Birth Stories
Drumroll please...Introducing...
**Also posted on August 2012 board**
...my sweet little angel, Mariah Judith!!
On August 7, my DH and I decided to run some errands. While in Target, I started to experience minor back aches and I brushed them off. I wasn't having any abdominal cramping, so I did not think I was having contractions....and although I was slowly losing my mucus plug (with small amounts of red blood streaks) for a few days prior, I had not had any other signs of labor...so, I continued shopping and the back aches subsided.
After watching the Olympics cramp and ache free, my DH and I went to bed around midnight. About 30 minutes later the back aches came back, but this time they wrapped around to the front and I started to have the cramps. They weren't terrible, so I chalked it up to constipation. I went to use the bathroom and wowza!!! Hello bloody show!! This is when I realized that I was probably in labor. The contractions were about 10 minutes apart, but I decided to call the hospital to explain what I was feeling and confirm that I was indeed in labor. This was at about 1:00 a.m. and they said that it did sound like I was in labor, but that I probably still had a long night ahead of me given that this is my first pregnancy. So the hospital advised me to stay home and to call/come in when my contractions were 2-3 minutes apart for 2 hours. So I tried to keep myself busy by washing dishes, doing laundry, and taking a shower.
At approximately 3:00 a.m., the contractions were about 3 to 5 minutes apart and were rather painful. I woke up my DH to tell him that I think we would be heading into the hospital soon and to start packing our hospital bags in the car. At 4:00 a.m., I called the hospital again and although they had told me to wait for two hours (and to have my contractions a bit closer together), I did not think I could go on for another hour. The hospital still thought that it was a bit premature for me to come in, but since I was GBS+, they said that I could come in if I wanted to start the antibiotics (better be safe than sorry). So we went and arrived at the hospital by 5:00 a.m on Wednesday, August 8 (38 weeks and 5 days into my pregnancy) .
They took me into triage to assess, and I was told I was already 10 centimeters by the nurse.....WHAT?!?! What about the antibiotics?? Will we have enough time for the antiobiotics to take affect? The nurse called for a second opinion, and that person said I was 9 centimeters. So they immediately gave me the antibiotics and I asked for the epidural thinking they were going to tell me it was too late. To my surprise, they gave me the epidural. Loved it!!
At 9:40 a.m., I began pushing. I pushed for three hours and although I was able to make progress, I could not seem to get Mariah's head past my pubic bone. So the doctor recommended that we prep for a C-section, but that we could try to use the vaccuum for a couple of pushes to see if we could avoid the C-section. So the operating room was prepped and away we went. The doctor was not able to get a good grip with the vaccuum on attempt number one, so we tried for the second time (which I knew would be the last chance I had before the C-section route). The doctor had a good grip and I pushed like I had the biggest bowel movement in my life.
At 1:02 p.m., my sweet little princess Mariah was born. Given that I couldn't push her out without a little assistance and my gestational diabetes, I was expecting a big baby (at least 8+ lbs.), but she only weighed 6 lbs, 15 ozs and was 20 inches in length. She was/is absolutely perfect in every way!!
We stayed in the hospital for a couple of nights and came home on Friday. We are slowly getting the hang of breastfeeding and trying to settle into a routine. Although DH and I are exhausted all the time, we are having the time of our lives with our sweet baby girl who loves to eat, poop and sleep!!
For all the August bumpies that have had their LOs, I hope you are all enjoying your new bundle of joy as much as I am. And for those that will be meeting their LOs soon, soak up every moment...including the tough labor and delivery process. It is truly a wonderful experience!
On August 7, my DH and I decided to run some errands. While in Target, I started to experience minor back aches and I brushed them off. I wasn't having any abdominal cramping, so I did not think I was having contractions....and although I was slowly losing my mucus plug (with small amounts of red blood streaks) for a few days prior, I had not had any other signs of labor...so, I continued shopping and the back aches subsided.
After watching the Olympics cramp and ache free, my DH and I went to bed around midnight. About 30 minutes later the back aches came back, but this time they wrapped around to the front and I started to have the cramps. They weren't terrible, so I chalked it up to constipation. I went to use the bathroom and wowza!!! Hello bloody show!! This is when I realized that I was probably in labor. The contractions were about 10 minutes apart, but I decided to call the hospital to explain what I was feeling and confirm that I was indeed in labor. This was at about 1:00 a.m. and they said that it did sound like I was in labor, but that I probably still had a long night ahead of me given that this is my first pregnancy. So the hospital advised me to stay home and to call/come in when my contractions were 2-3 minutes apart for 2 hours. So I tried to keep myself busy by washing dishes, doing laundry, and taking a shower.
At approximately 3:00 a.m., the contractions were about 3 to 5 minutes apart and were rather painful. I woke up my DH to tell him that I think we would be heading into the hospital soon and to start packing our hospital bags in the car. At 4:00 a.m., I called the hospital again and although they had told me to wait for two hours (and to have my contractions a bit closer together), I did not think I could go on for another hour. The hospital still thought that it was a bit premature for me to come in, but since I was GBS+, they said that I could come in if I wanted to start the antibiotics (better be safe than sorry). So we went and arrived at the hospital by 5:00 a.m on Wednesday, August 8 (38 weeks and 5 days into my pregnancy) .
They took me into triage to assess, and I was told I was already 10 centimeters by the nurse.....WHAT?!?! What about the antibiotics?? Will we have enough time for the antiobiotics to take affect? The nurse called for a second opinion, and that person said I was 9 centimeters. So they immediately gave me the antibiotics and I asked for the epidural thinking they were going to tell me it was too late. To my surprise, they gave me the epidural. Loved it!!
At 9:40 a.m., I began pushing. I pushed for three hours and although I was able to make progress, I could not seem to get Mariah's head past my pubic bone. So the doctor recommended that we prep for a C-section, but that we could try to use the vaccuum for a couple of pushes to see if we could avoid the C-section. So the operating room was prepped and away we went. The doctor was not able to get a good grip with the vaccuum on attempt number one, so we tried for the second time (which I knew would be the last chance I had before the C-section route). The doctor had a good grip and I pushed like I had the biggest bowel movement in my life.
At 1:02 p.m., my sweet little princess Mariah was born. Given that I couldn't push her out without a little assistance and my gestational diabetes, I was expecting a big baby (at least 8+ lbs.), but she only weighed 6 lbs, 15 ozs and was 20 inches in length. She was/is absolutely perfect in every way!!
We stayed in the hospital for a couple of nights and came home on Friday. We are slowly getting the hang of breastfeeding and trying to settle into a routine. Although DH and I are exhausted all the time, we are having the time of our lives with our sweet baby girl who loves to eat, poop and sleep!!
For all the August bumpies that have had their LOs, I hope you are all enjoying your new bundle of joy as much as I am. And for those that will be meeting their LOs soon, soak up every moment...including the tough labor and delivery process. It is truly a wonderful experience! 
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