Anna Arrives … Part II … This will all be worth it, right?!?!

We arrived at the hospital around 1:30am and since I was pre-registered and my doctor had alerted them to my arrival the check-in process was a breeze. For those of you wondering how I made it to the hospital with my water leaking, I'll leave you with the following: a pair of Mike's boxer briefs, a washcloth and a towel. Sorry, that's probably too graphic for some of my readers, but it's the question my friends have asked me most often and I can't help but think someone reading may be in the same situation one day.

Anyway, I was checked into a labor room and the nurse came in to assess my situation. AKA making sure my water had actually broken and that I was in fact going into labor.

Anne was a 25 year L&D veteran and very politely asked "Would you say you passed at least one cup of fluid?"

"Ummmm, I'm pretty sure I passed at least a gallon of fluid and it's still coming out."

"OK then, you're having a baby!"

On the way to the hospital I started to have what I thought were contractions, but they were kind of mild, so I wasn't sure. After some background questions, I was hooked to a fetal heart monitor as well as a monitor that tracked my contractions. Low and behold, I was contracting! Nothing major, but I could feel they were getting stronger and coming about every 5 minutes. The machines were behind my right shoulder and easily visible to Mike and my Mom. Nurse Anne wisely pointed out to both of them that they'd be able to see the contractions coming a few seconds before I felt them and noted "you don't want to be the person that alerts her to them." : )

Upon an initial exam I was deemed to still be only 1cm dilated … we needed to get to 10cm. After discussing my situation with the doctor they decided to let me labor on my own overnight and would check me in the morning. "Get some rest" Anne told me. Easy enough, I thought … until I realized that having contractions every four to five minutes was a little interruptive of good REM sleep.

My Mom, who had followed us to the hospital, went back to our house to get some rest, relatively assured by the Nurse that a baby overnight was highly unlikely. Mike settled into his roll-out bed and I tried my best to get comfortable. I think we both "slept" for an hour and a half and I did find a way to cat-nap between contractions. Pretty sure that was also in preparation for having a baby … if there are 4 minutes that you can sleep, you do just that, ha.

Around 7am shift change Anne came in to see how things were going. Because of the risk of infection after your water breaks I was not being internally checked as often as patients with their fluid in tact. She said the doctor was going to come in shortly and he'd check me then and assess if we needed to push induction drugs. At that point I was getting pretty uncomfortable, but still handling the contractions with breathing techniques we'd learned in our birthing class.

Shift change led to a new nurse, conveniently also named Anne. She came in a few times to let me know the doctor was assisting with a few deliveries and was going to be delayed. Around 10am she checked me, I was 2 1/2cm dilated and I'm pretty sure she gave me the 1/2 just to be kind. She suggested we get up and walk the halls to see if that would get things going. So, walk we did. In the XL robe I'd purchased to use during the last trimester, the slippers I'd purchased to accommodate my swollen feet and what felt like an adult diaper to catch the fluid that was still leaking. We made it a few laps before a combination of fatigue and contraction strength forced us to retire back to the room.

The contractions were getting stronger and at this point my Mom had returned. I asked her to go to the gift shop to see if they had any stress balls I could use during contractions. Breathing was fine, but I needed something to SQUEEZE the heck out of … and I preferred Mike not have broken hands when our child came into the world. He'd need those to change diapers after all. She returned with this … and I will be forever grateful. Such a small material item, but I will forever hold a soft spot in my heart for this little apple.

The exact timing from this point forward gets a little hairy. After the walk I reported that contractions were getting stronger and nurse Anne has spoken to the doctor about starting pitocin, I think this was around 11am or Noon. I was told that I could ask to be checked anytime I wanted, but again, they wouldn't be checking me on a regular basis. In the meantime, we'd discussed pain medication options. The doctor preferred I get to 4cm before getting an epidural and if I wished I could be administered Nubain before then. Nubain was something I was told would "take the edge off" and possibly allow me to get some rest.

The contractions got much stronger and I was getting tired. Mind you I'd had nothing to eat since dinner the night before and was going on about an hour of sleep. My goal was to get to 4cm so that I could go straight to the epidural as it seemed silly to dose up twice. The best laid plans … As the contractions were getting more unbearable I winced out a request to be checked and almost cried when Anne told me I was 3cm. I'd had pitocin running at a steady and heavy drip for a few hours now, was going through what I surely thought was my uterus hemorrhaging, had been in labor for over 12 hours and was 3 measly centimeters? At that point I eeked out a request for the Nubain.

The drug came quickly, but sadly the promise of taking the edge off did not follow. I felt a little light headed and relaxed, but the contractions still carried the same weight. I was not a happy camper.

Around this time my doctor came in. I was tired. I was in pain. I was three freaking centimetres with no end in sight. I am a goal oriented person. I needed a time frame to know how long this would go on. I asked the doctor as much … "So, is there a chance it'll be midnight and I'll still be in labor? When do we explore other options?" Luckily he responded with what I needed to hear "Oh, no, you'll have this baby by the evening, I guarantee that."

I muddled through for a bit longer and for the first time was vocal during a contraction. A mix between crying and screaming and enough that my nurse heard me in the hallway and came into the room. She summons the doctor, immediately able to tell a difference in my demeanor and upon checking me I'm pretty sure that rays of light shined into the room and the gloomy skies cleared when he said "she's 5cm, let's get that epidural."

My anaesthesiologist was named Bill and although he was waaaaayyyy too chatty and a little annoying, if Baby Kelly had been a boy, there's a strong chance Bill would have moved to the top of the list. That epidural was amazing! At this point I will caveat my story by saying that my nurse, the doctor and the anaesthesiologist all told me that going through labor with a ruptured sack is much more painful than starting with one in tact … and they'd pushed a crazy amount of pitocin through me, y body just chose not to respond accordingly. I'm not saying that my contractions or labor were any worse than anyone else's, but those words made me feel better at the time and the fact that I was crying for medication.

I labored under the epidural for about an hour and even got some rest. Around 3:30pm the doctor checked me again and I was pronounced to be FULLY DILATED and ready to push!! At this point the Nubain was wearing off and I was TIRED. Luckily it took a few minutes for everything to get set up and I was able to cat-nap while Mike made the appropriate calls and checked-in with what was now a full team of family assembled in the waiting room. WE WERE HAVING A BABY!

Around 4pm we started pushing. Deep breath in, push for a count of 8, repeat 2 more times. Mike and Nurse Anne were awesome. Because of the epidural it was hard for me to tell if I was pushing correctly, but they assured me I was doing a good job. The time estimates for this part of labor vary; the estimate I've heard is that most women push for 30 minutes up to 3 hours. Of course I was hoping I'd be at the short end of the spectrum. Of course I was not.

I kept pushing and my team kept telling me I was doing wonderfully, but there was no real progress. I pushed for about 2 hours … and finally, around 6;15pm, we determined that this baby needed a little prodding, literally. At that point things moved very quickly. The special care nursery team was assembled, another nurse was brought in, the doctor set up his station and the anaesthesiologist was brought in to make sure I was still properly medicated.

The next 20-30 minutes were a blur of excitement and medical teams running like clockwork. Mike and Nurse Anne were still by my side. I still pushed during contractions, I felt pressure, but no pain. I knew that forceps were being used and I knew that a third degree episiotomy was being performed.

At this point it was all worth it.

At 6:53pm our little Anna Elizabeth was born. I looked over and was in shock at how perfect and tiny our baby was. If you'll recall, Mike and I both thought we were having a boy and as we looked at our little one, we both thought to ourselves "those privates look funny for a boy" as the doctor exclaimed, "It's a girl!"

Mike cut the cord and she was placed on my chest for a few minutes before being taken to the warmer for her initial tests and a quick cleaning.  To say it was love at first sight is an understatement.  I was tired, I was sore, I was hungry, but most of all I was in LOVE with our 7lb, 19.5inch angel.  And now I'm going to get a box of tissues to dry my eyes ... being a Mom is totally amazing and I'd go through all of this again in a heartbeat!

(After the fact we were told that little Anna's umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck two times, and although she was fine through the delivery, this is why she was "stuck" in the birth canal ... poor little girl!) 

A *wee bit* of a banana-head after a long delivery and forceps ... her head is perfect now : )

One of my favorites ... instant love!

Napping after a LONG day!

** Part Three will be much, much shorter and will include some funny outtakes from the day, so stay tuned.**