my birth story

[mpc]

(This is a XP of what I posted on GotP)

My c-section was scheduled for today, but baby girl Eliza had other plans. She was born last Thursday night at 11:53 pm. She weighed 7 lb 11 oz (smaller then they predicted) and was 19.5 in. Everyone is healthy.

I started having regular, every 5 minute, contractions last monday. We even observed them during my NST. The nurses basically said "come back when you're in more pain". They kept up on and off throughout the week, but by Thursday afternoon they were sticking around even when I did stuff that normally made them go away. By the time we got home from work they were getting quite a bit more painful. I was so wary off causing a bunch of ruckus for a false alarm, but H convinced me that we should go in and get checked out. We called my ILs to come watch DS and they were in a homeowners assoc mtg and didn't return our calls or texts for half an hour - it felt like forever!

Finally ILs came over, DS was taken care of, so we headed to the hospital. We got there about 8, by the time we were checked in, up in a room, and getting checked out it was about 8:30. The nurse told me my cervix was high, firm, and closed. omg, I wanted to cry. I was like, I am not making this up, this really hurts! For the next 2 hours she was in and out of our room, telling me they weren't sure what to do with me. My doctor was out of town, so there was some confusion with them trying to reach her anyway before the on call doctor would make a decision.

The nurse came in at 10:30 to tell me they would keep me overnight and check me again in the morning, when my water broke with gusto! (omg, I had no idea there was so much fluid. thank god that didn't happen at work, or really anywhere else.) That got everyone moving in high gear real fast. Checked me again and I was 3-4 cm. Contractions started getting really bad. I begged for some relief and they just said you'll have to wait for your spinal.

Finally the doctor and anesthesiologist showed up and they wheeled me down for my RCS. The spinal was AMAZING. H wasn't allowed in the room for that part, but he could hear me from the hallway. He said he could hear me crying through a contraction, then the doc said it's in, and 30 seconds later I was laughing at a joke. It was truly like night and day. Because we weren't at my scheduled time and since there was meconium in the water, all talk of the "gentle c-section" went out the window. But it was still worlds better than my section with DS. I was so much more coherent and able to enjoy it. During the section, doc checked me again and I was 6 cm. This was just a little over 3 hours from when I first got there and they were talking about sending me home because it didn't look like real labor. Ha!

Eliza was born at 11:53. She's healthy and overall has been a really sweet baby so far. She took to breastfeeding right away. I swear she came out knowing exactly what to do, which was such a relief. DS was not nearly so easy in the beginning. My recovery has been fine - no complications, just slow. We're all home now and doing pretty well. 2 nights ago I was up almost the entire night with her, which was killer, but last night was somewhat better, so I"m trying to be hopeful it'll keep getting a little better. My son seems a little unsure of her, but also pretty interested at the same time. Working out that balance of giving him plenty of attention too is going to be a little bit of a challenge I think.

[mpc]

There was a photographer at the hospital offering a "free" newborn session while we were there. I totally got suckered into buying the pictures. lol. it's ok though. I hadn't booked an actual newborn photo session, and there were at least a couple really nice ones. Who doesn't need more pictures of their baby?

[shauni27]

she really is such a beauty. I showed pictures of her to G last night (from FB) and he was like, wow, she is so cute!"

[thoseareradishes]

Congrats! So glad all went well.

[mpc]

shauni27 , you really are too sweet  (heart)  I can't get over how tiny and soft she is.

[pooh8402]

Congrats! She's precious! I'm glad it's been a great experience for you!

[kristind3]

She's beautiful! Congratulations!!

[G22]

Congrats, she is precious!

[lms]

Congratulations!

[loira]

Love the photos! She's such a cutie!

[cactuscookie]

Congratulations! Those pictures are so great!

I absolutely love her name. That was our runner-up, and I still sometimes wonder if I chose the right one!

[starryfish]

OMG so cute! I LOVE LOVE LOVE the newborn pics! They are awesome! I would have LOVED for mine to have been done in the hospital! SO much easier!

[rachelgreen]

Congrats! She's gorgeous!