Wow, it's been a LONG week!!
I was in labor from Monday morning (well, that's when my water broke, contractions really started strong on Wednesday early morning), until 4:59 Friday evening (pacific time)!!!
but...the news you all have been looking for is..............
SHE is here, healthy and FINE!
So, my water broke on Monday morning...we waited patiently through MOnday and Tuesday. By Wednesday we were really beginning to get worried. The midwife gave me castor oil and away we went!!! Contractions were underway by 1pm on Wednesday and were 3 minutes apart and 2 minutes long...they continued (strong!) for about 5 or 6 hours. "We're having a baby" we all thought! Well, by about 8 or 9 pm, the contractions had stopped...we went for a VERY long walk (3 or 4 miles) at about 10 pm...contractions started again in the middle of the night and were very strong and close together again. "OK< NOW we're having a baby">...but they stopped again. It went on like this through Thursday afternoon when the midwife told us that it was time to head to the hospital b/c things just were not going to progress on their own. This was a huge deal for me and it was hard for me to get over my grief about not having the birth that I wanted...but I knew it was important that I get my baby out healthy and soon!
We arrived at the hospital at about 7 pm on Thursday and I was terrified! I hate hospitals more than anything else in the world and have HUGE anxiety issues about them. BUT the minute we walked in there I saw a friend of mine (well an aquaintence really) who is the charge nurse in L&D (i forgot she worked there)! She smiled at me, and I knew it was going to be alright. She wound up changing everyone's schedules around to make sure that we had the most committed and openminded nurses the hospital employs for the entire time we were there!
We started pitocin at 11pm on Thursday night after an internal check (50% effaced and 1 cm after ALL those hours!!!) and contractions picked up STRONG! I labored HARD through the night without pain meds and it was really hard work, but powerful as well. I sat in the jacuzzi, stood in the shower, stood and rocked, sat on the birthing ball, we tried every position in the book...I was getting along just fine though...it was the hardest thing I have ever done...but again, so empowering, I labored all night and into the morning on Friday! At about 9 am, they checked again and I was 100% effaced and 4 cm. I continued to labor until the next check at about 1:30 when I had not progressed ANY farther at all!!!
They told me that they would either need to double the pitocin to get the contractions strong enough to get the baby out, or they would need to do a Csection. I opted for the higher levels of pitocin, but knew I would need an epidural to get though it...so after about 14 hours on pitocin I gave in and got an epidural! They told us it would take about 6 hours for me to move from 4cm to 10...so both my mother and MIL decided to go out to run some errands while I got the first interrupted sleep in 4 days! I woke up at about an hour after getting the epidural in severe pain...turns out the baby was really low and it was the pressure of her wanting to come OUT that was causing the pain. I asked them to check me and in just over an hour from the increase in pitocin, I was between 7-8 cent....crazy! !0 minutes later I was asking to be checked again and was 10...and 5 minutes after that (just seconds after mom and mil returned), I was complete and ready to push. 19 minutes and about 20 pushes later....Laila (pronounced Lie-la) Tai (like tie) was born! At 4:59 pm on Friday the 29th! She was 7 pounds exactly and was 19 inches long!
We are in absolute LOVE with her!!!
sorry it took so long to update...but it took that long for her to decide to join us!!!pictures later
__________________
I was in labor from Monday morning (well, that's when my water broke, contractions really started strong on Wednesday early morning), until 4:59 Friday evening (pacific time)!!!
but...the news you all have been looking for is..............
SHE is here, healthy and FINE!
So, my water broke on Monday morning...we waited patiently through MOnday and Tuesday. By Wednesday we were really beginning to get worried. The midwife gave me castor oil and away we went!!! Contractions were underway by 1pm on Wednesday and were 3 minutes apart and 2 minutes long...they continued (strong!) for about 5 or 6 hours. "We're having a baby" we all thought! Well, by about 8 or 9 pm, the contractions had stopped...we went for a VERY long walk (3 or 4 miles) at about 10 pm...contractions started again in the middle of the night and were very strong and close together again. "OK< NOW we're having a baby">...but they stopped again. It went on like this through Thursday afternoon when the midwife told us that it was time to head to the hospital b/c things just were not going to progress on their own. This was a huge deal for me and it was hard for me to get over my grief about not having the birth that I wanted...but I knew it was important that I get my baby out healthy and soon!
We arrived at the hospital at about 7 pm on Thursday and I was terrified! I hate hospitals more than anything else in the world and have HUGE anxiety issues about them. BUT the minute we walked in there I saw a friend of mine (well an aquaintence really) who is the charge nurse in L&D (i forgot she worked there)! She smiled at me, and I knew it was going to be alright. She wound up changing everyone's schedules around to make sure that we had the most committed and openminded nurses the hospital employs for the entire time we were there!
We started pitocin at 11pm on Thursday night after an internal check (50% effaced and 1 cm after ALL those hours!!!) and contractions picked up STRONG! I labored HARD through the night without pain meds and it was really hard work, but powerful as well. I sat in the jacuzzi, stood in the shower, stood and rocked, sat on the birthing ball, we tried every position in the book...I was getting along just fine though...it was the hardest thing I have ever done...but again, so empowering, I labored all night and into the morning on Friday! At about 9 am, they checked again and I was 100% effaced and 4 cm. I continued to labor until the next check at about 1:30 when I had not progressed ANY farther at all!!!
They told me that they would either need to double the pitocin to get the contractions strong enough to get the baby out, or they would need to do a Csection. I opted for the higher levels of pitocin, but knew I would need an epidural to get though it...so after about 14 hours on pitocin I gave in and got an epidural! They told us it would take about 6 hours for me to move from 4cm to 10...so both my mother and MIL decided to go out to run some errands while I got the first interrupted sleep in 4 days! I woke up at about an hour after getting the epidural in severe pain...turns out the baby was really low and it was the pressure of her wanting to come OUT that was causing the pain. I asked them to check me and in just over an hour from the increase in pitocin, I was between 7-8 cent....crazy! !0 minutes later I was asking to be checked again and was 10...and 5 minutes after that (just seconds after mom and mil returned), I was complete and ready to push. 19 minutes and about 20 pushes later....Laila (pronounced Lie-la) Tai (like tie) was born! At 4:59 pm on Friday the 29th! She was 7 pounds exactly and was 19 inches long!
We are in absolute LOVE with her!!!
sorry it took so long to update...but it took that long for her to decide to join us!!!pictures later
__________________
Ooops! What a great name!!
baby
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