Ok, so I'm still getting caught up on my entries...baby decided to wait until Miles had his birthday and party before deciding arrive. That worked out quite well! After Miles' party, I told Jeff that we would see him later, hoping that the full moon would take affect and I would go into labor that night. I was right! I woke about 1:30am on January 31 to go to the bathroom and then woke again at 2:30am. After a second trip to the bathroom, I laid down and had a contraction that felt just a bit different and I thought, hmmm, could it be? I laid there for a minute or two and after about 5 minutes, had another. I thought this has to be it! I went to the bathroom again and got back in bed. After about 20 minutes and 4 more contractions, I nudged Ahmad and told him I wasn't sure...the contractions were regular, but they were a lot less intense than when they first started with Miles. That was a pleasant surprise! After a few more contractions, I got up and figured I'd get dressed. Ahmad asked if he should call Jeff and I said, no, not yet. Then I started packing my last minutes supplies for the hospital and Ahmad said that if I was packing, he was calling. I said ok. I decided I'd rather be busy and do things while I could because I remember with Miles, I just couldn't-the contractions paralyzed me from the start. It would be easy enough to unpack if I was wrong. I was dressed, packed, threw in some last additional last minute items, took off my jewelry, pulled my hair back, etc. At some point, we also decided we should call the doctor. When she called back, she said to go ahead and go to the hospital and we'd see what was going on, that was good because that was our plan too! Jeff arrived about 3:30am and we said hey, here are some notes for Miles, here's how to work the alarm system, we'll see you later! And we were off!
The contractions were still coming very regularly, but I was able to breath through them very well and was in pretty good spirits. Ahmad managed to drive at a legal speed and we arrived at Methodist Hospital about 15 minutes later. We headed up to triage and they had Ahmad wait in the waiting room while I got all checked in and such (he wasn't happy about this at all!). That's a silly rule I think and he didn't do that last time. However, they do ask a few times about domestic violence and such before they let your significant other back, so there must have been some incidents? In triage, the first thing they have you do is change into a gown in the bathroom by yourself. This is another thing that is so silly to me. When you are in labor and having contractions, it's very difficult to manipulate those gowns and figure out how to fasten them and tie them. I did much better with it this time since the contractions were still manageable, but I recall with Miles, I gave up and came out without it fastened at all! Anyway, they got me settled into a bed and put me on monitors and asked a ton of questions. Then they checked me and I was 4 cm. Finally, they let Ahmad back. When the nurse came in, she commented that she was having hot flashes. We chuckled and then she told Ahmad that he better just sit there and be quiet since she was going through menopause and I was in labor. He agreed! The contractions were coming on stronger and they said that once they got an IV started, they'd move me to a room and get me an epidural. Yea! With Miles, I had intended to try my hardest to go natural, but ended up having Nubian after about 4 hours of labor and then an epidural. I was glad I did with him because I ended up with a c-section and if I had labored for 15 hours with him naturally and then had to get an epidural for the c-section, I would have been upset! Since we had no idea if I could deliver vaginally or not (the doctor thinks I have a small pelvis), I was going to try to labor and see if I could do a VBAC, but we all thought I'd probably end up with a c-section. I decided I'd go straight for the drugs this time since I didn't think I'd be able to deliver vaginally. At any rate, it took 2 nurses and 3 sticks to get the IV in right and I was finally on my way to my room.
By the time I got up in my room, the contractions had definitely gotten strongly and I was looking forward to the epidural. My contractions were coming in waves; it seemed I was getting 3 or 4 right in a row and then a break, then another one and a break, and then back to 3 or 4 back to back. The nurse was being rather forceful with me about holding still and sitting up through the epidural and such, but I had to get through those back to back ones before I was ready to sit and prepare for the epidural. Finally I was in place and they were putting it in. I was very nervous about getting it, but just kept praying that all would go well. I immediately felt it on my right side, but not so much on my left. It took quite a while before the left side kicked in and I was afraid they were going to have to do it again. Thankfully, they didn't. Once they got it in, they let Ahmad back in and I was checked again. 8 cm already! I was going quick. They had the on call doctor come in and see me and went ahead and had me sign a few forms because they thought I might go quickly one way or the other before my doctor would have a chance to arrive. They thought I'd either end up in a c-section or delivering very soon.
My mom and in-laws were on their way and actually arrived about the same time. Mom had gotten stuck behind an accident about 1/2 hour away and sat there for 2 hours! Michael couldn't come because he had school work to get done that day and dad was in the hospital himself with a fractured pelvis. Sometime after they arrived, the on call doctor came back and broke my water to see what would happen. With Miles, I guess I had gotten "stuck" at 8 cm and my doctor wanted to speed things along some. I didn't have too much water in my sac though and the doctor also commented on my small pelvis, making us question again how this would end.
I think my doctor arrived about 8am or so, but I really can't remember. She checked me out and said that she was going to go walk to get in her 10,000 steps and she'd be back. ! At some point I was 9 1/2 cm and 100% effaced, but was still at station 0, which was an improvement over last time. Eventually, they said I was at station +1 and they would find my doctor, but that you usually don't push until you're at station +2. My doctor came in and said, well, let's try pushing! What?!?! It seemed so informal and like it came out of nowhere. I wasn't expecting that! So, I tried a few pushes, she said to keep it up and she'd be back! What?!?! I couldn't believe she was leaving! She said it could take quite a while and the nurse would be there. Ok. The nurse also commented that the baby was right against my pelvis and wasn't sure how it would go. I could tell when I was having a contraction, even with the epidural, so they took the monitor off and I just pushed every time I had one. It was very strange and I don't even know how to describe it! They wanted me to push as long as I could 3 times during every contraction. They asked if I wanted a mirror to watch and I thought, what the heck, sure! After a few contractions, we were able to see a bit of the head. Wow. That was weird! Then more and more. I asked the nurse that since we could see the head, that meant I'd be able to deliver this way, right? She said, no not necessarily. What?! Ok, keep pushing. At some point, she decided to go get the doctor. She came in in her street clothes, grabbed some gloves, and said ok, let's go! I kept pushing and soon the baby was really crowning, then I could see the face, then one shoulder, and then it was out! They put the baby on my chest and said it was a girl! I was overcome with all kinds of emotions and started crying. I couldn't believe this had all happened so fast (40 minutes of pushing and a total of 8 hours in labor). And I couldn't believe that I actually delivered vaginally. And I couldn't believe it was a girl. And I couldn't believe this long pregnancy was finally over. Wow. What an absolutely amazing experience.
Ahmad ran out and told the grandmothers it was a girl and then he ran back in. I watched the doctor stitch me up and then deliver the placenta. They cleaned Hailey up some and then let me hold her and nurse her. She nursed for 20 minutes on each side and stayed awake for several hours right after birth! They bathed her in the room while everyone was in there watching and gave her some shots and eye goop. They took out my epidural, got me up and to the bathroom, got me some pain pills and crackers, and then headed me off to the postpartum room. Ahmad then left to go get showered and get Miles to come back over and meet his baby sister. Mom and Mama Keyes headed out soon afterwards as well to spend some time with Miles and let me "get some rest". Papa Keyes had already left to go relieve Jeff and watch Miles.
Ahmad did a great job documenting the labor journey on video and on facebook. Here's his version!
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