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Kaitlyn's Birth

Hi! Here is my birth story. As I write this, my 22-day-old baby girl is sleeping (hopefully) in her swing next to me. I am writing this to celebrate her "un-birth", as today is my actual due date. Funny how these things work!

After trying for 2 1/2 years to conceive, & being 1 cycle away from giving up, I was elated to learn that I was pregnant. My husband, Paul, who is much older than I am, had some adjusting to do, but was generally supportive during my pregnancy.

I had morning sickness until 15 weeks, but managed to smile regardless. I never had to miss work a day of my pregnancy, though. I was generally very healthy for the duration of my pregnancy, only gaining 13 lbs. total. I felt my baby move at 14 weeks and enjoyed feeling her for the duration of the pregnancy. She never kicked me in an uncomfortable way, but she did like to stick her little behind out my left side, just below my rib cage. Paul liked to laugh at our little bump, as I looked a little lopsided.

At my doctor's appointment on July 16, my doctor told me I was 50% effaced, dilated to 2 cm., & a -2 station. I didn't want to get my hopes up for an early arrival, so I still thought about an August baby like I was supposed to. I planned to see my doctor again on July 24.

I worked all day (12-hour shift as an emergency dispatcher) on July 23, 1997, took a pizza home for our dinner, & went to bed, planning to get up at 5:30 a.m. for another day at work. Paul came to bed at 1 a.m., & I decided to get up & go to the bathroom, since I was awake. I finished and was standing at the sink washing my hands when I felt a gush of fluid running down my leg. As my due date wasn't until August 15, 1997, this was definitely a surprise. I hadn't packed my suitcase yet! (In fact, I had several things that I planned on doing the following weekend when I had 3 days off!)

Well, I told Paul not to go to sleep, as we needed to go to the hospital. Then I scurried around gathering what I needed for myself and baby. I had one contraction as my waters were breaking, and a few more while packing. They were about 7 minutes apart the whole way to the hospital (a 50 minute drive). Paul, the paranoid one, wanted to stop at each of our ambulance stations (where I am employed) and have them take my the rest of the way. NOT!

We got to the hospital about 2:30 a.m. The movement of going upstairs and changing clothes, etc., got my contractions to 4 minutes apart, 80% effaced, & a 0 station. The staff (who were great, by the way) put me on the fetal monitor for a while, then I was allowed to walk the halls. So, Paul & I paced and held hands and talked. For being in a hospital, it seemed quite intimate, just the two of us in the middle of the night. I went back on the fetal monitor and Paul kicked back in the recliner to try to sleep. My back was really starting to hurt by then and I couldn't get comfortable in the bed. A hot water bottle helped a little, but not much. I spent 1/2 hour in the jacuzzi, then paced around the room when I wasn't on the monitor. By 6 a.m. my contractions were every couple of minutes, but the back pain wasn't letting up between contractions, so it was hard to focus on the contractions.

I called my parents to update them on my progress shortly after 6. Around 7:30 a.m., I told Paul to go get some breakfast in the cafeteria, so he left to go downstairs. My dad came in with a wildflower bouquet that he had picked for me, & he didn't want to leave me because I was in so much pain by that time. He stayed while they started an IV on me, and gave me a dose of Nubain. That did the trick for the back pain for quite a while. By that point I was dilated to 7 cm. I kind of begged Dad to stay for the birth, so he called my Mom and she came in. They ended up paging my doctor away from her bagel in the cafeteria, and had to overhead page Paul to come back to L&D.

I'm not sure what time they finally told me I could push, but I was exhausted and had a lot of trouble focusing. (I figured out later that I had only had 8 or 9 hours of sleep in the 2 days preceeding my labor, plus had worked a long, stressful day the day before--no wonder!) I had 2 doctors in the birthing room, and both were wonderful, talking to me, holding my head up, coaching me, etc. I really came to rely on them each time a contraction hit.

My back pain had come back REALLY bad, but I never asked for any more pain medication. I pushed for what seemed like forever--2 1/2 hours, to be exact. I was squirming around on the bed so much that they ended up using the internal fetal monitor so they could keep better track of my baby's heartbeat. We tried lots of different positions for pushing, and ended up with my feet up. They did numb my perinium, and I was aware of them giving me a dose of Pitocin somewhere close to the end of my pushing, but I pretty much tried to block everything out and concentrate on getting my baby out.

Finally they said my baby's head was coming out. They told me they were going to have me pant through a contraction so they could suction her out, & then I could deliver her shoulders. Well, when her head came out, she decided she wasn't waiting for anybody, and she practically shot out. The doctor almost dropped her, she was so quick!

I opened my eyes just as they flopped her onto me stomach. She was quite blue, but making noise. I kept asking whether it was a boy or girl, and finally someone told me it was a girl. She is a very beautiful baby. She weighed 6 lb. and was 18" long--just a tiny little thing. She has a very healthy appetite, and I'm enjoying staying home and being a Mommy.

Susan Mercy