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Olivia & Emily's Birth

Olivia Gail
DOB: 07-13-93
6 lb. 14 oz., 20 in.

My first pregnancy was filled with morning (ha!) sickness -- all day. The first three months were especially hard, with my being sick all the time then suddenly, almost overnight actually, the sickness disappeared. The next months were so easy compared to the first three. When I reached 30 weeks I had to start testing myself for gestational diabetes (which was negative). At 34 weeks my blood pressure decided to take a dramatic increase. I was put on partial bed rest and was told I needed to go at least three more weeks.

One afternoon, when I was 37 weeks, I began to feel a little dizzy and especially "washed out." After checking with my midwife she suggest a non-stress test just to make sure the baby (we didn't know the sex of the baby) was handling everything alright. I called my husband and told him I was going to the hosptial for a short test and that there was no need for him to rush over, I would call him when the test was finished. Well, when I got to the hospital my blood pressure was still up but the baby did not seem to be in any distress. The nurse said to wait while she called the doctor to give him the results, but everything looked fine to her. What did she know! The nurse came back in and said my doctor wanted to see me! I immediately called my husband and told him to come to the hospital NOW.

The doctor and my husband arrived at the same time. The doctor told us that because my blood pressure was continuing to go up and I was spilling protein in my urine he would induce labor. I asked when, assuming he would want us back first thing in the morning, and he told us "right now, and if you haven't had the baby in 24 hours I'll take it." It was 5:45 in the afternoon and I hadn't had much rest over the weekend and now he was going to induce labor? I didn't even have my bags packed. The nurse was nice enough to let me take a shower before getting the pitocin going. All the while I'm giving my husband a long list of items I needed from the house.

The pitocin didn't do much throughout the night. The doctor broke my water the next morning at 8:00 and that's when things got started. I asked for some pain medication around 12:00 and was given Stadol. Boy was that a mistake! I completely forgot why I was at the hospital and became very, very confused. When the medicine wore off a little the nurse asked me did I want another dose. Thank goodness I was clear-minded enough to refuse, I choose an epidural instead. At about 1:00 my midwife was finally able to make it by to see me and check how things were going. She suggested I take a nap and she would be back when she finished her afternoon appointments.

With my 6:00 p.m. deadline looming I was becoming a little anxious to "get this over with." The midwife (who is the most wonderful midwife in the world) came back around 4:30 and said I was dialated enough to start pushing. The only problem was I couldn't feel my contractions and didn't know when to push. After an hour of what I considered useless pushing, I began to get a natural urge to push. With my midwife in the hall, the baby's head crowned. She rushed in at just the right time, got her gloves on and with about 4 more pushes our beautiful Olivia was born -- 20 minues before the "24 hours" or else deadline! She was just perfect, and was very eager to nurse.

Olivia is now a wonderful 3 1/2 year old who became a "big sister" this year.

Emily Taylor
DOB: 05-31-96
8 lbs. 1 oz., 20 1/2 in.

When I found out I was pregnant for the second time I immediately started to dread the morning sickness that was bound to come along with being pregnant. After my last pregnancy I knew it was sure to come, but much to my surprise I felt great! The pregnancy went along really smooth, my 3 year-old predicted from the beginning we were having her "a baby girl." Once again we chose not to find out what we were having.

At about 32 weeks I began having Braxton Hicks very regular. At one point they were 8 minutes apart for 2 hours. Because of the consistency of the B.H., I had to have a series of non-stress test done just to keep an eye on things. At one of the last tests I was to have (I was 37 weeks) the baby decided to go into a VERY long sleep cycle and not move for over 2 hours, but the heart rate was steady. The nurses were making me drink apple juice, putting cold stimulants on my stomach, and making me turn from side to side. Just when the nurses were beginning to get worried (I was already past worried) the baby woke up and did more moving around in 10 minutes than it had all day! I had my weekly appointment with the midwife later that morning, and at that appointment I was spilling protein and my blood pressure took a tremendous jump. I was told to go home and drink plenty of fluids and rest.

The day after Memorial Day I was at work and got the same washed-out feeling I had during my first pregnancy. I work on a college campus next to the health center so as I was leaving work I decided to have my blood pressure checked by one of the automatic machines. It read 140/110. I knew 110 was very high. I asked to have a nurse check my blood pressure because automatic machines are not as reliable. When she checked it it was 130/98. My midwife said to go directly to the hospital for a non-stress and monitoring. Of course when my husband and I got to the hospital my blood pressure was a very normal 110/77. After about an hour of being monitored the triage nurse was about to let us get our things together to go home when my blood pressure reading came up 140/100. I was admitted for observation overnight.

The next morning the doctor came by and checked me and said I was dialated 3 cm but still thick. He wanted me to go home and rest (with a 3 year-old???) and he would induce labor the coming Friday. Perhaps by then my cervix would be more ready.

Friday morning bright and early my husband and I arrived at the hospital to be induced. The nurses got the pitocin started at about 8:30 and the doctor came by and broke my water at 8:43. Contractions at first were not too bad, but they got my attention. Through the morning some of my family and friends began to come by to see how things were going.

Around 11:55 I asked to please sit in a chair, the bed was killing me. I wanted to put off getting pain medication as long as I could and thought sitting in a different position would help. Everyone, except my husband, was sent out in the hall so I could get situated in the chair. After moving wires, monitors, etc. I was finally out of bed. The contractions were very intense at this point and sitting in the chair was excruciating!! My family members were then escorted (again) back into the hall so I could get back in bed. So much for sitting up!

The nurse asked me if I wanted any medication -- I had to decide now, I was dialated 5-6. I told her yes, assuming I would be in this intense labor all afternoon. My midwife arrived about five minutes later to check my progress. The nurse had gone to order the epidural when my midwife said she needed to check me. I had kept telling her I needed to use the bathroom, and she kept asking me did I need to push or use the bathroom? I thought I knew the difference so I insisted I needed to use the bathroom. When she checked me she looked at me very seriously and said "your 9 3/4, you need to push." My first thought was how can I push and I havn't had any pain medication? I told my midwife I couldn't push . . . so she grabbed my leg and began to help me push. Everything happened so fast, I only remember pushing 2, 3 times at the most. My husband kept encouraging me and telling me how well I was doing. When the head came out I had to stop pushing because the cord was around the neck. With the next push -- at 12:43, exactly four hours after my water was broken -- out came Emily Taylor! Her cord was in a true knot in addition to being around her neck. Her face looked very blue and as I began to get worried she began to scream! And, oh, did she scream. I was able to nurse her immediatly which she took to like a pro. Her face was very bruised from being born so fast and she had a goose-egg knot on her head.

Since all this happened so fast my family was unable to be in the room for the birth. We called our three year-old at the babysitters, and she was so excited about her new sister. My 15 year-old niece has decided she doesn't want any children after she heard a few screams coming from the delivery room!

My recovery from Emily's birth was wonderful. I didn't need stitches with either of my daughters' birth, but later afternoon after having Emily I was up and about without any problems. She is now 6 1/2 months old and such a delight to have.

Kim