Watching my sleeping baby is one of my favorite passtimes of late. She is so precious (what mother wouldn't say that about her little one!). While baby is resting and it is still relatively fresh, I thought I'd share my childbirth experience.
About 3 weeks prior to Reagan's arrival, I was having some blood pressure issues. Each week my doctor's office would end up sending me to maternity admissions for monitoring with the intent of inducing if my BP didn't drop. Each time, it would go down to normal levels and send me home. After the second visit, I was encouraged to start my maternity leave early (I could work 1 more week), and be on modified bedrest until the baby's arrival. So, my last day of work was Friday, March 25. That Friday I had to go into the office for a stress test and another BP check. Again, my BP was too high, so again off to maternity admissions I went. My BP went back to normal range, but there was some discrepancies in my blood work and they were worried I was developing preeclampsia. They sent me home with a giant bottle to collect pee-pee samples for twenty-four hours and I had to return it to the hospital on Sunday.... That made for a fun weekend!
On Sunday, we took my stepson back to his mom's, and then jug-o-urine in hand, my husband and I (we were on a first name basis with the ladies at maternity admissions) returned to the hospital. They checked my BP, and it was still high. I spoke with the doctor on call, and she told us that regardless of the urine results, they would induce sometime in the next week. We had our hospital bags; we kinda had the feeling this was coming, but induction scared me. I wasn't dilated and showed no signs of going into labor on my own...which ended up helping me make my decision. I knew that whether it was today or 5 days from now, it was probably going to be this way. Plus, my doctor was on call the next day. He'd be there to deliver my baby girl!
We got checked in and settled. It was about shift changes with the nurses... THANK THE GOOD HEAVENS! I don't know if it was pregnancy hormones running rampant, the first nurse we had was awful. She kept giggling that I wasn't even dilated and informed me it would probably be a very long time before my baby arrived. David brought my "last supper" from Village Tavern, and I was glad she left and I could enjoy my meal without someone reminding me of the marathon called labor I was about to run. They began some medicine to help prepare my body for the pitocin that they'd start in the morning. It was a near sleepless night (for me...David was snoring loud!). I was uncomfortable and experiencing mild contractions.
The next morning, an angel arrived (not the baby yet!). Kristi, our nurse, was absolutely fabulous. She talked to me about what to expect as they started the pitocin. Contractions got a lot more distinctive at this point. Kristi said that Dr. Stringer would be in soon and that he'd probably break my water to speed things along. At 10:30, he came in and did just that... and that's when the contractions really started to hurt!! They were really close together (maybe about 1-3 minutes apart), and I was only 2 cm. I knew there was no way I was going to be able to make it to 10 on my own. David was the one who spoke up though. After the epidural, labor was a much more pleasant experience. I could tell I was having a contraction, but it wasn't painful. It was like a great glass of Merlot. Finally I was able to relax! On the urging of our nurse, I closed my eyes and took a rest.
At around 2:00, Kristi came in to check my progress. To all of our surprise, I was at 9.5 cm... It was time to push! For 2 long hours, I pushed and pushed fighting heartburn and nausea the entire time. Dr. Stringer came in and encouraged me along, but we finally decided that I was going to need a little help. They used the vacuum to pull little 7lbs 10oz Reagan into the world at 4:34 pm.
March 28, 2011 was the best day of my life. It was a snowy spring day to some. It was just another Monday for others. But for me and my little family, it was the day that we welcomed our own little miracle into the world! We love our Reagan!
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