Nina Lynn, A Birth Story Part 2

Jesse is absolutely amazing with her.

I love her milk drunk faces.

She is so serious.

OK! Part 2, here we go.

The doctor came in at 5am on Sunday morning and let me know she was going to start me on a medication called Cytotek. It was to help soften my cervix so that I could dilate hopefully on my own and become fully effaced. I took the medication and tried to go back to sleep.

Here's the thing about hospitals, you can't sleep. You're hooked up to IVs, a blood pressure cuff, there are so many monitors beeping and lights in your eyes, and the nurses check  you every 2 hours. I know that's their job, but come on. I was exhausted. I basically got no rest after I took the medication. The contractions were about 6-7 minutes apart at that point and I would breathe through them. Not awful, but not pleasant. 

My mom came to the hospital early that morning to hang out with me while Jesse went home to let the dog out and get some extra pillows (he got no sleep either). Things started to get painful. The nurse had me walk the halls to "open me up" but it was so painful. I would have to stop every 3 minutes to grip the wall and breathe through a new contraction. By 12pm, I was done. I was exhausted, my entire body hurt, I couldn't bear it any longer. Finally Jesse walked through the door and I burst into tears. The weight of the last 3 days had come to a head and I sobbed in Jesse's arms. The doctor ordered the epidural and the anesthesiologist was able to administer the medicine (after 3 tries and a lot more tears).  

I remember feeling the medicine course through me and my body relaxed. I laid down flat and fell asleep finally. The rest of Sunday afternoon and evening is sort of a blur. I did my best to get some rest but the massive amounts of pressure in my bottom would overwhelm me at times. The anesthesiologist would come in and give me a "boost" of epidural and it would relax me enough to fall asleep, only to wake up 2 hours later and need it again. But he came in every time like my own personal drug dealer. It was amazing.

My water broke some time during the evening. I remember the nurse checking me and saying she could feel it. She scratched it with her fingernail and it broke. At one point the anesthesiologist and Jesse helped me to sit up, and out gushed everything! It was the oddest feeling.

During the evening and through the night the nurse and doctor would check me every 2 hours. I was dilating 1 centimeter every 2 hours. It was an excruciatingly long night. Finally, at 5:30am, after using the birthing peanut, having pitocin pumped in me all night, and no sleep, I was 10 centimeters. 

I started pushing around 6:15am. I have to stop here and tell you how incredible Jesse was. The entire time he put up with my pain, my complaining, my tears, and when it came time to push, he held my legs, counted through each push and contraction, kept his eyes on me, fed me ice chips, got me anything I wanted or needed. He stayed by my side the entire two hours I pushed. He held my hand, fanned me with a pillow when I got hot, encouraged me when the epidural ran out half way through pushing, and talked me through crowning. I can't even explain how supportive he was, it reduces me to tears. 

About an hour and a half into pushing, I felt liquid leaking out. The doctor told me our baby girl had made a bowl movement in the womb and we needed to speed things up a bit. They broke the bed down, and got ready for delivery. I got worried. I had read about meconium poisoning and how horrible it could be for her. I got so nervous, I kept asking the doctors and nurses what was happening, how close she was to coming out. They told me not to worry, but that Jesse couldn't cut the cord because they had to get her right to the nursery team to make sure she was OK. The time between the meconium leaking and her crowning is so blurry. I pushed with everything I had. I remember her crowning and the nurse giving me a play by play, "her ears are out, now her eyes, her nose, her mouth!" 

I pushed as hard as I could, but suddenly the nurse pushed the bed back as far as it would go, there was a flurry of movement, they told me to bear down hard on my stomach and I felt it. The doctor cut me and I screamed in pain. The nurses were pushing on my stomach and Jesse was telling me to push hard and I felt her little legs come out. They grabbed her and took her away and we finally heard her cry. Jesse's face in that moment is something I'll never forget. I told him to run over and see her while they cleaned me up. The doctor had to cut me laterally in two places because she had shoulder dystocia. Basically her little shoulder got stuck and they had to get her out immediately. 

The aftermath was sort of a blur. They stitched me and cleaned me up, I nursed our daughter and they moved us to the postpartum room. She weighed 7 lbs, 1 oz, was 20 inches long, and born at 8:23am. 

Here's the thing. This was a long post, but my labor was long and hard. Maybe not as long and hard as some, but I wasn't expecting to labor for 72 hours. When it was all said and done, I was so happy she was here. But I won't be having another baby for awhile I think!

She is so perfect. She makes the most adorable noises, she was worth every single night of heartburn, every swollen toe, every minute of those 3 days of pain.  Nina is here and I couldn't be happier. Sometimes I stare at her and just tear up because I love her so much.

Things are so different now. Our lives revolve around this little peanut, and even though it's hard sometimes, and I'm more tired now than ever, I seriously wouldn't trade anything.