I have been putting off writing about McKenna's arrival for quite some time now. It's amazing how quickly your life changes and what is a priority now: HER!
So here goes....
On Tuesday, September 18, 2012, I was 41 weeks and I failed to take a picture that day. It's actually funny because I remember saying to Mike "oh I will just take a picture tomorrow" as I went to bed that night. We spent Tuesday together as he had the day off. We ate at Cracker Barrel to have my favorite blueberry pancakes. Then we went to see Finding Nemo in 3D ( I thought I would be having someone babysit her so that I could go see this). It is by far my all time favorite movie. We also had a visit to the hospital because our midwife ordered a biophysical profile to be done. Basically this was an ultrasound that looked to see if she was okay to cook inside a little longer (which of course I wanted her to cook as long as she needed to).
Fast forward to 3:00am on Wednesday, September 19, 2012. I woke to some cramping pains that were reoccuring. I began using my "contraction timer" on my ipod to keep up with them. And within an hours time they had been steadily coming around every 10 minutes. I didn't get too excited, but I began to think finally we have reached the day in which she may arrive. While in the back of my head I was also thinking of how I had read women can be in labor for a week sometimes. So when Mike got up to go to work that morning I filled him in on what was happening. He contemplated going to work, but I said go ahead because if this is the real thing it could be a while. I had an appointment with the midwife anyways, so I could for sure find out what was going on then.
At my appointment that morning I let the midwife know what had been going on. She checked and I was 3-4 cm dialated. The week before I had only been 2-3 and she indicated that it was a sure change from last week. She said that all signs were pointing to latent labor (the early stage) and that she would probably see me that night. I was so happy to find out that she was going to be delivering that night because in my heart she was the one I truly felt the most comfortable with and I felt a real connection with her beliefs for laboring. She also let me know that biophysical profile was just fine. Even though she thought I was in labor we still had to schedule a date for induction which was Monday, September 24 at 12:00 am. She told me to go home and rest. Take a nap. Me, take a nap? Yeah right!
So I did go home and take it somewhat easy, except for vaccuming my car. Hey, I wanted a clean car to bring this baby home in. I called Mike, my parents, his parents, and our doula to fill everyone in on what was taking place. I spent the afternoon watching some t.v. and continuing to track my contractions. They were lasting around 20-30 second every 10 minutes or so. Around 3:00pm I called Mike because they seemed to be getting stronger and I wanted him to be home. So he left work and arrived home around 4:00pm. We just kind of hung around. I ate a little bit and of course had a craving for cookies. So that's just what we did, went and got cookies downtown. After we got home the contractions continued to intensify and become longer. I hopped in the shower a couple of times just to feel some relief. We kept in contact with our doula and she said she was ready to go anytime we were. A little after 9:00pm I reached the point where I wanted to go ahead and go to the hospital. I had been walking, kneeling over the bed, and swaying as forms of working through a contraction. The contractions were every 3-5 minutes at this point and lasting around a minute. So we called my parents to let them know we were headed to the hospital. Our doula was going to meet us there. We also called the hospital to let the midwife know we were on our way. Mike's parents had already left their home to head our way.
The car ride had to be one of the most antagonizing rides of my life. I had found sitting was not a comfortable way to deal with the contractions, so to have to ride 10 minutes was not my idea of fun. When we reached the hospital getting in was a little difficult too. You have to be buzzed in after a certain time. So we pushed on the intercom and they asked to state our purpose. We were like "having a baby!!" and she told us to stand behind a red line. We didn't see a red line, but finally did we get in. Our doula was there and so was the midwife! It was so quiet there because it was just after 10:00pm when we arrived. I checked in and they took me to a room, but then we found our that a larger room was just about finished being set up so I could move to that one. Yay! It was much larger and at the end of a hallway. So once I was in the room they had to take some blood and do some fetal monitoring. Everything was looking wonderful. The midwife checked my dialation and I was now at 5cm. So things were moving along. She suggested getting in the tub and that is just what I did. Also at this time Mike's parents and my parents stopped in. They said hello and asked if I wanted them to stay. I really just wanted to expereience this birth with just Mike and I and since it was late at night (almost 11:00 now) I suggested they go home and we would call them when she arrived. I mean I would have rather gotten sleep if I could!
It was like a little party in the bathroom! Mike, our doula and the nurse sat and chatted for quite a while. We ate lollipops :) Although as the contractions were intensifying even more at this time, I couldn't finish mine. I decided to take a break from the tub. The nurse was doing fetal monitoring every 30 minutes. I was so thankful that I did not have to be hooked up to any machines. While out of the tub I was standing over the bed and felt a pop inside me and then a gush of fluid. I said "I think my water just broke." And sure enough that is what happened. This was around 12:30-1:00am Thursday. I think the midwife checked me again and I was around 7cm. I walked for a bit and then decided to get in the tub again. I remember not wanting to wear a hospital gown, so I brought a sun dress to wear. But by this point I didn't care and I basically was just wearing my bra. I mean I was giving birth, so that's what the focus was on. Not what I was/was not wearing. While in the tub again things were beginning to
really intensify. I began shaking, almost like when you are really cold. The doula told us that is was just hormones.
Over the course of the next couple of hours I continued to work through the contractions. It was so wonderful to have Mike there and the support of our doula. She really made me feel so comfortable and at ease because I knew she had seen this a bunch of times. Everyone was so encouraging. At around 9cm I was told that I needed to be on the bed to deliver. It was so uncomfortable being on that bed. The pressure "down there" was so strong. Sorry if this is TMI, but my repeated words that night were "I feel like I have to poop." They had me try leaning over the back of the bed. Finally I reached a point where I said I feel like I have to push. The doula called to have the midwife come in and check me. She had noticed a change in my voice. Sure enough I was finally at 10cm!!! I was so ready to push.
Pushing was my favorite part! Not only was it bringing our daughter closer to us, but it was a relief for me. At first I didn't want a mirror to see what was happening, but then they offered and I decided what the heck. It was so neat to see my daughter being born. I'll never forget the midwife yelling to the nurse "we have a turtle." I got kind of worried. She was refering to the way she was turned and the placement of her shoulders. So they had to lift my legs straight into the air to allow her to come out safely. I must have pushed for around 45minutes. She arrived at 4:04am! She was placed directly on me and oh what a glorious feeling it was. I had just brought this gorgeous baby girl into the world!!! She was perfect. We didn't have her cord clamped until all the blood had finished pulsating. Mike did cut the cord and what a proud Papa he was. The little gal didn't cry at first, but after a little movement and rubbing she let out that wonderful cry! While all this was taking place the finishing work was taking place down there. Delivery of the placenta. Man was that a weird thing to see. Stitching up, OUCH! But all so worth it :)
I held McKenna Sage Chambers for the first hour of her life. It was just her and me and of course her daddy by our side. Skin.to.skin. The best feeling in the world. Within that hour I tried to breastfeed, but it didn't quite happen. So they informed the lactation consultant to come in when she arrived at 7:00am. After the first hour our nurse then took her to weigh (7lbs 10oz), measure(19 1/2 inches, although we think she was longer), and all that other stuff. Mike's parents also came around 5:30-6:00 to see her. My parents arrived around 7:00am just after the lactation consultant had been to see me and we got McKenna to latch on!!! The LC said I should not have problems, that she had a great latch! I was so happy because I had nightmares about breastfeeding not working out for us.
Literally an hour after having her I was up walking around. Going natural was the best thing. I know it's not for everyone, but I felt like I had just won a marathon after having done it. I honestly think everyone could do it, you just have to have the mindset. Our bodies were meant to have babies without medicine.
McKenna's first day was filled with many visitors. Little sleep for the new parents. We didn't want that baby leaving our side, so she only went to the nursery Thursday night for around 4 hours. And we were informed she slept the whole time, so I didn't feel so bad about having let her go there. Friday morning arrived and we had a visit by the midwife. She checked me out and said everything was looking great. The pediatrician came by to check McKenna and said she was good to go. So around 2:00 that afternoon we were discharged and on our way home. What a great feeling it was to take our little gal to the place she would call home!
Over the next two days she was visited by many friends and family at our home. She did well at night. Just wanting to nurse every couple of hours, which was expected. However we did begin to notice she was a little yellowish and was not eating very well. She would latch, but would fall asleep within a couple minutes. We revisited the pediatrician on Sunday. She agreed that she was looking yellow and sent us to the hospital for a bilirubin test. Turns out her billi level was at 24 and she had severe jaundice. So back to the hospital we went. This was very tough for us, but we knew we had to do what was best for our daughter. By Tuesday evening her bili level was down and we were discharged from the hospital. So we were
finally on our way home for good!!!
And now our gal is just over 4 months old and thriving!!! She is the best gift we could ever have. Our lives have changed for the better. I can't imagine life without her.
On a side note: Breastfeeding is going very well for us. So well that she doesn't really want anything to do with the bottle when I am at work. I know she is getting enough because the scale shows it!
