Ready or Not

So, I don't really blog anymore.  Who am I kidding, I just DON'T blog anymore.  But I know that some friends are interested in birth stories, so I thought I would write mine up.  I also remember so much more of the birth this time, so it will be nice to get it all down.  And.......here we go.

For most of this pregnancy, I thought that Elizabeth would come early.  I don't know why I did, maybe it was just wishful thinking.  We went in to Triage around 36 weeks because of contractions that were 4-6 minutes apart and about 45 second in length.  Now, my body just contracts all the time with braxton hicks, and usually I don't worry about it.  But the only time I had very steady contractions when pregnant with Aaron was right before we went into labor.  They were painless, just like those I was experiencing this time around.  So we called my parents, and they drove up to stay with Aaron while we went to get checked.  That is when we discovered that my body is just crazy and confusing.  I was not in labor, but the nurse thought I would probably be back in a few days for the real thing.

Three weeks went by, and I was now 39 weeks and 1 day pregnant.  I went in for my usual Ob visit and found out that I was 3 cm dilated and stretchy to 4 cm.  My doctor stripped my membranes, and set up an induction appointment with the hospital for my due date the following week.  I was now on a time schedule.  I really did not want to be induced, as I have heard that the labors are much more intense, and the more medical interventions you introduce, the more likely you are to need a c-section.  Lucky for me though, I wouldn't have to worry about that.

I had more painful contractions about every 10 minutes for the rest of the day.  My dad had come up to watch Aaron during my appointments, and he stayed until dinner time and then went home.  I had been asking friends and my parents to watch him, because I had SO many appointments at the hospital.  Being a high risk pregnancy (for thrombophilia and gestational diabetes) is no fun.  It also worried me being on blood thinners and having to time the shots with going into labor, so we had been praying for a while that God would work out all the the timing for a safe delivery.  I took my shot of heparin around 10:30 Wednesday night, and right after that contractions got to be around 5 minutes apart (wonderful), and distractingly painful.  I was up until 4 in the morning with them before they let up to 10 minutes apart, and I decided to get some sleep.  When I woke up in the  morning, they started back up at 8 minutes, and quickly got closer together.  After Jared had been at work for a total of 30 minutes, I called him to tell him to come home.  I was going to try and wait for my parents to get there to watch Aaron, but around 10am I knew we had to go.  Our neighbors are wonderful, and they gladly let Aaron play at their house for a hour while we headed out.

We arrived at the hospital around 10:45 and walked up to traige.  Then they made me lay down on the blasted bed and strapped the monitors to me.  Laboring on your back is NOT an optimal position.  The nurse also had to try 3 times before she got the IV into my arm.  They checked me and I was 4-5 cm.  This was not what I wanted to hear, as the contractions were getting intense.  I hadn't ruled out an epidural, and if I had a long time to go I was going to want one.  We were in the traige room until around noon, and then we walked over to our labor room.  I don't know if it was the walking (thank you gravity) or what, but the contractions were long, hard, and in my back.  I labored standing up in the room for about 15 minutes, and then the nurse had me get on the table to check me.  She could only feel a bulging bag of waters, and no cervix.  The doctor came in to check me and felt like I was around 8 or 9 cm.  The nurse told me that she could get the anesthesiologist to come and get prepped for the epidural, or we could break my waters and just do it naturally.  I did not want to wait any longer, and opted to just have my waters broken.  After they were broken, the doctor said that I was at 10 cm and ready to push when I felt the urge.  As the doctor and nurse were getting prepped for delivery, Elizabeth didn't want to wait any longer.  They rushed back over, and baby girl was out with just a few pushes at 12:51 pm.  Yay!  She had quite a bit of fluid in her throat and lungs, as she didn't have very much time between the waters breaking and her being born.  She was mad and crying a lot until we had them suction her again.  After that she was calm, and just wanted to sleep.

Comparing my two deliveries, this one was FAR more intense.  Yes, the active and transition stages were faster, but that also meant that the contractions were very effective and painful (and in my back).  With Aaron, I was very quiet while breathing through them.  Jared said it was if I was in a daze.  With Elizabeth, I was just mad at the contractions.  I was much more vocal.  Jared said he preferred it that way =)  I have felt amazing postpartum, almost as if I didn't even give birth.  That is also much different than the last time around.  I have 1 week down on  my blood thinner injections, and 5 to go until I get to stop them!  That will be amazing.

Elizabeth is wonderful.  She sleeps almost all day long, and we have to wake her up to feed her.  She is very difficult to wake up.  She will go down for a nap in her Pack n Play without us having to rock her or pat her to sleep (so not like her brother!).  She doesn't cry during diaper changes.  She doesn't really cry, unless she is hungry or has gas.  The poor girl does have some gas issues, and has spit up out of her nose quite a few times.  Aaron loves her, and is very gentle.  So yes, this first week has been great, minus some lost hours of sleep.