Special Delivery #2

She's finally here! Our sweet little girl arrived at 10:29 am on July 2nd. She weighed 6 pounds, 6 ounces and was 19 inches long. Having two little girls is lots of fun! Evie's birth story can be found here, but this is a record of Ella's birth story so that I can keep the details of both clear in my mind during the coming years.

During my previous two doctor appointments, Dr. Lamb and I had discussed possibly scheduling an induction. Todd didn't like that idea because he wanted our daughter to have as much time in my belly as she needed so she could be as healthy as possible when she finally decided to be born. My opinion was that, since I was induced with Evie, I kind of wanted to experience going into labor spontaneously. On the other hand, Todd's oldest brother and his family were in town for a week, and we wanted them to be able to meet their niece while they were here. We hadn't made up our minds yet, so the doctor tentatively scheduled an induction for Tuesday the 3rd of July, and we were supposed to check into the hospital at 9:00 pm on Monday the 2nd with our bags all packed so we could begin the process. He said he would check to see how progressed I was and would strip my membranes again if I wanted him to. Then, if we chose to go home and wait for labor to start on its own, we could. But if we chose to go ahead with the induction, we'd already have our time slot reserved at the hospital.

As it turned out, I started having contractions at 12:02 early Monday morning. At first they were sort of irregular and felt like menstrual cramps, and I was afraid they were the same Braxton Hicks contractions that I'd been experiencing off and on. 10 minutes later, at 12:12 am, they started to fit into a pattern, and I kept praying that they were the real thing. An hour later, at 1:12 am, I called the doctor's office to see if I should come into the hospital or stay home for awhile longer. The on-call doctor, Dr. Etten, asked how regular they were, and if this was my first child. When I told her that my contractions were 3-5 minutes apart and this was my second baby, she told me to go ahead and hurry to the hospital. Remembering last time, I disobeyed her and took a quick shower first. Then I grabbed my computer, a book for Todd, and a box of granola bars; everything else was already in the car. I scarfed down a couple of granola bars on the way to the hospital so I wouldn't be as hungry this time around. We arrived at Sky Ridge Medical Center at around 2 am, and after spending several minutes being admitted, I was taken to room 2309 in the Labor/Delivery unit.

My nurse, Amber, checked me to see how progressed I was and to make sure my labor was the real thing. I was still 3 centimeters dilated, so she called in the doctor to help make a decision. Fortunately, by the time we arrived, the doctor that I'd been seeing for my entire pregnancy, Dr. Lamb, was the on-call doctor. He said that I was probably still in early labor, but since we were supposed to go back later that night anyway for our induction, it made sense to just keep us there and help the labor along. So I was hooked up to an IV of pitocin at 3:00 am to help make the contractions stronger. I was on the second lowest setting, only getting 2 mL an hour out of a possible 20, but apparently that was enough for me because I soon started having heavy contractions every three minutes and within an hour and a half, I was definitely hurting and ready for my epidural. At 4:30, the very kind anesthesiologist, Dr. Kim, gave me my epidural. It was different from last time: instead of rolling onto my side, he had me sit up to administer the medicine. Also, I didn't go completely numb from the waist down; I still had sensation, I just couldn't feel pain anymore. Although, my entire body immediately started to itch like crazy, which is a common side effect that's supposed to subside within a few hours. Mine didn't. I was itching clear until late that evening.

Ten minutes before the nurse shift change at 7 am, Dr. Lamb came in to check me again. I was still between 3 and 4 centimeters dilated, so he decided to break my water. Once again, I could feel the gush of fluid, but this time it came out clear, and I immediately dilated to 5 centimeters. My new nurse, Mary, came in at 8 to introduce herself, and because of how fast my labor with Evie went, I asked her to check me again. She said that they usually wait until 3 hours after breaking the water because usually not much changes in that time, but she checked me anyway and was surprised that I was already at 7 centimeters. She told me to call her if I felt any pressure, because my labor seemed to be moving quickly. Almost immediately after she left, I started having uncomfortable pressure in my bottom every three minutes, like I really needed to go to the bathroom.
However, I didn't want to bother her again so soon if it was just a false alarm, so I did my best to ignore it for another hour or so. At about 9:30, I asked Todd to check the monitor for me, and sure enough, the pressure was coming with every contraction. He told me to call the nurse, but I said that I would wait just a little longer so I could put on my makeup. He just rolled his eyes and went back to his book while I started getting ready for the pictures he would take of me holding my new baby. By this time, even through my epidural, the pressure was getting really intense and it took everything in me not to push.

Finally, my makeup in place, I called in the nurse just before 10:15 am. She checked me and found that I was fully dilated, so she put me in the stirrups and told me to give a practice push. I was so scared to, because it felt like my baby was right there, and that one push would be enough to bring her into the world, something I really didn't want to do without the doctor there. Mary called Dr. Lamb who was in his office. He told her that he had a woman in stirrups and was giving her an exam, and asked if I could wait. She said, "Well, I've got a woman here in stirrups, and I'm telling her not to push!" Apparently, that was enough, and he hurried over from the other wing of the hospital where his practice is located. He got to my room maybe 2 minutes later, still wearing his dress shirt and slacks. He asked the nurse if he had enough time to get changed into his scrubs, and she said yes. I remember looking at the light directly above my head and thinking to myself "I don't know if he does have time to change!" I somehow managed to hold on, though, and then he was there and we were ready. Again, I was kind of scared because, even though I'd given myself an extra shot of the epidural medicine, it hadn't had time to kick in yet, and while what I felt wasn't exactly pain, the pressure was intense enough that I was afraid of what it would feel like during the actual birth. Then the next contraction started, and I finally let my body take over. Since I wasn't completely numb like last time, I knew exactly when to push, and for how long. Instead of telling me when each contraction was starting, my nurse was asking me when one was starting and if I was ready to push some more.

It only took three contractions of three pushes each. Then there was one final moment that balanced perfectly on the edge between pressure and pain, during which the doctor told me to stop pushing so he could remove the cord that looped around her neck, but then it was over and my second daughter slid into the world at 10:29 am. Because my amniotic fluid had come out clear and we didn't have to worry about clearing meconium out of her nose, the doctor quickly wiped her off, then placed her directly on my belly like I'd asked. I stroked the still-sticky skin of my baby while the nurse draped a blanket over us to keep Ella warm. Still holding her, I felt one more contraction build, and, without being prompted, I pushed out the placenta. I remember absently noticing how gross it looked and being disgusted that some people will actually eat it. Then Dr. Lamb started stitching me up, and even though I could feel the needle, it didn't hurt, and my attention shifted back to my little girl. Nobody tried to take her from me to do any tests or anything until I was ready, so we just lay there skin-to-skin, getting to know each other. Finally, I let Todd hold her and we got all of the tests and measurements out of the way. There were several births that morning, and we had to wait while a room was cleaned and readied for us. While we waited, I nervously tried nursing Ella; to my joy, she took to it quickly and easily! Eventually, we were moved to room 2204 in the Mother/Baby unit.
Once there, I asked Todd to bring in my suitcase from the car, and we called everyone to let them know that Ella had arrived and was healthy.

I'm very impressed with what my body accomplished this time around. Despite the fact that I eventually ended up using pitocin, I feel that my labor still started on its own, and I'm content with that. Whereas with Evie, I was in active labor for only 5.5 hours, including an hour of pushing (which is excellent for a first birth!), with Ella, I was in active labor for only 3.5 hours, and I only pushed for 10-15 minutes before she was born. Evie's birth was amazingly easy and I didn't even feel her come out, but Ella's birth was empowering because I trusted my body to be in control the entire time. Apart from the itching, which lingered for several more hours, my body also reacted well with the epidural. I didn't throw up, and my body didn't freak out because it couldn't move. My body seemed to bounce back even more quickly than last time, and I only asked for pain medication whenever I nursed Ella, because nursing would help my uterus contract back to its original size, and the resulting cramps hurt. The mere fact that nursing went as well as it did also really impresses me, but there will be a separate post about that. To top things off, my weight is already back down to what it was before I was pregnant with Evie! All around, Ella's birth has been quite a special blessing in our lives!