In case you missed it, here is Part 1.
In part one, I talk about why we induced at 37 weeks, so if you start reading and question why we would welcome our baby girl into the world at only 37 weeks, please take a quick look at part 1.
Thursday arrived, it was the day we would check into the hospital to welcome our third baby girl. My husband decided to stay home from work. We had a list of last minute things to do, and then drop the girls off with their grandparents.
After we dropped the girls off, I tried really hard to take a nap. Unfortunately, all I could do was count baby kicks and pray we would be able to deliver her without use of a c-section. My only fear with a cesarean is that I wouldn’t be able to hold my toddlers during the recovery, and I just couldn’t bear the thought. I expressed that concern to my obstetrician and he assured me that he felt confident we would not need a c-section, but if at any point the baby was showing she wouldn’t be able to handle the delivery we would have to.
Around 7:30 my husband and I curled up on the couch with a big bowl of pasta and watched some of The Voice on Hulu. We slowly gathered our things, and headed out the door around 8:15 p.m. It was the first day of Fall, so we made a quick stop at Starbucks on the way to the hospital so my husband could have his first Pumpkin Spiced Latte of the season. #PSL
#starbucksfail we asked for them to write “daddy” on the cup, but… um? yeah.
9:00 p.m. we arrived to the hospital and checked in and settled in for a long night of waiting on a baby.
by 10 p.m. we were on the monitors without any medication. I let my nurses know that I wanted an epidural as soon as we started the pitocin, so they started me on fluids by 10:30ish p.m. I decided to take advantage of no medications by taking a nap. By 10:30 I was completely exhausted, I just couldn’t keep my eyes open and I went to sleep. My husband settled into the couch and watched a few episodes of Seinfeld.
12:00 p.m. we started with the first dose of medication, and I was instructed to stay still in one position for two hours. So, I rolled onto my side, put on some George Winston and took a nap.
2:00 a.m., hooray! I can move again. My nurse came in and let me walk around for a few minutes, it was so lovely to get out of bed.
4:00 a.m., dose number 2 of the medication, and more staying still. So, another George Winston classical piano playlist and another nap.
6:00 a.m., hooray, I get to take another short walk around the room! Shift change was coming, and I knew my OB would be in first thing to check on me, so I brushed my teeth before going back onto the monitors.
7:00 a.m., started to feel cramping and light contractions [was way too excited about this…]
7:30 a.m., met the day shift nurse, said thank you and farewell to the evening nurse (who was amazing!)
8:40 a.m., sent daddy over to the cafe so he could have some breakfast.
9:00 a.m., Dr. is here!
9:03 a.m., 2 cm and my water is broken.
9:10 a.m., “WOW, We’re going to have this baby by lunch!” – C. Jimenez
I have a history of going from 2 cm to baby in a short amount of time.
9:12 a.m., Pitocin starts.
9:17 a.m. “Can I have my epidural now?”
10:00 a.m., 5 cm and I’m getting my epidural!
#epiduralfail well, the epidural only worked on half my body. So, you guessed it… I felt ALL the contractions, I felt the catheter and I felt that exam. If you have an epidural,… you don’t really feel those things.
We spent the next hour and 20 minutes with anesthesia and the nurses trying to get the epidural to work. Meanwhile, my contractions are so strong I really can’t talk. I basically just told the anesthesiologist that I didn’t want to try any more medications because I was going to need to push soon. She of course told me that they had plenty of time to re-do the epidural, but I knew otherwise.
10:57 a.m., one last medication to try and get some relief.
11:03 a.m., I told the anesthesiologist that I felt like I needed to push and she rushed out of the room looking for my nurse.
11:10 a.m, I called the nurse and told her I needed to push.
11:14 a.m., Okay, you are 9.5 cm the doctor is on the way!
11:20 a.m., Doctor arrives “wow, you don’t waste any time do you?” I think I might had tried to chuckle, but I was in so much pain because the epidural had JUST started working and hadn’t made it all the way through my body yet.
11:25 a.m., After pushing through 1 contraction, Risa Belle was born.
After the birth we had a lovely time of skin-to-skin, attempted (and fail) at breastfeeding, and just a very relaxing experience. The moments right after birth are always so precious, its like… an unreal feeling of pride. The anticipation of Risa had my emotions on super high, so when I was still pushing and I heard the nurse ask “is she trying to cry already” I was instantly relieved.
She was placed on my chest, and the neonatologist did a quick check and agreed to let her have an extended time with me before weighing her. During this time the doctors confirmed that both the umbilical cord and placenta looked healthy, and the only note that was made was the placenta was small. Praise the Lord, for a healthy baby and delivery!
Her official stats:
Time of birth: 11:25 a.m.
Weight: 5lbs 5 oz
Length: 18 3/4 inches long
After she was weighed, they placed her in the warmer and both my husband and I curled up and took a nap. It had been such a fast and emotional day that once she was here, and healthy I just fell asleep.
When we were wheeled into our room for the hospital stay our day shift nurse ran over to my husband and I, gave us a kiss (very Miami!) and said “I KNEW YOU’D BE BACK!” It was the very first nurse I had after I delivered my first born daughter. The nurse who helped build my confidence as a new mom and one I think of often.
In a way, we’ve come full circle with our season of pregnancy and birth. Baby Number 1 and 3 were both born in delivery room 6, and were both snuggled and taken care of by the same nurse that welcomed us warmly after the delivery of baby Risa.
Farewell to the season of pregnancy, we are looking forward to many adventures as a family of five.
