Just a heads up, this entry has some not so pleasant details :)
Aug 03- i started feeling funny, just not normal, and i had lost my mucus plug, and that can be a sign of labor coming, so we decided to do some funny things we found on the internet on how to naturally induce labor, I'm not sure if any worked but it was a fun way to pass the time :) things like eating pineapple, spicy food, going for walks, and we all sat on the tramp and bounced gently for awhile on our butts. and that really gave me the giggles :) so things were just funny that day.
Aug 04- This is my half birthday! so i thought it would be cool if she were born today, but i was ok with whatever :) we decided to stay in brigham at my moms that night just in case, its a good thing we did :)
4 am- i woke up with some menstrual like cramps. and since i had not had them for nine months i definitely knew something was different. they started getting a bit more intense. so i got up and started just walking a little and other things to keep my mind off it. then, GUSH! my water broke. now most times ive been told its not a gush for everyone, but i had been told at my last appointment that i almost had too much water in there. i was at 18 and too much is 20. so i was definitely gushing. it kept going for about 20 min. i finally was able to get in the car and to the hospital, without leaking too much. but once we got there they put me in a bed, because once the water breaks, you pretty much cant leave till the babe comes :) so im in my nice little hospital room with Daniel and my sister.
and we turn on some movies while we wait for my contractions to get going. they did. they would get stronger and stronger and closer and closer. so i was getting pretty pumped. then my doctor came in and said i was dilated to a 1. great.....i already knew it was going to be a long day. so we sit, watch movies and wait. every so often contractions came and i was able to breath through them. then about 10 am my doctor came back and said i was dilated to a 3. i was like what? it took that long to dilate to 3? oh boy....still needed to get to 10. so, now the nurse comes in and says you need fluids and oxygen! so in comes the iv and a beautiful huge oxygen mask! i looked gorgeous im sure :) again, it wont let me upload any pictures so you wont be able to see that lovely site :) anyway, so 2 pm rolls around and I haven't dilated anymore, and the contractions are starting to get unbearable. I wasn't originally planning on an epidural, but I had no idea how long I would be waiting to dilate. so I got one. that was not very pleasant, but once it took effect I was very relieved. so back to watching movies. but you have to be so careful how you sit and move with epidurals you don't want to accidentally pull them out. so i would have to lay on one side then the nurses would have to come in and help me flip over every 15 min ish. because when you lay on your side the epidural goes from one side to the other then you have to flip. so that was the rest of my day pretty much till 10 pm. then they told me I had dilated to a 9!!!! I was relieved! one more hour then I was a 10! Time to push! so they set me all up and I pushed for one hour! that was a bit exhausting! but at the end of the hour the doctor sat down with me and explained that she hadn't moved at all with pushing because she couldn't get past my hips. they are too small for a natural birth with a 7 lb baby. so they would need to do a c section. he was worried that was going to affect me and assured me that I had done my best and that it wasn't my fault. but really at this point I did not care. I just wanted her out safe and sound :) so I said lets go! so they prepped me for surgery and put some stronger stuff in my epidural to make me totally numb. and that made me really nauseated. they kept poking me saying can you feel that? and I could the numbing wasn't working all the way. peachy I thought I really would not like to feel this operation. but since I had an epidural so long that day, my body wouldn't tolerate any more. so I couldn't feel pain, just pressure. so they are wheeling me into the hospital room and I puke all over the doctors and nurses. at this point im kind of out of it, otherwise I would've been very embarrassed. so then I feel them make the incision. just the pressure. and I feel them pulling her out. it felt like something sitting on my chest and pulling at the same time .....interesting. then they give me medicine to help me relax. but me being so small, it knocked me out. but right before, they said look at your baby! and I turned my head and saw my precious Katie for the first time. I started crying then, I don't remember anything else except being slightly conscious and hearing things like, she's losing this and that, and we need more suction or something like that. then I remember waking up in my hospital room maybe 15 after surgery was over with my awesome hubby all dressed up in doctor clothes holding our little angel, with my awesome pushing nurse Kathleen :) and he said do you want to hold her? and Daniel put her in my arms and I held her :) now the meds had me so doped up I remember feeling like I didn't care that I was holding her and that I was going back to sleep. and that isn't the most pleasant feeling to have the first time you hold your child but it was all good :) so I wake up feeling still groggy the next morning but a lot more there. that's when I got to hold my little girl and really enjoy it :) then my family came :) and during the whole week we had wonderful visits from family :) everyday after surgery got better. I lost something everyday, one day it was oxygen, the next iv, things were getting better and better. but still very hard. I never had a catheter before, once that was taken out. it took me forever to get out of bed and walk across the room the bathroom, that was very painful at first but with the nurses help I was able to get up and walk around easier and easier. now can I just say something about nurses? they are AMAZING!!! I was in the hospital Monday-Friday and every single day and night I had different nurses on hand helping me with everything! turning me over, helping me get up, walk, helping me in the bathroom, with my first shower after surgery, with my medicine. anything I needed! nurses are so selfless and wonderful to do what they do. I decided that after being in the hospital your dignity and pride go out the window. but having such wonderful support really helps. we eventually were able to go home and again it was hard at first, but gets easier everyday :) so that's my story! let me leave you with this, something I think every pregnant girl should know! the thing that saved me through it was Red Raspberry leaf tea. Very good for you and helpful to women with menstrual issues and pregnancy. it tones the muscles of the uterus to help. I drank a cup almost every day through pregnancy. it took away morning sickness, helped cleaned my blood, made contractions easier, and the doctors were amazed at how good her color was when she was born. she is very healthy and very strong. and Im sure the herbal tea had something to do with it. also I think It helped with my recovery:) whether it did or not, its good for you and I recommend it to everyone :)
