Make Way for Baby K! (akrani Birth Announcement)

Akrani · February 2014

Short version:
Kaia Ann was born on February 24th weighing 7 lbs 13 ounces & 21.5 inches long! Our fashionably late baby girl had to be forcefully removed from the premises via induction and was born 10 days late after approximately 10 hours of active labor & 15 minutes of pushing.

Long version:
Went in for induction at 2:30 am on February 24th and was already 4 cm dilated having regular contractions every 3-4 minutes that I didn't feel (so part of my concerns were validated). Got hooked up to an IV for penicillin since I was GBS+ & they started pitocin immediately, breaking my water at approximately the same time.

Dr warned me about excess fluid and the "Hollywood movie style gush" but it seemed never-ending. Then contractions went from non-existent to slightly painful to sheer torture in less than an hour. Tried to labor through but they were coming less than a minute apart and building on one another before I had a chance to catch my breath. My body was convulsing & blood pressure was spiking so requested the epi a couple hrs later.

After that it was smooth sailing! By 8:30 am I was 6 cm, fully effaced and baby was making her way down to -1 position. At 9:30 am I was 9.5 cm dilated and baby had dropped further but still needed to make some progress. By 11 am, baby was ready to go but I still didn't have the urge to push so we waited. Dr came back to check a couple times before finally telling me to give it a shot around 12:15 PM. Started pushing a little before 12:30 & baby girl was born at 12:46 PM!

Had a scary first hour after baby girl swallowed fluid & they had to test her blood oxygen levels continuously, even asking for assistance from specialists before finally doing skin to skin and giving the go ahead for her to stay with me instead of going to the NICU. So relieved that she's healthy & despite a 2nd degree tear, we're both doing great! So in love with our precious little girl!

Sorry for the novel & delay in posting but it's been a whirlwind (as I'm sure some of you know) and we're finally getting settled at home. Thank you all for your support these past 9+ months & a special shout out to the SFPC for helping me get through those last agonizing days! Can't wait to read your birth announcements, see pics of all the beautiful outside babies & continue learning from the ladies of F-14!