I am 4 weeks late writing this post, but better late than never. The sleep deprivation has already blurred some of my memories of the big day, but I'm going to try and get down what I remember. I had my regularly scheduled OB appointment that Friday, and knew that induction was going to be on the discussion table since I was one day shy of 41 weeks. Expecting that the doctor would probably want to induce me that day, Daniel and I got up early to take Sullivan out for breakfast at BBB. Unfortunately, the kitchen lost our order, so we ended up waiting for an hour and then having to get our breakfast to go.
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| tired of waiting for breakfast! |
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| last belly pic! 40 weeks 6 days |
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| at the doctor |
When we got to the hospital, it was PACKED! They actually used the phrase, "there is no room at the inn". All the L & D rooms were full, so they had us in triage? section for several hours. I had been having steady, but light contractions since my OB appointment. I was at 4 cm at this point. My doctor came at about 2:30 pm and broke my water. It took her three tries with the hook thing before she was able to break my water. She said there was no way my water would have ever broken on its own, which made me feel even better about our decision to go ahead. I later learned from Corinne that lots of citrus during pregnancy can cause a really think bag, and OJ was one of the only things I craved this pregnancy. I drank it like crazy! I did not feel the breaking process at all; just the gush of water when she finally got through. My doctor said she would be back at about 5:30 pm to see if labor had started and was intensifying. If it wasn't, then she would start a slow pitocin drip. I was so determined to avoid pitocin, and I started watching the clock from that point on!
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| finally in a room |
We didn't get a L & D room until about 4pm, I believe. As soon as we got in that room, I was ready to do whatever to encourage contractions! I did squats, stair steps, sat and bounced on yoga ball. My contractions did become more regular and were starting to hurt. My doctor came to check my progress at about 6pm and I was at 7 cm (I think), but I thought my pain was at about an 8 at that point. Contractions this time around were much more painful than with Sullivan. I don't know if it was due to her size or what, but I had tons of rectal pressure and it was so much more painful than anything I remember with Sullivan. The nurses checked on me every hour, so I got in the bed in preparation of that at 7 pm, but they didn't make it in the room until 7:20 or so. My doctor was busy delivering babies up and down the hall that night! When they checked me then, they said the lip of cervix was still in the way, so they worked to push that back a bit. I got out of bed to labor more and almost immediately felt like it was time to push. Corinne went to get the nurses since I felt like it was time. They came in and let me push a couple of time and I guess realized it really was time. I recall them calling the doctor, who was in the lounge next door, and telling her I was about 2 pushes away. People rushed in to the room and were setting up and doing all there stuff while I was already pushing. I had to push a few more times to get Evie out than I did Sullivan, but still just a handful of times. Before pushing with Sullivan, I said "I'm insane". Before pushing with Evie, I said, "Please come out baby". It was so much more painful, I just wanted her out! It was such a relief when she was finally out! I didn't have any tearing, but did have a scratch that had to have a stitch. Evie came out big and beautiful and vocall! I was so happy to have her in my arms and on my chest. Love at first sight.
Had to get a picture of Daniel holding her as soon as we got back to the room.
Evie has been a great eater from the start! She lost less t han 5% of her body weight before we left the hospital, had no issues with bilirubin levels, and had gained almost a pound and grown almost 2 inches by her two week appointment. (8lb 10 oz). She's had one growth spurt that wore me out with hourly feedings, but has since averaged about 2 hours during the day and usually 3 hours between feedings at night. She's finally sleeping great in the cradle in our room, so I'm actually getting good sleep between feeding her. Daniel still will typically give her a bottle of pumped milk after I feed her at 8 or 9 pm to give me a longer stretch to sleep. It's definitely more challenging having two kids. No lounging in bed all day! I get up after my 6 am feeding with Evie to help Sullivan get ready for school and fed. I'm ready for some sunshine to be able to get out and walk during the day. I can't believe 4 weeks have already passed! I am so blessed!
Something random I just remembered...they didn't give me the nice grippy bottom socks this time. So, I delivered wearing my lovely santa claus socks. We watched the tree house show most of my labor, but Enchanted was on the tv during the worst part and delivery. Just a few random things I don't want to forget. Daniel went to Wendy's at about 10 pm after delivery to get us some food since we hadn't eaten since lunch. Also, the Tupelo Women's hospital has gotten even more progressive since Sullivan's birth. I didn't even have to have an IV port this time around or pitocin to delivery placenta. They let me drink actual water while in labor instead of dumb ice chips! Yay for progress!
