Sunday, July 31, 2016

Adeline's Birth Story

I hit 38 weeks and I was done! I noticed that with this pregnancy everything hurt so much more. I developed sciatic nerve pain that shot up both my legs and any position I was in- it was horribly painful. There was a weekend where I honestly could not stand or walk. I spent the majority of my time in bed barely able to move and in tears. I just couldn't imagine being in this much pain for two or even three more weeks. Thankfully, as the days went on- my pain level was moderate. Being pregnant in the summer is miserable. I spent a lot of my time indoors or in the pool. 

My biggest fear has always been that the baby not be head down in time for labor. The last two girls always flipped so late in pregnancy. Thankfully, Adeline was cooperative and stayed head down starting at 34 weeks. I decided not to get any cervix checks until I reached 39 weeks. At that appointment I was 1 cm dilated. It wasn't too disappointing since I was barely dilated with Brielle and went to 41.3 with no progress. I'd been having a ton of Braxton hicks for weeks and sometimes even strong contractions. I knew these contractions were not the real thing but I had never felt these so early on with my other pregnancies. I was feeling hopeful. I spent a lot of my time in the pool as it would help to move the baby lower into my pelvis and relieve some of the pain in my legs and back. 

After my 39 week appointment, I asked to be induced the following week. I set my induction date for July 27th- 3 days past my due date. That morning, I was feeling very off. I watched a friends kid for a few hours that morning mostly to have her entertain Arizona and Brielle since I was so exhausted. I was having consistent contractions throughout the day, and feeling incredibly nauseous. I got everything ready to head to the hospital as I was suppose to check in at 4pm. On the car ride there, I was having contractions 8 minutes apart. The thought crossed my mind- I think this is the real deal. I voiced it to Daniel, hoping not to jinx myself but also not really thinking it was possible. I had hoped for this kind of scenario. When I was induced with Brielle, I was put on pitocin and it made my contractions so much stronger and painful. I did not want to do that again. The fear of having to deal with that much pain was too much for me to deal with emotionally. 

As we arrived at the hospital and waiting for us to go up to labor and delivery, I had to stop many times in the hallway to breathe thru contractions. The pain was overwhelming and I just knew- this had to be it. And how convenient- I was already at the hospital to be induced- maybe I wouldn't have to be since I was going into labor on my own. When I got to my room, we did all the preliminary setup, all the while breathing thru each contraction. While waiting for Dr. Downey to come and get the foley bulb in to induce me, my nurse decided to check me to see if I was dilated any more. She said I was still at a 1 and I would have to be induced. When she left the room, I looked over at Daniel and said there was no way I was still a one. I'd been contracting all week and her fingers were so small!! I did not trust her  assessment of my cervix. Feeling down, I waited for Dr. Downey to give me better news. As he and a few nurses were setting up the foley bulb he checked me and said- "she doesn't need to be induced. She's already in labor. She's dilated to a 5!" Woo hoo!! What a relief. I knew my body wasn't tricking me and I was well on my way to having this baby. The time was 6pm and Dr. Downey was sure I'd have this baby in the middle of the night. 



I was feeling pretty good and my contractions were coming every 6 minutes. I decided to walk up and down the hallways to get the contractions stronger and closer together. As the hours went by I noticed that my contractions were faltering. Things were not picking up like I was expecting it to. I started counting down the hours and was hoping I wasn't set for a 21 hour labor like I did with Brielle. My nurse informed me that I would have to wait till 4 am to get a boost of pitocin to pick up my contractions and in the meantime I would have to rest in between contractions. Daniel fell asleep on the pull out couch and I was in and out of sleep. I decided to walk the halls at 1 am to see if I could get something going. For some reason, every time I walked, the contractions were less and less. When I sat back down on the bed- the contractions picked up. 4 am came and my nurse asked if I wanted to get some pain relief or an epidural. I knew I wanted to get an epidural this time around, but the fear was still lingering that an epidural would stall my labor. Daniel convinced me that I needed the rest and my body responds really well to medication so why not go for it now so that when the pitocin starts- the pain wouldn't be so intense. 

Let me tell you that an epidural is no fun when it is administered. The sting is intense and I grabbed hold of Daniel tight to fight thru the pain. Almost immediately after I got it, I laid down and fell asleep. Daniel was joking that when the nurse was asking me questions about how I was feeling, all I did was mumble yes or not answer cause I was zonked out. I slept for 3 hours and at 7 am I was checked and was at an 8. Dr. Downey came in shortly after and broke my water. My nurse was sure that within a few hours I would be holding my baby. Daniel and I had a pretty low key morning. He went to the cafeteria to eat breakfast. I didn't want him around me eating, cause I was starving and I didn't need someone teasing me with delicious food. Before my nurse Becky left the room she asked me to call her when I felt the urge to push. I was laying on my left side as that was the best position for Adeline's heart rate to remain steady. 20 minutes passed and I told Daniel it was time to call Becky in- I had the urge to push. Becky came in to check me and saw the head. I was indeed fully dilated and it was time to push. People started to come in and set up. I forgot to mention that when Dr. Downey broke my water he spotted a little bit of meconium. He told me not to worry since it was very little and that he would bring in someone from Nicu in case we needed them. Becky, and another nurse helped with holding up my legs and I pushed for about 10 minutes. I was told to stop as the baby was getting closer to coming out. Dr. Downey was called and he was on his way to catch our baby. While waiting, I let my body do most of the work and did not push. It also helped me to rest before I had to push again. Once Dr. Downey arrived, I pushed for about 15 minutes, all the while feeling incredibly relaxed between pushing. I was tired, but not overwhelmingly exhausted. It was such a different experience from Brielle's birth. During my pushing, the nurses were really motivating and Daniel was amazing. He cheered me on and that was a big motivator to get the baby to come out faster. Dr. Downey noticed that Adeline's face was facing right in my pelvis. With every push- he would turn the head gradually so I wouldn't tear as much and put her in a more optimal position to slide out. I gave four really strong pushes and the baby was out! It's a girl!!- they all said. She was born at 10:26 am. I couldn't believe we had another little girl. Daniel was ecstatic and we were so happy to have another sweet girl join our family. We knew right away her name would be Adeline Jane. She weighed 8lbs 10 ounces, and was 21 inches long. I held her soon after she was cleaned off and we snuggled until I was moved to another room. I only had a minor tear and the stitching was not bad this time around since the epidural was not completely worn off. 




When we moved to my new room, I ordered my lunch right away. I was so hungry and ready to eat a protein packed meal. The girls were set to come meet their new baby sister that afternoon. We decided not to tell Arizona if the baby was a boy or girl over the phone. When she arrived- she asked right away if the baby was a boy or girl. Arizona had been hoping for months the baby would be a boy. Daniel and I were nervous to see her reaction. When we told her the baby was a girl she said, "but I really wanted a boy!" In mere seconds she got over it and embraced her new baby sister. We told her her name was Adeline. She didn't like that name so she decided to name Adeline- Fuzzball. 
Brielle took really well to baby Adeline too. She kept kissing her and hugging her and we had to stop her from smothering her sister.

                    Me with my three beautiful girls. 
We have adjusted pretty well as a family of five. We have been blessed with three beautiful girls and we are well aware that we are in for the ride of our lives when these girls get older. 

1 comment:

  1. I just love everything about this! I'm so glad Adeline's labor was much more positive all around! You have three beautiful little girls. More chances of a marriage with one of my boys. Yay!

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