12.14.2013

The Princess Has Arrived! Birth Story

When I last left off, I had just been in a minor car accident on the way to the Specialist's office at the Fetal and Maternal Office in order to get a biophysical of Baby Girl due to having pregnancy hypertension the last month of my pregnancy. 

We were eventually scheduled to be induced on Monday December 9, 2013 and we were told to report at 11:45pm in order to begin the process around midnight. 
There was a winter storm on the way, so we called my parents and suggested that they get a hotel near the hospital versus trying to make the 45 min trip once I was ready to have the baby (best idea ever!). Although there wasn't a lot of accumulation, there was enough for it to be slippery and to get stuck in holiday traffic since my hospital is right next to one of the largest malls in the area. 

We repacked our bags and headed out Monday Night around 6pm to meet my parents for an early dinner. 
This is my last pregnancy bump picture - 39 weeks 3 days. 
Gained a total of 17 lbs. 
(Aww just looking at this picture, I miss being pregnant just a little bit - but looking at my princess - I love her more)

On the way to the hospital, my husband told me to check my online medical chart because he saw an email pop up in our joint account that I had a message from my doctor. It's exactly why I send my medical information to our joint account because two eyes are better than one - the message was that our induction had been pushed to 8pm and not 12am. We would have to rush through dinner and then go straight to the hospital. 

We get there and they tell me that they just had a huge rush of persons in labor and that I would have to wait about an hour before I would be seen to get started. Fine by me! Took that hour to get settled in my labor room and really just calm my nerves and prepare myself for what was about to happen and how it would change my life. 


They came in and hooked me up to the IV and pumped me full of electrolytes. My doctor called me about two times with two different directives to kind of talk through what she wanted to do to induce since she wasn't the on-call doctor at the time (but she REALLY wanted to be my delivery doctor) and called the charge nurses about 4 times. I got the impression that they were about over her calling so much especially since it was really busy. 

I am not sure what it was, but maybe it was that I was in the hospital finally that my body said "oh we SHOULD have this baby now". My doctor first said that I would be given something to ripen the cervix to take in pill form before I would be given pitocin because I hadn't progressed much since my last visit. I was about 1cm dilated and still about 75% effaced. However, when they left to get all the medications and came back to take my blood pressure and had me connected to the monitors to get a baseline of baby girl's heart rate, they noticed that I was actually contracting way too much on my own at the time to even begin induction. 
Then my little girl's heart rate was measuring so much all over the place that they couldn't get a good baseline for her heart rate and I needed to be monitored a bit longer before induction. 

So . We. Waited. 

Contractions started becoming uncomfortable enough that I had to ask for some kind of pain medicine in order to be able to sleep. I think my husband was having sympathy pains. I had to ask him was he the one in labor. LOL. He said his stomach hurt really badly. Honestly, the whole time he made me laugh while in the hospital because of his dramatics. 


To regulate the contractions I was having, they decided to put me on a low dose of Pitocin and gave me some pain meds via IV - I can't remember the name of it but the nurse said as she gave it to me, "This will make you feel like you are drunk almost immediately" In my mind, I was thinking "yeah right!".. umm she was right. Got loopy immediately but it was just enough for me to want to roll over and close my eyes. 

During the night, baby's heart rate was not doing so good. It was dipping really low but not enough to be considered critical just yet. From what I remember even though I was some of the good stuff - my nurse came to check on me so much through the night. So much so that she even called to check on me once her shift was over. She would have me roll from my right side, to my left side, to my back and just try to keep moving to get baby's heart rate back up while I was sleeping. 

About 7 am, I woke up and noticed that in the middle of the night, they had actually turned off the Pitocin, probably worried about how it was affecting the baby while I was on the pain meds - baby didn't like them too much apparently, however, I LOVED THEM! LOL. 
Either way, around 7am we got started on the second attempt at inducing. I was checked and still at a 1 -2cm dilated and was started on a low dose of Pitocin. My blood pressure was checked almost every 15 min and each "high" reading, the nurses would run in and check - as well as when the baby would move from the monitor. 

Around 10 am is when they started increasing the dosage of Pitocin to get the party started. Contractions started but were not really progressing just yet. Doctor came in and broke my water - something that I was afraid was going to hurt tremendously from hearing crazy stories - yeah it wasn't that bad. 

Well, the morning nurse told me that it may take me about 16 hours to get ready to push and was basically saying get comfortable because thats the average time that it takes, which is pretty close to how long my mother was in labor with me. 

My family went and got breakfast, we sat around just talking and eventually was checked on the hour.  Surprisingly, I went from 1-2cm to 6 cm within 2 hours. I got my epidural somewhere around 4 cm and the contractions really weren't hurting when I asked for it, but I knew I would want one to push so I just asked for it since the anesthesiologist was available. Another myth busted: getting an epidural does not hurt as bad as people make it seem - either that or I had some really good doctors. I told him to be gentle. He had me sit on the edge of the bed, put everyone out of the room except my husband and told me to be still. He talked me through each step so that I would not be startled. He prepped my back and said that it would feel like a bee sting, which it did. Once pricked, I didn't feel the other part of the process. He taped my back up and I was given a button to push when I needed it and was done. 

Two more hours pass, and my OB came in to check me yet again. I was saying, it would probably be a while because its only been about 3 1/2 hours at this point. But she reminded me that I was already at 6cm last she checked. This time I was at a 9 1/2 and 100% effaced. So this is about 12:30pm. She said to me that there was a little more to go and didn't want to rush it although she had me practice push just to see if maybe it would go ahead and be a good time to deliver. 
She had a 1pm scheduled c-section and said that she would be back afterwards and by that time, it should be time to have this baby! 

Talk about fast - I thought I was going to deliver that night and here it is barely afternoon and we are talking about delivering the baby. 
So, eventually my nurse came in at 2pm and checked me, she said I was at 10cm finally and began to prep my room for labor. I could feel contractions but they didn't hurt. They felt more like when you have to go to the bathroom after eating a really heavy meal. 
She called my OB and she was still in surgery. 

We spent the next few minutes, calling my sister and telling her that the baby was on the way and we all made prediction about size, weight and height before the baby arrived. 
She checked me again and had me practice push to get her head to come down. 
Well by 2:30, this baby was ready to come and doctor still was not back - she called her and had her paged and told her to run! 

I was clueless that the baby was THAT ready to come. 
So, the doctor comes in and they take a look - remember baby girl was in a occiput posterior position and they were not sure if I would be able to push her past the bone. Combine that with her heart rate dips during contractions and my blood pressure, they prepared for everything all at once. They even brought in scrubs in case we had to be rushed for a c-section. I never made a birth plan because I thought it was laughable that I would have any control, clearly I could not have planned for any part of this labor. 

She started me pushing at 2:45pm. Baby was born at 3:35pm. 
I was able to deliver her vaginally. 
My husband was on one leg and my mother was on the other. 
I told my husband he may want to not look and to stay up by my head in order to not pass out or be traumatized. He got so curious that he eventually watched the whole thing. 
It was funny because they said my baby would have no hair based on the sonogram - well she had hair and that was the first thing I heard about as she came out. 

The doctor had come in once the nurse had gotten me started to push. I didn't think that I was being successful because I was not grasping where I needed to push from. Basically its as if you are constipated and you push from that muscle, not like you have to pee really hard (as I had to ask what am I supposed to be doing?!)
My doctor put up these hand rails for me because I was having some really bad back pain at the last minute and we couldn't figure out where it came from. Told me to push throughout the contractions. Two to Three Contractions later and she came out faced sideways and I was able to push her head out. My doctor said "Don't push, Don't Push!" as I felt the worse part of the pressure. I screamed back "I'm not!" I had no idea what she was doing but it sounded like she was running around... 
Little did I know that she didn't have the chance to glove up when she came in because she came in at the middle of me starting to push. There I was saying "I am not pushing" and in pain with pressure and she said to me "I am going to have to cut you." My mother surprisingly said to her, "will you be able to sew her back up?!" I am laughing at the thoughts in my head as it played out - but I couldn't speak - I wasn't pushing but baby girl came sliding right on out anyways. And I heard my OB laugh like "oh well" - it was sweet relief. It was literally about 45 secs from her saying don't push to when she came rushing into this world. 

My OB said "This is the first birth in a LONG time that I didn't get the chance to glove up for." 
She gave her to me immediately and even I was surprised that I was now holding a baby. In my mind, I was like "its over?!" and at the same time looking at her like "wow you are finally here"  of course with my mom and her iPad camera in my face asking me how I felt. I was in shock. 

It was NOTHING like what I have heard or what I have seen on TV. No dramatic screaming pain fits where I would curse my husband out and turn into a witch. It was mostly normal, we had conversations, laughed and then I would have to tell them when I felt a contraction coming and I only knew because it felt like my stomach was being filled like a helium balloon with pressure in my booty.

Either way, I am very happy with the experience that I had and despite the scares in the beginning with all the unknowns with why her heart rate was dropping (at one point they thought the umbilical cord was around her neck and even asked if maybe she would have to go to the NICU. I was even told that it appeared like the placenta was dying prematurely - I took it in stride and said "well I am already in the right place if any of those things happen and was ok with it") but once she arrived, she was perfect! No cord issues and now knowing her love for her hands and holding things, I am convinced that she was either laying on it or squeezing it with her hands for dear life!)


The only downside to my labor experience was post-labor. 
She was such in a rush to get here that she ripped me up on the way out. 
I had a second degree tear which isn't bad but she also shredded a vein as well. I was being stitched up for two hours - honestly while it was happening, I didn't realize that it was that long. It was that long before I was able to hold her again and it took less time to get her to come out. 
My doctor basically told me that she had never had to do so much surgery on a vaginal delivery - it was more like a c-section with as much sutras and what not that I had to get. 

I am just glad that I hit the epidural button right before pushing, so I didn't feel any of it.
They were worried about hemorrhaging and was even concerned because I had lost a lot of blood and said that I may have to have a blood transfusion - but you know I that I was prayed up. None of those things happened and actually in recovery they were surprised that I was actually bleeding less than normal than a regular vaginally deliver in spire of the fact that I had a pretty severe one. 

The other part of the post labor that was horrific was that I basically threw my back out! I slept in the weirdest ways the night before and then I when I started pushing, I think I had so much tension built up in my neck and shoulders that I could not move. They wanted to move me back on the bed now that delivery was over. The surgical nurse had the bright idea to lay me back to pull me up on the bed. I told her, that was not a good idea because it hurts too bad to lay flat. I needed to be sat straight up and my husband can lift me back to where I needed to be. She ignored me and started laying that bed back and I let her have it. I was in so much pain that I cried so hard and screamed and they thought they did something wrong. They first thought it was epidural related, they thought it may have been accident related but I think it could've also been from the baby being in a posterior position. 

I am thankful that all is well - I am no longer in pain and that recovery is going great. 
She was worth it!

My Princess, my first born (because we do want more) is the apple of my eye. 

Vashti-Gracia
Born December 10, 2013
3:35pm
6lbs 11oz
19" long




My Dad won the guess of time being born  (he couldn't handle being in the room and was waiting outside for it to be over)
My sister won the guess of her length
Nobody won the weight guess - we were all over but Hubby was the closest. 

She looked just like she did on her 3D sonogram


From birth she was with us the whole time in the hospital except for when she had her tests done for Jaundice, etc and her shots. The swelling is coming down and the Pediatrician came to check on her twice while in the hospital and said she was doing great. We get to see her on Monday. 


Gracia already has the most hilarious personality. We are still learning each other and she has to figure out a better schedule for mommy and daddy to get sleep. 
If she eats well she will sleep at least 3 hours. Our bassinet was a little too big for her comfort and she sleeps so silently that I can't really get a deep sleep. Also swaddling is great and all, but does not work for my baby - she LOVES her hands. She WILL find a way to get those hands out and will actually cry more to get to them, then it is for me to just leave her hands out. 

She got the chance to meet her Godfather at the hospital. 


and has already melted Daddy's heart - 


and has her grandparents wrapped around her fingers. 


We love HER!


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12 comments :

  1. Aw, congrats!! She is beautiful! I agree with you.. having my water broke and getting the epidural didn't hurt the way people said it would. That tear you got sounds terrible though! Sounds like you had some scary moments during labor but I'm glad everything went as well as it did. Congrats again!! :)

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  2. beautiful post and beautiful baby girl! congrats and glad all is well. very pretty and unique name too! continued blessings!

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  3. Awww she's beautiful! So glad you got to have an epidural and it worked, cause that pain ain't no joke without it! lol

    She is gorgeous and lol at your husband...my husband looked like zombie. Love birth stories.

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  4. Congratulations!!! I'm very happy for you! Your daughter is beautiful!

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  5. She is so, so beautiful! I am so happy that things went well! A little scary but you are so right that you were all prayed up for. Nothing could go wrong! :)

    I love that your husband was having sympathy pains, so funny! Congrats!

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  6. Congrats on your healthy baby girl! I guess everyone is just so different you can never predict how it's going to go. I read another birth story a few weeks ago where the girl said was the most painful most horrible and traumatizing experience of her life. I'm glad yours wasn't so awful! Hope all is well.

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  7. Congratulations! She's beautiful and oh so stylish in her leopard print.

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  8. Very gorgeous baby!! Congrats on your beauty family!! ❤︎

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  9. Love the Birth Story!!! Everything you go through is all worth it...crazy how with the first baby you are scared the actual birth but afterwards you are like yeah I could do this again...it was all worth it!!! Congratulations!!!

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  11. Absolutely loved your birth story! I actually cried, being 33 and unmarried really makes me wonder when it will happen for me. However I rejoice with those who have been able to experience and enjoy the miracle. Your family is beautiful! Praying many blessing and as many children as your heart desires

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