Okay, let me start off by saying that I am a terrible blogger. My hope is to fully redeem myself by bringing everyone up-to-date and filling you in on all the milestones we have reached thus far, at 2 months old.
Let's begin with Graycen's birth. As some of you know, during the last few weeks of prgenancy, I was dialated maybe a centimeter and Graycen was still very high. I cam home from most appointments in tears, thinking that she might never come. At week 40, the doctor still couldn't feel her head....so we decided to induce, which was fine with me!
On Sunday, Feb 17., Lenny and I checked into Lakeside hospital to begin the induction. What a surreal experience it is knowing that you are coming to one place as a couple and leaving as a family. An induction is a very simple process, step 1 - insert suppository, step 2 - start pitocin drip, step 3 - break water. We began the process around 9:00 pm and by 2:00 am I started having contractions. Let me just say that contractions are nothing like I thought they would be. They are wayyy worse. And for those who say that laying on a tennis ball will help to relieve "back labor" they are full of it. By 7:00 am, I was questioning whether or not I should have the epidural (the questions was not whether or not but rather when). I opted not to and waited instead for my water to break. The doctor came in at 10:00 am and broke my water. By this time, I was dialated to about 5 cms, but Graycen was still sooooo high. We started talking about a c-section but decided to wait to see if I progressed anymore.
Once my water broke, the contractions were out of control. My hat is off ( and my psychologist hat is put on) for anyone who would choose to go through this without any meds. Anyway, I soon asked for the epidural and soon after a doctor, nurse, and gaggle of residents came in. The doctor administered the epidural, but "missed" and hit a capillary, so he had to do it again. Let me just say that when you are in sooo much pain that you need an epidural, you don't even care that they missed....you just want the next one to work. Well guess what, it did....for about 1/2 hour. A half-hour after the epidural, I began to have feeling and movement throughout my left side. I was continuing to labor and in lots of pain. I continued to tell the nurse that something was wrong and that I could feel my left side, so they just kept coming in and refilling the epidural with more meds. I think I had 7 total refills in the same line. But I could still feel everything.
While still feeling labor pains, and perhaps because I was feeling it, I knew the time to push had come. As the nurse said, when you feel like you are about to have a house come out of your butt, you are ready. That is excatly how I felt. The nurse came in, and soon after the doctor, and we started to push. This was at about 4:30 pm. Funny thing, everytime I would push, I would feel (and Lenny would see) Graycen's little butt squirm back up. She was definitely not coming that way, so we opted for the c-section.
Within minutes the nurse anestithist (sp?) came into prep me for surgery. I complained again about the epidural and she said 'I knew that they didn't do it right'. I still can't believe I went nearly 7 hours with an epidural that wasn't working. So for the third time, the epidural catheter was placed in my spine. This time I felt nothing. Thank goodness. However, because of all the medicine I was given, I was shaking like a leaf. Boy, I must have looked a mess. Anyway, I was wheeled into the operating room, and although I was beyond exhausted at this point, I was thrilled knowing I was about to meet my daughter. Within minutes, the doctor pulled Graycen out and held her over my head. Boy...she was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. It still takes my breathe away!
After I was all stitched up and brought back to the room, Graycen was brought in for our first 'proper' meeting. She was completely alert and awake and holding her head up! I counted all of her little fingers and all of her little toes (10 each...so we are good). But the thing that amazed me most...you guessed it...THAT HAIR! My child was born with a head full of long black hair. I guess that heartburn was for a reason! The rest of the evening is kind of a blur, probably due to exhaustion and meds, but I know that I rested well that night with the knowledge that I had finally met my daughter.
