A most amazing day

Disclaimer:  This post is fairly long.  Since this blog is also serving as my journal, I spared no details.  If you prefer, at the end of the post I have included the "CliffsNotes" version to save you some time.  On that note, I intend to post more often, if not daily, to chronicle the life of our baby girl through stories and pictures.  I hope her little face brings smiles to your inbox every morning!


Emma's Birth Story

There was nothing extraordinary about Monday, November 18, 2013.  I woke up with Nate at 5:30am, made his lunch, then headed out for a walk with Lexi.  When we got home, I crawled back into bed for a nap until I was ready to get up around 11:00am.  Spent a few hours doing some research for the upcoming assignments with my new job at Caption Colorado and spent the evening watching TV with Nate and Lexi.

Like most other nights throughout the last 9+ months, I woke up around 11:00pm to use the restroom.  As soon as I climbed back into bed...gush.  I wasn't quite sure what had happened.  I had just come from the bathroom and my bladder hadn't held that much liquid in months, so it caught me quite off guard.  It was 11:13pm.

I woke Nate up and suggested that my water may have broken.  Groggy and disoriented, he suggested I call the doctor, then pulled the covers over his head and went back to sleep.  I wasn't quite as relaxed.  I had the on-call doctor paged and was advised to head to the hospital if we didn't hear back within 10 minutes.  Called Grandma Pechan and sent Aunt Stacey a text message with the news.  Then, on the advice of moms across the universe of the Internet, I jumped in the shower...a luxury I may not again have for a while.

After my shower I was able to coax Nate out of bed on the premise that our little girl may be here sooner than we think.  Grabbed a banana for breakfast and by 12:20am we were on our way to the hospital with a bag full of clothes and toiletries for Mom, Dad, and baby, and car seat ready to go.

We arrived at the entrance to the emergency room at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange at 12:40am in joyful spirits and zero pain.  I was brought upstairs and checked into my labor and delivery room.  As I answered a barrage of questions from my awesome nurse Davese, Nate settled into his bed on the sofa.  It was sure to be a long night...or so we thought.

On initial assessment, I was 1cm dilated, 90% effaced, and at -2 station.  9cm to go.  Ugh!  The doctor ordered a suppository, rather than pitocin, to help ripen my cervix.  Dilation would be checked again in 4 hours.

Grandma Pechan arrived soon after we got settled in and, shortly thereafter, the contractions started.  Mild at first, I was able to breathe through them, though it was difficult to find comfort whether sitting, standing, or laying on my side.

Timing was a blur over the next few hours as the pain increased.  I was struggling with my breathing, which didn't seem to help, and I felt no pause between contractions.  Around 5:30am I had given up.  I went into the experience with a "no medication" mindset, but since dilation wouldn't be checked for another 40 minutes, I couldn't face the possibility of knowing that I had several hours to go and was already in so much pain.

Nate called Nurse Davese in and asked for an epidural.  I had no tolerance for anyone at this point and, as the contractions continued, she ordered me to look her in the eyes and breathe.  After refusing several times, I gave in.  It still wasn't helping.  She confirmed that I wanted the epidural and checked my cervix again before calling the anesthesiologist.  In a moment of pure surprise, she looked me in the face and said, "You're at 9cm!" 

I was still offered the epidural, but would have to wait because the anesthesiologist was in with another patient.  In my mind, there was no time for patience.  In about 3 minutes, there were four nurses in the room and the setup for delivery was complete.  By the time Dr. Kharuf arrived, I was ready to push.  I got the okay from the nurse, and after 4 minutes 37 seconds and about 5 bear-downs, our little conehead was laying on my chest. 

We were able to make it through drug-free -- not even a local anesthetic.  It was a pretty amazing experience and I wouldn't change a thing!

***The short version:
November 18, 2013
11:13pm  Water breaks
November 19, 2013
12:20am  Head to hospital
12:40am  Arrive at hospital
1:30am    1cm dilated; suppository administered; contractions start
2:00am-5:30am  Contractions, contractions, contractions
?:??am     This conversation happened:

• Me:  THAT is stressing me out!
• Nurse Davese:  What is stressing you out?
• Me:  YOU TALKING!!

5:30am    9cm dilated
5:43am    Emma Lynn takes her first breath