Ellie Brooke was born on October 16th, 2010 at 12:28pm weighing 7lbs, 11 oz and measuring 21 inches long. The easiest way to tell my horror story of a birth experience is by time, so enjoy!
October 15th
All morning: Woke up with contractions here and there. Pretty normal, not necessarily alarmed.
Noon: Started with fairly consistent 7-8 minute apart contractions
Noon-4pm: Did some homework, still having contractions, still not super concerned. I had regular contractions a few times over the past few weeks and they would subside after a few hours.
5pm: Realized that I was half moaning through every contraction and they were 5 minutes apart... Whoops!
6pm: Left for hospital. Tripler is about 30-40 minutes from my house so we headed out, stopping at Taco Bell on the way.
7pm: Nurses checked me. At 3cm, 75% effaced. The nurse told me to go home [30 minute drive each way] and said I'd probably be back at around 1am [6 hours later]. I was absolutely POSITIVE that Ellie was coming so Andrew and I went to the car and sprawled out.
By 9:30: Andrew is BEGGING me to go back to Labor & Delivery. I've only been in the car for about 90 minutes and didn't think they would take me seriously, but I was dyyyyyying through these contractions.
10pm: Second check by nurses. In 2 hours I've gone from 3c-6cm and she's at zero station.
10:30pm: First check by doctor. In 30 minutes, I'm from 6cm-8cm. In the 3 1/2 hours since I first arrived at the hospital, I've gone from 2cm-8cm. I've had zero pain medication and am absolutely going to die. Literally. I am convinced that my uterus will explode. I ask for an epidural but they say Charlie the Epidural King is busy and probably won't make it....
11:30: CHARLIE ARRIVES. This may be even more momentous than Ellie's birth. The heavens parted and I saw the light!
October 16th
Midnight: Not feeling anymore contractions, but the epidural has slowed my progress. This story is sort of seems like a reason NOT to get an epidural, but as you'll realize later- epidural or not she wasn't going to be a vaginal birth.
2am: Given a quick shot of Pitocin to try and regain momentum.
2am-6am: Andrew and I both take a much needed nap. Letting the Pitocin work and just relaxing. Without this nap, I wouldn't have made it through everything. Take their advice, Moms! REST.
6am: First hour of pushing... I am not really getting the hang of it. I can feel the contractions mildly, but I'm not pushing correctly.
7am: Still pushing.
8am: Still pushing.
9am: STILL PUSHING. Doctor comes in, checks me, and realizes that Ellie isn't positioned correctly. They think she's just facing incorrectly... Yeah, right.
10am-10:30am: Still pushing. They would give me breaks here and there, but I am a crying, hot, horrible mess. I've been in 4 or 5 different positions and for some reason she will NOT come down further into my cervix.
10:30am: Lord and Savior Doctor Correra comes in and suggests a c-section. My somewhat pushy nurses keep mentioning a "beautiful vaginal" birth and so I keep trying.
By 11am: I am ready to consent to anything. Get this girl OUT. I stop pushing and start trying to nap- I am exhausted and really NEED a break.
at Noon: They realize that Ellie's heartbeat is dropping and fast. They rush me to do a c-section. I, unfortunately, feel all the prep and some of the tugging before they start the procedure. I am eventually fully sedated and sort of miss the next parts.....
After she's born they tell me her umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck twice and preventing her from getting into the birth canal. Also, she is mostly transverse and would have likely ended up as a c-section anyway.
A few points to be made here: Though a vaginal birth is certainly preferable for many women, DO NOT make that your only option or cling to the idealism of it. I pushed for almost 5 complete hours because a) I wanted a vaginal birth and b) all the support around me kept motivating me. At some point it's okay to say stop. It's okay to WANT a c-section. Also- get pain medication. I know, it's a personal choice, but duuuuude. It's so much more enjoyable and the epidural was the only reason any part of Ellie's birth was enjoyable. After getting the medication, I sat up and talked to Andrew for a bit and enjoyed the last few hours of being a single gal. That time is really special and important to me.
All in all- She is beautiful and wonderful and sweet and hilarious. I won't say that the entire experience was "worth it" once she was born... It was horrific and traumatic and I would NEVER do it that way again. But, she is awfully adorable and I can't say she wasn't worth at least some of that pain. I had a really scary birth and I can honestly say that I am glad it's over and I do not miss a thing about being pregnant.
She is the absolute proudest accomplishment of my entire life and I am humbled to be her Mama. Look for fun updates from Babyland in the next few weeks! More pictures to follow when I'm not a lactating, sticky baby lollipop.
I am so emotional and reminiscent tonight. How is my little baby up standing and bobbing around?! I mentioned that I "do not miss a thing about being pregnant"... All lies. At 3 days post-partum, it was true, but now I would be pregnant with quadruplets if it meant I got to feel little feet flutter inside my tight, round belly.
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