Caroline's Birth

Caroline's birth was very interesting. I think any new mom who hasn't given birth before has some trepidation. I am no different. In some ways it was a lot like what I expected, and in others it was nothing like it. Here's how it went down.

I went to the doctor for my first exam on Tuesday, March 1. I was really surprised when he told me I was dialated to a 3 and 100% effaced. He also said she was really low down and there was a 50% chance I could have her by the end of the week. That made me so excited. I was only 38 weeks along, so that was pretty welcome news. So, I started going for walks. On Wednesday night I started having some contractions. They weren't really bad, but I still couldn't sleep. I finally dozed off at around 3, and I woke up at 6 with real contractions. We started timing them and they were two minutes apart and getting more intense by 8:00. So, we cleaned up our room, grabbed our bags, said a prayer, and went to the hospital. We got checked in, hooked up to the monitors and examined. I was at a 5 by then, but my contractions completely stopped! I was kind of embarrassed and kept telling the nurse that I really did have them. They started me on some pitocin, and they kind of started again, but not very strong. So, they kept slowly upping the dosage. By 3:00 the contractions were back and they were getting strong. Up until that point I hadn't had an epidural or anything because they weren't hurting. I decided I was ready to have one. So, I called the nurse. She said she'd get the anesthesiologist and be right there. Well, then they really picked up! By the time the nurse and anesthesiologist got there, they were right on top of each other and very very very painful. I tried to stand up to help alleviate the pain and my water broke all over the floor. The nurse examined me again and I was at a 10 and ready to go. A bunch of people rushed in, and got things ready. The hospital we were at has these beautiful big rooms where you labor, deliver, and recover all in one room. Unfortunately, those were all full when we got there, and no one had left by the time she came, so we were in the tiny monitoring room. They had to move things around to fit all the equipment in there. The anesthesiologist said it was too late for an epidural, so he gave me a spinal block instead. Let me tell you, when that thing went in, it felt like heaven! It was funny because it made me tingly from the waist down and every time someone would touch my leg it really tickled and I would laugh. The nurses said they had never seen anyone go from extreme pain to giggling in two minutes. Well, after that, the doctor came in, and they told me to push. I couldn't feel anything, and I tried to push, but I guess it didn't do anything. They used the forceps on her, and she came right out. She started crying right away, and so did I. She had a full head of hair, beautiful lips and hands, and a good pair of lungs. I found out afterwards that I actually made it all through the transition phase without medication. I didn't know at the time that I made it that far. If I had known I probably would have just kept going and pushed without medicine, because she was already there. Oh well, I'm not knocking the medicine, it was NICE! And they did have to cut me, so I wouldn't have wanted the stitches without any pain meds.

Anyway, we are happy she is here, and love our little sweetie!