Are you ready for a good baby story? Here's what happened....
Tuesday morning Andy and I dropped Georgia with a friend and went to my scheduled OB appointment (one I seriously did not think I was going to have). While there I had an ultrasound to measure the amniotic fluid and another monitoring of the baby's heart rate. Everything looked great, until I saw the doctor.
She checked my cervix and told me I was about 4 1/2 to 5 cm dilated. (I still don't know why I wasn't in labor!) Then she told me that she had seen a deceleration in the baby's heartbeat while I was having a contraction. Because I was so overdue she had cause for concern and wanted me to go directly to the hospital to be induced. Do not pass GO. Do not collect $200.
But I didn't want to. I knew that they were going to want to induce me in the next few days, but I wanted those next few days to go into labor on my own. I asked if we could wait until the next day because Andy's parents would be here and we'd have care for Georgia lined up. She said no. She didn't even want us to go home to get our bags. I just said fine so that I wouldn't start crying. We broke the rules however, and we went home to get our bags, call Andy's parents to ask them to come earlier, and take a few things over for Georgia.
Needless to say, the crankies set in. I had really hoped to go into labor on my own and I had told my friend Sara that I didn't want to pick my baby's birthday. Before I left for the hospital she said, "At least you didn't pick your baby's birthday. The doctor did." She was right! I was going to pick the last possible day to be induced, but the doctor did it for me by pushing us to the hospital.
When we got to the hospital, we had a GREAT nurse. She said there was no reason to rush an induction, they'd monitor the baby for awhile and either send me home or possibly break my water. She thought that since I was so far dilated breaking my water would probably get things going really well and we wouldn't have to mess with pitocin. She made me feel very at ease and like I didn't have to do anything I didn't want to do.
But after thinking about it, I told Andy that since we were there already and would probably be back in a few days anyway, AND that his parents were already on their way, we should just let them break my water and see what happens. The doctor agreed with my decision because from the time I left the office to the time I got to the hospital, I was over 5 cm and getting close to 6. So after a couple of hours of monitoring the baby (she was fine), they broke my water around 1:00 pm. Within about 20 minutes I started having contractions that were pretty uncomfortable.
Things progressed quickly from there. The pain was increasing and I knew I wanted an epidural, but the anesthesiologist was in surgery so I opted for some Nubain. The nurse gave me some other medication that made me sleep. It actually made me feel intoxicated. So I could still feel my contractions, but had a hard time vocalizing that I was still in pain. I didn't like that. I was dilated to between 7 and 8 when I did get the epidural and it was about an hour and a half later that it was time to push. A lot of that time is still foggy to me because of the earlier medication. I remember that when the midwife (my doctor was in emergency surgery) told me I could start pushing, I thought it was way too early and not enough time had passed! But that was because I had spent the last several hours kind of out it from the meds.
I started pushing at about 4:50 pm and the baby was born at 5:42 pm. The midwife thought my push time would have been shorter, but the size of the baby made it a little difficult. Still, 50 minutes compared to 2 1/2 hours with Georgia was good in my book!
And now she's here! Lola Sue Schumacher was born February 22, 2011 at 5:42 pm. She was 9 lbs and 12 oz and 21 inches long. No wonder I couldn't sleep, breathe or walk during the last part of my pregnancy. She's a whole lot of baby! So far she eats and sleeps very well and is proving to be pretty content. We are so thrilled to have this new little addition to our family!
Tuesday morning Andy and I dropped Georgia with a friend and went to my scheduled OB appointment (one I seriously did not think I was going to have). While there I had an ultrasound to measure the amniotic fluid and another monitoring of the baby's heart rate. Everything looked great, until I saw the doctor.
She checked my cervix and told me I was about 4 1/2 to 5 cm dilated. (I still don't know why I wasn't in labor!) Then she told me that she had seen a deceleration in the baby's heartbeat while I was having a contraction. Because I was so overdue she had cause for concern and wanted me to go directly to the hospital to be induced. Do not pass GO. Do not collect $200.
But I didn't want to. I knew that they were going to want to induce me in the next few days, but I wanted those next few days to go into labor on my own. I asked if we could wait until the next day because Andy's parents would be here and we'd have care for Georgia lined up. She said no. She didn't even want us to go home to get our bags. I just said fine so that I wouldn't start crying. We broke the rules however, and we went home to get our bags, call Andy's parents to ask them to come earlier, and take a few things over for Georgia.
Needless to say, the crankies set in. I had really hoped to go into labor on my own and I had told my friend Sara that I didn't want to pick my baby's birthday. Before I left for the hospital she said, "At least you didn't pick your baby's birthday. The doctor did." She was right! I was going to pick the last possible day to be induced, but the doctor did it for me by pushing us to the hospital.
When we got to the hospital, we had a GREAT nurse. She said there was no reason to rush an induction, they'd monitor the baby for awhile and either send me home or possibly break my water. She thought that since I was so far dilated breaking my water would probably get things going really well and we wouldn't have to mess with pitocin. She made me feel very at ease and like I didn't have to do anything I didn't want to do.
But after thinking about it, I told Andy that since we were there already and would probably be back in a few days anyway, AND that his parents were already on their way, we should just let them break my water and see what happens. The doctor agreed with my decision because from the time I left the office to the time I got to the hospital, I was over 5 cm and getting close to 6. So after a couple of hours of monitoring the baby (she was fine), they broke my water around 1:00 pm. Within about 20 minutes I started having contractions that were pretty uncomfortable.
Things progressed quickly from there. The pain was increasing and I knew I wanted an epidural, but the anesthesiologist was in surgery so I opted for some Nubain. The nurse gave me some other medication that made me sleep. It actually made me feel intoxicated. So I could still feel my contractions, but had a hard time vocalizing that I was still in pain. I didn't like that. I was dilated to between 7 and 8 when I did get the epidural and it was about an hour and a half later that it was time to push. A lot of that time is still foggy to me because of the earlier medication. I remember that when the midwife (my doctor was in emergency surgery) told me I could start pushing, I thought it was way too early and not enough time had passed! But that was because I had spent the last several hours kind of out it from the meds.
I started pushing at about 4:50 pm and the baby was born at 5:42 pm. The midwife thought my push time would have been shorter, but the size of the baby made it a little difficult. Still, 50 minutes compared to 2 1/2 hours with Georgia was good in my book!
And now she's here! Lola Sue Schumacher was born February 22, 2011 at 5:42 pm. She was 9 lbs and 12 oz and 21 inches long. No wonder I couldn't sleep, breathe or walk during the last part of my pregnancy. She's a whole lot of baby! So far she eats and sleeps very well and is proving to be pretty content. We are so thrilled to have this new little addition to our family!
yay!! welcome, lola sue! or, as claire calls her - lola bear! :) we can't wait to meet her.
ReplyDeleteWelcome, baby Lola!
ReplyDeleteSo glad that you had a safe delivery, and I love her birthday. It's my bro-in-law's birthday, and the anniversary of when my parents started dating!
ReplyDelete