For awhile now, I've been meaning to post Vivian's birth story, but between lots of cuddling, feeding, diaper changes and sleep deprivation, I haven't gotten around to writing. I think the theme of my birth story is to plan not to plan! Because NOTHING went as I expected.
Originally I was going to use a midwife and I saw one up until my 40th week of pregnancy. The last couple of weeks, they were concerned because of her size versus my size and the fact that she wasn't dropping down at all in my birth canal, and first time babies usually will drop a week or two before delivery. They still said they were comfortable delivering her at the birth center, but warned me that there would be a decent chance that I would end up having to transfer to the hospital. After a lot of thought and prayer, we decided that we would just rather start out at the hospital...the last thing I wanted to deal with was a transfer.
Our induction was set for Tuesday, September 13th at 5:30 am at Spartanburg Regional. At that point, I was already over a week past due and I had absolutely no symptoms of entering labor anytime soon. I don't think I've ever been so nervous in my whole life! I slept a total of maybe 2 hours the night before the induction and the only thing I could eat was a slice of toast before leaving for the hospital. It was that nervous "first day of school" feeling times a thousand! The staff at the hospital was SO sweet, though...they really put me at ease. They hooked me up to probably a dozen different instruments...heart rate and contraction monitors, I/V fluids, a blood pressure cuff, catheters, etc...that took some getting used to. I think what I hated the most was the fact that I had to lay still.
When I was admitted, I was 3 cm dilated. They started the Pitocin and the first few hours, it wasn't too bad. However, they kept cranking up the drip because I still wasn't dilating, so by 11:30 I was starting to feel very uncomfortable and I was starting to develop back labor. So, I caved, recieved my epidural and was able to get a couple of hours of sleep. The doctor also broke my water and stripped my membranes, and even tried to stretch my cervix in hopes of moving things along. By 6:00 pm, I had only dilated another 3 cm, making for a total of 6 cm dilated. The Pitocin was cranked up as high as possible, and had been for some time. Vivian was still at a -1 station, and wasn't even engaged in my pelvis yet. The doctor was willing to give me a couple more hours, because Vivian's heart rate was responding well to the contractions. However, my blood pressure was starting to sky rocket and I was feeling a HUGE urge to push and I felt a lot of pain with those urges. My body would involuntarily push with each contraction, even though it was too early to push...so not only was I having to deal with a lot of pain, I was having to fught a natural reflex to push.
Once again, after a lot of prayer (and tears) I decided to go ahead and opt for the c-section. Even though it was NOT the way I wanted to have this baby, I knew in the back of my mind that it was always a possibility...my mother had a c-section with me for similar reasons, and I hear that you tend to labor like your mother. They rolled me into the O.R. and the atmosphere was very relaxed, which put me at ease. The doctor and his staff were talking and laughing, and he had "Creedence Clearwater Revival" blasting on the boom box. The anesthesiologist, named Cindy, was WONDERFUL and held my hand and talked me through the whole surgery...I will always remember her and her kindness and support.
They started the surgery and I didn't feel pain, but I could feel everything that they were doing...it was the oddest feeling...like an out-of-body experience. Sometime during the song "Down on the Corner", I heard Vivian's cries for the first time, amidst the exclamations, "Whoa, that's a big, healthy baby!!" I started to cry and I kept asking over and over if she was alright. I remember Brad telling me that she was perfect and healthy and he brought her over for me to see her. They tested her blood sugar, just to make sure she didn't have Gestational Diabetes and her blood sugar was perfect. The doctor felt that she was more overdue than we thought...more like two weeks overdue. He also felt like I made the right decision by opting to go ahead with the c-section, because once he actually saw her, he felt that if the labor had progressed any further, she would have been stuck in the birth canal, and then we would have ended up with an emergency c-section. God definitely was watching out for us. She was the same exact size as Brad at birth, so that was the reason for her weight and length. She was the largest baby born that day. :)
They had to increase the pain meds because I was feeling a great deal of pain as Dr. Watkins was sewing me back up, and by the end of the surgery I was as a high as a kite and seeing double! They rolled me into recovery and I slowly started to come back to reality, although I was shaking a good bit. She was sleeping soundly as they placed her in my arms for the first time, and the shaking subsided. I said, "Hi, baby...it's so nice to finally meet you." That is when she opened her eyes and we locked eyes for the first time. It was like I was gazing inside of my own soul and this warmth washed all over me, and tears flooded my eyes. It's a feeling I've never felt before, and what an overwhelming feeling that was! We just stared at eachother and studied eachother for the longest time...and then she sighed, closed her eyes and went back to sleep.
It's hard to believe that it was three weeks ago, and it's hard to believe that she's mine. She really is the most content baby, and only cries when she is hungry or when she wants to be held. She is a huge cuddle bug, so she gets held pretty often. It still seems so surreal sometimes, but with all of the responsiblities that come with being a mom, I don't have time to think about that...I've pretty much had to hit the ground running. Speaking of which, I hear my little Vivi waking up now and I have to wrap this up!
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