Breanna Paige Zeigler is here!
Born 6/27/10
11:08 pm
6 pounds 4.8 oz
18 3/4 in. long
Here are the details of her arrival. I hope they aren't too boring or detailed, but I want to remember everything about the day!
I started having contractions that woke me up Sunday morning at about 3:30 am. I slept off and on through them until about 6:30 am when I was no longer able to stand the excitement and adrenaline from under the covers. I got up and began doing some chores around the house to keep my mind off of things. At that point I was having contractions about every 8-10 minutes apart that lasted about 30 seconds each. The two to three days prior to this I had begun having flu like symptoms and braxton hicks. I also (sorry for the details) lost my mucus plug Saturday afternoon. Because of all of this, I was convinced this was the real thing. It was still easy to talk and walk through the contractions though, so I knew it would be a long day(s) ahead. I finally woke Drew up around 9:30 and told him I was going to go for a walk and explained why. He was convinced this was a false alarm and told me not to go too far from the house and bring my cell phone.
While walking, my contractions picked up in duration and got closer together. I could only walk outside for about 40 minutes though because the humidity and heat was terrible! When I got home Drew was dressed and told me had packed his hospital bag just in case, but that he still needed to go to work. It was a Sunday, but they had a meeting that he had to be at for the morning. He left and I continued to work around the house. I just wanted to keep moving and get my mind off of things. By the time Drew got back (only about 45 minutes later due to a canceled meeting) things were still moving along.
I finally decided to call my family and tell them what was going on. While they didn't tell me at the time, they were convinced, just like Drew, that this was not going to be the real thing and contractions would fade away soon. They obviously didn't, and a few hours later the pain was starting to get more intense. I was supposed to call my doctor when contractions were 5 minutes apart, lasting a full minute, for at least an hour. I got to this point at about 2:30. I decided that since I could still breathe through them I would wait it out just a little bit longer. At 3:30 I finally called the doctor and she told me I could go ahead in to the hospital to get things checked out. She also told me after delivery that she was sure it was a false alarm because my voice sounded too happy.
We got to the hospital at a little before 4 and went to triage to see if was in true labor. They hooked me up to a monitor and checked me out. At that point I was having regular contractions that were 4 minutes apart. I was 3 cm dilated and about 80-85% effaced. I was staying! They got my IV hooked up so I could get the antibiotic for my Group B Strep and then took me to my delivery suite.
At this point the contractions were getting really bad and I was thinking an epidural would be in my near future. They got me settled into my room and as the excitement wore off of this being really "it" I realized just how intense labor was going to be. My thought was, "I'm only 3 cm dilated and this is how I feel?!" I was prepared for very intense cramps like when having a period. I was beyond wrong! To all the women who have done this with no medication: You are incredible! I decided I was ready for an epidural and called my nurse. She had the doctor there in no time at all, and he gave me the medicine. The epidural was nothing at all! It was honestly close to painless. The IV hurt about 10 times worse than it, so I was happy about that. The nurse checked my progress and then broke my water. I was 4cm at that point. They noticed that my water was not clear, meaning Breanna had pooped while still inside. She called the doctor to give her the update and then informed the pediatric team so they would be there when she was born. They said it was just precautionary, and she should be fine. In case she swallowed any of the meconium though, they would need to be there to suction it out and get her breathing.
At this point I was in heaven! My body relaxed completely and I was able to just sit and chat with the other people in the room. My parents were here at that point, which was a relief. The nurse said she would be back an hour later to check me again.
When she came back an hour later she was elated to tell me that I was fully effaced and aside from a small "lip" on my right side was complete! I was shocked! Thanks to the relaxation of the epidural my body was able to move quickly through everything it needed to do. The nurse called the doctor and had me flip to my side so that "lip" would finish and then said we would be ready to start pushing soon after.
At about 9:30 pm she came back to get everything set up for delivery. By about 10 she checked to see how I push and then said we would start soon! The doctor got there at this point and was ready to get things going! I pushed for about 25 minutes and then the doctor said she recommended I get an episiotomy because I was going to tear. Knowing that she doesn't recommend this normally (we had talked about it beforehand) I said okay. I truly trusted my doctor and was confident in her opinion. I pushed for a few minutes longer and at 11:08 pm Breanna entered the world! I watched the whole thing with the mirror and was just amazed by the process! They put her on my stomach and I was able to cut the cord because Drew didn't want to. The emotions I felt at this point are completely indescribable! What a miracle! The pediatric team had to take her shortly after because she had swallowed meconium and was having trouble breathing. They suctioned her out and monitored her for a short while. She was back in my arms after a few minutes and I couldn't have been any happier! I got to nurse her on our way up to the recovery room, which was an amazing experience all in itself!
2 comments:
That sounds amazing! Thanks for sharing the details. Maybe having a baby isn't such a scary prospect after all. :) I can't wait to meet her!
Congratulations! I feel you on the epidural- truly myfavorite drug, perhaps ever! ;-) Enjoy this time, you will have a hard time remembering in a few weeks what it felt like to cuddle a tiny baby...they really grow too fast!
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