It has been over a month since we have welcomed Kate Marie into our family. I don't think I can explain the love that Dan and I have for this little girl. We can just stare at her for hours and not get bored. We think she is perfect in every single way. Becoming parents has been an adjustment for both of us. We are getting use to our new normal. My body is adjusting to my new sleeping schedule and I get a kick when Dan wakes up telling me "my body is just so tired!" Kate and I have fallen into a great schedule throughout the day
{thank you Babywise} and she is currently sleeping 5 hours straight at night
{yay!}.
I decided to blog her birth story--for myself to remember
{because people tell you that you forget and I'm not so sure I want to forget:)} and because I
lovedreading birth stories when I was pregnant.
It is true what people say, everybody experiences labor and delivery very differently.
This is going to be long--so prepare.
Starting at 35 weeks, I had weekly doctor appointments every Monday. On February 23, I had an appointment and I had mentioned to my doctor that I had been extremely itchy. I didn't have a rash, but I had scratches on my arms and legs from itching so much in my sleep. My doctor decided to do a blood test to test my liver function. She had said that I was probably fine, but we would check it just to be safe. Come the following week, March 2nd, we had our weekly appointment at 4:15. My doctor had come in and asked how I was doing. I told her "I'm over being pregnant" and she responded with "Well, you're having your baby Thursday, so its good that your over being pregnant!" Dan and I both looked at each other like WHAT?!! Her telling me that was just not what I expected.
I was planning on begging her to induce me before Spring Break ended {which was the following week} because I just couldn't imagine going to work being 39-40 weeks pregnant! My blood test came back positive for Cholestasis--which has to do with the flow of bile in my blood. It just causes itchiness for me, but could be fatal for the baby. My doctor explained that when a mother has this condition, they induce at 37 weeks. She sent us over to the hospital to get our little miss checked out--if everything seemed fine--then I was to be at the hospital Wednesday March 4th at 11pm--if something was "off" then she would admit me and induce me that night! Luckily, everything was fine, and we were able to go home and prepare to meet our baby a few days later!
We both went about our normal schedules on Tuesday. Wednesday, Dan and I slept in and packed our bags for the hospital. We spent a few hours with Dan's brother and our sister-in-law and then went to eat at Smash Burger before checking into the hospital. Things got pretty interesting after checking in...
11pm-7am--> Answering a lot of questions for paperwork, signing paperwork, getting an IV. Right around 12am, they started me on a medicine to soften my cervix. They also gave me Ambien. In my mind, I was prepared to get a great nights sleep--I mean Ambien is suppose to knock you out, right?! Wrong. I had
hallucinations all night long--
I remember telling Dan that I could see people flag twirling and little toy soldiers march in straight lines. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw insane things. Then, I started getting pretty strong contractions or what felt like horrible horrible cramps. I got 2 more doses of the same medicine throughout the night--only to find out little Miss Kate did not enjoy the medication. By 7am, my new nurse asked if I was ready for the epidural and you better believe I jumped at the opportunity. I just remember sitting on the hospital bed telling Dan "I've never been in so much pain"--thank goodness for epidurals. I mean--
it was instant relief. I was able to relax and get some sleep throughout the day.
7am-4pm--> My doctor came in around 8 or 9 and broke my water to get things moving along. Kate did not enjoy that, so they ended up putting more fluids back inside of me. The medication they gave me to soften my cervix made my uterus contract, but it was in a constant contraction, never letting up--which had Kate in distress. To be honest, I don't remember much of the day, but we had some scary moments. 3-4 times throughout the day, Kate's heart rate went from 150s down to the 60s. Nurses would rush into my room and flip me in different directions to get her heart rate back up. My doctor came in multiple times, but assured me that she was fine. I had an amazing nurse--she ended up staying in our room most the day watching Kate's heart rate, putting warm blankets around me, and making sure I was comfortable. Dan was feeding me ice chips and Tums whenever I asked. I was pretty out of it--not getting a lot of sleep the night before and having the epidural had me pretty loopy.
4-5:30ish--> My doctor came in around 4 and I was 6cm dilated. She told me that I would probably deliver around 7pm. She went back to the office to see some patients. By 5, I told the nurse that I needed to push and sure enough in 30 minutes I went from a 6cm to 10cm. My nurse had me do a practice push and then our room got busy. Everyone started coming in and getting things set up. My doctor came back and we started pushing around 5:05ish--this was my favorite part because I felt no pain, just pressure and could feel her body coming down the birth canal {is that too much information?! Probably, but it was amazing to me}. My doctor had me feel her head as it came out and all I could think was
"that is a tennis ball, its so small!"--I only pushed maybe 6 times and for 15 minutes {I lucked out} and Kate was born at 5:20pm. Weighing 5.5lbs and 18in. long. Turns out Kate's umbilical was wrapped around her neck twice {I hate that dang cord} and all I heard was "call the NICU", but I remember thinking
"ahhh...I'm not pregnant anymore!"
The NICU came down, but the nurses ended up telling them they she was fine and they didn't need them. They rubbed her for awhile, gave her some oxygen, and then we were able to hold her. She ended up having low blood sugars and had to go to the nursery for a little while--which was not good for my hormones, but we made it through. My blood pressure ended up sky rocketing and they treated me for preclampsia, which was awful, also not good for my hormones, and I'm still trying to forget about it.
I was very ready to go home by Saturday and made that pretty clear to the nurses. I think we were the first ones discharged. :)
The first month was a whirlwind. There have been awesome days and there have been really hard days. I've cried more than I care to admit {the day my mom left was a rough one}, Kate has cried more than I've been able to handle:), and I've never been so exhausted in my entire life. I would change any of it and Dan and I are both loving our new family of 3 and we fall more in love with Kate everyday.
We love our little princess
