Birth Day (a bit lengthy)

Eden Rae Rose
Sept. 24th, 2009 3:11am
6lbs 12oz 18in

On Wednesday the 23rd I went in for a doctor's appointment and was very disappointed to find that I was only 3cm dilated and 50% effaced.  My doctor is in her last year of residency and the attending doctor would not let her start me until I was 42 weeks along, however, my blood pressure had been high for the past three weeks and it wasn't getting any better so my doctor told me she was going to talk to the attending physician and see if she could start me because of it.  She told me that since I was past my due date and my blood pressure was just high enough to be concerned about she thought it would be best to start me as soon as possible rather than wait for the baby to come and chance my blood pressure getting worse.  So she told me she was going to try and get me on the books for an induction for either Thursday or Friday, but she had to get the attending's approval and that she would call me that evening with the news.  I was totally excited about the fact that I was no longer going to be pregnant and that I would finally get this baby out of me.

After I left I doctors I went and meet Les at a house he was mowing to tell him the news.  On my way to where he was my doctor called and told me I was officially on the books for an induction that next morning.  She also told me that since I was considered high priority because of my blood pressure I would most likely be one of the first to go.  After a short celebration I told her thanks and that I would see her in the morning.  I immediately proceeded to call my family and tell them the news.  When I finally arrived to Les, he was basically the last to know...I was a wee bit excited.  After I dropped Les off a drink I headed home to get stuff packed and ready to go for the morning. 

Once I was home I started feeling some contractions, but didn't think anything of it.  Then they wouldn't go away.  I thought to myself "Of course...the day they decide to induce me is the day Eden decides to come."  I called Les and told him I didn't think we were going to make until the morning and that I had been having contractions since 3pm.  Les got home around 5pm and that's when I started timing my contractions.  They were anywhere from 2mins to 6mins apart.  I was hoping for a natural child birth and so I wanted to stay home as long as possible.  Around 8pm I called my doctor and told her that my child didn't like the idea of someone telling her when to come and that she was going to do it on her own time.  I told her I'd been having consistant contractions for the past 3 hours and asked her what she wanted me to do.  She told me that since I lived out in Herriman I should head to the hospital since I was 45mins away and she would meet me there. 

I got to the hospital around 9pm and when they shecked me and I was 6cm dilated.  The nurse told me it looked like I was having a baby tonight...hooray.  I asked to be put in a birthing room since I was attempting this all natural thing and so I was placed in a room with a birthing tub. I had also brought my exercise ball since it really helped to sit on it during contractions.  Les called the family and his parents where there lickity split!  I don't think they have ever gotten from Kamas to SLC so quickly.  Sheila sat in the room with me until I was about an 8.  My family arrived around 11:30pm and I was still an 8.  The contraction to that point weren't so bad and I was able to get through them by sitting on the exercise ball and having Les rub my back.  My water hadn't broken yet and so that helped alot with the contractions as well.  My doctor told me she wasn't going to break it until I was ready to push so that the contractions wouldn't get worse.  Once I made it to 9cm they told me I had to get in the bed and they broke my water. After that the contractions were pretty intense but I was still able to get through them.  I was a 9cm for about 2 hours.  I had just a little lip of my cervic left that wouldn't thin.  They tried to see if I could push past it but I couldn't.  Around 1:30am I closed my eyes and didn't open them for the rest of labor.  The contractions were intense and I mostly felt them in my back.  I had a hard time staying focused and thought I wouldn't be able to make it the last little bit.  Thankfully I had an awesome nurse who would talk me through each contraction and help me focus on my breathing.

The worst part of the labor was when I started feeling the need to push and my doctors told I couldn't but everytime I had a contraction I couldn't help myself and I had to push.  The doctors kept telling me to stop since I still had that little lip of my cervic that was hard and they didn't want me hurt myself or the baby.  They ended up giving me a little pitocin to try and get it to thin.  Well the pitocin seemed to work because not too long after I was completely dilated and they got me ready to push.  This is where things get a little blurry.  Mind you I hadn't opened my eyes for about an hour and so I didn't know who was in my room or what was going on.  All I was focused on was getting through each contraction. 

The whole pushing part is a complete blur.  I dont' remember much.  I just remember the nurse telling me to open my eyes and look and I wouldn't.  They had put a mirror above me but I had no intentions of seeing what was going on.  I could feel what was going on and that was enough for me.  I pushed for about an hour and they next thing I remember is my doctor telling me to open my eyes and hold my baby.  I remember looking down at this grey slimmy thing on my chest.  It was completely weird.  The nurse quickly took her and placed her in the warmer.  Eden wasn't crying and she looked grey.  I was still really out of it and didn't know what was going on.  They nurse came over and told me she was fine.  She said she swallowed a little fluid and so they called the NICU nurses to come up and help them get the fluid out.  She also told me that the cord was wrapped around her neck twice and that's why she was grey.  I just nodded okay and told Les not to leave her side.  The NICU nurses told me that they needed to take her to the NICU cuz they were having a hard time getting all the fluid out and she would cry and then hold her breath so they wanted to watch her for a bit.  They asked me if I wanted to hold her before she left but I was so out of it and couldn't stop shaking that I told him no.  The nurses wisked her away and I was left in the room surrounded by like 3 doctors fixing me up. 

Once I was all fixed up my family came in to say hi (by this time it's like 4am).  I was so exhausted and shaky they didn't stay long.  I felt really bad.  They drove an hour to SLC in the middle of the night to sit in the hallway for 3 1/2 hours and they didn't even get to see the baby since she had to go to the NICU. Then they try and come talk to me but I'm out of it and so exhausted that they leave. My family rocks and I'm glad they were there even though they only got to see the hallways of the hospital. 

After I am transfered to a Mother and Baby room I ask to go to the NICU to see my baby since I hadn't heard anything from the nurses and Les was still with her. So Les comes back to the room and he wheels me down there.  I only can stay for half an hour since they NICU is closed from 7am to 8am while they do a shift change and it's already 6:30am.  When I get there Eden has her head under this little dome thing and they tell me it's helping her dry the fluid out of her lungs.  They tell me she is breathing room air but with a little humidity to dry it out.  I ask them when she can come up to my room and they tell me they don't know cuz she is having rapid breathing.  I guess her breathing was in the 90s and they wanted it below 60.  So I stood there and talked to her and held her hand since I couldn't hold her and I told her she needed to clam down so she could come to our room.  Well, I stood there until they told me I had to leave but the whole time I was there talking to her, her breathing was below 60s.  When I had to leave I asked them to give her a binki and sure enough less than an half hour later she was up in our room.  She was just stressed out cuz she didn't know where her mom was. 

We only stayed in the hospital until Friday afternoon.  Les and I dont' have insurance so we didn't want to pay for an extended hospital stay.  Now we are up in the mountains enjoying our little girl.  Eden is a perfect baby.  She doesn't really cry.  She just fusses when she's hungry.  She's an excellent feeder.  I've had no problems getting her to eat.  She was born to suck. Everytime I look at her I can't believe she was inside me.  I feel so blessed to have such a sweet little spirit given to me and I love her to death.  It's weird to think that I'm now a mom but then again it's weird to think of life without my little Eden