Addison's birth story: Part 2

So after I was hooked up to the Pitocin the nurses decided to check me about every three hours. They did this because my water had already broken and I was at risk for infection if they were to check me too often. The Pitocin started out on a level 6 and got my contractions moving pretty well. At that point they weren't really painful. Maybe the kind of cramps that you take Tylenol for, but that was about it. Every 30 minutes my nurse, Rebecca, would come in and turn up the Pitocin. Around about 24 drips per minute I started to get really uncomfortable, but I wasn't dilated very far so I really didn't want to ask for the epidural. Instead they decided to give me some medicine called Stadol. Since I was at a weight level that was a little lower, they only wanted to give me half at first and if I was still in pain I could get the other half a little later. Let me tell you that stuff is awful! It was supposed to  knock the edge off of the pain and let me get a little bit of sleep, but instead it made me feel drunk. I could still feel every bit of the pain I felt before they started the drip, but after the medicine entered my system I couldn't focus on anything, the room was spinning and I was sick to my stomach. Around about this point in the night I was really frustrated. We had been in the hospital for about 12 hours, I was still only dilated 3-4cm, in a lot of pain from the contractions and felt drunk. Oh...not to mention I was starving! I had a bowl of cereal that morning at 7:30 and it was now around 11pm and I had not had anything else on my stomach except a Popsicle.  I was so hungry that I was at the point of begging Mike to smuggle in a cracker or something that I could eat to keep me with a little bit of energy. Since the Stadol had made me sick and the contractions were still getting stronger I went ahead and asked for the epidural. Once I had that, it was really smooth sailing. It was the weirdest sensation because I could still feel pressure when I was having a contraction but I was no longer in pain. When I first got the epidural I could kind of move my legs. It felt like when your legs are asleep and they begin to get blood flow again. After about an hour of the epidural though, I had no feeling what-so-ever in my legs. Every so often the nurse would come in and help me turn from one side to the other so that I could get some sleep. it was a very, very long night. Mike slept some on the couch/chair in the room and I slept the best that I could. We waited and we waited and just when we couldn't wait anymore, we waited. It took forever for me to dilate to 10 cm. The next morning at around 8:50 a.m. my nurse, Rebecca, said that it was time to push. She explained that I would start pushing with her and then Dr. Teressa (the same doctor who delivered Olivia) would come in and check on us periodically. When Addison was almost ready to be born, she would then stay and put on her scrubs for delivery.

So I started pushing. It was NOTHING like the movies and some people portray it to be. It was not hectic or painful and I was not screaming bloody murder or sweating like a pig. It was actually a really enjoyable experience. I would tell Rebecca when I felt a contraction coming on and then I would start pushing. In between we were talking and laughing and to be honest, I really enjoyed the whole experience. Around the 4th time I pushed, Dr. Teressa came in to introduce herself. I thought that she would come in, check on us and then leave, but she started putting on all of her clothing that she would need to deliver Addison. I told Mike it was about that point where it all felt so real. It was like, okay here we go! Once she was all suited up I started pushing again and everyone started getting really excited because they said they could see Addy's head. I just kept thinking that the harder I pushed the quicker Mike and I got to meet our little girl. A couple of pushes later Dr. Teressa said, "Look down, look down!" And there she was, the most beautiful thing I've ever seen before. I think in that moment my heart exploded. I never knew you could love something so much so quickly. I just remember thinking, "Thank you God! She is the best gift I've ever been given!" Immediately Addison was placed on my chest for what they call kangaroo care. She cuddled with me while Mike cut her cord and then we just got the chance to be together for the first time as a family. We cried, kissed Addison, looked at her and each other in awe of what just happened and celebrated the perfect gift that God had given the two of us. Mike just kept saying how amazing the whole experience was and how it was nothing short of a miracle from God and I have to agree with him. From the pain, to the hunger, to the pushing...nothing compared to the moment when they placed Addison in my arms for the first time. I told Mike that I would do it 100 times over to get the beautiful gift that we were given in the end.

Of course I can't end the story of Addison's birth without showing you some of the pictures that our amazing nurse, Rebecca, captured for us. What an amazing moment she captured for us!

 I love Fonda's face in this picture!

 Addison's heart rate was a little high right after she was born so she had to be taken to the nursery to be monitored for a while. 

Me admiring our baby as I was being taken from the labor and delivery unit to the mother baby floor

38 week update...Addison's birth story part 1

This week's update has caught me by surprise! The last thing I expected was to be holding my little girl this week, but sometimes God's little surprises are the sweetest ones! I will be telling Addison's birth story in many posts this week because there are so many little details that I don't want to forget.

Last Friday I headed home with my mom to Nicholasville in order to go to a baby shower and a wedding shower for my two cousins that live out of town. My mom made the comment that she was hoping I didn't go into labor while we were there and I kind of looked at her like she was crazy. Well, she wasn't crazy.

I need to back up on this story before I move forward. On Thursday I felt a little bit different. Addison just wasn't moving as much and it was really starting to worry me. I did kick counts and she was meeting all the standards, but it wasn't normal for her so I called the doctor and went in for an appointment. They checked everything and said that she was perfectly normal and healthy, so back home we went.

Friday I went home with mom to spend the night and get ready for the showers for my cousins. That night Billy, Madison, Mom and I took a walk around the neighborhood and we were talking about how if she were about ready to come then I would probably feel some more contractions or Braxton hicks, so we decided that it would still be a week or two. I guess that walk did a little something more than allow me to spend some quality time with my family because the next day my water broke!

Saturday morning I woke up at about 7:30 and had a bowl of cereal with my mom, sat out on the back deck with my mom and dad to drink coffee and then went to get in the shower. My cousin, Erin, is due about 2 months after we were due and we were heading to a shower for her. After that we were headed to a wedding shower for my cousin, Ashlee, who is getting married in October. We were kinda piddling around and realized that we had to leave the house soon so that we wouldn't be late. I still had rollers in my hair so I stood up to walk into the bathroom and as I walked into the bathroom my water broke.

Talk about something that catches you by surprise! I felt absolutely no different than I had before I sat down to put my rollers in my hair ten minutes before that. I had no cramping or weird feelings of any kind, but like I said, as soon as I rounded the corner it broke. People always say it feels like peeing in your pants, but I beg to differ. You definitely know the difference between peeing in your pants and when your water breaks. This was not a steady stream, it was more like one giant gush of fluids. 

 So I kinda started freaking out because I was in Lexington. For those of you who have talked with me throughout this pregnancy you know that my biggest fear was being far away from the hospital. The reason why is because a lot of people say your labor is like your mom's. Well with my sister's and I my mom delivered so quickly that she was not allowed to get an epidural. I was so scared that this was going to happen to me so when my water broke I went into a bit of panic mode. I immediately yelled for my mom and the chaos started. I was throwing curlers, my sisters were running around like crazy. People were grabbing my bags...you get the picture.

 Madison being the calm one of the bunch picked up the phone and called Mike who was out yard sale shopping for our booth at trader bakers. He thought that she was kidding, got a little aggravated, told her to shut up and then hung up the phone. HA! At that point all I wanted was to be in Louisville with him, so for a little comfort I picked up the phone and called him. I said, "My water just broke." His response was, "So Madison wasn't kidding?" He said he could hear the panic in my voice. I told him we were on our way to Louisville and he said he would meet us at the hospital after he went home to get what I had packed (I was in the middle of packing and half my stuff was with me in Lexington, so the bag never got all the way packed.)

 So off we go to Louisville. I just kept telling my dad to get me to Louisville as fast as he could. He literally drove like he was in the Nascar 500. People on the interstate were looking at us like we were crazy! The flashers were going, the horn was beeping and he was driving about 98 on a Suburban that registers at 100. I wasn't in any pain, so that was a good thing. ..

 The whole ride Mike would call and we would update him on where we were. He was trying to gather up everything that I didn't have packed in the bag. The camera. My shampoo. Brushes. Toothbrushes. Luckily Addison's bag had been packed for about a month.

 So we get to the hospital in about 45-50 minutes. This drive normally takes me about an hour and a half. 

 Mike was waiting at the front of the hospital with a wheelchair...

 I slowly got out of the car, into the wheelchair and Mike and I headed into the hospital. I had time on the car ride up to Louisville to pre-register, so all my information was in the system and Mike had already gotten a room ready to go for us.

 We went into the room, I changed into my gown, slowly walked to the hospital bed and the nurse checked me. Definitely fluid that I was leaking so that meant that I was staying until I had Addison :) I was only one cm dilated though (relief to me because I knew that the epidural was still an option), so they started Pitocin in order to get things rolling. That's when our long night in order to get the precious girl that I have been staring at since Sunday began...

She's here!

Meet Addison!

Born Sunday, July 8, 2012
9:30 am
5lbs 14.9 ounces
19 inches long

She is doing great and we are so in love!

3 weeks! 3 weeks! 3 weeks!!

Can you tell I'm getting really excited?! We have three more weeks until Addison's due date and I am about to die of anticipation over here! Remember me, the girl who hates waiting? Well this is worse than when we were waiting to find out if we were having a boy or a girl! The best surprise of my life is about to happen and we are just waiting on God to give the green light. Addison is now considered full term, so if I were to go into labor the doctors wouldn't stop it. COME ON LITTLE GIRL!

Believe it or not, I am still growing! I seriously don't know how I am stretching this far, but I am. Here is a picture that I took in Addison's room this morning...

Would you check out that belly!? BAM! :)

Size of Addison: Addison is weighing in around 6.5 pounds and measuring around 19 inches long (this is an "average" baby at this stage in development). She is compared to the size of a stalk of Swiss chard, which looks like this: 

She has lungs that are developed enough to survive outside the womb should I go into labor at any second (which I am praying happens!) 

Movement: Believe it or not, she is starting to slow down just a little bit. When I do feel her move it's more like a roll or a stretch instead of the hard kicks I've been getting. This is because there isn't a lot of room for her to really move around like she used to. Don't worry though, she is still very much lodged in my right ribs and it's starting to hurt when she does give a hard kick! I've heard it's normal for babies to slow down their movement when they are about to make their entrance, so maybe that's why she is a little more chilled out these days. 

Symptoms: I can't sleep well at all! I have found that our couch is more comfortable than sleeping in the bed right now. Not quite sure why, but it's a lot easier to roll over when I'm on the couch. 

What I miss: Wearing my wedding bands. I feel so naked without them, but my hands are too swollen to wear them right now. Hopefully they will go down soon after she's born. 

What I'm looking forward to: Meeting our little girl!! I can't wait to see what and who she looks like! I know she's going to be perfect :)

Memory from the week: This was Mike's Facebook status on the first: 

I can't believe that the month that we will meet our child has actually arrived! I feel like I've waited for this for 9 long months. Let me take that back...I've been waiting my whole life to meet my child and now it is just DAYS away! I'm just too excited!