So I think it's time to write out Ava's birth story - not so much for your sake, but to cement the experience in my mine. The mind has a way of blocking out events connected with great pain, so I want to write it out before the details get fuzzy. Oh wait, let me get my notebook where I chronicled each moment. (Don't make fun of me - I'm not a total nerd!)
Things really got started on July 28 at my 38 week prenatal visit. At this point, I was miserable and ready to have our baby girl. We were thrilled to hear that I was 3-4 centimeters dilated and 80% effaced. We kicked our moving plans into overdrive and with a big push from family and friends, spent our first night at our new home on Tuesday the 29th. Now it was time to watch and wait. Every night my body would start contractions, keeping us tied to the clock, anxious to see if any patterns were present. And every night we would go to sleep, disappointed as the contractions weakened and faded. By Friday, I was beyond exhausted. That morning, I dropped by my friend Becky's house for a little encouragement and prayer. She asked me if I would consider inducement, and I didn't have an answer for her. I truly couldn't make that decision, but instead said that it would have to be up to God to orchestrate that for me. Five hours later I missed a call from my OB telling me that he has scheduled an induction for me Sunday at 7 am. We were shocked because we had never discussed inducement with Tim. I took it as a divine plan and called my Mom to tell her to drive on up to SC. We went out Saturday night to a local Chinese restaurant to celebrate.
12:07 Sunday a.m. - My contractions are starting up again. We go to bed around 1:00, but I wake Matt up a couple hours later to tell him that I think it might be time.
5:03 a.m - We're heading to the hospital!!!
6:30 - We're admitted into the hospital, but my contractions aren't regular. The facility is full, with the nurses overworked and understaffed. We haven't seen the doctor yet, so we just wait.
9:00 - The doctor breaks my water and things get underway. The nurses are happy to see me after dealing with first time moms and extremely long labors all night. A fight breaks out in the hallway outside of our door between two Grandmas. The police are called. (I'm so not kidding - here's what we overheard "She got all up in my face and started slappin' and cussin'....") Apparently they were arguing over who would get to take care of the baby.
10:00 - Suzanne comes to visit! Hooray for a great distraction.
11:00 - My Mom comes by to keep us company.
12:00 - My mother in law and sister in law drop in. At this point, contractions are starting to ramp up.
1:15pm - The doctor decides to give me a "whiff" of Pitossin. Our visitors are gone at this point. And oh boy, hard labor has began. I was offered the epidural about 4 times over the course of labor, but I couldn't bring myself to say yes. After a negative experience with Lucas, I was too nervous to repeat it. Instead I asked for a half dose of Stadol.
For the next hour, Matt coaches me through each contraction while I try to focus on Food Network while feeling really loopy.
2:30- No longer feeling out of it, I'm really hurting. Several times I start crying telling Matt that I can't keep going. He held my hand so tightly and kept cheering me on. I've never relied on his strength so much. As each contraction built, I prayed my heart out. God gave me the image of Him holding me in His arms like a little baby, comforting me through the pain.
3:30 pm - I freak out at a strong feeling of pressure, so I tell Matt to call the nurse. We hadn't seen any one for a couple hours, so I wanted to be checked. I'm 7-8 centimeters! Tim offers the epidural one last time with a reminder that labor could go on for another hour. I turn it down and instead beg God to bring our little girl quickly. I ask for another dose of Stadol to take the edge off of the pain. Instead it makes me loopy and very aware of the pain. Matt calls our families and tells them to come to the hospital waiting room.
4:00 - I freak out again and Matt yells for the nurse. I'm 9 1/2 centimeters! The doctor is called in and I'm moved into an upright position to let gravity take care of the last 1/2 centimeter.
4:10ish - "I have to push - NOW!!!" Everyone jumps into action
Two contractions and 7 pushes later, Ava Grace arrives at 4:21 p.m.!
Tim laid her on my belly while Matt cut the cord. She was crying loudly and was purply-pink. The nurses whisked her away to clean her up and check her vitals. (She scored 2 nines on the APGAR scale.) I remember thanking the doctor for delivering our little girl over and over while he stitched me up. I was overwhelmed with the intensity of the moment - relief that the pain was over, shock that I had survived, wonder and awe at our little girl. She was put back in my arms while Matt went into the waiting room to get Lucas. Our brave little boy walked into the birthing room and asked to sit in my "special bed" with me. Once settled beside me, Lucas asked if he could hold baby sister. I tearfully said okay, marveling at the special moment taking place before me. One kiss and a few seconds later, Lucas asked to get down and Matt got the chance to hold our little girl. Too soon the nurses said that Ava's body temperature was too low and she needed to go to the nursery. It would be almost 4 hours later before we would get to hold her again!
Things really got started on July 28 at my 38 week prenatal visit. At this point, I was miserable and ready to have our baby girl. We were thrilled to hear that I was 3-4 centimeters dilated and 80% effaced. We kicked our moving plans into overdrive and with a big push from family and friends, spent our first night at our new home on Tuesday the 29th. Now it was time to watch and wait. Every night my body would start contractions, keeping us tied to the clock, anxious to see if any patterns were present. And every night we would go to sleep, disappointed as the contractions weakened and faded. By Friday, I was beyond exhausted. That morning, I dropped by my friend Becky's house for a little encouragement and prayer. She asked me if I would consider inducement, and I didn't have an answer for her. I truly couldn't make that decision, but instead said that it would have to be up to God to orchestrate that for me. Five hours later I missed a call from my OB telling me that he has scheduled an induction for me Sunday at 7 am. We were shocked because we had never discussed inducement with Tim. I took it as a divine plan and called my Mom to tell her to drive on up to SC. We went out Saturday night to a local Chinese restaurant to celebrate.
12:07 Sunday a.m. - My contractions are starting up again. We go to bed around 1:00, but I wake Matt up a couple hours later to tell him that I think it might be time.
5:03 a.m - We're heading to the hospital!!!
6:30 - We're admitted into the hospital, but my contractions aren't regular. The facility is full, with the nurses overworked and understaffed. We haven't seen the doctor yet, so we just wait.
9:00 - The doctor breaks my water and things get underway. The nurses are happy to see me after dealing with first time moms and extremely long labors all night. A fight breaks out in the hallway outside of our door between two Grandmas. The police are called. (I'm so not kidding - here's what we overheard "She got all up in my face and started slappin' and cussin'....") Apparently they were arguing over who would get to take care of the baby.
10:00 - Suzanne comes to visit! Hooray for a great distraction.
11:00 - My Mom comes by to keep us company.
12:00 - My mother in law and sister in law drop in. At this point, contractions are starting to ramp up.
1:15pm - The doctor decides to give me a "whiff" of Pitossin. Our visitors are gone at this point. And oh boy, hard labor has began. I was offered the epidural about 4 times over the course of labor, but I couldn't bring myself to say yes. After a negative experience with Lucas, I was too nervous to repeat it. Instead I asked for a half dose of Stadol.
For the next hour, Matt coaches me through each contraction while I try to focus on Food Network while feeling really loopy.
2:30- No longer feeling out of it, I'm really hurting. Several times I start crying telling Matt that I can't keep going. He held my hand so tightly and kept cheering me on. I've never relied on his strength so much. As each contraction built, I prayed my heart out. God gave me the image of Him holding me in His arms like a little baby, comforting me through the pain.
3:30 pm - I freak out at a strong feeling of pressure, so I tell Matt to call the nurse. We hadn't seen any one for a couple hours, so I wanted to be checked. I'm 7-8 centimeters! Tim offers the epidural one last time with a reminder that labor could go on for another hour. I turn it down and instead beg God to bring our little girl quickly. I ask for another dose of Stadol to take the edge off of the pain. Instead it makes me loopy and very aware of the pain. Matt calls our families and tells them to come to the hospital waiting room.
4:00 - I freak out again and Matt yells for the nurse. I'm 9 1/2 centimeters! The doctor is called in and I'm moved into an upright position to let gravity take care of the last 1/2 centimeter.
4:10ish - "I have to push - NOW!!!" Everyone jumps into action
Two contractions and 7 pushes later, Ava Grace arrives at 4:21 p.m.!
Tim laid her on my belly while Matt cut the cord. She was crying loudly and was purply-pink. The nurses whisked her away to clean her up and check her vitals. (She scored 2 nines on the APGAR scale.) I remember thanking the doctor for delivering our little girl over and over while he stitched me up. I was overwhelmed with the intensity of the moment - relief that the pain was over, shock that I had survived, wonder and awe at our little girl. She was put back in my arms while Matt went into the waiting room to get Lucas. Our brave little boy walked into the birthing room and asked to sit in my "special bed" with me. Once settled beside me, Lucas asked if he could hold baby sister. I tearfully said okay, marveling at the special moment taking place before me. One kiss and a few seconds later, Lucas asked to get down and Matt got the chance to hold our little girl. Too soon the nurses said that Ava's body temperature was too low and she needed to go to the nursery. It would be almost 4 hours later before we would get to hold her again!
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