The Warners: June 2011

My days are spent looking at my beautiful baby, kissing her soft cheeks, holding her little body, smelling her sweet baby smell, napping with her in my arms, and just loving her more than I could have ever imagined. My days are spent half doing house work because a little baby wakes up when I am in the middle of it, trying to run errands and only making it to one store before she gets hungry and I hurry home to feed her, and listening to the sweet noises of my baby! My nights are spent sleeping a little, waking up with worry when she had a stuffy nose and a little cough, trying and failing after 2minutes to let her cry herself to sleep, staring at my baby even though I am so tired I can barely keep my eyes open, and rocking my baby to sleep. I would say I have a pretty good thing going on!! So this is how it is to be a mom.… Pretty AWESOME!

My labor plan was to go into labor on my own, go natural and use no medication, no episiotomy, breast feed my baby within an hour ish after deliver and breast feed only, no bottles. Well not one thing went as I had planned, but everything eventually turned out fine with a perfectly healthy baby girl.

So at 41 weeks I had not gone into labor on my own so I was admitted to the hospital to be induced. I got there at noon and by 1430 the pitocin was running. I had not had one contraction before this and felt my first one at 1500. I was doing well handling the contractions and breathing through them. At 1630 the nurse checked me and I had not dilated or thinned anymore. The pitocin was turned up and the contractions started being really hard. One contraction would end and the next would start. I was having a hard time catching my breathe and could not relax. I started getting light headed and was not handling the contractions so I asked for an epidural. I was in so much pain the nurse asked if I wanted some IV pain medication since it may take awhile to get the epidural. I said yes, and received nubain, the next thing I know I was so dizzy and lightheaded and could not hold myself up on the birthing ball I was sitting on. Dane had to hold me up then help me into bed. While getting the epidural at about 1730 I could not hold my self up and could not tell what was going on. Dane was holding all my weight with his head and holding me upright, and trying to keep me still for the anesthesiologist. I only remember bits and pieces of the next 3 hours. I remember hearing my B/P was 60/30. I was trying to wake up enough to ask for narcan, but I couldn't. I heard my Midwife say something about epi, which I did not have to have, and asking about how much medication I had and ask about the half life. She broke my water and I kinda remember her saying it was meconium stained. I remember my mom and sister coming in, but I couldn't wake up to talk to them. Danes grandma came in sometime during all this. It was awful and I just kept thinking I don't want to delivery my baby while I am this loopy and out of it. I eventually became less loopy and could at least stay awake and talk. By 2030 I was dilated to a 10 and ready to begin pushing. I started pushing at about 2040. The last couple contractions I had the babies heart rate was not returning to normal so my midwife told me I had to get her out. The last contraction I had I pushed but she was not quite fitting so I had a second degree episiotomy. I delivered my sweet my baby girl at 2111. Since she had meconium in the amniotic fluid so the plan was to deliver her and try not to make her cry until she was over by the NICU nurses and respiratory. So my midwife set her on my stomach for a couple seconds while Dane cut the cord then she went over to the NICU staff. They suctioned her a few times and could not get her sats up above 60 even with her being bagged, so they took her to the NICU for further treatment. Dane was able to go over there after a few minutes to see what was going on. They suspected a Pneumothorax (air around the lungs from a hole in the lung) and were doing chest x-rays to try and figure out what was going on. Dane was back and forth between the NICU and my room. It was quite a stressful, emotional time. At about 1230 I was able to get up and go to the NICU to see our baby. I was still a little loopy from the Nubain so I actually did not cry to much until I saw her laying in the NICU with an IV, nasal canula and monitors all hooked up. We could not hold her, but we could touch her head and her little feet. They gave her a bottle while in the NICU to see if she could handle eating and keep her sats up, which she did, but it made it a little harder to breast feed her the first time. After we went to see her they told us she was going to be able to come back to us! At 0130 I finally got to hold my baby! It was wonderful and she is so beautiful! Dane and I are totally in love with the tiny little girl! We are thankful for the wonderful staff at Ogden Regional Medical Center and our awesome midwife Kathy. They made my birthing experience wonderful even though nothing went as planned!