Because I had a fever and developed some sort of infection during the labor, they had to take the baby to the NICU right after she spent 5 minutes or so with me in the labor and delivery room. It was just a precaution in case she had the infection too. They hooked her up with IV antibiotics and ran all sorts of tests. They called us whenever she appeared to be hungry or fussy so we could breastfeed. I wish she could have been in our room, but I know she needed special attention. However, by the time the nurses would call us to come down because she was crying, she'd be over that and asleep. But they usually told us to try to feed anyway. One time in particular was kind of hard. The nurse gave the baby a bath and washed her hair to calm her down and when we got there she was OUT! We spent an hour trying to wake her up and once she fed for like 5 minutes she was out again. It was good to find out that babies liked to get their hair washed, I didn't know that ... and this baby does love a good hair wash. Anyway, breastfeeding worked out pretty well. The nurses helped us and it didn't seem to take too long for us to get the hang of it. I'm glad Michael suggested this in the first place.
11/05/2008
Stephanie Rae is Born
I don't even know if I'll ever be able to fully describe what it felt like to deliver our child. I was filled with such relief and thankfulness that we finally had a beautiful little baby girl. We had waited so long. None of the discomforts of the nine months of pregnacy mattered at this point. None of the sleepless nights to come mattered. All that mattered was hearing that first cry. It was beautiful - music to my ears. As this tiny, innocent, helpless baby was placed on my chest and Michael leaned over and to touch and adore her, I just felt so at peace. Everything was right with the world. We were now the Stafford Family.
Hospital Check-in
So we arrive at the hospital at 1:15 a.m. and are directed to the triage room. Here, they confirm that my water has indeed broke and I'm here to stay. I could have told them that. Unbeknownst to me I'm already having contractions, but they are not strong enough to move along my dilations. The nurses had called my OB and got the orders to put me on Pitocin. I didn't know it yet, but all my plans to have a natural childbirth just flew out the window. And all the meditation CDs, massagers and books we brought would never even be used.
Once they put my on Pitocin, I was pretty much tied down to the bed. I had that IV drip, some IV fluids, plus the fetal monitor, contractions monitor, blood pressure band and who knows what else. Not only did I have to stay in bed, but just a certain way, too. If I moved certain ways the baby's blood pressure or heart rate changed so my pain reduction options were limited.
For the first couple hours, I was able to do OK with just mental relaxation and deep breathing during the actual contractions. That did not last long. I noticed myself getting really short with Michael and ordering him around ... come here - go away - hold my hand - don't touch me - is it over yet - why isn't it over yet - make it be over now!
My perceived level of pain went from a 3 or 4 to an 8 or 9 in a very short time. By the time 8 a.m. rolled around I was beginning to question the whole natural childbirth thing. I think if anyone could have told me exactly what 10 felt like and exactly when it would arrive, and how long it would last, I might have considered it. But since no one could say how long the labor would last, I decided to make the pain go away. (We did prepay, after all!)
At 8:15 we called the nurse in to talk options. She said the anesthesiologist was on the floor and could be here in 15 minutes. In 16 minutes, I was asking WHERE IS HE? At 8:37 or so, he got started and before 9 a.m., I was a happy camper. Michael was free to approach the bed once more (his words, not mine).
Looking back, Michael and I are both glad we did this. I was able to smile again. It would have been a long day otherwise. From here on out thing went rather smoothly. There were some issues with the baby's blood pressure (or was it mine) dropping after the epidural, but after that was straightened out, we were actually able to snooze for an hour or so. I was already 3 centimeters dilated when I got the epidural. They checked me every 2 hours or so.
In the early afternoon I actually starting feeling more pain - it started as a dull pressure, but eventually worked up into actual pain. I tried to self medicate with the pump that was there, but gave in again and asked for more meds. Not long after this it was time to push. Once again, I got that sensation that there is simply no stopping time. This was it - the baby was coming and that was that.
I really didn't have to push too long. I still had feeling in my legs so I was able to push with a lot of strength. By the time the doctor came in, I only pushed for 3 or 4 contractions before the baby crowned. They asked Michael if he wanted to see the baby's head - at first he declined (or pretended he didn't hear?!) but soon he snuck a glance. I'm sure it moved him. Once the doctor made a few modifications it was time to push again. I'd say another one or two pushes and little Stephanie Rae entered our world.
