March 20, 2010

Okay, so I'm going to post Stella's birth story.  I know!  It's past due by a few months.  But hey, better late than never. 

Stella was born on Saturday, March 20th.  My last day at work was Wednesday, March 17th.  I can still remember walking in that school each morning, and walking out each afternoon.  I kept hoping each day would be my last.  Those last couple weeks at work were difficult.  Stella was the only thing on my mind!  My friend Q took me out to lunch on Thursday to celebrate my first day off work.  We spent lots of time walking around in Target.  My parents came down on Thursday evening.  Mom and I went out to lunch and shopped around on Friday.  We were determined to get my labor started.  We went to the grocery store and bought some Red Raspberry Herb Tea.  I drank a couple glasses and then we took a very long power walk.

Okay, so the good part:  I woke up at 3:30 AM on Saturday morning with some cramps.  They didn't really hurt but I felt them every 15 - 20 minutes.  I couldn't go back to sleep because I kept thinking "Is this labor?"  I woke Josh up at 5:30.  We took showers and made sure our bags were ready for the hospital.  Of course they were ready!  They had been packed for months.  I woke up my parents around 7:00.  By this time, my contractions were every 7 minutes.  Josh and Mom were jotting them down for me.  I thought it was interesting that they really came EVERY 7 minutes.  Isn't it crazy how our bodies work?  The contractions still weren't that painful.  They just felt like really bad menstrual cramps.  Josh and I decided that we should go to hospital to see if I was in labor.  I ate half of a banana before we left.  I remember thinking "I bet this isn't even labor.  I bet I'm not even dilated."  The contractions were hurting a little.  I couldn't sit still or stand still with them but let me tell you, they weren't bad at all.

On our way to the hospital, we were pulled over by a cop for speeding.  Yes!  Can you believe it?  Here's the funny thing: we really weren't speeding!  Okay, so maybe 5 over but that was it.  Josh told the cop that I was in labor.  He actually pulled us over in the hospital parking lot.  He said "Okay, I'll let the hospital know you are coming."  When we walked in labor and delivery, I was the only patient there.  Every single nurse and doctor knew that we were coming.  The cop had really called to let them know. 

We checked in with the antepartum nurse around 9:00.  She hooked me up to the monitor.  I just had one contraction.  It wasn't even a big contraction because I barely felt it.  I could tell the nurse thought I wasn't in labor.  I was starting to think I wasn't in labor either.  She checked me and her face lit up.  She said "You are going to have a baby today!"  I was 6 cm dilated. 

The nurses took me to Stella's delivery room.  Everything was a breeze!  They hooked me up to monitors, started my IV, etc.  It was such a relaxing and calm experience.  I decided to go ahead and get an epidural while I wasn't in pain.  OMG.  It was like a joke!  I didn't even feel the needle.  The doctor was super nice and joked around with me during the procedure.  I could feel my legs during the entire birth but I didn't feel any pain or contractions after that epidural.  They gave me a button to push for epidural but I only pushed it once. 

Our doctor came in to check on us every hour or so.  I was dilating 1 cm every hour.  It all happened so quickly.  I remember being 9 cm and the doctor saying she would be back in an hour so I could start pushing.  I thought "What?  Stella will be here in just an hour or so!"  I started to get nervous.

Our doctor came back an hour later.  I started pushing.  I think I pushed for about an hour or two.  It FLEW by though.  I can't believe I was actually pushing that long.  Pushing wasn't bad at all.  I couldn't feel my contractions so the nurses would look on the monitors to see when I was contracting.  When they saw a contraction coming, they would say "Okay, here we go!  Let's push!"  By the way, we didn't use any of those breathing techniques we learned in our classes.  We just let things happen and it worked out just fine!

Stella Grace was born at 2:04 PM.

My placenta had to be manually removed because it didn't come out on it's own.  It was really calcified which means it was finished doing it's job.  Unfortunately I didn't get to try breastfeeding right away because my doctor was literally taking out my placenta, piece by piece, with her hand.  I felt a few pains but it wasn't that bad.  I couldn't take my eyes off Stella. 

Josh and I spent an hour with our Stella before any family came in to see her.  It was a special time.  We were ready to show her off when all the family members walked in.

Okay, the nasty part:  I had a few tears which were painful for a few weeks after delivery. 

I'm going to post about my breastfeeding experiences, and my retained placenta later.  That's another whole post or two.

Here are some more pictures to share:

First Night with Stella - I held her all night!

First Dress

In True Love

Our New Family

Taking Stella Home