Kaia's Birth Story

It all started last Monday night (August 30th) at a little after 10 p.m. We were watching the critically acclaimed television program "Bachelor Pad" (yes, I know, I will have to explain this to Kaia one day, much to my dismay) on the DVR when my contractions started to feel a little more intense. As you may recall, I've been having contractions that caused mild discomfort for about a month or so now. Suddenly, they went from "ugh" to "holy mother of ....". I knew then that I was in trouble. So I called the doc... I hadn't really been timing them because it was pointless, but I was having trouble breathing and talking so she told me to come in. I called my parents and they then came up to pick up B.

Now, my parents live like 30 minutes away so the trip wasn't super fast, but hey, doesn't labor take like forever? I thought I had plenty of time... well, by the time they got here, we had moved on to watching an even BETTER show "Dating in the Dark"....yes, we watch some pretty horrible TV. And, I was bracing the pack n play with my hands, trying to stay calm while in extreme pain. Seriously, things took a turn for the worse in the blink of an eye. I somehow made it downstairs and into Steve's car, while my parents put a very confused Brett (who had been awoken in the middle of the night) into their car to head to the south side.

Luckily we are like 10 minutes from the hospital, but with every bump in the road and red stoplight I wanted to scream obscenities. I couldn't get there fast enough. By the time we arrived and I was escorted upstairs in a wheelchair, it was after midnight. They took me to the triage area to check me to make sure I was really in labor. This process took FOREVER. I sat there for like 20 minutes or longer while the nurse on duty took her sweet time (and trust me, it was after midnight so no one was around). Finally, she got around to checking me and asking me all of the stupid questions and having me sign consent papers (which I feel, I was NOT in the right frame of mind to be signing, but I WANTED to get to an epidural as quickly as possible). At the time she checked me, it was between 12:30 and 1:00 and I was 4 cm dilated and 80% effaced, and my water was very close to breaking.

Finally, I got to a real room, and about 30 minutes later they gave me a mild narcotic through my IV. They said it would feel like a couple of good margaritas. Oh, it did, and it did take the edge off, but it didn't act like a real epidural. THAT I had to wait another 30 minutes or so for. I swear that the worst pain I'd ever felt in my life was waiting for the epidural when I had Brett, but this might have been worse. After another eternity, the anesthesiologist arrived and she looked mildly bored and annoyed when I asked her if she was my angel. Then she proceeds to tell me about all of the horrible things that can happen as side effects of an epidural, to which I replied something like "sure, I don't care". I mean, I REALLY didn't care at that point if it would cause nerve damage. I just wanted instant relief. So, she proceeded to hook me up and about 10 minutes later I started feeling the sweet drugs in my system.

After another 15 minutes or so, the nurses checked me again. I had almost doubled my progress to a 7 1/2 cm. Then, they checked me 15 minutes later and I was almost at a 9. Seriously, I am so glad they didn't check me before the epidural because they might have said it was too late. I was progressing THAT FAST. They let me lie there for about 45 minutes to enjoy the relief of the epidural, then they came back, had me push one time and I was at a 10 and 100% effaced.

So, we waited for maybe 30 minutes for the doctor to arrive. My doc wasn't on call, so it was another doc from the practice who I hadn't met, but I really didn't care WHO delivered me at that point, just so that it would be over. Her job was super fast. After a practice run with the nurses, who only had me do one push and then demanded I stop and wait for the doc (I probably almost had her out), I only pushed a total of 3 times through one contraction. And, Kaia popped right out. COMPLETELY different scenario than with Brett, who I endured almost 24 hours of labor and 2 hours of pushing with.

I couldn't believe it! After such a horrible pregnancy full of so many problems, my labor took like 5 hours, and if I hadn't waited for all of the hospital stuff (paperwork, epidural, etc.), I'm sure it could have been much faster. The doc even joked that the next one I'd be having in the car. It was unreal.

Anyway, that's how Kaia got here. She cried immediately and was bright pink and had an Apgar score of a 9. I was a bit sad that she wasn't given right to me as Brett was, but I knew that the NICU nurses needed to look at her because she was a GD baby. But thankfully, she was small (7 lbs 5 oz) at full term (can you believe she arrived ON her due date - 8/31? I've never known anyone to give birth on the actual date!). And, her sugars, which they checked 3-4 times were perfect. I felt so good for being able to keep MY sugars in check throughout my pregnancy. As much as I hated 4 finger pricks and an insulin shot every date, plus counting every single carb I ate, it made her healthy birth totally worth it in the end.

We spent the next couple of days in the hospital, and were released Thursday morning. We are all doing well (well, sleep deprived, but well) and loving every minute with our new baby girl!!! :)