I went into my appointment on Tuesday feeling confident. I was atually starting to think that I could have a May baby. The nurse took us back and took my blood pressure, which was high but not crazy high. She told me that we should wait to see what the doctor had to say. Matt and I were NOT prepared for what Dr. Aronson had to say. Upon walking into the room Dr. Aronson said, "So are you ready to have a baby today?" Our mouths hit the floor! Matt actually said later that he thought she was joking. Dr. Aronson continued, "well, I don't know what we're waiting for. You'll be 38 weeks tomorrow and we don't need to wait for you or baby to get any sicker."
{Side Note} The doctor's office and I had different due dates for new baby. They had May 9th and I had May 13th. I didn't realize we had different due dates until about a month ago when I applied for my maternity leave. So according to my due date the baby wouldn't be 38 weeks for 5 more days but whatever :)
Dr. Aronson asked if our bags were in the car (um no! Hello second baby we were lucky that are bags were packed) and we kind of just stared at her in complete shock. Matt finally said he needed at least an hour to tie up a few loose ends at work. Dr. Aronson replied, "We'll see you at the hospital in an hour then." She did check me before we left to see where I was before the induction and I was 2 centimeters and 80% effaced. So I had made some progress from the week before.
Matt left for DeWitt and I went home to finish packing Carter and my bags. I also had to send a few work emails since I hadn't been planning on my maternity leave starting right that second. Once the emails started it was hard to stop. I was still going through things when Matt made it back from work. He was so sweet but I could tell he was completely annoyed with me. He packed the van and I tried to find a good stopping point. After finally shutting down the computer we snapped a few last pregnancy pics and headed over to Matt's parent's house to give Carter kisses before we left for the hospital. Then I didn't want to stop kissing Carter. I knew it would be a couple days until I would be home and that I would miss him so much. I also knew it was the last time he would be my one and only. He seemed excited but obviously had no idea how his life was going to change.
After all the Carter kisses, Matt finally got me out the door. One last quick stop to Best Buy for a new memory card and we were off to the hospital. We talked names on the way as we hadn't decided on any names for new baby. We arrived at the hospital at 11:45 about an hour late :). They had room 5114 ready for us so we headed up and met our nurse Chung. She was a really nice, older, Asian woman who was wonderful at explaining everything that she was doing, which was nice since I have never been induced before. She finally got my pitocin and saline IV started around 12:30 and the contractions started almost immediately. In fact, I had some mild contractions on my own before the pitocin started.
Chung asked about pain management and I explained to her that I planned to get an epidural and my concern about getting it sooner rather than later since my labor went so fast with Carter. Dr. Barclay was on-call and came to see me around 1 pm. Again, I discussed my fast labor with Carter and my desire to have the epidural. I thought about going natural again since I had done it before but I really just didn't feel like it that day ~ oh, the irony!!
Dr. Barclay asked if I wanted her to break my water to speed things up. I agreed and she checked me. I was 3 1/2 to 4 centimeters and 90% effaced. For those taking notes, that is almost 2 centimeters in a half an hour. After the cervical check she broke my water, which was easy but totally gross. Holy water!! And just when I thought there couldn't be any more water...there was!!
Dr. Barclay said I could have an epidural at anytime since we knew I was has having the baby that day and would not be sent home. Chung sped up my saline IV and mentioned that Dr. Barclay was being nice because most women have to wait until they are in more active labor before receiving an epidural. I wanted to mention again how fast I went with Carter but kept my mouth shut as I watched my saline drip down (FYI you have to to get 1 bag of fluid in before receiving an epidural).
At this point my contractions were 3-4 minutes a part and painful but not unbearable. I almost backed out of getting the epidural because I wasn't in that much pain and I didn't want the epi to slow down my labor. But I had a couple of pretty bad contractions before the anesthesiologist came in so I was glad when he finally showed up.
While the anesthesiologist was setting things up, Matt was still googling baby names asking my opinions for both sexes. Clearly not prepared :).
Anyway, the epidural wasn't that bad and the anesthesiologist noticed my lack of back tattoo and told me my back was skinny. This big pregnant woman loved to hear the word skinny especially after he asked my current weight. By 2:15 the epi was in place and I was told that within 5 contractions I would feel a difference in my pain level. The first contraction I felt after the epidural was less painful and the second contraction I didn't feel at all! But for watever reason I continued to feel every contraction after that. Definitely less intense but I wouldn't say that it was only 10 - 15 percent of my pain as the anesthesiologist had promised. I didn't really feel the contractions in my stomach but could totally feel them in my 'bottom' as Chung had said. They were like the worst menstrual cramps ever!!
By now it was after 3 pm and Chung's shift was over and Nancy was my new labor nurse. She was amazing and I loved her!! I could still feel my contractions and they were getting more intense. So much so that after a particularly long one I was in tears. All of the sudden I thought I felt pressure down there and made a panicked call to the nurse. Dr. Barclay also came into check me and I was 7 centimeters and 100% effaced. She remembered that I had mentioned my quick progression with Carter and said that is probably why the epidural wasn't working becaues the medicine couldn't catch up with my body. Dr. Barclay left and I had another hard contraction and then panick set in and I completely freaked out! The epidural didn't work, the contractions were painful and I could feel everything. Here I had chosen to go with my 'zen like' medicated labor and all of that was out the window and the realization that I would not be 'pain free' set in.
The contractions kept coming and I couldn't calm myself down. Nancy kept telling me to slow down my breathing but I was so panicked that I couldn't. She told me that she was going to get the doctor for another check. She thought that I had progressed some more but if I hadn't she was going to see if the anesthesiologist could replace my epidural so I could get some relief. Dr. Barclay came back in the room and checked me. Wouldn't you know that I was 10 centimeters dilated and 100% effaced and it was time to push! It only took 4 contractions to get from a 7 to a 10!!
Now it was 3:45 pm and Nancy told me to push and honestly that was the last thing I wanted to do. I hate pushing and think it is the worst part of labor. 'Push the pain away' is total bullshit however, the 'ring of fire' is totally legit. So not only was my 'zen like' labor out the window but I became a complete mad woman - screaming and all. For real! Below are things that flew out of my mouth while pushing:
- 'F**K'
- 'Oh f**k'
- 'Get it out!'
- 'I'm dying!'
- 'I don't want to do this today'
- 'I can't'
- 'I'm sorry' - this was after every contraction when I regained some sort of sanity
Anyway, even though I complained the entire time I sucked it up and pushed and this time I got a clear view of the baby crowning. That did give me the boost I needed to push the baby out. 2 pushes later, at 3:53 pm, baby was here!! Matt and Dr. Barclay announced the gender and this time I heard both of them and couldn't believe my ears (or my eyes) as I saw a baby girl! I had just given birth to my daughter and I was completely shocked. Tears began to flow and the pain seemed to vanish as I held my baby girl (who, by the way, peed on me twice as she was being cleaned on my chest). I just stared at her for the longest time. It was so weird. She didn't look like Carter to me but I couldn't see my features anywhere in her either and then she had this nose that I just couldn't place.
The nurses took her away to finish cleaning her off and get her stats (apgar scores were 8 and 9). This is when I had my moment similar to with Carter although his was immediately after I delivered. But the room seemed to calm down and go quiet. Matt and I just looked at each other and the baby grinning from ear to ear when we noticed the song playing on Pandora..."Somewhere Over the Rainbow" it was just perfect :).
Once I got the baby back in my arms, Matt and I started talking names. We had 3 girl ames on our list and just didn't know what to name her. With Carter I looked at him and just 'knew' he was a Carter but that didn't happen with Isla. The other 2 names were out immediately because she just wasn't a Clara or a Harper. And while Isla was a name I loved since I was pregnant with Carter I just wasn't sure. I knew I would always have to tell people how to pronounce it, spell it and deal with comments/opinions because it is different. On the other hand, I was not prepared to go bck to the internet for yet another name search. Matt was sure and said, "she looks like an Isla." So it was settled...
Isla Elizabeth Hatz made her debut at 3:53 pm on Tuesday, April 24th. She weighed in at 6 pounds, 15 ounces and was 18 1/2 inches long.
"A daughter is a gift of love." ~Author Unknown
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