I was so happy to finally be holding her!! She was so tiny, and chubby, and surprisingly a blond (like dh)!! I held her and Bill called everyone to tell them that she had arrived. The sun was just coming up and the lights were still off in the room, it was very calming and un-intrusive. I nursed Meadow for a while and then I gave her to Bill so I could eat because I was starving!! They left the three of us alone in the room for about 2 hours before moving us to the post partum floor. We went home the next afternoon.
Amy
Meadow’s Birth Story
Meadow Adisen
Born: December 2, 2006
Time: 6:13 am
Weight: 8 pounds 9 ounces
Length: 20 inchs
After being in early labor since Tuesday November 28, I went in to my OB and had her strip my membranes (I was 1 centimeter dilated) on December 1st at 1pm. Dh and I went out to lunch and then to the mall to walk and try to get active labor started. It was really beautiful because the mall was all decorated for the Holidays and it was a very happy, exciting, and calming place to be =) My contractions started slowly but soon started to get more regular. So we left the mall after a few hours and went to Target which was a little closer to the hospital. My contractions became much more closer together and became very painful. We actually had a lot of shopping to do so we were there for about an hour and by the time we were ready to leave I could barely stand because the contractions were so strong. We got to L&D around 6pm and I was 2 centimeters. They sent me off to walk around the hospital for 2 hours which was pretty much the last thing I wanted to do since I had already been walking for hours before that
but I went and talked on my cell to my friends and my Grandma to pass the time while dh read his book (he refused to do anymore walking lol!) At 9:30pm I went back to get checked and I was 4 centimeters!! They had me hooked up to the monitor which I complained about and told them that I wanted to get up and walk some more (heck I was getting excited now!!) so they put me on the walking monitor and I walked around my room and then sat on the edge of the bed for a while. My dh went home to walk the dogs and get Elle to sleep for my Mom. I refused the Pitocin that they wanted to give me and told them that I preferred to labor on my own. They kept asking me if I wanted anything for pain (seriously they asked me at least 7 times) I told them I would let them know when I needed something. Around 1am they told me that they wanted to break my water at 3 am and asked me if I was planning on having an epidural. I said I would have one right before they broke my water. They started giving me lots of IV fluids which made me shake uncontrollably. My nurse told me that it was because the fluids were cooler than my body temp and I needed them quickly so that I could get the epidural (?). I got my epidural around 2am and it made me feel very warm and comfortable. I was finally able to get comfortable for the first time in months and it felt wonderful!! They turned down the lights and dh and I went to sleep. I didn’t really sleep so much as rest and relax. I remember feeling really safe and peaceful. Which is not something I expected from a hospital birth since I hate hospitals. They came in around 3:30am to break my water and I was at 5 centimeters. They started to give me a very small amount of Pitocin because my contractions started to space out. Around 5am my nurse came in and woke me up to ask me if I was feeling pressure with the contractions. I said “no” but I guess because I was sleeping I did not notice it. With my next contraction I definetly felt pressure so I buzzed my nurse to let her know. The Resident came in to check me, I was complete and he told me that Meadow was facing up. They paged Dr. Ellman and started getting me ready to push. They left the lights off in the room and just turned on the overhead spot lights. I really liked that it was not all bright, cold, and sterile feeling. Once Dr. Ellman got there I started pushing. Pushing was long and hard. I was very grateful for the epidural. I pushed for over 45 minuets because she was facing up it was very hard to push her out. Finally her head came out and I think I said “OMG she is huge!!” a few seconds later she was completely out and getting cleaned off. I pushed out the placenta which felt almost as much a relief as when Meadow came out. Dr. Ellman said that it was a very heavy Placenta. She guessed it weighed about 3 pounds. Bill gave her the cord blood donation kit and then she sewed me up. I had a 2nd degree tear and I was extremely swollen from pushing!! They wrapped Meadow up and gave her to Bill who brought her over to me. I could not believe how different she looked from Elle. For some reason I thought that she would look exactly like Elle (lol!) I was so happy to finally be holding her!! She was so tiny, and chubby, and surprisingly a blond (like dh)!! I held her and Bill called everyone to tell them that she had arrived. The sun was just coming up and the lights were still off in the room, it was very calming and un-intrusive. I nursed Meadow for a while and then I gave her to Bill so I could eat because I was starving!! They left the three of us alone in the room for about 2 hours before moving us to the post partum floor. We went home the next afternoon.Amy
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