i was scheduled to be induced july 17th at 7am. jason and i were up early enough for a quick breakfast and a phone call to the charge nurse to make sure we could get in. she said come on in and we left the house headed for boise.
on the radio as we parked the car in the garage was madisa's good morning.
)
it was a great way to start the day.
in the waiting room were several ladies who were nearing active labor and were also getting checked in. its those moments that i feel a little silly. lola's not in a rush, securly tucked inside, and those babes were already working to get out... but i also know how fast my babies come, and felt a little bad that they would likely still be laboring when i would be holding my girl. just some L and D waiting room thoughts.
we had two nurses, one who had worked l and d for a long time, and another from the pediatric cardiac unit who was transferring over. she promised a quick and easy IV, and jasons and i exchanged glances knowing my IVs are never quick or easy... at least 4 tries and three nurses later i had a working IV. it took about an hour for my labor to get started. i had hoped for a 10 am delivery (emma was born at 10:02 and georgie was born at 10:17) but as my labor didnt start until 9, i knew that was pretty unlikely. we warned the nurses that once we got going, lola would arrive quickly, so they set everything up early. (and good thing too...)
jason and i passed time playing card games. we went through war several times before i got board with it, and go fish, and then settled on would you rather. we were playing would you rather when dr carlson came in to break my water, and he sat down and read several of them with us (then he would say "just one more" and read three...) he broke my water and our nurse turned up my pitocin (again.)
by now its about 930 and we just waited. between contractions we read would you rather cards. we wondered how a giant rubber ball had ended up on the roof out side our window. we waited. lola fought the monitors, the nurse kept adjusting them. each time i got up to use the restroom we would have to readjust. they didnt catch my contractions, and she turned up my pitocin.
if i could change one thing about this labor, it would be that our nurse had stayed in the room and watched me through several contractions before she decided to turn it up each time. instead, she relied heavily on the monitors at the nurses station, and because they were not accurately measuring the intensity of my contractions, i am sure my pitocin was turned up too high. for the next several hours i had the most painful of all my labors. i curled into the fetal position pulling myself into the rail on the side of the bed during every contraction. jason tried counter pressure on my back, but it wasnt helping.
some time around 11 or 1130 our nurses went to lunch, and another nurse came in. i dont even know what she looked like, or remember her name. i was clearly in transition, and i knew it. she was a breath of fresh air in our room. she unhooked my monitors, and turned off the pitocin drip. she asked me to try laboring on the toilet (with emma, i sat there for about an hour staring at the shine on the foot of my IV pole, so i was willing to try.) but my feet couldnt touch the floor so my legs were going to sleep. also, my back ached from the contractions. i asked her if i could be on my hands and knees, which had been really helpful the last few weeks of pregnancy. before i was out of the bathroom she has towels laid out on the floor and a birthing ball to lean against ready for me.
i so clearly remember the next half hour or so. for the next few minutes she applied pressure to my back and i told her i could feel the pressure of lola. i rocked, and different than my other labors, i found myself saying "ooowwww" over and over through every contraction. she told me to wait, and that i "would know" when it was time to push. (they ALL say that.) she hadnt been in the room when we told the other nurses things happened fast. about five minutes later, it was time.
i pushed three times with emma. once to break my water, once for her head, and once for her body (after waiting for a rediculously long time while everyone in the room said "wait!" so dr grissom could suction her nose and mouth). my whole labor with george was an hour and a half.
somewhere in this time the other nurses came back from lunch, dr carlson was called, and fill in nurse helped me up so that i could get onto the bed. there was talk about delivering on my side (im not sure why, but it sounded REALLY nice at this point). i saw carlson walk in and sit down to get gowned/bootied/gloved. the next thing i knew i was barley laying on the end of the bed nurses around me asking me to pant and wait, and i SHOUTED "she needs to come OUTTTTT!" and theres lolas head. jason informs me carlson threw on his cap, had one bootie and jumped in to catch lola with his one gloved hand with the next push as she was born. at 12:24pm.
i felt like a new person. the crazy me who yelled at everyone that she was coming was gone in an instant. like, "ah, now thats better. what were you saying?" at this point, i had lola in my arms and everyone around me helped me scoot up on the bed, pulled the (very bloody) sheet off (i never saw the mess with my deliveries. i got to see georgies placenta after. dr anstine got it out and showed it to jason and i. that was really cool. but all the blood and fluids are cleared up so quickly its as if it didnt happen. but this time, because i delivered her on my side, in bed, i saw, and felt the aftermath of delivery. it was both totally gross, and kind of cool.) and finally got a chance to take the bed apart (like they usually do to prep for delivery... oops)
jason cut the cord, i held her while i delivered the placenta and got stitched up, then we all had a guess about what she weighed. the whole pregnancy, i wanted her to be eight pounds. eight pound babies fit into new born and 0-3 months clothes. emma hardly wore hers at 8lb11oz, and georgie at 7lb3oz couldnt keep his tiny pants up. i cant remember what carlson and jason guessed, but i do remember they were both wrong. :) lola weighed 8lb 0.6oz (rounded up to1).
i had labored three and a half hours. not my longest, but definitely my hardest and most painful labor. and of course, she was worth it. lola's birth day wouldnt be complete without a mention of our drive home. we first made a stop off at jasons office to show off the pretty girl, then, to see her great grandma b in rehab at st als boise. perfect.
july 17, 2013 6am
july 17, 2013 12:30pm
pre-bath. i loved that little white hat. its the reason i still put her in stocking caps.
buckled and tucked in, ready to go home.
with grandma b. love these two.
