My due date was April 9th, and as of April 4th, I was so OVER being pregnant. I thought I would be fine, seeing as this was going to be my last pregnancy. However, I was big, heavy, hot, and just plain miserable. I had an appointment on April 7th and I begged my doctor to do whatever she could to get labor going. She said they wouldn't even consider induction until I was 42 weeks, but that was fine, because I didn't really want to be medically induced. She checked my cervix and I was barely a 2, so she stripped my membranes...not pleasant, by the way.
I had been working from home since April 3rd, which was a blessing seeing as I didn't even have to get out of my pajamas, and my 3 year old still went to her nanny's house. I got an exercise ball and sat/bounced on that all day, every day, and ate more hot wings than I care to admit. (Along with nasty ass labor cookies.)
I started having contractions the evening of the 11th, so I kept my fingers crossed. Saturday rolled around and we did our usual...cleaning, grocery shopping, etc. While we were getting groceries, I was having pretty regular contractions, about every 10 minutes, so I was very hopeful.
I sat around for a few hours on the exercise ball, and the contractions got WAY more regular. Every 8 minutes, every 6 minutes, every 5 minutes...then I knew it was time to go to the hospital. I called my dad and let him know to head our way since he would be keeping our daughter while we were in the hospital. Since he lives almost 2 hours away, we dropped her off at the nanny's on our way to the hospital.
We got to the hospital at 3 PM and I was still only about 2cm, so they had me sit around for a few hours and checked again. This time I was ALMOST 4, and they wouldn't admit me until I was at least 4 cm, so they sent me to walk the halls for an hour, or they were going to send me home.
At this point, I was having regular, painful contractions every 3/5 minutes, and there was no way in HELL I was leaving.
So we walked.
And walked.
And walked some more.
1 hour later, at 6:30, they checked again, and I was 4cm! Time to move to Labor and Delivery!!
I had been in so much pain, for so long, I asked for the epidural immediately, and by 7 PM I got it! Sweet, sweet relief!
I laid around watching movies for hours waiting to be complete so we could start pushing.
Around 1:00 AM on the 13th, the doctor came in a broke my water, and found LOTS of meconium. So now, I'm super freaked out expecting the worst. (Because that's what I do.)
1:30 they started Pitocin since I wasn't progressing fast enough, and they found meconium.
Wait, and wait, and wait.
Now it's 5:30 AM and I'm complete, and ready to push.
With baby number 1, I literally pushed for 20 minutes and she was born, so I assumed this would be very similar. I was wrong. I pushed, and pushed, and pushed.
2 hours of pushing, and she just couldn't get passed my pelvic bone, so the doctor decided it was time for a c-section.
Tears. Lots of tears. I was not expecting this at all, and was not looking forward to it. I would have no one at home to help me, so I would be recovering from a c-section and taking care of a 3 year old AND a newborn. I was terrified. Plus, I knew what to expect with recovery from a vaginal delivery.
The Mr got suited up, I signed all the paperwork, and we headed to the operating room.
By this time, it's 8 AM on the 14th. They get me on the table, strapped down, hooked up, and what have you in no time at all.
All of a sudden I smell this awful smell, so I ask the nurse what the hell it is.
She says, OH! That's the doctor burning your skin to prevent excess bleeding.
They had already started, and I had no idea. Which I guess is a good thing?
I should mention that the OR was full of people. Drs, nurses, NICU nurses, respiratory people...everyone just in case they were going to be dealing with meconium aspiration.
At 8:33 they hold up this chubby, not so little, long haired baby...who wasn't crying.
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Cue freak out, and tears because I just know she aspirated some meconium and they were going to have to rush her off to the NICU.
Thankfully, seconds later she's screaming like crazy, and they tell me everything is fine!
Thank God.
She got 9's on both Apgars! Phew! She was healthy!!!!
I couldn't wait to get my hands on that little chubster! Sadly I had to wait until we had been moved to recovery. Longest wait of my life.
She weighed in at a whopping 8 pounds 14 ounces, and was 21 1/4 inches long.
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Well, no wonder she couldn't get out! She was huge! And lets be honest, my lady parts are thankful they opted for a c section!
We had to stay in the hospital 3 full nights, and the Mr was only able to stay one night with us, so we got to do lots of bonding, just the two of us.
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So far, she has been a fantastic baby. She rarely cries, only if she's in the mood to be held, or she wants to eat. She only wakes twice at night, and has since day one, which is much better than her sister who woke every 2 hours for weeks! Her doctor says this is fine because she's so big, there's no need to wake her. FINE BY ME!
Having 2 kids is about as hard as I expected it to be. Although she's a great baby, her big sister has been giving us a run for our money since we came home from the hospital. But she's 3, and is used to being queen bee, and now she has to share the spotlight. So we make it a point to take her out at least once a week by herself so we can have some one-on-one time with her, which seems to help.
And now, enjoy the overload of pictures!
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