I awoke on February 8, 2010 around 3pm with a strict to-do list of "things to do the week before baby gets here". Our c-section was scheduled for a week later (on the 15th of Feb.) I had not dilated yet, so I thought I had plenty of time to finish up my list, run some errands and clean the house a little to prepare for the next week's visitors. Little did I know, my life would change forever that day, and not only was my to-do list for that day cancelled, so were the items for the rest of the week. :)
3:15pm- I got out of bed, went to the bathroom and washed my face. Suddenly, I felt a little more pressure 'down there' than I had been feeling before. It wasn't painful, just a little uncomfortable.
3:30pm- I decided to sit down in the living room and relax a little bit and watch some tv. After about ten minutes into my show, I felt a sharp, ache. Caught by surprise, I thought, "What the heck was that?". To this point, (38 weeks) I had not experienced any Braxton Hicks contractions [that I know of] so I wasn't sure what they felt like. I remember reading that contractions can be brought on by dehydration, so I then got up and went to the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water. After returning to my chair, I put my feet up on the ottoman, and sipped on my glass of water. Shortly afterwards, I felt the pain again.
3:50pm-I called one of my girlfriends (who is a mother of two) and asked her what contractions felt like. She asked what the pain felt like and I described it. She told me she to start timing them. At that point I grabbed a pen and pad and started writing the times down. 3 minutes, 4 minutes, 2 minutes apart... random. I hung up the phone and called my husband at work:
4:15pm- Hubby gets home, asked me what happened, and takes over the timing of the contractions.
Him- "Baby, maybe we should think about grabbing some things and putting them in a bag to go to the hospital. I'll call your parents and the Dr's office to let them know what's going on.
Me- (seriously in pain,...and obviously in denial)-"No! not yet..not now,...I'm sure it's just false labor pains--plus we have two weeks to go. This can't be it. Not today."
Him- "Um...okay, well whatever you want me to do let me know."
4:45pm- After a painful series of contractions, I manage to take a shower (the hot water in the shower made them a tiny bit less painful), somewhat brush my hair, and get my clothes on. Panting hysterically, (At that point, I totally forget what we learned about breathing techniques in the childbirth class) and then proceeded to yell demands out at him:
Me- "Underwear!....Shampoo! Socks! Uh.... robe!
Him- *managing to stay calm* "Which robe, babe?"
Me- "I don't know which one... the pink one!!" (Not realizing that I have four pink robes in my closet...)
5:00pm - Nurse from my doctor's office calls and gave hubby instructions.
5:15pm-We get in the car. It's rush hour. The hospital is only ten minutes away from our house but it took us a little longer. The pain is beginning to get a LOT worse. We get to L&D (finally after hubby gets lost in the building), answer a few questions and they place us in triage. I'm stripped down to a hideous hospital gown and monitors are put on me to track contractions and baby's heartbeat.
We wait. Contractions continue. I hurt. Bad.
5:50pm- Triage nurse- "Hon, you're breathing waaay too fast; You need to slow it down."
Me- "He-hoo he-hoo he-hoo.....heeeeeeeeeeee whooooo heeeeeee whoooooooo"
Triage nurse- "That's better... Your urine is pretty concentrated. Have you been drinking today?"
Me- *not really understanding the question....does she mean 'drinking as in alcohol? Of course she doesn't... she means water, right?* So, I answer "Yes."
Triage nurse- *surprised* "You HAVE?!"
Me- "Water...I've drank water today."
She looks at me in a weird way and proceeds to start an IV. She tries several times, gets frustrated, then calls for help. Another nurse comes to help her.
6:20pm - A random doctor comes in to check me for dilation. He's not my doctor. I don't know this guy. I like my doctor and wish he was here instead of him. I cry. I screech (yes, screech.) I tense up. He tells me to stop clinching and to relax my muscles. I can't. It hurts just as bad if not worse than the contractions. After his 'dilation violation" he says, "She's eight centimeters", to the nurse next to him. They get the doctor on call. I'm reassured by one of the nurses that he's the 'next best' to my doctor and that I'll be in good hands.
6:40pm-The room fills with nurses. One is looking at the monitor, entering information and asking me questions. I like her; She's calm and nice. Her name is Laura. The first triage nurse continues to find a vein for my IV. I now have three 'failed' IV locations covered in cotton balls and tape. She leaves in a huff and another nurse takes over and tries. Another two nurses are taking vials of blood in my other arm. The nurse anesthetist and anesthesiologist come in to talk to me and explain to me what's going to happen. Between contractions, I try to answer their questions and sign paperwork. At this point, I'm thinking..."This is it; This baby is coming, now... TODAY!" I look over at hubby. He's texting my brother.
7:10pm- The nurses finally find a vein for the IV and give me some medication to slow down the contractions. Everyone leaves the room. Laura comes back with a wheelchair. Hubby goes with another nurse to put on his 'garb' and I'm wheeled to the operating room. I breathe through the last contraction with Laura when we get there. The anesthesiologist does his magic (It didn't hurt at all) and shortly afterwards my legs got warm and then numb.
7:30pm- The procedure began and I couldn't feel anything but slight pressure that felt very similar to the baby kicking inside my belly.
7:50pm- Hubby comes in and joins us. He sits right next to me on a stool. The anesthesiologist is making small talk with us. He's very nice. He shows us a picture of his [very cute] six month old baby on his iPhone and tells us that the doctor doing the c-section also delivered his son.
7:58pm- Anesthesiologist says to hubby- "Hey [hubby's name] , you may want to take a peek over the curtain." He then stands up and looks over the curtain, and Sweet P's head was out, eyes wide open as they suctioned her mouth.
8:01pm- Baby is born! She cries, I cry. Hubby cries--then walks over to the warming table to take pictures. They announce her weight. "5lbs 7oz". I'm immediately disappointed. How could she be so small? My doctor predicted that she would be a seven pounder the week before. I then begin to worry. Hubby brings her over to me and I see her for the first time. She's beautiful! Totally different baby than I had imagined. I take a sigh of relief. Hubby later leaves the room and follows the baby to the nursery. The operating team continues to stitch me up. I feel nothing. I'm calm and cool at this point, thinking, "That wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.
8:30pm- I'm in a recovery room with Laura. She gives me ice chips to suck on. Feels weird not to have control of my legs and feet. I try to wiggle my toes but can't. I try again. Then, I pretend I have telekinesis and try to move my toes with my mind (I'm goofy like that.) I'm bored. I keep thinking about the baby. :) Wow. I have a BABY!
9:30pm- Hubby comes in to the recovery room and checks on me; Shortly after, Laura wheels me out to my postpartum room.
10:00pm- My parents and brother arrive; They go to the nursery to see the baby. They return back to the room with her in tow. They hand her to me, and the first thing I do is unswaddle her to check to see if she has all her fingers and toes. I don't know why. It was my first instinct. She's perfect. I love her :)
We ended up staying in the hospital for a week because Sweet P was loosing more weight than normal and at one point her temperature was low, so our Pediatrician decided to keep us there to keep a close watch on her. By the end of the week she was able to get her temperature up and gained the ounces she needed to get her 'okayed' from the Pedi to go home.
Since we've been home, it's been great. She's an incredibly good baby and parenthood [so far] has been a little easier than I had anticipated. . .
I've mananged to get a few good photos of her while she's been awake. click images below to see the full sized picture.
Welcome Priscilla Elyse!
One day old-- (excuse the generic hospital tshirt-- I didn't have anything that fit her (I didn't buy any newborn outfits, thinking she would be bigger.)
3:15pm- I got out of bed, went to the bathroom and washed my face. Suddenly, I felt a little more pressure 'down there' than I had been feeling before. It wasn't painful, just a little uncomfortable.
3:30pm- I decided to sit down in the living room and relax a little bit and watch some tv. After about ten minutes into my show, I felt a sharp, ache. Caught by surprise, I thought, "What the heck was that?". To this point, (38 weeks) I had not experienced any Braxton Hicks contractions [that I know of] so I wasn't sure what they felt like. I remember reading that contractions can be brought on by dehydration, so I then got up and went to the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water. After returning to my chair, I put my feet up on the ottoman, and sipped on my glass of water. Shortly afterwards, I felt the pain again.
3:50pm-I called one of my girlfriends (who is a mother of two) and asked her what contractions felt like. She asked what the pain felt like and I described it. She told me she to start timing them. At that point I grabbed a pen and pad and started writing the times down. 3 minutes, 4 minutes, 2 minutes apart... random. I hung up the phone and called my husband at work:
Me- "Hey. Um...dude--I don't know what this is but I'm thinking maybe I'm having contractions."
Him- "Okay... I'm leaving right now! I'll be home shortly."
4:15pm- Hubby gets home, asked me what happened, and takes over the timing of the contractions.
Him- "Baby, maybe we should think about grabbing some things and putting them in a bag to go to the hospital. I'll call your parents and the Dr's office to let them know what's going on.
Me- (seriously in pain,...and obviously in denial)-"No! not yet..not now,...I'm sure it's just false labor pains--plus we have two weeks to go. This can't be it. Not today."
Him- "Um...okay, well whatever you want me to do let me know."
4:45pm- After a painful series of contractions, I manage to take a shower (the hot water in the shower made them a tiny bit less painful), somewhat brush my hair, and get my clothes on. Panting hysterically, (At that point, I totally forget what we learned about breathing techniques in the childbirth class) and then proceeded to yell demands out at him:
Me- "Underwear!....Shampoo! Socks! Uh.... robe!
Him- *managing to stay calm* "Which robe, babe?"
Me- "I don't know which one... the pink one!!" (Not realizing that I have four pink robes in my closet...)
5:00pm - Nurse from my doctor's office calls and gave hubby instructions.
5:15pm-We get in the car. It's rush hour. The hospital is only ten minutes away from our house but it took us a little longer. The pain is beginning to get a LOT worse. We get to L&D (finally after hubby gets lost in the building), answer a few questions and they place us in triage. I'm stripped down to a hideous hospital gown and monitors are put on me to track contractions and baby's heartbeat.
We wait. Contractions continue. I hurt. Bad.
5:50pm- Triage nurse- "Hon, you're breathing waaay too fast; You need to slow it down."
Me- "He-hoo he-hoo he-hoo.....heeeeeeeeeeee whooooo heeeeeee whoooooooo"
Triage nurse- "That's better... Your urine is pretty concentrated. Have you been drinking today?"
Me- *not really understanding the question....does she mean 'drinking as in alcohol? Of course she doesn't... she means water, right?* So, I answer "Yes."
Triage nurse- *surprised* "You HAVE?!"
Me- "Water...I've drank water today."
She looks at me in a weird way and proceeds to start an IV. She tries several times, gets frustrated, then calls for help. Another nurse comes to help her.
6:20pm - A random doctor comes in to check me for dilation. He's not my doctor. I don't know this guy. I like my doctor and wish he was here instead of him. I cry. I screech (yes, screech.) I tense up. He tells me to stop clinching and to relax my muscles. I can't. It hurts just as bad if not worse than the contractions. After his 'dilation violation" he says, "She's eight centimeters", to the nurse next to him. They get the doctor on call. I'm reassured by one of the nurses that he's the 'next best' to my doctor and that I'll be in good hands.
6:40pm-The room fills with nurses. One is looking at the monitor, entering information and asking me questions. I like her; She's calm and nice. Her name is Laura. The first triage nurse continues to find a vein for my IV. I now have three 'failed' IV locations covered in cotton balls and tape. She leaves in a huff and another nurse takes over and tries. Another two nurses are taking vials of blood in my other arm. The nurse anesthetist and anesthesiologist come in to talk to me and explain to me what's going to happen. Between contractions, I try to answer their questions and sign paperwork. At this point, I'm thinking..."This is it; This baby is coming, now... TODAY!" I look over at hubby. He's texting my brother.
7:10pm- The nurses finally find a vein for the IV and give me some medication to slow down the contractions. Everyone leaves the room. Laura comes back with a wheelchair. Hubby goes with another nurse to put on his 'garb' and I'm wheeled to the operating room. I breathe through the last contraction with Laura when we get there. The anesthesiologist does his magic (It didn't hurt at all) and shortly afterwards my legs got warm and then numb.
7:30pm- The procedure began and I couldn't feel anything but slight pressure that felt very similar to the baby kicking inside my belly.
7:50pm- Hubby comes in and joins us. He sits right next to me on a stool. The anesthesiologist is making small talk with us. He's very nice. He shows us a picture of his [very cute] six month old baby on his iPhone and tells us that the doctor doing the c-section also delivered his son.
7:58pm- Anesthesiologist says to hubby- "Hey [hubby's name] , you may want to take a peek over the curtain." He then stands up and looks over the curtain, and Sweet P's head was out, eyes wide open as they suctioned her mouth.
8:01pm- Baby is born! She cries, I cry. Hubby cries--then walks over to the warming table to take pictures. They announce her weight. "5lbs 7oz". I'm immediately disappointed. How could she be so small? My doctor predicted that she would be a seven pounder the week before. I then begin to worry. Hubby brings her over to me and I see her for the first time. She's beautiful! Totally different baby than I had imagined. I take a sigh of relief. Hubby later leaves the room and follows the baby to the nursery. The operating team continues to stitch me up. I feel nothing. I'm calm and cool at this point, thinking, "That wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.
8:30pm- I'm in a recovery room with Laura. She gives me ice chips to suck on. Feels weird not to have control of my legs and feet. I try to wiggle my toes but can't. I try again. Then, I pretend I have telekinesis and try to move my toes with my mind (I'm goofy like that.) I'm bored. I keep thinking about the baby. :) Wow. I have a BABY!9:30pm- Hubby comes in to the recovery room and checks on me; Shortly after, Laura wheels me out to my postpartum room.
10:00pm- My parents and brother arrive; They go to the nursery to see the baby. They return back to the room with her in tow. They hand her to me, and the first thing I do is unswaddle her to check to see if she has all her fingers and toes. I don't know why. It was my first instinct. She's perfect. I love her :)
We ended up staying in the hospital for a week because Sweet P was loosing more weight than normal and at one point her temperature was low, so our Pediatrician decided to keep us there to keep a close watch on her. By the end of the week she was able to get her temperature up and gained the ounces she needed to get her 'okayed' from the Pedi to go home.
Since we've been home, it's been great. She's an incredibly good baby and parenthood [so far] has been a little easier than I had anticipated. . .
I've mananged to get a few good photos of her while she's been awake. click images below to see the full sized picture.
Welcome Priscilla Elyse!
Sleeping in her bassinet- 9 days old.
One day old-- (excuse the generic hospital tshirt-- I didn't have anything that fit her (I didn't buy any newborn outfits, thinking she would be bigger.)
