Thursday, May. 15, 2003
Birth Story!

I arrived at the hospital on Thursday, May 8th, 2003 at 7:00 am. After checking me in, the nurse ask me a million questions, and hooked me up to a monitor that recorded the baby's heartrate and my contractions. My doctor showed up around 7:30 and broke my water, which was more uncomfortable that I expected. It didn't hurt to have the sack broken, because apparently there are no nerve endings there, but she had to turn the hook to a funny angle, and that was uncomfortable as heck. She also said that I was dilated to a 3 and was already having contractions - but I wasn't even aware of it.

Then my doctor left and said she would be back around noon to see how I was progressing. She was working at the clinic that day, and wasn't going to be at the hospital until she was needed. The nurse proceeded to mutilate my hand in an attempt to get an IV in (I stil have the bruise a week later!) After what seemed like an eternity, she gave up and had another nurse come in and try - this one got it in without missing a beat, and I was very grateful. After cringing in pain from an attempted IV and the breaking of my water, I had little confidence in my ability to tolerate the pain I was about to endure.

She started the pitocin drip around 8 o'clock on a fairly low setting. For the next 6 1/2 hours I was remarkably comfortable. Pete and I watched two movies, and he even took a nap. The nurse would come in every half hour to up the dosage of the pitocin, take my blood pressure and temperature, and check the monitor. Or unhook me so I could go to the bathroom. All they would let me eat was toast and juice (they offered jello and popcycles, but they just didn't sound very filling). The contractions felt like menstrual cramps that would come for a minute or so, and then go away. They grew closer and closer together, but I didn't feel very uncomfortable.

At 1:00 my doctor paid a visit and said that I was remarkably calm. Apparently there was a lady in the next room who was dilated to a 4 (same as me) and had already asked for an epidural. She had been induced at the same time as me, and I joked that I hoped we wouldn't have our babies at the same time. She said that was highly unlikely, and I knew that was true. She kept remarking that I must have quite a high tolerance for pain. I was really surprised to hear that! She left and said she would be back after clinic, unless she was needed sooner.

Dr. Liu wasn't gone more than 10 minutes when the contractions suddenly stepped up a few notches. I had to start using my breathing, and Pete helped by sitting in front of me, counting and holding my shoulders. But, the contractions were growing steadily more powerful. I started to feel nauseous, and was spitting in a cup, but I never got sick. I asked the nurse if I could have something for the pain. I was still only dilated to a 4. She offered Nubain and I said okay because I wasn't ready to get a needle stuck in my back just yet.

They gave me the Nubain through my IV and I was instantly dizzy and felt totally drugged, but the nausea went away. I could barely keep my eyes open, but the pain did not seem to dimish at all. About all it did for me was enable me to relax a little inbetween contractions. I tolerated the pain for about another 1/2 hour and said that I needed something more. They checked my cervix and I was suddenly dilated to a 7. But there was still time, so they called the anesthesiologist to get me an epidural. About 10 minutes went by and they hadn't show up yet. I got this sudden urge to push. The nurse told me not to push, and I had to take short, fast breaths to fight the urge. She checked my cervix again and I was a 9. She informed me that I couldn't get an epidural at this point, and for a moment I panicked. But the urge to push was greater than the pain of the contractions, so I was quickly forced to focus on that. She wouldn't allow me to push until I was a 10, and that was through about 3 contractions. It was extremely difficult not to push, when that's all my body wanted to do - in fact, I think it may have been the hardest part for me, even though it only lasted about 6-8 minutes.

When I reached a 10, she told me I could start pushing on the next contraction. At this point they were coming about every 2 minutes, and lasting about 2 minutes. (At least, that is what my husband tells me, because I really had no concept of time at this point).

My doctor was absent for much of this because she had to first be paged at the clinic and drive over, and then when she got to the hospital, the lady in the next room was to the pushing stage as well. So much for my joke.

I pushed for just over an hour. The Nubain was almost completely gone at this point, other than making me close my eyes between pushes. I remember feeling very impatient. With every push, I was disappointed if she didn't come out. At first the nurse and Pete were holding my legs, but it just wasn't comfortable for me. Eventually I figured out that I could hold my own ankles and it felt more secure. Pete got a wash cloth and put it in ice water and held it on my forhead and all over my face and neck. It felt great. In between contractions I rested my legs on the stir-ups. I remember being unsure at some times when a contraction was coming until it was right on top of me. They kept having me do 3 sets of pushing for a count of 10 during each contraction, and I felt much more comfortable doing 2 longer ones, so by the end I had changed everything around to suit myself. Which was fine with them... whatever worked. They put an oxygen mask on me and I found it to be completely annoying and in the way. I don't even remember why they did it - I think maybe the baby's heartrate was fluctuating at little. The doctor delivered the baby in the next room right before she came in to help me finish up.

About 5 pushes before the end, they asked me if I wanted to feel her head poking out, and it was remarkable. It felt so tiny, at first I was startled, but it was only the top of her head being formed into a much rounder shape than I expected. I could feel that she had hair.

On the second to last push, they told me she was out up to her eyebrows. I was expected to wait it out until the next contraction to push her the rest of the way. I was very uncomfortable with her stuck half way like that (as I'm sure Lucy was), so I just pushed on my own and didn't worry about waiting for the contraction. It did get her out faster, but it also caused me to tear. If I had waited for the contraction, my perineum may have had time to stretch enough.

She was born at 4:51 pm. They placed her on my belly immediatly, and Pete was snapping pictures like mad. The doctor and nurse had to force him to stop so he could cut the cord.

The next 15 minutes I was in my own little world, looking into my daughter's eyes and touching her little body. She looked so beautiful and perfect to me. Apparently, the nurse and doctor were talking to me, delivering my placenta without hardly any effort on my part - my body just sort of did it for me. They were stitching me up, and I was completely oblivious to it all.

I kept remarking at how small she seemed. And when they weighed her I found out why! She was only 5 pounds 14 ounces. I was worried at first, but the doctor reassured me that she looked great. They gave her an Apcar score of 8, because her hands and feet were slightly blue. But after 5 minutes they upgraded that to a 9 when her circulation kicked in and she was pink all over.

They wiped her off, put some ointment on her eyes and gave her a shot of Vitamin K to help her blood clot - all standard. Pete watched the whole thing and said she didn't even cry when they gave her the shot. They also put her little footprints in our baby book, and gave me, Pete and Lucy all matching bands so we wouldn't get mixed up.

They gave her back to me to try and nurse. She took to it fairly well - the nurse helped me with the latch-on. After that things calmed down, and there was paper work and things to be filled out. We got a photo of the doctor and the nurse with her, and they took one of the three of us.

After trying to get me to pee (I couldn't, but they said that's common, due to the trauma my bladder had gone through) and cleaning me up, they pushed me in a wheel-chair, holding Lucy, down to our room. Pete's Mom and Dad were waiting for us.

That evening I almost fainted by trying to get up to go to the bathroom. I lost a lot of blood and clots, and needed help from the nurses. But, I was elated and quite awake. So was Lucy. She was bright-eyed and alert for almost every visitor. She charmed us all immediately.

And that's the story of how Lucy Lynn, the light of my life came into our world!

Ciao-Pazzobello

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