isalisa: Ella's Early Arrival

Posted Wednesday, February 27, 2008 11:13 AM

"While I was in the shower, I felt a pop and a gush of water. This is when the real pain set in!" 

Surprise!

On Friday, Sept 21st we went to the doctor for our 37 week appointment. I was being monitored for Pregnancy-Induced Hypertension, so they decided to do an ultrasound to see how the baby was growing. She was measuring 5 pounds 9 ounces and moving well. We saw the doctor a short time later and she said, "Your baby is in the 13th percentile for weight and you're spilling +3 protein in your urine, with a slightly elevated blood pressure of 133/88. I think it's best that we induce you and get the baby delivered so she can thrive on her own.”  John and I were like, "Okay, so when do you want to schedule it?" Our doctor said, "Oh, we're going to wheel you over to Labor and Delivery now and your husband is going home to get your things." I nearly pooped my pants! Poor John looked like he was going to faint.

The Waiting Game

From there they took me to Labor and Delivery and started me on Cervidil. They explained that I would be on Cervidil all night and that I was to rest up for the big day on Saturday. We called everybody and told them they should plan on coming to the hospital the next day. John and I could not believe that our baby was coming so soon! Once the Cervidil kicked in I started having contractions every 2 minutes and they lasted about 45-60 seconds each. They were really uncomfortable and I could not sleep the entire night. The next morning, I got up and vomited about 6 times. It was strange because I didn't feel nauseous at all before I got sick. At 8 a.m. they took out the Cervidil and declared that I was one whole centimeter. ONE CENTIMETER, after a whole night of painful contractions: it was very disappointing!

Here She (Finally) Comes!

I decided to take a shower to ease the pain and while I was in the shower, I felt a pop and a gush of water. This is when the real pain set in! OMG, did it ever hurt! The nurse came in and I told her that I thought my water broke. She got the doctor and they confirmed it. Now the contractions were only about 1.5 minutes apart and they were lasting over a minute each. I was dying, but I was still only one centimeter. The doctor asked me if I wanted the epidural. I felt like the biggest wimp in the world saying yes when I was only 1 cm along. But after a full night of pain and no sleep I was ready for some relief.

Bring on the Epidural

Let me just say that the epidural is AMAZING. I am SO glad that I got it. Once I got the epidural I was able to get a little rest. I fell asleep for about an hour. It was heaven. When I woke up it was 1 p.m. and I was now 6 cm. They decided I didn't need pitocin since I was obviously in active labor at this point. So technically, I wasn't induced! Around 3 p.m. I was 10 cm and ready to push. The doctor refilled my uterus with a saline solution (never heard of this) because the baby's heartbeat was dropping below 80 bpm every time I had a contraction.

Pushing: Harder than it Looks!

I started trying to push around 3:15 p.m. I sucked at it. I really had no idea how to push the baby out. I kept using my stomach muscles. They reminded me to try to pretend like I was constipated, but I couldn't seem to get the pushing correct. Finally, around 45 minutes into pushing I got the hang of it. But my baby wasn't moving! I kept pushing out all of the fluid and stuff but not the baby. The doctor said, "If we don't make progress, you're going to have to get a C-section." Since I had made it this far, there was no way I was getting a C-section just because I couldn't push. I started focusing everything I had on pushing in the proper spot. The nurses were like, "Wow, you've got it now!" But my baby still didn't move. The doctor seemed annoyed and said, "You can keep pushing, but she's not coming down. You're going to need a C-section." I was really annoyed that she kept talking about a damn C-section.

Going for the C-Section

When the doctor left the room, I asked the nurses why the doc seemed so adamant about the C-Section. They looked at each other and then said, "We think the cord is tangled all around the baby and she's not going to come out on her own." WHY DIDN'T THEY TELL ME THAT AN HOUR AGO? It was at this time that I said, "Then lets do a C-section if pushing isn't going to work. I don't want her in distress in there." So they wheeled me over to the OR. By this time the epidural was wearing off and I was feeling contractions on my right side. I had to keep pushing even though it was doing no good. Once I got in to the OR, they did all the C-section preparations. It wasn't too scary. In 9 minutes they got my baby out. Ella Suzanne was born on Saturday, Sept. 22 at 6:09 p.m. and weighed 4 pounds 12 ounces and was 18 inches long. She is just beautiful and looks just like her dad. The first few days of C-section recovery were painful but not too terrible and I was grateful I could go to the bathroom without any pain!

Home Sweet Home

Ella had jaundice for a couple of days and had to go on the bili lights, but she is fine now. We're all home and totally in love with our little daughter. It hasn't been as hard as I thought it would be. Breastfeeding is the toughest part because she doesn't latch on very well. I've already lost 26 out of the 35 pounds that I gained. I think a lot of that was fluid retention. John was incredible during the whole thing. He stayed calm, kept me calm and helped me with anything I needed. He must have made at least 10 trips out to get various items that I needed. I can't imagine single moms going through this without someone who they are incredibly close to, to help them through the C-section recovery.

Read more about isalisa!

Have a great story of your own? Email it (with photos!) to ewalters@theknot.com