Adelina is here!

MrsWP · May 2012

Adelina Brielle joined our family on May 20th at 2:10 in the morning. Weighing 7 lbs, 14 oz and 21 inches long our precious and beautiful bundle of joy is the most amazing thing that has ever happened to us. Her birth story and pic are below but warning... it's pretty long and graphic. My first contraction hit while I was laying in bed saturday night watching one of our favorite shows with my husband. At first, I wasn't sure if it really was a contraction or if it was just a cramp. Thinking that I had to go to the bathroom, I went in and sat down. After a few moments of nothing happening I stood up and noticed that there was blood in the toilet. I sat staring at it for a few moments before calling out to my husband "Hunny? I think we should plan on having a baby tonight." Being that this wasn't the first time that I had had a contraction or he had gotten his hopes up for impending delivery, he didn't really believe me and asked me why I had said that. I explained the contraction and the bloody show and he just kinda nodded and offered to time the contractions for me. We began timing with the next contraction which didn't come for another half an hour. After that the next one was only 10 minutes later and then about 6 minutes after that another followed. They stayed about 6 minutes apart for another 2 and a half hours. For some reason I will still in denial. I kept telling myself that I was probably not in labor, that the cramping pains I was getting were the need to used the bathroom or something else. I tried using the bathroom again and when I finished I got another immediate contraction. So I ruled that scenario out. Then I decided I was probably in false labor and I knew from my birth class that if I took a warm bath, it would probably help the false labor contractions to dull down or stop completely. On my way to the bathtub I felt a little gush of liquid and it stopped me in my tracks. Was that my water? It tried sitting on the toilet but no more fluid came out so I assumed I was crazy and climbed into the bathtub. My husband sat in the bathroom with me trying to time the contractions. We thought we must be timing them incorrectly because suddenly they had gone from 6 -8 minutes apart down to 2-3 minutes apart but they were still not lasting a full minute. However, they starting getting really strong and uncomfortable so I decided it was time to let the midwife know. My husband called the office and paged her. She hadn?t called back yet but the contractions were becoming more intense and I decided had to get out of the bath tub. My husband helped me to stand and immediately I began gushing water and a bit of blood. I finally accepted that we were actually and definitely in labor. I told my husband to try paging the midwife again and that we should start getting ready to go to the hospital. DH freaked a little at that point and started running around the house like a crazy person grabbing last minute items and giving out cats a stock of food to last a few days. The midwife called and we told her what was happening. She told me she?d meet me at the hospital. In the car, he drove about 85 miles an hour the entire way to the hospital, despite my telling him we had plenty of time and that he should slow down. Normally the hospital is a 30 minute drive but we made it in 20. The hospital staff got us checked in and hooked up to a monitor and blood pressure cuff. Right away they saw that my blood pressure was high and told me I would have to stay in bed on my side (NOT what I wanted to hear). They ordered blood work on me which came back normal and the midwife checked my progress. I was 4-5 cm. After that things got blurry. The pain started to get so bad I felt like my ears were ringing. I couldn?t manage to relax in between contractions because my muscles were so tense. I realized that I had only been there for about 45 minutes and that I was going to have to deal with that excruciating pain ALL NIGHT. I knew that I could deal with those kind of contractions for another 10 or more hours. I told my husband I wanted the epi, feeling a bit defeated but dying for some relief. As the nurse started the iv drip (they give a bag of fluids before the epi) I joked with her about wishing I could be one of those women who went into labor and had the baby within a few hours. The midwife came in and asked me how I was feeling and I told her I was having a lot of pressure. She asked if she could check my progress and I agreed. What she told me both gave me hope and broke my heart. She told me that I was already 7-8cm and that by the time they got the anesthesiologist there, I would be pushing so the epi was out of the question. This was only an hour after I had been there. I was excited that I was progressing so quickly and that it would be over soon but I was heartbroken that I was now going to have to manage the pain on my own (even though that was what I had originally wanted.) Looking back on it, I know those ear ringing contractions were likely the transition stage but at that point I was too irrational to think that way, I was sure I?d be experiencing that pain for hours more to come. I?ll cut this a bit short because it?s getting quite lengthy but within the next hour and a half it was time to push. Can I just add a side comment that no one told me how painful pushing would be?? I knew it would be exhausting but I?ve always been told that it was more of a relief than anything else. Let me tell you, I was not relieved. In fact this was the only time throughout the whole labor that I yelled. I basically begged them not to make me push anymore. I kept telling DH how much it hurt and when he, with the best of intentions, gently said ?Yes hunny, it will hurt a little? I turned to him with a look of evil on my face and screamed at him ?IT HURTS A LOT!? It took only 25 minutes but that seemed like the longest part of my labor. I feel sorry for people who push for hours. Finally at 2:10, Adelina was born? beautiful and healthy. Shes a great baby and a fantastic nurser and DH and I are enjoying ever moment we get to spend with her. Looking forward to catching up on everyone else?s stories!