Yeah, so let me just say I totally planned to nest, facebook, catch up on blogs, etc the entire day while I labored b/c I figured a first time baby after SROM at 5am wouldn't be born until at least 5-8pm...we were even guessing when during the Pens game she'd be born (though what we thought were conservative guesses was 4pm by Erik and 4:16pm by me)...
So, needless to say, right after I posted my last update around 12:45, Dr. S walked in around 12:45pm while he was up on L&D and just wanted to check to see how far I had progressed (I had been on pit for about 5 hours by this point and granted, with contractions, I was feeling a little pressure but nothing outstanding or severe or even minor that I would call. With a few pushes of the PCEA button, any wince of pain had gone away). We were guessing I'd be maybe 5cm by this point (or at least hoping). I wanted to call our birth photographer after being checked b/c I didn't want her sitting around all day so we figured around noon would be a good time b/c I estimated being around 5-6cm which would give her enough time to get some of the casual labor shots and give me some time to get ready (mainly put in contacts...I actually wanted to see the babe when she was born!). Likewise, we figured our family was all at our house by this point so we could call to give them an update.
Needless to say, I was completely taken aback, shocked, etc when he said "oh, you're ready to push when you want to or you can labor down a bit...you're complete, complete and +2 and the head's right here." As I already mentioned, this was not something I was expecting, he was expecting, or that we were ready for. So, I hurried up and called our birth photographer and told her to RUSH in b/c we were ready to push. I asked Dr. S to let me labor down a bit and give me about 30 minutes so I could mentally get ready for this, let the photographer here and call our parents since I knew they were at lunch.
The photographer got here in about 20 minutes (as for the photographer, this was something that, based on my Nesting and some blogs I follow (lifeinmotionphotography.com), I loved the idea of birth photography and to give Erik a chance to relax and enjoy and to not worry about taking pictures. Through the Nest, I found our photographer. I saw something on her blog about her doing birth photography so after some emails back and forth, this was something she really wanted to do but had a hard time finding interested people b/c a lot of people have misconceptions thinking she'd be "right there" taking pictures...whereas, I have seen other photographer's examples where you pretty much capture the first breath, those first few moments as a family, the experience of the birth, and the fun stuff like foot prints so I knew what I wanted from the photographer. When I discussed this concept and overall style with her, we were an instant mesh in what we both wanted....we were going to be her first birth photography experience and we were getting a totally great deal instead of paying $1000+ just for the shooting based on what I researched from other photographers. I was excited for her enthusiasm to do this since I had a difficult time finding other pro photographers who wanted to do this style.).
I was disappointed I didn't get a ton of laboring pix but considering that when she got here, I was literally at +3 with little time left b/c she was having a dip here and there with contractions so I had to start pushing. Brooklyn was coming sooner than anyone expected. I started pushing at 1:40pm...20 minutes of pushing (like 8 sets of 3 pushes b/c my ctx weren't picking up on the monitor so we were relying on my feeling worsening pressure) and her head was pretty much out. This may be TMI but I had the mirrors down so I could watch. I was having a hard time figuring out how I needed to push so by watching the mirror, I could see what worked and waht didn't work based on how I was moving her. This allowed me just a few sets of pushes to get her from not going back in. She was stable about an inch or so out and Kelly called Dr. S. We waited a few minutes and every set of contractions, she inched (okay, millimetered) herself out a bit more so she called the charge nurse, Jane, to come in just in case. I'm talking up a storm to Erik, the photographer, the nurses, etc about every random thing I could think of to keep from pushing. After about 5 minutes of waiting for Dr. S, we had to turn off the pitocin...it was so hard not to subconsciously push with the contractions so by shutting it off, it at least made her progress slow down.
There was literally one fibrous band holding her back during this time. Finally, 15 minutes later around 2:15 or so, he arrived in the room (he was doing a procedure...in the meantime, that little fibrous band held her back b/c literally one more strong push and she would've been out). When Dr. S came in and saw her, he said "Signal fair catch...everyone step back...don't touch her or we'll have a baby right there." He got dressed and they took down the bed. That fibrous band was the only thing holding her in and after one little snip of the band, she pretty much came out and a small push brought the rest of her head out. I remember looking up and seeing her hand come out with her head...it was right up there by her face. She was born at 2:25pm. She went straight to my stomach/chest. I was in awe looking at this little precious creature on my stomach...all gooey, bloody and not as bad of a conehead as I imagined! Erik cut the cord and she stayed on my belly about 10-15 minutes while I delivered the placenta and he checked everything out.
When I was being sewed, she went over to the warmer and was cleaned up. Erik went over to see her too and then, yes, I updated FB (hey, there's not a lot to do when you're laying there with someone sewing you up). The epidural was awesome as I didn't feel a thing...I gave myself an extra few pushes of the PCEA and just laid there watching and taking everything in. My daughter was there...crying away! It was funny...right as she was coming out, I heard the text sounds and Lauren texted that they just arrived. Dr. S took the pumpkin back to the clinic...he was so excited to get candy from a patient!
Then, we had some time with just us and some photos....then we had the family come back slowly to meet her. Mom and dad, then dad sent back Andrea, then Lauren and Heidi and then they all were in the room. Lauren brought a basket with snacks and I started devouring Swedish fish and sixlets (and started on a mountain dew because I was starving!). The newborn nurses swung by and checked her out. We were in the LDR until about 5:30pm and then I was wheeled to post-partum. I ordered food the moment I got to the room (2704) so it was ready by the time we got settled :) Mom, dad, Andrea, Lauren and Heidi stuck around for a little while until around 7:00 or so and then they left to go home to get Primanti's for dinner. I must say we saw our nurse for 5 minutes to check us in, bring me an ibuprofen and that's about it...then it took like an hour for the nurse to bring me a percocet when I realized ibuprofen wasn't cutting it if I wanted to get out of bed. Let's just hope the nurse on tonight is a little responsive to when I need something.
It was just the 3 of us and we were scared to death that it was just us and our daughter. We watched the Pens game (they won!!) and around 10pm or so, a beautiful, 20-minute++ fireworks show was right outside the window in Oakland (I think it was Pitt homecoming...you could see the Cathedral of Learning in the background...we tried to get pix but we just got a reflection). It was so beautiful and we kept saying how it just capped off a perfect day.
I went into today without a birth plan (I had a general idea of what I wanted but I didn't want to be one of those people who had a detailed birth plan such that I'd be disappointed if it wasn't followed exactly) b/c I understand as well as anyone that the best laid birth plans will just go to rest and the day will turn out to be the exact opposite of the birth plan. Even though I didn't have a birth plan, the past 24 hours was exactly how I would've wanted my birth plan to read. Today was simply flawless...everything was remarkable and we have our baby, Brooklyn Sydney (yep, it was a pretty easy decision to go with Sydney), sitting here in our arms...life is perfect...our family is complete!
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