| Birth story (in case you haven't heard it yet): After appointment after appointment with not much progress (cervix was closed but softening), my appointment on Tuesday, September 11 brought a surprise. I was 4 cm dilated! Doctor said he could rupture my membranes and induce if I wanted, or I could wait it out and see what my body did. I opted to wait.
As soon as I got home, I knew I had to kick it into high gear cause there was a good possibility our baby would be arriving SOON! So I finished folding baby clothes and put them all away, did a load of regular laundry and put it away, organized in the nursery (unwrapping packages of diapers to put in the changing table, putting together a changing basket for the first floor with wipes/diapers/cream/etc, throwing out trash, putting all the toys/stuffed animals in a bag in the closet), unloaded the dishwasher, made dinner, and had Ronnie put the new glider/ottoman together. Whew!
Overnight, I was crampy and uncomfortable, but wasn't having contractions.
I woke up at 5am with contractions (the first real ones I'd had). They were eight minutes apart, and I figured it might take a while for them to get closer together, so I just came downstairs and chilled. I had some spotting, so I called the hospital, then my doctor to see if I should come in. He said the spotting was normal, and asked how far apart the contrax were. I told him eight minutes, and he said if they got stronger, to come in.
So I chilled some more. Spent a little more time in the bathroom, and they got strong and fast in a hurry. I was actually worried that I wouldn't be able to go upstairs and wake Ronnie up without having a contraction on the way. I finally made it up there and shook him awake around 6am. He grabbed stuff and got dressed while I got on my hands and knees and rocked during contractions.
Luckily we live very close to the hospital. We got there at 6:25, and my water broke at 6:26. (!) They checked, and I was fully dilated, so they wheeled me to the birthing suite right away and called my doctor. At that point, contractions were two minutes apart. Ronnie did an awesome job talking me through them, and they said I did a great job breathing and pushing, although I don't remember much conscious effort to breathe a certain way. I was just trying to cope with the pain!
Doctor got there at 7:20, and Abigail Elise was born at 7:35. Right at the end, when she was about halfway out, they told me to stop pushing for a second- I think they didn't want me to tear- and I freaked out. I was in a ton of pain at that point (it burned so badly!) and I was yelling about how much it hurt. They got in my face (which I needed) and told me to calm down, and to look down. I did, and I saw Abigail coming out, and it made it all worth it. It was what I needed to remember why I was there.
They put her on my chest right away, and we got to bond for a long while. She nursed about 20 minutes after birth. I'm not sure how much she got, but she seemed content.
After that, they weighed her, and she is 8 lb 11 oz. She got her eye drops and Vitamin K shot, which made her cry a little, but as soon as they gave her to Daddy, she calmed down.
I went all natural (which I was planning on trying), though I wouldn't have had a choice anyway! Check-in to birth was only an hour, so epidural/pain meds was never an option. It wasn't so bad..
I did have a 2nd degree tear, which the nurse said is the kind you want to get if you have to get one. Recovery hasn't been too bad. We even went out to dinner with Ronnie's parents and aunt and uncle the day we got home from the hospital. I'm feeling pretty good, with just a little soreness. We've had two nights at home so far, and Ronnie and I are working out the kinks and getting a system down. When Abigail wakes up, I go in if it's time for her to eat, and otherwise, Ronnie goes in to change her/rock her back to sleep/whatever, and if one of us notices the other is dragging, we'll take an extra turn. We're both pretty excited for the days when she sleeps in longer spurts, but we're coping well. ----------------
Abigail Elise
8lbs11oz
20 3/4 inches long
7:35 am on Wednesday, September 12, 2007 |
