I gave Parker a kiss goodbye and completely LOST it getting in the car. It took me the whole drive to the hospital to get it together. I was super emotional about it being my last time leaving him as an only child and was so worried about how this would all effect him. Ryan was not super-emotional but understood why I was so upset.
We got checked in at the hospital and I was given the first medication that was supposed to help my cervix thin out. It's a medication that they "insert" and then take out 12 hours later. The doctor actually first said that I may not need this medication and that they would just let me start the pitocin at midnight to have a morning birth. She left the room to check some numbers and decided that I should have the overnight meds. This happened at about 1045 pm. I also took an Ambien to help me sleep and then settled in for a last night of "peaceful" sleep.
When we got up in the morning, we just waited around for the nurse to be able to take the medication out. My mom and Renee came up with Parker so that we could see him for the last time before the baby was born. I was slightly emotional but not too crazy. I think I was so excited and nervous about labor that I was able to keep it together. Here is literally our last picture together as a family of three:
Nothing like a puffy pregnant lady! :)
The doctor gave me permission to eat and drink before they got the pitocin started. I was nervous about eating or drinking because I was afraid of getting sick but decided to have a sandwich and some water since I didn't know how long I'd be in labor and going without food. After Ryan and I had lunch, my mom and sister left with Parker in tears. He did not want to leave us!
Me and my Momma
Once they left, the nurse came in and started the pitocin. I would say it took about an hour for the contractions to actually get started. I could be wrong. I could feel them but they were not crazy painful. Ryan's parents and Amy sat in the room with us for a couple of hours and talked. I was able to carry on the conversation and not feel like I needed them to leave....
...until about 4pm came around. I started feeling more uncomfortable and asked the nurse when she would check me again. The last time they checked me was at about 1130 and I was 2cm. She said she would wait until about 4:30 because my contractions needed to be two minutes apart and they were only every two to three minutes apart at that time. She left, and immediately I wished I had asked her to check me. While starting to deliberate about this with Ryan and our visitors, the doctor and nurse walked in and said they were going to check me and probably break my water. Ryan's parents and Amy left, and that was the last I'd see of anyone other than Ryan or the hospital staff before Audrey was born.
The doctor checked me and I was 4cm. Hooray for progress! She broke my water and the pain intensified immediately. I asked about getting the epidural and she said she thought it would be fine and that she would get the anesthesiologist. I was writhing in pain and after probably only about five minutes started screaming. I actually told Ryan to go shut the door because I felt like I needed to scream. I have never screamed so loud in my entire life!
I was absolutely terrified that I may not have time to receive the pain medication or that it wouldn't work. I kept telling Ryan (yelling) about how scared I was and how I could not handle the pain and how I thought I would pass out. I didn't know what to do--I hadn't experienced this much pain with Parker before the epidural kicked in so I literally had never had pain like this in my life. I was trying to breathe and be calm but nothing was working. I actually ended up almost completely focusing on the nurse instead of Ryan because I was just looking for some kind of help or relief that I thought they might be able to give.
I was absolutely terrified that I may not have time to receive the pain medication or that it wouldn't work. I kept telling Ryan (yelling) about how scared I was and how I could not handle the pain and how I thought I would pass out. I didn't know what to do--I hadn't experienced this much pain with Parker before the epidural kicked in so I literally had never had pain like this in my life. I was trying to breathe and be calm but nothing was working. I actually ended up almost completely focusing on the nurse instead of Ryan because I was just looking for some kind of help or relief that I thought they might be able to give.
When the anesthesiologist finally came in at about 440, I was still terrified that it wouldn't work. I was able to sit still enough during the contractions for him to get the epidural catheter in place and then laid down. He asked me several times if my legs felt warm and tingly, and I felt exactly the same. They said it could take 15 or 20 minutes to fully start working, but I could tell from the start that nothing was happening and was terrified. Beyond terrified, actually. The anesthesiologist gave me at least two extra doses of medication, but the epidural never did work. I was progressing too fast. I could literally feel the baby moving down with each contraction and just knew that she would be born without the doctor being able to make it. It felt like she was just going to push herself right out! The nurse checked me right before 5 pm and I was at 8cm. She said I still had a lot of work to do, but I knew that wasn't the case.
She checked me again a couple minutes later and got on her nurse cell phone to call for the doctor and two extra nurses. I knew then that I was about to have a medication-free birth and was so so soooo scared. With every contraction I was screaming louder and louder, and when the doctor and nurses finally came in, one of the nurses came up to me, put her hand on my face, and told me I needed to get a hold of myself. Haha! All I said in response was that her hand felt good because it was cold. And then resumed with the crazy screaming.
Before I knew it I was pushing out my baby girl. I think I pushed about six times and she was born at 515 pm. I didn't know this until afterward, but the umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck when she came out. She was fine, though, and was able to lay on my stomach for a couple of minutes before they took her to the warmer. I could NOT believe that I had pushed out a baby without pain medication! I had gone from being 4 cm to pushing the baby out in one hour. I was so glad that she was finally here and that all of that pain was OVER with. The bad part about everything moving so fast was that we didn't get any video of immediately after she was born and didn't get some of the pictures we wanted. The end result was the same, though, and we are SO glad to finally have our baby girl here. She weighed 9 pounds and 5 ounces and was 22 inches long. We still had not decided on her name and did not make the final decision until the next day. When everyone came to see her after she was born, they could not believe we didn't have her name. After much deliberation we decided to name her Audrey because we liked the name, and we knew all along that her middle name would be Anne after my grandmother.
To me, she looked just like Parker when he was born. I can see differences now, but at birth they looked so similar. I had a talk with the nurse earlier in the day about how I wanted to try to feed her as soon as possible after birth, so they brought her to me within about 30 minutes to feed her. She latched on right away and has had no problems with eating at all. I am SO glad because with Parker this was a big problem and caused a lot of stress.
Renee brought Parker the next morning to meet his baby sister for the first time. I was SO excited for him to see her and thought I would just burst into tears, but I didn't. He was so happy to meet her and wanted to give her a kiss and hold her right away. He had large crowd watching, as Ryan's parents, Lisa, Frank, my mom, and sister were there. It was very sweet, though, and I'm glad we have the pictures from this special moment.
The hospital stay was great, and after about 24 hours I didn't even feel that I needed much pain medication. She was born on a Tuesday evening and we left on Thursday morning.
Renee brought Parker to the hospital that morning so that he could ride home in the car with us and his new baby sister. He was very excited to see her again!
We arrived home to a super-clean house thanks to my Mom and relaxed for the rest of the day as a new family of four. We had Subway for lunch with Mom and Renee, and then they left so we could take naps. Later that afternoon, Omi and Opa also came to meet her for the first time!
We have had lots of firsts and interesting experiences since then, but I'll have to save those to write about for another day. We are just happy to have a very healthy and (mostly) happy baby girl!
Sweet baby girl right after she was born.
Long fingers holding Daddy's finger.
Audrey's first picture with Momma...
...and with Daddy!
To me, she looked just like Parker when he was born. I can see differences now, but at birth they looked so similar. I had a talk with the nurse earlier in the day about how I wanted to try to feed her as soon as possible after birth, so they brought her to me within about 30 minutes to feed her. She latched on right away and has had no problems with eating at all. I am SO glad because with Parker this was a big problem and caused a lot of stress.
Renee brought Parker the next morning to meet his baby sister for the first time. I was SO excited for him to see her and thought I would just burst into tears, but I didn't. He was so happy to meet her and wanted to give her a kiss and hold her right away. He had large crowd watching, as Ryan's parents, Lisa, Frank, my mom, and sister were there. It was very sweet, though, and I'm glad we have the pictures from this special moment.
Giving her her first kiss from her Big Brother!
....and another kiss.
Holding her hand. This was completely voluntary, which makes it super sweet.
Giving her the rattle he bought for her.
Our first family picture. We all look spectacular! Haha.
We had lots of visitors during our short stay in the hospital, which was wonderful. It's nice to have loving family and friends close by that want to be a part of this special time in our life!
Aunt Lisa
Mona
Honey
Granddad
Uncle Bryan
NayNay
LuLu
Granddaddy
Aunt Amy
Aunt Kathy
Daddy and Audrey--both all smiles.
The hospital stay was great, and after about 24 hours I didn't even feel that I needed much pain medication. She was born on a Tuesday evening and we left on Thursday morning.
Her poor little heel. Everyone was very upset about the way they pricked her heel--I didn't see it, but she does still have marks on them to this day.
Renee brought Parker to the hospital that morning so that he could ride home in the car with us and his new baby sister. He was very excited to see her again!
These two pictures make my heart absolutely melt.
Momma and Audrey about to leave the hospital.
Not the best picture ever, but it's their first time in the car together.
Miss Audrey still in her carseat when we arrived home.
We arrived home to a super-clean house thanks to my Mom and relaxed for the rest of the day as a new family of four. We had Subway for lunch with Mom and Renee, and then they left so we could take naps. Later that afternoon, Omi and Opa also came to meet her for the first time!
Decorations done by Mona and NayNay.
The boys and Audrey relaxing post-nap.
Bright-eyed!
More sibling love. Love this one, too.
Audrey meeting her "namesake" for the first time.
Audrey and Opa.
We have had lots of firsts and interesting experiences since then, but I'll have to save those to write about for another day. We are just happy to have a very healthy and (mostly) happy baby girl!
