Ellianna's Birth Story

  And....we're off to the hospital!  Arrived at the hospital around midnight, filled out paperwork, and was wheeled up to the labor and delivery floor.  The nurse checked me and I was 2.5 cm dilated and 80% effaced with baby at 0 station, with contractions every 3 minutes.  So, I had progressed slightly since 7/19/12.  I was hoping that the nurses/doctor would just break my water and let that get things going.  Instead, they started pitocin at 2 am to get the contractions stronger and more effective.  The sound that I'll remember most from that night...listening to Ellianna's heartbeat on the monitor all night long.  It was so reassuring to hear the steady beating, fluctuating with the contractions and/or her movements.

The power of modern technology...drugs for pain relief and cell phones to keep family informed of our progress!

Things didn't get too bad or uncomfortable until about 9:30 am.  I didn't feel pain like I anticipated or abdominal pain from the contractions, I just felt so much pressure down 'there' with each contraction it made me nauseous and light-headed.   The nurse said because baby was already sitting so low, that with each contraction, baby's head was putting pressure on the baroreceptors making me feel the nausea.  I waited about 30 more minutes then I asked for the epidural.  I felt like a wus asking for one so soon, but OMG, what a difference it made!  Ryan couldn't believe how much better I looked when he was allowed back into the room.  I thought it was kinda interesting that the epidural was stronger on my left leg than my right as during the pregnancy, my right ankle was always more swollen and I'd have right groin pain.

My doctor had a C-section at another hospital at 7 am so the nurses expected her to be by around 9 to break my water.  Well, 9 o'clock came and went...and my doctor finally showed up at 12:30 pm to break my water.  I was now 4 cm dilated, 100% effaced, with baby still at 0 station.  Doctor estimated that baby would be delivered around 5 pm, based on how I had progressed during the morning.
 

Ryan cutting the umbilical cord.

By 1:30 pm, my arms and legs were shaking really bad so we called for my nurse to check me as I felt more pressure.  My nurse never came so at 2 pm, Ryan went to the nurses station and the charge nurse came to check me.  I had progressed to 8 cm, 100% effaced, and baby at -1 station.  She said she would call my doctor to update her on my progress.  Things were moving along!

Around 3 pm, I started shaking really bad again, so we called for my nurse.  At 3:40ish, Ryan again went to the nurses station and they called my nurse again.  Around 4:15, Ryan went again and this time brought back a nurse to check me.  (Ironically, it was the nurse that gave us the tour of the labor and delivery floor back in June and we really liked her then so it was nice to see her again.)  She checked me and surprise!!!  I was 10 cm dilated, 100% effaced, and baby was at -2 station.  The nurse suggested we try pushing, just to see what would happen.  Well, she didn't even let me finish the first practice push as baby was coming!  She quickly left to call my doctor and she returned to start setting up all the sterile equipment in the room.

Even with the epidural, I was still able to feel my stomach muscles tightening with each contraction and feel pressure down there.  The epidural most definitely took the edge off, making things comfortable.  I am so glad I was able to feel as much as I could because it allowed me to actively participate in the delivery.  I don't know how women are able to push without some sensation.

Welcome to the world, Ellianna!

Ryan getting to know Ellianna

Our doctor arrived around 4:45, finished getting things set up, put her sterile gown and mask on and we were ready for action.  We started pushing and baby crowned almost immediately!  The doctor was all excited, telling us baby has lots of blond hair.  Then my contractions slowed...so we had to wait about 4-5 minutes between pushes.  Doctor started getting concerned because baby was crowning, and with contraction/pushing, she wasn't coming out.  Baby's heartrate was fluctuating slightly during contractions.  Doctor said she was going to have to use the vacuum because something was getting stuck on my pubic bone and preventing baby from exiting.  We tried contraction/push/vacuum for 2 contractions without luck.  Finally, doctor just ordered for me to push, without the contractions.  No longer were we pushing for 3 counts of 10, it was push until you can't push any longer then keep pushing.  Ryan said as soon as baby's head was out and doctor saw the umbilical cord around the head, doctor yanked the rest of the baby out, flipped her to undo the cord, and suctioned her.  Ryan said that he couldn't believe how quickly and effortlessly the doctor handled the baby.  Then we heard her first cry.  At 5:07 pm, Ellianna had officially made her arrival.  Things were going to be just fine!

Kangaroo Care

 Memories that stand out:
Nicest complement of the day: The nurse anesthetist telling me I'm not 'thick' like a lot of patients so placing the epidural was smooth and easy.
Sound: Listening to her heartrate on the monitors all night/day.  Ellianna's first cry.
Taste: Drinking apple juice after delivery tasted so sugary after eating ice chips all day!
Sensation: Feeling Ellianna crown and knowing how close we were to meeting her.
Sight: Finally seeing Ellianna on my chest and I couldn't get over how much smaller she was than what I expected.  Also, seeing the placenta delivered...that was an impressive sight!
Labor: Pushing is hard work.  Pushing for 10 counts is hard work.  I knew they called it labor for a reason but I was very surprised at the effort required to bear down and push.  I don't know when I last felt so out of shape!  I will be getting back into shape before the next baby.


A special thank you to our dear friend, Kristin, who was with us during the afternoon.  She provided so much support, encouragement, push counter, and photo taker which allowed us to focus on the baby.