During my last couple of OB appointments my blood pressure was acting a little funny. It would be high when I was on my back and fine when I was on my side. They were having me come in twice a week to keep an eye on it. In addition, I was tired of being pregnant and uncomfortable. I wanted to meet our little girl badly but my body was not making any signs of going into labor soon. My doctor suggested I participate in a trial study that was administered through their office for a drug that helps soften the cervix and get you ready for labor if you are 39 weeks pregnant and not progressing. I looked over the information about the study and we decided to go ahead with it. In this study, the drug was actually already FDA approved, however, it was just not approved for labor induction, and so it made me worry a lot less. So, we scheduled my induction for Tuesday morning at 7:00 a.m.
When Tuesday morning arrived, we woke up around 5:00 a.m. and got ready at home. We were already packed, just had to shower and get dressed. We took the dogs for a quick walk and my sister stopped by with my nephew to wish me luck before we headed to the hospital.
Saying good morning to my nephew Cameron
Roi on the left, Minnie on the right Yay for Dutch Brothers!
We got to the hospital right on time at 7:00 a.m. and right away I got hooked up to monitors and had to get in bed. I filled out some paperwork and then they checked me to make sure I still qualified for the study. If I had progressed too much, I would not have. Once they determined that I qualified my doctor came by to insert the drug. The drug is inserted like a tampon, that way if there are any adverse reactions, or once active labor starts, they can remove it. The drug was inserted at about 7:45 a.m. and from then on they would check my cervix and progress every 6 hours. I was not allowed to get out of bed, other than to use the restroom. When I checked in I had a really great nurse named Jenny that was on shift. She communicated very well with me and was very helpful. At this point in the morning we were just hanging out and waiting. We watched TV and I wrote in my journal. It was pretty boring, and it wasn't fun to not be able to get up and walk around, but I was glad that we were getting close to meeting Everly.
I'm ready!
The nurse came in to check me again at 1:45 in the afternoon. We were happy to find out that my cervix was softened and that I was 3cm dilated. It looked like the drug was working and we might have her by the end of the day. I was having contractions but nothing too bad. I was getting a little irritated and uncomfortable about being stuck in bed, but I was trying to remind myself that it wouldn't be that much longer. I watched Bridesmaids on my ipad and then later that night my mom and sisters stopped by to visit me. I also got a little more Cameron time in!
I had no idea how big he would seem once Everly came!
Later that night I tried sleeping but I started getting exhausted from being in bed for a day. I hadn't made any more progressin in dilation. I could not get comfortable so I asked for the nurse. She gave me some paid meds that she said would probably make me fall asleep. I was looking forward to that, however, that didn't happen. Instead, immediately after she started the drip, my pain increased. I made Justin call her back in. She checked me and my water broke. At this point I was dilated 5 cm! I was ready for my epidural. It felt like it took forever for the anesthesiologist to get there. It was almost 2:00 a.m. by the time I got the epidural, but once I did everything was smooth sailing. I was finally able to sleep.
The peanut Relaxing
I woke up around 7:30 A.M. I was about 7cm dilated now and they decided they would check me again around 9:30 a.m. so I relaxed and watched some morning news. I could feel pressure but no pain from the contractions. At 9:30 a.m. things looked good and we started pushing at 10:00 a.m. Justin had some music playing on the ipad while I was pushing which was really nice. The nurse from the previous morning was back and assisting me in the delivery process. She really did more work than the doctor! She was very positive and encouraging. at 11:15 the baby was almost here so she called in the doctor and I had to stop pushing. Once the doctor came I pushed twice and she was here at 11:29 a.m. on October 5, 2011. I was shaking but so relieved when they put her on my chest for the first time.
<3
She was screaming but it was funny to me how girly it sounded already. Justin cut the cord and then they cleaned her up and cleaned me up. She weighed 7 pounds 9 ounces and was 21.25 inches long.
After they were done he got to hold her for the first time. He is one proud daddy!
At this point my mom, sister Katy, and brother Kory came in from the waiting room to meet our little girl for the first time. There are no photos of my brother because I found out after the fact that he left my dogs out of their kennels (which they are not mature enough for yet) and so he had to go back to my house pretty quickly!
My mom and her first granddaughter
My little sister Katy - an aunt to two at age 16!
Justin went with Everly to the nursery for her first bath while they moved me to another room for the rest of my stay in the hospital.
Once we were in the new room we got lots of visitors. My brother-in-law was awesome and took some great pictures!
With her Aunt Mandy With her cousin Hailey
With her Godmother/Aunt Carly With her grandfather/my Dad
With her Aunt Kim
Grandpa holding his two grandchildren
We are so thankful for everyone who came to visit us in the hospital. My brother also helped by dog and cat sitting for us while we were in the hospital. The next day we had an exit class for new parents in the hospital and then a few screenings for Everly before we left. We were very glad to be able to go home 24 hours after she was born. We missed our hounds and our bed! Before we left, the hospital photographer took some pictures of Everly. They cost too much money to buy but here are a couple I snagged...
We got the clearance from the nurses to checkout of the hospital and so we packed up our little girl and headed home!
In her Little Angel going home outfit!
Headed out of the hospital in her car seat.
Meeting Oscar and the hounds for the first time
We are so excited she is finally here and so happy she is healthy and everything went so well!
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