So our precious angel Kinzleigh Grace Hadden has arrived!
I am going to write out our labor story so I can remember this in years to come. I find that I'm already forgetting some of the little details and I don't want to forget them all....So I have my bottle of water handy, my baby girl laying across my chest sleeping, and I'm ready to go.
It really started on Saturday March 19. My mom and I were spending the day together since Tim was at work, we started the day by going thrift store shopping, went and got pedicures, and then ended the day at the Beulah Sausage Festival. My feet at the end of the day were swollen beyond recognition and to say I was miserable was an understatement. I was very much looking forward to my appointment on the following Tuesday.
When I went to my appointment on Tuesday, the Dr asked how I was feeling and I laughed jokingly saying how I was ready to have this baby. He said he could induce me but would have to wait until 39 weeks, so I would still have 2 weeks to go. I was happy hearing that, even though I would still have some time to wait, anytime earlier than waiting longer would be fine with me. While he was examining me, he noticed that my blood pressure was higher and I had gained 12 pounds in 4 weeks. Which is A LOT for me...the whole pregnancy I had gained 40 up to that point, and I was starting to gain weight to fast. He then noticed how swollen my feet, ankles and legs were and checked my reflexes. Which he said were Very Brisk. The Dr looked at me and said, "looks like you are going to get your wish afterall, you my dear, are pre-eclamptic" He gave me orders to go home, pack a bag, and head straight to the hospital. I would be staying overnight for a 24 hour urinalysis, along with complete bedrest, and strict sodium free diet. I headed into the ultrasound room to make sure Kinzleigh was head down still and to make sure she was ok to come early...which she was. And then made a phone call to Tim and my mom letting them know what was going on. I headed home, packed a bag, and Tim and I headed to the hospital.
Once we arrived at the hospital, check in was very easy. They were already waiting on me to get there so my room was ready. I was checked in, went to my room, and Tim and I settled in for the night. Until the IV nurse came in...let me say...that was the worse pain I have ever been in. The inital nurse that came in attempted to put the IV into my right wrist...right at my bone...I screamed, I cried, and squeezed the snot out of Tim's hand. Well, finally she was finished...or so I thought. Turns out, the vein rolled so she wasn't able to get the IV inserted. She then stood up, said she was going to give us a break, and left the room. So now, not only did I just have this horrible pain in my wrist, I would have to undergo it again. A few minutes later a second nurse came in, (with lidacain to numb the area first) and after trying to insert the IV into my hand (my vein collapsed) she finally got the IV in right below the crease under my elbow. It still hurt...but the lidacain helped tramendously. IV's are no fun!
After all that, we were finally able to get a little rest. We weren't sure what the next plan would be, all we could do was wait until we saw my Dr the next day. That night we talked about all the different possiblities that could happen, would we be sent home, would we be at the hospital until she was born a couple weeks later, or would we be induced and leave the hospital with a new baby a couple days later? It was all up in the air at that point.
The next morning, my Dr came in and talked with us for quite a while about the different options we had. He pretty much told us that we weren't going anywhere until we had this baby. He said that he was pretty positive that I was pre-eclamptic and he wanted to take Kinzleigh as soon as possible to prevent anything serious from happening to either of us. But because she was 3 weeks early, he would have to get permission from the Maternal Fetal Doctor (this Dr determines whether early induction should happen or whether it's better to wait). So a couple hours later, we met Dr Thorpe. He asked us a few questions, stood up, and said..."yep, we are going to induce you. You have 1 hour to get a shower and get ready to start induction"
Oh my...Tim and I were so excited! We just couldn't believe we would meet our little angel in just a few hours. Even though everyone told us induction would be horrible and normally lasts a long time with first pregnancy's, we were very excited to know the time had arrived finally.
I hurried through a quick shower, and we were taken to a room in labor and delivery. Once I was all set up and hooked up to every piece of equipment in the room, I was given the cervidil to start the induction. I was told it would take 4 hours before they could check me and then if I needed another one, they would give me one at that point. So now we were in wait mode. The 4 hours seemed to fly by. I started feeling the contractions, but they only felt like period cramps to me, so it wasn't too bad. At 4:00, the nurse checked me, and I was far enough along to get started on pictocin. So she went and got my Dr. I remember asking the nurse earlier when I could start my epidural and she advised not to start it until my water broke because she didn't want it to run out if my labor lasted long. Well once my doctor came in and checked me, he immediately asked for the tool to break my water. While he was breaking my water, my nurse ran out to get the epidural on its way. She knew I would be begging for it after that. :) I ended up SOAKING the bed when my water broke, I was full of water!, and I got my epi around 20 minutes after that. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. For some reason I wasn't nervous about the epi, like I was when I got my IV. I guess because I knew they would numb the area first. Within minutes of getting the epidural, I was a brand new person. I felt so much better and a lot more comfortable. I remember my mom, Carrie and Vicki coming back in and were surprised at how different I looked. I guess they could tell that the contractions were uncomfortable even though I didn't say much about the pain.
About 1-2 hours after getting Pictocin, getting my water broke, and getting my epidural, my contractions were less than 1 minute apart and were Strong! So strong in fact, that they had to rotate my body numorous times because Kinzleigh was reacting bad to the contractions. Eventually, they just decided to turn the pictocin off for a while. At 7:50, my doctor walked in to check my progress. To our surprise I was Fully dilated and ready to start pushing. I was only 4 cm at 4:00 when my water was broke, so we were very surprised to see that I was already fully dilated.
The room was transformed within a matter of minutes, I started pushing at 8:14 -- the nurse and doctor said I would probably be pushing for a couple hours since Kinzleigh was so high and it was my first pregnancy. At 8:30, my doctor came back in the room....I was doing a great job pushing because he walked in and said "oh my" and then the room became frantic as everyone was throwing on scrubs, gloves, masks...and getting everything opened up. Kinzleigh was born at 8:34 PM...I pushed for 20 minutes. amazing!
I was immediately in love. A love I have never felt before. She was perfect!
