Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Liza Renee is here!

Thats right - she's here!

On Wednesday May 20 I called my mom and told her that I'd been having contraction the night before.  She drove in from Ohio and got here early in the afternoon.  The contractions subsided and we got root beer floats while Ryan and his Dad did some work outside.

Around dinner time (we made pad thai) the contractions started up again, and got progressively stronger and more frequent.  I still didn't think they were close enough to go to the hospital by bedtime, so I told everyone (Ryan and my Mom) to go to bed and we'll see how things go overnight/in the morning.

No sooner did we lay down when Ryan told me I should just call the OB and tell him whats I'm feeling and see what he thinks.  I called, told him about the timing of my contractions (I was using an app to time them) and he said "It sounds like its time to come in."

So, everyone got back out of their PJ's and into their clothes again and we headed for the hospital.  I had contractions all the way there, and they were getting more and more painful.  We got to the hospital at 10:30pm.  They took me into an assessment room in Labor and Delivery and the nurse checked my cervix.  OMG, did that stir up some super painful contractions.  Right after she checked me she asked if I wanted pain medication - um, yes please!  I was 3cm dilated.

I guess that meant she had to call the Dr in, who wasn't actually in the hospital yet.  By the time he got there the contractions had become more manageable, and I didn't want the medication anymore.  Sorry, Doc!

I sat in the labor room and just tried to breathe through the contractions while holding my mom and Ryan's hands.  By 3:30am I was only about a centimeter more dilated, and that was disappointing.  I asked for the epidural as the contractions were becoming too much.  The anesthesiologist came in and I assumed the forward leaning position.  I prayed the entire time for God to guide his hands to the right spot and for the epidural to be safe and effective.  It's scary to have something go into your spine.

The epidural burned a little bit, and took affect about 15 minutes after he gave it.  It was glorious to be out of pain.  However, it made my legs feel "dead" which was a really weird sensation and rather unpleasant to not be able to move your legs.

Around 9 am it was decided that we start piton to move things along. t (I think, its all kind of a blur at this point.)  We were 12 hours in now and all getting tired.  I sipped my water and convinced my mom to give me some mints to suck on.  

Every now and then the baby's heart rate would start some funny business and they would roll me this way and that way, occasionally putting oxygen on my to try to help it out, which it seemed to.  At one point my mom was looking at the wrong monitor and ran out into the hall to the nurses station yelling for a doctor because "the heart rate is 26!" they all just kind of looked at her and assured her they were watching the monitors.  My mom finally realized she was looking at some other measurement on the screen and the heart rate was fine.  We were all getting a little delirious at that point I think.

Around 5pm we asked the Dr to come check me.  I was fully dilated!  He wanted me to labor for another hour before I started pushing.

The hour came and went and it was go time.  The Dr had broken my water a couple hours earlier.  I started pushing with Ryan holding one leg and my mom holding the other.  I had this notion that I was going to be very modest and have Ryan just facing me at the head of the bed.  Yeah right, at that point I really didn't care - Prince William and Kate could have been in the room and I probably wouldn't have noticed or tried to cover up!

It was so hard to know if I was even pushing because I was numb from the belly down.  The doctor was becoming increasingly concerned about the baby's heart rate and thought the cord might be around her neck.  At one point they talked about having the NICU team come down, but they decided we didn't need them.  I heard the doctor say "We need to get this baby out," and he used the vacuum (which is way less invasive and intimidating than it sounds) as I pushed to help her head come out.  A few pushes later and there she was!  My baby!  I just sobbed and sobbed while they gave her a quick wipe and placed her on my chest.  Ryan cut the cord.

The doctor held up my placenta like a prized Buck and pointed out that the cord was marginally placed instead of central, and it was wrapped twice around her foot when she was born!

She was here at last, my little Liza.  After a bit they weighed and measured her, and Ryan's parents who had been in the waiting room for who knows how long were able to come in and meet her.

After an hour or so they rolled me up to the post partum floor, Ryan and the nurse had to help me in and out of bed on my wobbly legs.

Ryan's parents were able to visit briefly in postpartum, but there was so much going on and the nurses and aides were in and out, that soon they had to go, and take Ryan back home, as my mom was staying the night with me.

The night was pretty rough.  I was super sore, and had to be catheterized which hurt like the dickens if I'm being honest.  It was awful.  Neither my mom or I slept, I don't think Liza did either.  Breast feeding was not really taking off.

I don't remember a lot from the 2 days in the hospital.  Ryan spent the second night with me, and the baby was up again pretty much all night long.  Finally we determined that we needed to be giving her formula because breast feeding was not working.  I was so dead tired that I barely had any interest in the newborn photos they offer.

Greg came over that night and he and my mom kept Liza in the guest room so that Ryan and I could sleep. It was really all hands on deck, and I felt so many emotions, especially gratitude for the support and my healthy baby.  And worry.  I suppose it starts and never really goes away for moms.

Welcome to the world, Liza.  We love you.