Birth Story

This is copied and pasted from my online birth club birth announcements page. Sorry it has taken so long to get it up!

Baby's Name: Sydney Hannah
Date of Birth: March 18, 2011
Original Due Date: March 24, 2011
Weeks Pregnant: 39 weeks 1 day
Weight: 7 lbs 2 oz

Height: 20 inches

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I had been having contractions since 34 weeks. I went in at 34 weeks and they had given me shots to stop the contractions, which they didn't help. I continued having them all the way up until the day I went into labor. They would sometimes be every 3-5 minutes even. I had four false labors where my body sent me into a whirlwind of contractions for about 5 hours each time. I was exhausted the last couple of weeks because of this!

Finally, on Thursday the 17th, I went for my 39 week appointment where the doctor stripped my membranes. That was at 9:15am. By about 10:30am I felt a good contraction. Awhile after that I felt another one. They felt just like they did before, so I didn't want to get my hopes up. I went to class (my last semester of college, woo!) from 3:15pm until 7:30pm. During my last class, I could not sit in my chair anymore the contractions were becoming so uncomfortable.

I decided to start timing them and walk around just outside my classroom a little. They were about 5-7 minutes apart. I then went into the back of the class and attempted to pay attention (since I had missed the class twice already due to false labor, ugh!). The professor finally came up to me and asked if I was okay. Haha! I told him I was pretty sure I was in labor and that I might be leaving soon. I left by about 7:30 pm and drove to meet my hubby at Starbucks, which we then went home.

We began to walk around our block and did that for about an hour to make sure it was the real deal. Soon, every contraction caused me to stop, so I knew it was time. We checked into the hospital at 9:30pm and I was at 4cm. : ( They admitted us. I was hooked up to monitors, and within about 20 minutes they had me on oxygen because apparently baby's rate was low. By 1:30am I still had not progressed more than 4cm. I had been planning on an all natural child birth, but they said I have no option and that I had to take pitocin.

I labored on pitocin for another 4 hours and was checked. Still no progress, but man was I dying! I had refused any pain meds, but my pain level was at about 10 already. I dreaded each contraction that was coming...

Finally they checked me again at 8:30am, and still no progress. I had had enough. It felt like my body was being ripped apart. I couldn't help but cry with each contraction at this point, it hurt so bad. I was so discouraged by my lack of progress (especially since I had been having contractions since 34 weeks, you would think my labor would have gone faster : P). I finally asked for something to help ease the pain. They gave me an IV drug, fentanyl or something. All it did was make the next contraction less horrendous, but then they ramped right back up again. An hour later they checked me and I was at 7cm. I begged for more IV drugs, so they gave me one more dose. This time, I felt no difference, but I guess it did something because I was at 10cm within an hour!

I had the urge to push, but the nurse told me to wait because the doctor was still in a C-section. I tried and tried but couldn't wait any longer. She said, "Well, I've delivered babies before!" and then gave me the green light to start trying. I began pushing, meanwhile I was screaming in pain. Apparently my mom and sister were in the hallway crying because they could hear me (oops!). My baby girl popped out pretty quickly, within about 10 minutes, just in time for the doctor to catch her at 10:35 am.

They set her on my stomach but then immediately took her away. We had requested Skin to skin and all that, but they said I was bleeding A LOT and they had to stop it. She basically shoved her arm up there to get the placenta and whatnot out. I tore sideways and upways, but they wouldn't tell me how bad for some reason. I asked and they said, "You don't need to know." oooookay.

ANyways, our baby girl is doing great. She scored 8 and 9 on APGARS. I didn't get to hold her for about 45 minutes, which was such a disappointment as I am a FTM and was so looking forward to that. But hubby got to hold her and see her and everything I wanted to do, so I am happy he has that memory. Also, I am so happy I didn't get the epidural or any hard drugs.

Little girl is getting chunky now, and I love breastfeeding! I thank the Lord for her everyday! God has been so good to us, which is why we chose the middle name Hannah. The first book of Samuel describes how Hannah prayed for a child, and God delivered. Amen, He granted us our little Sydney Squirrel!