Let's do this!
I didn't sleep well Friday night. So many emotions and thoughts were going through my head. I called early to see if I should be in by 6:00 am. They informed me to not come in at that time and to call back at 6:30/6:45. I let Mom and Dad know by text to stand by as we weren't leaving yet. I layed down for a little while but still couldn't go back to sleep. I called back around 6:45 am and they told me to come in at anytime! It was a bright and sunny day. Dan and I got up and showered. We packed the last of our things. We took one final picture of me pregnant and also took a picture of the last picture of us at home in front of the tree. I ate breakfast. I had Kashi Berry cereal with coffee and a banana with peanut butter. I knew I'd be starving in a few hours with not being able to have anything else to eat till I gave birth except liquids. We did one more once over of the house and left!
41 weeks, 1 day
Last picture of just the two of us!
Arrival
I was nervous the whole car ride there. We arrived around 8:45 am. Dan dropped me off at the door while he parked and brought in all of our things. We went up to labor and delivery and they immediately got us to the room. The room was just like on our tour. It was very big and inviting. It had a flat screen TV with movie and music channels, a large bathroom with a shower and whirlpool tub, a couch, rocking chair and chairs. It really didn't look like a delivery room. The first thing they had me do was go to the bathroom and change out of my clothes into a hospital gown. I got into bed. Two nurses were there, one was putting in my IV, the other was asking me a ton of health questions. They also attatched 2 monitors to my belly; one to monitor baby's heartbeat, the other to monitor my contractions. They also put a blood pressure cuff on my right arm. All this is due to being induced. Had I had a normal birth, I could move around more. I felt so confined! The nurses were very nice and one was even from Franklin. She had nice conversation and made me feel comfortable. The doctor came in and gave me a pelvic exam. He said I was "moderately favorable" for an induction. To be honest, he didn't sound all that enthused that I would be able to go vaginally. He explained the whole process of being induced and if I still consented to it which I stated yes. He also discussed pain medication with me. I informed him I wanted to go natural without medications. "Well, you don't get points in my book for bravery but it is up to you." He also gave his guess for the baby's weight, he guessed 7.5 pounds, I guessed 8 pounds, 12 ounces and Dan guessed 8 pounds 6 ounces. Dr. Hayes went on to talk about a study that was done and it proved that the Mother's were the closest the majority of the time. We were about to see!
Pitocin Started
The pitocin was slowly started around 10:00 am and I could slowly feel contractions. The nurse was coming in and out as well as my parents, sisters and Steve. Steve was great and went around town and bought two stress balls as we forgot the one we wanted to bring to the hospital at home. I was feeling pretty good for a few hours. We actually was able to watch two movies. At one point, the nurse offered me juice or jello and I asked for strawberry jello. It tasted so good! At this point it was around 11:00 am and I was hungry but couldn't eat anything. Everything was great at this point. Dan even gave me a foot massage! Dan's family had come: his Grandma, Jovana (Cot's girlfriend), Vangelic and Deloise. I told him to get something to eat as I was fine. "I could do this all day" I thought. The contractions weren't bad at all. At this point, I got out of bed twice to use the bathroom, which was a pain because everything had to come with me, the IV, etc.
Annnnd the REAL contractions start
While Dan was gone, the nurse asked if I wanted to get up and sit in the rocking chair. I really was wanting to get out of bed so I did. I was up for about five minutes when Dr. Hayes came in and checked me. I was barely 3 cm. It was around 2:00 pm at this point. He stated he wanted to move things a long and break my water. Man was that painful! The nurse was nice and I held her hand as he broke my water. In the movies it is all dramatic. But really, I just felt it trickling slowly out for the next 20-30 minutes. My first contraction after my water broke was MUCH more intense. Dan came back and I told him they broke my water. Contractions continued to get more intense. Period cramps times 1,000! I tried humming, turning on Jazz music to relax, squeezing the stress ball, Dan's hand. Nothing worked. After about an hour of this, Dan was basically begging me to get an epidural. I said that I said I wanted to do this naturally. The nurse then came in and saw how much pain I was in. "Honey, there isn't anything we can do without pain medication." She explained how I was in "unnatural labor" and the Pitocin was forcing labor making contractions more intense. She said there is nothing wrong if I wanted pain medication. I told her I would think about it. She left the room and Dan and I talked for a minute and I basically said, "I surrender". I was ready for the Epidural. The nurse came back in and explained that there were two people a head of me and it would be little while. She said that there is something that I could be given in the meantime to help somewhat. It was called Stedal. I agreed and they put it in my IV. That is my one regret about this whole birth experience. All it did was make me feel drunk and loopy. It did pretty much nothing for the pain.
Epidural
After about 45 minutes, the Anesthesiologist came in. This was probably the quickest procedure I ever had. She explained what she was doing, asked if I had any certain feelings and stuck the needle in...just as I was having a contraction! I had to stay as still as possible. I was leaning against Dan as we were face to face as she stuck in the needle. It wasn't bad, just like a bee sting. It probably took a whole 7 minutes and it was all over. It took about 10 minutes before it really kicked in and I felt a lot better. I felt some pain still on the left side but that slowly went a way. They did tell me from here on out only ice chips, that really didn't matter to me. They also gave me a button to press when I wanted more medication, I only used it once. The next few hours, I was much more relaxed. I really should have slept, but I was too nervous and excited. I did however start shaking and feeling nauseated for a while. My Mom gave me a bucket just in case, but I never threw up and the nausea eventually subsided as well as the shaking of my legs. It was the side effects to the Epidural. At this point, they checked me and put in a catheter. Obviously, I couldn't get up anymore to move my legs as everything from my waist down was dead weight.
It's go time!
Everything was going really well. I was looking at the monitor a lot because I was concerned about baby's heartbeat staying okay. All day it stayed consistent and she wasn't in any stress which relieved me. I also noticed my contractions were coming more and more intense but I barely felt anything. At around 7:00 pm, I felt the need to have a bowel movement and bare down. The nurse checked me and said I was at 10cm!!! I was so excited and relieved I made it to this point. The Epidural was actually the best thing I did as it relaxed me and was able to let me open up more. She said the doctor would be very happy. She told me to give it about 20 minutes to work things up on their own. The nurse left but I kept having an intense feeling to push. Dan called the nurse back in. At 7:30, we started to push! It was just me, Dan and the labor nurse. It was pretty relaxed. Each time I felt I had to push, Dan and the nurse would each lift my leg and I would push three times, one after the other. The nurse said that is the best way to do it since the baby tends to bob up and down and it's best to do pushes one after the other. Sometimes I would push three times, others four. After about the fifth set of pushing, I questioned whether or not I could do this. It was so exhausting. We continued this for about an hour. Dan was great and very encouraging. I was never more focused in my life than I was that hour and a half. I was on a mission!! The nurse then said that she wanted to call the doctor and the nurses in as it was almost time as I was crowning. She had me feel the baby's head and I could feel all of her hair. It felt so real!
Here she is!! 8:51 pm, 8 pounds, 14.5 ounces, 19 3/4 inches
My goal was to have her born at 8:34 since I was born at 8:34 pm on a Saturday. But, it didn't happen like that! Dr. Hayes came in and all the lights were turned on. There was about three other nurses that came in setting up a table and the scale and things they needed for when she was here. Dr. Hayes was normally joking around at all my appointments and even earlier in the day. He was all business! I remember pushing one last time and him pulling her out. Dan was crying and so was I and she was placed right on my chest. I immediately noticed she had six fingers on both of her hands! It was the most amazing feeling I ever had! My immediate thought was how beautiful she was. Dan cut the cord and they took her to be weighed. The placenta was delivered. I just remember feeling so relieved and emptied after that! I looked at my stomach and it had already shrunk so much! She did have to have fluid suctioned out which isn't uncommon. I had a second-degree tear so the doctor sewed me up while she was weighed. Dan wanted to confirm her name as we didn't know if we wanted two middle names or not but it was official: Cadence Kae Marie Ellis it was! There was a lot of pictures taken and Dan was there to watch everything while I was being tended to. The nurse also pressed on my stomach to push out anymore blood clots. All this happened for the next hour. At around 9:55, everyone was allowed to come in. Everyone was so happy It was then I was able to eat! The cafeteria was closed so they gave me what they could: Turkey sandwhich on white with mustard, graham crackers with peanut butter and sorbet. It was the BEST meal I ever ate. I was starving!! Once things settled down, they took me to the bathroom. The epidural almost wore off at this point, but it was still hard to move. The nurse helped me to the bathroom. They allow you two hours to recover and then send you to your recovery room. The whole labor and deliver started at about 10 am and ended around 10pm. So, it was about an 12 hour process which is pretty good! After everything was settled, they went to take us to the recovery room upstairs. Everyone left and I got to see Dr. Hayes to thank him.
Winner of Baby Pool: Nick Denny, my cousin Jill's husband. He guessed November 30 which the date is what earned the most points. He won about 52.00.
I LOVED my birth experience. I can't say enough about the nurses and doctors at West Allis. The care was wonderful and I really felt tended to and cared for. Life has been really crazy the last five weeks, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Cadence is such a blessing and so sweet and I can't wait to see what this new venture in parenting will take us. Looking back, pregnancy was just a great phase in my life. It tested my strength and was an amazing feeling to be able to carry and birth a beautiful baby girl. Dan is a wonderful Father and I am so thankful for him. This is all to be continued. There is MUCH more to come! Here's to closing one phase-Pregnancy and opening up another-Motherhood.
