[MissMac]

I guess it's about time I get around to this I wouldn't call my birth story traumatic, but it was a difficult time for me.

On Nov. 3, I was five days overdue and beginning to feel pretty desperate. I had been in so much pain for the last few weeks of my pregnancy, and my mom's time here with me was running out. I had my last OB appointment that afternoon, and I was 1 cm dilated and 90% effaced. She agreed to schedule an induction for Nov. 7, but said judging by the contractions that showed up on the monitor, she wouldn't be surprised to see me before then. Needless to say, I left in a much better mood just knowing we had an official eviction date and that I might get to meet my daughter even sooner than that. That night, we went to dinner at a nice restaurant because I wanted to enjoy an adult meal for the last time in what I assume will be a long time lol. I was extremely uncomfortable the whole time, but I wasn't having contractions, so I just ignored it.

At home that night, I started contracting, but they were anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour apart. We started thinking maybe the next day would be the day. I went to bed that night assuming I could get up in the morning and get my stuff together. At about 4 a.m., contractions woke me up and I couldn't go back to sleep. They were coming about 7 minutes apart, so I tried to go back to sleep, but it was impossible. Then at 5 a.m., I felt a pop. I laid there for a minute, then started to get up, and that's when I felt the gush. I knew immediately it was my water. I went to the bathroom and sat down to pee, and all of a sudden the contractions started coming hard and fast. I couldn't even get off the toilet they were so fast. My mom and Kevin got everything together, then helped me into the car. I scarfed two granola bars on the way to the hospital knowing I wouldn't be eating for a while At the hospital, the nurse checked and said it was definitely my water, but I was only dilated to about 2.5 cm. They asked if I wanted an epidural. I had hoped I could hold off on the epi, but the contractions were so bad that I wasn't about to be a martyr. I said yes. That was at about 6 a.m. About an hour later they gave me IV drugs to take the edge off, but I didn't get my epi until about 9:30, at which point I dozed off for a bit. That's some good stuff, though, because I went from 2.5 to 9 cm in my sleep.

At about 12:30 the nurse said it was time to start pushing. I was terrified, because I couldn't feel my contractions or any urge to push. Amelia was all the way up in my ribs, and every time I pushed it felt like my ribs were breaking. It was incredibly painful, and I couldn't feel any of my body's signals so I started to get a little panicky. After about an hour of this, the nurse called the doctor and they told me they could let me try a few more times but that the baby's heart rate was accelerating too much, so a c-section was beginning to look necessary. I told them if I could just FEEL something I could do it, so they turned off the epi and started running pitocin to strengthen my contractions. Almost immediately, I began to feel the urge to push, and managed to get Amelia into the birth canal. At that point, the doctor said she was sunny side up and she started trying to turn her around while I pushed. With the epi off, I could feel all of the pain in my back. I was exhausted and frustrated. I pushed for another hour, and they said they would have to use the vacuum to try and help her out, but that if it didn't work I would need an emergency c-section. My nurse was almost pleading with the OB to give up and just do the surgery, but I was crying and begging them to let me keep trying. I couldn't bear the thought of not being able to hold my baby right away. Finally, she started crowning, and with my DH encouraging me and letting me know how close I was, and with the doctor helping her along with the vacuum, I was finally able to bring my daughter, Amelia Harper, into the world at 3:15 p.m. on Nov. 4. She was 8 lbs, 10 oz and 20 inches long, with a head full of hair, and she was (and is) the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.

I ended up with a second-degree episiotomy, and because of the cephalohematoma on Amelia's head from the vacuum, she developed jaundice. We had to stay in the hospital until the 7th, and Amelia spent 24 hours under the phototherapy lights. That was probably the worst part for me, as I couldn't comfort her when she cried and I couldn't do anything to help. We are still fighting the jaundice, but now that the bruise is nearly healed, her bilirubin levels should begin to drop. My daughter is amazing, and while her birth wasn't the cakewalk I hoped for, it was worth every bit of pain and frustration. I never realized how much I could love another person until now.

Sorry for the novel I've posted these pics before, but I'll add a couple here anyway. Sorry they're so big - not sure why.

[justjaQ]

congrats on your little girl. she's adorable.