Bringing Nola Into the World

This is the very honest story of my labor and delivery with Nola. I'm writing it 36 hours later to remember what happened without the fog of time. I did this with Caleb and when I read the story now (almost 4 years later), I'm amazed at how much I've forgotten about the details. I'm so glad I wrote it all down. I never want to forget the details - good or bad - of bringing my children into the world and this blog serves as my journal for remembering the details of our lives. So, if you're squeamish about pain and childbirth or just don't really want to know all the details - I'd suggest that you skip this post.

After a long, almost sleepless night on Tuesday, I got in the shower at 4:30 AM on Wednesday. Because I'm a person who likes to remember details, it seemed that everything I did getting ready was "the last time I'll ever have to do this pregnant." (That was especially exciting when it came to shaving my legs in the shower.) By 5:45, Rudy and I were walking out the door. I stuck my head in Caleb's room and whispered a quick goodbye to Mom and Mr.L. who were sleeping with him. Mom jumped up and gave me a hug, Mr. L. wished us well, but Caleb never stirred.

Rudy and I made it to the hospital right at 6:00 and were sent straight up to the labor and delivery floor, where the nurses were waiting for us in room 535. After taking this picture:

I was sent to the bathroom to put on a hospital gown. As soon as I came back out, I was put in a bed and strapped to some external monitors. My vitals were taken and my blood pressure was higher than it has ever been! The nurses took all of my information and I signed all of the necessary paperwork. At about 6:30, they put in my IV and started my pitocin drip. The nurses' shift change was at 7:00, so I got two new nurses (Kerri and Laura) and I was so pleased that they were incredibly nice and helpful. I firmly believe that nurses can make all the difference in your labor and delivery experience!

As the pitocin started to do its job, I started to feel contractions and they were showing up on the monitors as being 3 minutes apart and regular. I was dilated to 3 cms and I wasn't really all that uncomfortable, so I decided to wait a little while to get my epidural. That's pretty funny to me now, considering that I have been so uncomfortable for the past several weeks (months?) and have joked about getting the epidural as early as 30 weeks. My reasoning for waiting was that I hate to feel "trapped." Once that epidural is in place, you're stuck in the bed, no matter what - can't walk, can't go to the bathroom, can't even move around in bed without help. So, I wanted to wait until I needed it before I got it.

At 8:30, Dr. Ford came in to check on me and break my water to get things moving along. Nola was still really high up, so it was difficult and very painful for the doctor reach the right spot. She kept apologizing and I just kept trying to breathe through it - wondering why I didn't have the foresight to get my epidural prior to that. I had no idea how badly that part would hurt. I knew that as soon as my water broke, the contractions would get stronger, so I went ahead and asked for my epidural to be ordered. The nurses contacted the anesthesiologist and he was on his way. By the time he got there, I was certainly glad to see him! My contractions progressed quickly after my water was broken and I was really starting to feel some pain.

I sat up and got into position for the insertion of the epidural - sitting on the bed with my feet in a chair and Rudy sitting on top of my feet. I curled over Rudy's shoulders and was told to relax as much as possible. This was a difficult task considering I was supposed to be curled into a ball, but still had a full term baby belly in my lap. When the anesthesiologist started inserting the epidural, I nearly fainted. I know that people say you forget the pain of childbirth over time, but I most definitely don't remember that getting my epidural hurt that bad the last time. As a matter of fact, I remember being terrified of the process and it being pleasantly surprised that it really didn't hurt so much - considering that it involves putting something into your spine. This experience was a whole different ballgame and it was horrible. Rudy tried to help me by telling me what a good job I was doing, but I could hardly hear his words through my stress. At one point, I broke into tears and I know that I yelled out loud at least once. I know this because it just so happened that my parents showed up at that exact moment and it nearly scared my mom half to death when she got to the door and heard me yell. My nurse, Kerri, was right there at the door to ask them to wait in the waiting room for a few minutes until we were finished with the epidural. By the time the anesthesiologist got the epidural in place and I was back in the bed, I was exhausted. It took him approximately 10 minutes (according to Rudy), but it felt more like an hour. You would think that a process that was that taxing would result in a perfect epidural, but it didn't. More on that as I go along.

By 9:30, the epidural process was complete and I laid back in bed and felt the numbness start to settle into my toes. That was about as far as the numbness went. I no longer felt the severity of the contractions, but I certainly didn't have the numb sensation that I remembered from my previous epidural. For some reason, there was a significant pain in the lower left side of my back - approximately where I've felt kidney pain before - that just wouldn't go away and actually still feels very tender and sore today. That pain got more intense as time went on when one of my nurses came in to check on me, I told her about it. She rolled me to my left side to allow gravity to help the epidural work on that side and while that helped with that particular pain, it increased the pain on my right. I was told to use the push button for the epidural as much as I needed to and that the nurses would call anesthesia for them to come up and give me another dosage, but that it might be a while before they got there.

Mom came in to the room a short time after my epidural was done. She and Rudy and I talked and watched a little TV to pass the time. I entertained myself by playing on my phone - reading Facebook posts and texting with some friends who thought it was hilarious that I was texting them while I was in labor.

At 11:15, I was determined to be 5 cms dilated and 90% effaced. A different anesthesiologist showed up than the one who put my epidural in and he put in an extra dose of medicine. After about 10 minutes, my legs were completely numb and I wasn't feeling anything more than slight pressure with each contraction. I was indefinitely relieved.

At 12:30, I measured 8 cms and was 100% effaced. Nola was still a little high up, but the nurses paged Dr. Ford anyway, knowing that it would take her a little while to get over to the hospital from her office. After that, my pain increased quickly and dramatically. I went from 8 cms to 10 cms within a matter of minutes. I could only moderately feel the abdominal pressure of the contractions, but the pelvic pressure with each contraction - and even between contractions - was excruciating. I told my nurses that I was feeling the need to push, but they told me not to because the contractions needed to do the work for me to get Nola far enough down that I wouldn't have to push for so long. Rudy and Mom took turns holding my hand and saying the things that they could say to try to ease my pain. When I couldn't hold their hands, I held onto the bedrail, trying to remind myself to breathe. I watched the nurses working in the room, getting the equipment ready for Nola's delivery. I found some solace in knowing that it would be over soon and she would be laying in that bassinet, being weighed and measured. I just wasn't sure how long it would be.

Finally, Dr. Ford came in and my legs were placed in the stirrups. Rudy took his place on my right side and held my hand. Mom stayed behind him - part of the experience, but not wanting to be in the way or intrusive. Dr. Ford gave me the green light to push and I gladly complied. After the first push, I was surprised to hear her say, "one more good push and we'll have a baby." With the next contraction, I pushed with all my might and heard the beautiful sound of my baby's first cry. At 1:24 PM, with the 3rd and final push, Nola's body emerged and she was placed on a warm towel on my stomach. My heart soared. The pain was all worth it.

Every second of the pregnancy, the epidural, the labor - they were all worth it to hear and see that beautiful baby girl.

Rudy cut the cord and the nurses took Nola to the other side of the room to be cleaned up, weighed, measured and footprinted. She cried and cried and I listened to each cry as Dr. Ford completed the delivery and stitched my episiotomy. I looked up to see that Rudy and Mom were both wiping away tears and I felt like I had given them the best gift I could ever give them - for the second time.

Nola Mae Villines was born at 1:24 PM on January 27, 2010. She weighed 7 pounds, 12 ounces and was 21 inches long.