I decided to write a post about Rilynn's delivery day (a.k.a. D-Day), for two reasons. One, I was terrified of labor and delivery since the night we found out we were pregnant so to make it through the process is a
huge accomplishment for me, and two, Rilynn and I may want to look back on that glorious memory one day, and through the years, I am sure to forget bits and pieces; as the day is already somewhat of a blur...
Dr. Ellis and I discussed induction at my 38 week appointment and set the day for the following Sunday. It was at that moment that it all started to feel real. In that moment, I knew I would have a little girl within a matter of days at the most. However, the hospital wound up being full that night (
coincidentally there was a full moon that weekend) so they bumped me to Monday night. I was ok with that since hubs was getting over a cold and I still had a few things to get done.
Monday rolled around and I just about sat at home all day driving myself crazy! Neither Chris nor I got much sleep that night. Monday we finished any laundry or dishes needing to be done, re-packed the hospital bags and just hung out. We decided to go to dinner that evening one last time as
just us. It was a weird dinner. We both were kind of quiet, anxious, did a little bit of staring at each other as our minds went 90 to nothing. We knew we were told not to be at the hospital until 9:00 PM, but were done eating by 7:00 anyways. So, we walked around some shops to kill time. Actually, we walked through a shoe department as I picked out Fall/Winter shoes I couldn't wait to get my fat, puffy feet in. :) Then,
it was go time.
We got settled into our hospital room and within 10 minutes, my mom and sis came by to see where I was and wish me luck until morning. They started me on a low dose of Pitocin at midnight and gave me Ambien to sleep. I think I slept a little bit... just remember being woken up and told that another doctor was there to break my water at 5:30 AM. And let me just tell you, I DO remember what that felt like and it was quite uncomfortable!
I dozed in and out for the next few hours until my mom and sis came back to the hospital to sit with me that morning. It was around 9 AM or so that the contractions began to worsen (I think. Again, I already don't have my times all straight). They were never awful, just very uncomfortable. I needed everyone to be silent during each contraction and once they would pass, I was fine. However, when they started becoming a minute or so apart, it was getting annoying that I had to ask everyone to shut up so much so I asked for them to check my cervix again. They didn't want me to get an epidural until I was about 3-4 cm and of course, I wasn't quite there yet. So until then, they gave me something called Nubain- worse drug on the planet! It was put into my IV and I immediately felt extremely out of body, I was saying weird stuff, I still felt the contractions and it only lasted an hour. Boo. About 10 AM, my wonderful nurse said I was dilated enough to receive the epidural. The epidural was also just uncomfortable but the initial implantation of the tube lasted only a minute. The worst part to me was having to sit crunched over a pillow during a contraction. I spent the next few hours in amazement that I could stare at my leg, tell my mind to move my leg, and it wouldn't budge. Actually, it wasn't really amazement as it was more so a bit of panic. It is such a weird weird feeling, but HEAVEN SENT when it was time to push...
I dozed off and on again for a while after receiving the epidural. Finally at some point, I remember my nurse checking my cervix again, although I had no idea she was doing it since I couldn't feel anything and she says, "Guess what?? You are 10 cm girlfriend. It is time to push!" It was at that moment that I really began to panic a bit. I kept asking questions because I like going into things knowing what is expected. I asked her about how long she thought it would take (as I am half asleep), and she said that for a first baby it usually takes about 2 hours. I thought I was going to lose it. I thought,
TWO flippin HOURS? There is no way in HELL I can push that long. I was completely exhausted and hadn't even started. She kept reminding me that she had me a diet coke (my addiction) in the refrigerator ready to give me as soon as I was done.
All of a sudden I was very pessimistic and negative and just kept thinking,
I can't do it. I can't do it. I need to sleep. I honestly don't think my pushes for the first 30 minutes were remotely helpful to the process, but they kept coaching me through it. Chris was great. He stroked my hair and kept encouraging me. That really helped since I had wondered all along how he would take the whole ordeal. Somewhere along the line, I got a burst of woman power and decided to give it my all, as hard as that is when you can't feel a thing you are doing. I stared at the clock the whole time which may have helped because deep down I think I was competing against the whole "2 hours of pushing" thing.
An hour and half later, I was told she was crowning. My nurse called Dr. Ellis who was down in a matter of minutes. She said we would give the last few pushes through the contractions. However, my contractions had slowed for some reason and we just sat there and waited. I took advantage of the break to close my eyes and take deep breaths. Dr. Ellis started laughing as she said, "Well, we are supposed to push during contractions but she is just sliding on out. If you want to push now, go for it." So I did. I pushed so hard I thought I was going to break my teeth from clenching. My fingers were sore from gripping the bed rails. My whole body was convulsing from shock and drugs and everything else. But I pushed, dammit. And she was here. 4:32 PM, weighing 7 lbs, 1 oz and 18 inches long.
I remember them placing that little cheesy body on my chest and I just lost it. I couldn't believe I had just endured 12 hours of labor (that actually went quite easier than I had anticipated), I had just produced this human being, and she was mine to love and take care of for the rest of her life.
Chris immediately started taking pictures of her, careful not to expose the gory details. Looking back, those first few photos he took are priceless and we wouldn't have them otherwise. I am forever grateful he got them. And I am so proud that he was so proud of his new daughter.
So that is it! Not really too detailed, but it really was an easy, breezy delivery that I have already forgotten a lot about. But now we have a gorgeous, healthy little girl that is keeping me up at night. A lot. Posts on our progress as parents and baby to come. :)
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| I have no recollection of taking this picture. I think my face says it all though. |
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| Headed home! |
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| First night home, cuddling with Pops |
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| My Gigi is just so in love with me! |
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This is my favorite picture of Rilynn's birth day.
It is my sister, Ri's aunt, as she burst into tears the first time she held her.
Melts my heart every time I see it. |
