So, I want to tell you more about what happened after I posted that last entry.
Daddy went on driving us to the hospital, in the 2003 Ford Explorer. We realized that's the same vehicle that all of your brothers and sisters were driven to the hospital, in my tummy for the last time, in too.
When we got there we checked in and were led to room 8 in Labor and Delivery.
On the 4th floor of the hospital. Vanderbilt Hospital. This is the same hospital I was born in a little over 40 years ago.
It was just after 9pm when we got there, so I was getting tired.
Our nurse was very nice and sweet. Since I wasn't having any contractions or anything I found it hard to stay awake as the resident Dr. came in. Then a Dr. from anesthesia came in to introduce himself and tell me about the epidural, laughing gas, etc.
I thought I might have you with no pain relief to speak of, but kept the laughing gas and epidural in the back of my mind.
It was midnight before the Dr. finally checked to see if I had dilated any on my own.
He said I was 1.5cm, and proceeded to get pitocin going in my IV, along with a glucose/insulin drip.
And I proceeded to go to sleep. I'm not exactly sure when the contractions started. probably sometime in the next 1/2 hour because I started really needing to urinate a lot and frequently. So, probably every time I had a contraction. I couldn't get up though, because of another medicine they use when inducing labor. I had to stay in bed for 2 hours after getting the medicine, just to help it work. So, I continued to sleep as much as possible. Finally! I asked the nurse what time it was and she told me it was 3am. I was surprised I had gotten an extra hour of sleep in, because I was sure I had needed to pee for at least that whole time. (using bed pans is no picnic.) She made some sort of comment about how well Daniel and I can sleep, and her having never seen someone sleep so soundly in my predicament before. I thought that was cute, and must have to do with the fact that it was actually quiet in there, and I knew all that would change soon enough. So, I quickly got her OK to get out of bed and go to the bathroom. When I came back I knew I was having contractions frequently and close together.
I didn't want to get back in bed, lying on my back, so I asked her if I could use the birthing ball and if she could tell me of a way to do so. She covered the ball in a cotton pad and told me that many women will straddle the ball, sitting on it, and lean over onto the bed. So I did just that, and let me tell you it completely changed the way those contractions felt. They weren't too awful bad. Not at all as painful as with Kai, Carolina, and Enoch. More like strong menstrual cramps like when I went into labor with Delsin, or when I first started having a period when I was a teenager. Only then it was constant and non-stop for 5-7 days. I thought, "This is great! I can totally do this!" Within just a few minutes I felt my whole stomach drop. I believe you really got settled into the birthing canal just then. I was holding on, feeling the contractions getting stronger and stronger and come more frequently together, waiting for 4am to come along. The nurse told me that the Dr. would come back to check on me at 4am.
I got up about 10 minutes to 4 to go to the bathroom. When I was getting ready to come back I noticed a lot of blood. I hollered out to my nurse that I was having a "bloody show". Something that happens when things really start becoming more of an active labor.
The nurse saw the blood and started to get nervous acting. She called the resident Dr. and they decided to "keep an eye" on things. They waited till 4 and he brought in what I'm guessing was a student Dr. working under him. Girl needed to clip and file her nails! I told them I was having my contractions less than a minute apart and the resident had the female student check to see how much I had dilated. She said 1.5cm. I was like, "How can that be? I was 1.5cm when I came in and my contractions are less than a minute apart?" They assured me this was fairly typical and so I told my nurse to just go ahead and call the anesthesiologist to bring me an epidural.
It took a while, but they came in, with another student. Had to give me the epidural twice since the catheter went into a vein the first time. They never did get my left side numb, but you were on the right side of my heart-shaped uterus anyway, so I didn't feel anymore pain. And I fell back asleep.
The nurse woke me often to check my blood sugars and have me move around or wear an oxygen mask due to your heart rate dropping. At 5am a real Dr. came in and checked me. He said I had had a "bloody show" and had dilated 4cm and not the 1.5 the other student had said. He told them they should have broken my water bag and he proceeded to do so. Once he did he said I had dilated to 8cm and would have a baby very soon. He was right. It seemed like only 30 min later, but it was 7:27 AM when you came into this world. A few hard pushes and you and I were cuddling. You were blue and covered in a white film. You didn't even cry. You just laid on my chest, in my arms, and looked around the room so calmly and mater of factually. If I could guess what you were thinking it would be, "Wow. Suddenly my view just changed a lot. I can see so many more things now." We cuddled for a few minutes, then when you finally let two cries out into the air I put you to my breast and you began to taste the colostrum and experiment with ideas for how to get more of that into your mouth. You quickly figured out how.
(video of precious first moments between breastfeeding baby and mother)
Not long after that the pediatric nurses took you over to their special table and ooh aahh over you. There were at least 6 women over there. They sounded like a hen house full of hens cackling about how precious you were and how calm. Then one of them called out that, "Awwe! She has two dimples!" Then more oohs and aahs ensued. I was proud as a peacock watching all of it from a distance.
Then the head nurse posed you for this picture.
Not long after that they took us to our room where we spent the rest of that day October 22nd, 2014 and most of the next day.
You were 6lbs 11 oz and were 19 inches long.
You scored 8.9 on the Apgar.
And captured 100% of my heart from the first moment I got to see and touch you. Well, several months before that, actually.
You are a beautiful gift from God and I am so very proud to be your mother.
I love you with all of my heart Lenore Sophia Urick!
Welcome to our amazing family!
I'll post more pictures later of you meeting your family later on your birthday.
