The Birth

The following post is a bit of a tome.  Proceed at your own risk. 

The day finally arrived.  On June 7th I was going to be induced and get this baby out.  By the end of the day we were going to meet either Jonah Michael or Nora Jayne.  Kitty really wanted it to be Nora.  She desperately wanted a sister.  But even more than that, she hated the name Jonah.  She rallied all of her church friends to accost me every Sunday about choosing such a terrible name.  Pssh.  

The suspense of not knowing was too much for some people.  It was the perfect amount for me.

Kitty spent the night at my cousin's house so Mykey and I could be to the hospital at 6:30 in the morning. I didn't sleep much the night before as I worried about the reality of delivering this baby the next day.  That, and I was excited to finally meet our baby.

We arrived and got all checked in.  I was hooked up to a monitor and blood pressure machine.  Those ding dang wires gave me only about a 2 foot radius to move around in.  It was terrible.  I was only uncuffed to use the bathroom and for a little bit here and there to give me a reprieve.  Did I mention it was terrible?

My Dr. arrived around 8:45.  The plan was that I would be induced right away.  That was until a woman came in on an emergency.  My nurse was reassigned to her so my induction was postponed until that situation was resolved.  How long would that take, you ask?  

A long time.

Mykey and I went to the cafeteria and had a tuna sandwich and a soda.  Since I wouldn't be allowed to eat once the induction started, I seized the chance to nosh.  

And then we waited.  And waited.  And waited.  

After hours of sitting around, Mykey went out with my parents to get lunch at Bojangles.  My dad had been dying to go since his arrival.  That guy is a weirdo sometimes. Mykey was all excited about it and jumped at the opportunity to eat somewhere I refuse to go with him.  I had the pleasure of hearing all about how delicious his sandwich was upon his return. Bojangles? Pssh. 

The induction finally started around 1pm. I had to get IV antibiotics because I was positive for GBS.  I would receive a dose every 4 hours until the baby was born.  It BURNED my arm like nothing I've ever felt before.  I had the pleasure of enduring that pain over and over again. 

Once the Pitocin started I was incredibly excited that I would most likely have a baby by evening.  I was dilated to 4cm when they started the medicine drip.  Surely it would be a breeze to get to 10cm.

Surely.

I labored with moderately painful contractions all day until after midnight.  Every time I was checked, I was still only 4cm.  I was tired.  I was hungry.  I was disappointed.  I asked to have my water broken but the baby wasn't low enough yet.  I had my membranes stripped a couple of times but nothing progressed.  

At 1:00am my Dr. decided to stop the Pitocin to give my body a break for a couple of hours.  I was allowed to eat but the cafeteria was closed! I was starving and had the very unsatisfying snack of an apple and some nuts.  And Twizzlers.  Lots of Twizzlers.  Michael had purchased them as part of his snack bag.  I berated him for buying such a hobo treat.  And then I ate a lot of them.  He just knew I would need Twizzlers.

I couldn't sleep so I just laid in the hospital bed incredibly uncomfortable.  Mykey caught a few zz's but not nearly enough.

The Pitocin was restarted at 3:00am.  My night nurse was named Kimberly and she was amazing.  She was very attentive and encouraging.  We had easy conversations about dogs and kids.  At 5:00am she checked me again and...nothing.  4cm.  I was feeling more defeated with each passing hour.  Defeated, hungry, tired, in pain, uncomfortable, sore, every miserable adjective out there.  Michael asked Kimberly if I could have a Diet Pepsi for my troubles.  She told him to get the woman a soda! They didn't have Diet Pepsi at the nurses' station so he'd have to buy one from the vending machine down the hall. Off he went to find his damsel a drink.  He returned empty handed.

The vending machines were broken.

Are we having any fun here?

Kimberly saw him walk by without a soda.  A few minutes later, she showed up with an ice cold Diet Pepsi.  She had gone to another floor of the hospital to find me one.  I could have kissed that woman.

My Dr. arrived and I begged her to break my water.  She agreed.  My water was broken around 8:30. The contractions ramped up at rocket speed after that.  Around 9:15 I asked for a little pain medicine to take the edge off.  My Dr. checked and I was already at 7 cm.  She estimated it would be a couple more hours until the baby came so she would give me some Fentanyl.    

Somewhere around this time, my mommy showed up.  Michael had been telling her not to rush because I wasn't progressing very quickly.  My mommy came to the hospital anyway.  I'm incredibly grateful that she did.  Having her at the birth was very important to me and I would have been heartbroken if she missed it.

The nurse came back a few minutes later with the pain medicine.  Michael was finishing up a shower and I was in tremendous pain and feeling like I wasn't going to make it.  The drugs weren't helping at all and then suddenly the baby was crowning.

I screamed out in panic, "The baby's coming!"

My mom called the nurse and then chaos ensued.  I don't know everything that happened other than I called out again, "The baby's coming!  And I'm pooping!"  Pooping during labor was my worst fear and now it was happening.

The nurse assured me I wasn't pooping and not to push.  Yeah, like not pushing was an option.

The room flooded with people and my Dr. ran into the room.  I saw her frantically putting on her paper scrubs and encouraging me that I was doing great but not to push.  I don't think I obeyed.

The baby was out in 3 pushes.  The room was so chaotic that poor Mykey didn't see the baby being born.  At 9:53am on June 8th, the announcement came that it was a girl and she was laid on my chest.  Miss Nora Jayne had arrived.

And she wouldn't stop screaming!

I was overcome with emotion.  It's difficult to explain the joy and peace I felt.  In the moment that Nora was laid on my chest, all of the years of heartache were instantly healed.  She made me whole and complete.  I was grateful to God for answering my prayers, grateful to have Michael as my partner, grateful my mom was there, and grateful that my family is finally complete.

Nora weighed in at a healthy 7 lbs, 6 oz and measured 20.5 inches long.  She is perfect.

After all of my hard work, my daddy brought me Chick Fil A for lunch.  We sat in the hospital room visiting and admiring my miracle.

Kitty was at Dollywood with cousins so she didn't make it to the hospital until that evening.  She was excited when she walked through the door and gingerly held her baby sister.

I have waited for this moment for 7 years: Kitty holding her sibling. It was tender and special.  And it was worth the wait.

Nora's birth was completely opposite of the experience I had with Kitty.  Everything about getting Nora here was different.  But I'm grateful for all of it - all of the tears, heartache, expense, and worry gave us another baby girl.  I'd do it all again.

Can you believe we're a family of 4?!