So I know it looks like I have a favorite kid based solely on Halle Kate has a 3 part birth story compared to her brothers' one, but it's solely because I don't want to forget what happened. By now I am sure not a lot of people read this thing, but it is kind of like my journal for the past 7 years so really it is for posterity. Also the boy's were easy and fast labor and deliveries. I totally felt like a first time mom this go around because I didn't know what was going on with me. Was I in labor or wasn't I? With both boys contractions, water breaks, BAM, we have a baby. Not so with her.
Anyway, we arrive at the hospital and finally get checked in. I am relieved because we arrived around 5:45 or so, and there is a shift change, which means I will have the same nurse the whole day. I have been praying for a nice nurse pretty consistently for 9 months since I had a mean one with Owen and luckily God answered that prayer with Nicole. She was funny and nice and totally made this go around a better experience. She confirmed that indeed my water had broken, I was at a 3, and so they admitted me. I had a lab technician come in and try to get an I.V. started but instead blew out a vein, which was AWFUL. I have never had that happen, and Mark said she blew it big time. It is actually still black and blue a week later. I cried, a lot, and freaked out a little bit because it hurt. Mark apologized for me telling them "sorry, we haven't slept in a few days." Luckily a nurse got it to go in on the other hand and for that I was grateful.
So we settle in to labor and have a baby. I actually started feeling a little nauseated, which is how I get when I get hungry so my nurse was awesome enough to bring me a few saltines! I ate one and then kept on going. Dr. Doerrfeld walked in at one point and said "You just couldn't wait could you?!" and we all had a good laugh. I was grateful to be having her when he could be there. We had been there a couple of hours or so when the strangest thing happened, my contractions all the sudden started coming back to back. They weren't very intense, but they weren't letting up. I started shaking uncontrollably all over. I was actually laying on my side away from the monitor when I asked Mark what was going on and he told me. I remember us both looking at each other terrified because it looked like I was in transition before I was able to get the epidural. All I kept thinking was how I did NOT want that to be the case. We called in the nurse who told us the anesthesiologist was doing a c-section at the time and couldn't come then. Well that made me even more nervous! She gave me something to help take the edge off while we waited. Luckily a few minutes later they found one a couple of floors down who was free and he came up. I remember after they said he was on his way looking at Mark and telling him "I'm not even scared." I was just so relieved we might actually make it in time.
So we get there and they get the epidural in with 0 problems thank the Lord. I have technically never had one really work so I didn't know the time line of how long it would take or what it would feel like, but luckily it started working. In fact it worked too well at one point because I felt like I was getting numb around my neck. I remember my nurse saying you didn't want to be too numb that you couldn't feel anything and have to push for an hour and a half, so I asked them to come in a turn it down. They took it from a 10 to 7 which ended up just right, although I did debate asking them to come back in and turn it up to like an 8 or so. Before I could however our nurse pops in and said "I need to check you again (she had checked right after the epidural was given and I was surprisingly still a 3) because the monitor says I probably should, it looks to be about that time. She checks me and says "You're at a 5 but I think I can make you an 8 pretty easily, yep I can, you're an 8 now!" We had told them about how I labor and deliver quickly so she was aware that I can dilate and change within seconds. She said "Don't have the baby, I am going to go call the doctor." It is here that I started the uncontrollable shaking again which we knew this time was a sign of pretty strong labor, but luckily the epidural was working. The only bad part was I was having some awful heartburn but couldn't feed myself ice chips to keep it at bay because I was shaking so badly. Mark had to feed them to me, to which he recalls me saying "thank you" and him thinking in his head "Wow, she was nice. Thank God for epidurals."
Finally Dr. Doerrfeld makes it in there and finds I am still an 8, but progressing quickly. In fact they were getting me all prepped to push and he said "Is this your last baby?" to which Mark and I just laugh. I can't remember if I actually said "Um, lets just concentrate on getting this one here first!" He was asking because he figured he could make me a 10 and we could get the show on the road lol. However he has me push just a little to get it through that last centimeter and we are ready to go. This whole time they kept saying how low the baby's head was, for which I was grateful because you could start to see it after the first push. It was so much better with an actual epidural that worked properly. It was still hard work to get her out, in fact at one point I know I said "Get. Her. Out" and Dr. Doerrfeld said "No, you can do it." but within 4 contractions and about 8 pushes she was here at 12:41. She had the cord wrapped around her neck and her shoulders got a little stuck but all in all she made it fine. I was so relieved and thankful she was here and healthy. I just cried when they handed her to me, so thankful. When they took her to get cleaned up I remember looking at Mark and saying "epidurals are the bomb!" and totally meaning every word! She ended up needing just about 5 minutes of oxygen but then she was weighed and brought back to me. She was 6 lbs 6 oz and 19 inches long. Not to shabby for a 36 week 2 day baby.
