She is here!
Welcome to the world Paige Elise!
Our baby girl has finally arrived and we couldn't be more thrilled! I must say that having to wait until I was full term this time around sure tried my patience. Looking back it was almost kind of nice that Gunnar was born so preemie because then I didn't have to deal with too many of the aches and pains at the end and he was healthy (I hope it's obvious I would not have those thoughts if he wasn't a healthy baby). Both pregnancies had their close calls and I had to be very careful this time being a "high risk pregnancy" and having a previous preterm delivery. I had so many close calls that we were nervous she might come too early, but no. In typical girl fashion, she changed her mind toward the end and decided to cook a little longer - which turned out to be a huge blessing because her sac had a slight deformity that slows the development process. By the time 37 weeks came around I measured at a 2 and was considered full term so I was BEGGING her to come out. At my 38 & 39 week appointments I was still a 2 and that's when the stair runs came out and the long evening walks got even longer. Nothing changed. Contractions stayed the same and my water never broke. I started to feel less and less hope that anything was going to be different by my next appointment... or ever for that matter.
My parents decided to come and stay with us on Sunday because my 40 week appointment was coming up. It worked out perfectly that they were here. Their plan was to be at our house by 7:00 or so. At around 4:00 I started to feel contractions that were consistent but not strong enough to feel like we needed to go check-in. They kept going throughout the night and into the morning. We decided to check into the hospital at around 11:00 the next morning. It was so nice having my parents show up with such perfect timing to spend the week with Gunnar. He had been asking for them to visit everyday for a few weeks and he was so excited to see them that he didn't even notice when we said bye to him to head to the hospital. We're talking about the same kid that ran out of the nursery at church, down the hallway and out the door to our car when I tried to drop him off a few weeks ago. He loves his Grammy and Grampy... probably more than mom and dad.
***Now onto the delivery. This is a warning to any husbands/men that might read this or to those whose stomachs don't settle well with hospital talk. Don't read this if you don't want to know. I'm telling this story because I want to remember it. ***
I always love to look back and remember our drive to the hospital. We are always both so excited and giddy like a couple of teenagers sneaking out. I fall in love all over again. When we got to the hospital, Tanner dropped me off at the front door so I didn't have to walk through contractions. There was a girl with her new baby waiting for her husband to bring the car up. I smiled at the irony and told her "Congratulations" as she smiled and said "good luck!".
Once we checked into the hopital and settled into Labor & Delivery room 7 it was about 1:00pm and I measured at a 4. Progress! I was so relieved to hear a number other than 2. My doctor came in to check on me during his lunch break and said that I needed to be put on Pitocin because baby girl was above the umbilical cord and they needed to switch places. That was one thing that I had been very clear that I did not want throughout my pregnancy but looking back it was a huge blessing that I got it because the cord was wrapped around her neck twice and if it had come out before she did then we would be telling a very different story.
Once we checked into the hopital and settled into Labor & Delivery room 7 it was about 1:00pm and I measured at a 4. Progress! I was so relieved to hear a number other than 2. My doctor came in to check on me during his lunch break and said that I needed to be put on Pitocin because baby girl was above the umbilical cord and they needed to switch places. That was one thing that I had been very clear that I did not want throughout my pregnancy but looking back it was a huge blessing that I got it because the cord was wrapped around her neck twice and if it had come out before she did then we would be telling a very different story.
After that, the contractions started to get stronger and about a minute apart. At 5:00, I called for the nurse and asked if there was any way that I could get an epidural. She measured me (I was at a 5) and she said that she would call for them. I was stoked.
I remembered the same anesthesiologist from my delivery with Gunnar. He was awesome. I mean what laboring mother doesn't fancy the man with the drugs? I got moved over to the side of the bed and there I sat hunched over with my legs dangling and my head in my chest unable to move while they inserted the needle into my back... in the middle of some pretty good contractions. The needle went in. I jumped from pain. He hit the wrong spot. He tried again. I jumped again. No matter what he did, he couldn't seem to find enough space in my spine to "drill" the needle where it needed to be. My contractions started getting closer together and stronger and it was getting really hard to not move at all during each one. This went on for 44 more minutes. He would start to put the needle in, hit a nerve then I would have a contraction. My back was starting to look like a dart board.
The contractions were getting pretty good when I decided that I just needed to sit up normal and breathe for a second so I told the nurse that I was going to throw up (that was a lie). I just needed everyone to move away for at least 30 seconds. Just then my doctor came in to check on me. He said he would hang in the hallway until the epidural was done. The very next contraction came. I heard a loud pop (enter diastasis symphysis pubis) and then a sudden drop of a baby. I told the anesthesiologist to forget it cause I was pushing this baby out immediately. I started to turn so that I wasn't hanging off the side of the bed as everyone screamed at me to stop because there was still a huge needle in my back. I don't think the nurse quite believed me when I told her that I needed to push. I must have done a great job at masking my agony for those 44 minutes of contractions because she seemed to not believe that I was really having my baby right then. I had to wait for them to move the needle and sit still through yet another rather painful contraction. This contraction broke my water and I actually screamed becuase it hurt and startled me all at the same time. The nurse got the hint and jumped up to the speaker and yelled for my doctor. He came running in and told me not to push so he could put his gloves on. FYI if you have ever delivered a baby and you felt like you needed to push, you know that there is no way you are not going to push. I kept pushing. Two minutes after I heard that pop, baby girl was laying in my arms. It was beautiful and painful but mostly beautiful. The nurses and Dr. L let me cuddle with her for about 45 minutes before they took any measurements. I'm sure it was because they felt so bad for the sudden change in events.
Paige has been an angel. She is so sweet and a great sleeper. Gunnar loves his sister more than us and he cuddles with her first thing every morning. It's a funny thing how your heart makes room to love another child. I can't quite seem to remember what it was like just the three of us. Our family seems so much better with her in it and we are loving every minute of it.
