{Katie's birth story}
Even now, almost four weeks later, the details of the day baby Katie was born could not be any more clear in my mind. It is hard to imagine that there will ever be a time when I don't remember all of the details of her birth, but I know from experience that time will make things fuzzy.
I sat down this morning to write Katie's birth story for her baby book and opted to share on here as well. I am fascinated with birth and if I weren't so darned squeamish about blood, I could see myself being an OB nurse. It is all just so miraculous and amazing. I love to hear birth stories and thought that maybe some of you fellow mothers might too.
(But if you are not comfortable with this sort of thing and would rather not know such personal details.....skip this post. You have been warned, male readers. ;) )
Near the end of a healthy and fairly uneventful pregnancy, my doctor informed me that she thought a 39 week induction would be a good idea for me based on my history. (Drew was born within two hours of my arrival at the hospital and was almost a C-section because of his size.) Once I found out that I would need two rounds of IV antibiotics during labor because of a positive result on my Group B Strep test, I was even more sure that the induction was a good idea. We set the date for May 19: 39 weeks and 1 day pregnant. Interestingly, at both my 37 and 38 week OB appointments, I was told that most likely my body would go into labor naturally before that date.
Although I had been uncomfortable for about a week, it wasn't until May 15 that I started having serious but sporadic contractions. I wasn't sleeping, was incredibly anxious, and felt like a ticking time bomb. By May 17, I was timing the contractions with the instructions to head to the hospital once I began having them six minutes apart consistently for over an hour. Because I was already three centimeters dilated and had a history of fast labors, she warned me to play things safely.
I spent May 18 counting contractions and trying to keep busy to distract myself. Ben came home from work at lunchtime because the contractions were between five and ten minutes apart all morning long and were become much more intense. We spent a long afternoon hanging out with my dad, playing with the kids, and eating yummy Thai food. I remember starting a movie that night, but I was too anxious about leaving for the hospital the next morning to concentrate on it.
I got into bed around ten and managed to get a few hours of sleep before waking up at two in the morning full of nervous excitement. I was having strong contractions and was very sick to my stomach, so it was a very long three hours until it was time to shower and wake Ben up to leave for the hospital. Once it was time to leave, I was trying to stay calm while making sure that Patti (who had arrived after I went to bed) and my dad had directions to the hospital, necessary information for the kids' schedules, keys to the house, etc.
I am pretty sure that I talked the entire drive to the hospital. I am also pretty sure that Ben did not say a word during the entire drive to the hospital. We were both nervous wrecks and showed it in completely opposite ways.
After getting checked into our room, I was given an IV and hooked up to monitors to track contractions and Katie's heart rate. Ben and I turned on the TV and prepared to spend a quiet five hours or so while my antibiotics were given watching movies or resting. After we were there about an hour, the nurse came in and said, "Boy, you are really contracting, aren't you? You would have been at the hospital today even if you weren't being induced!" By that point my contractions were 2-3 minutes apart. The original plan had been for my doctor to arrive once my antibiotics were done, but the nurse called to suggest to her that she arrive sooner just to check me. Dr. Many arrived at the hospital around ten and told me I was five centimeters dilated.
By about 11:00, I was really, really feeling the contractions. By 11:30, I had requested my epidural. The anesthesiologist arrived and, unfortunately, things got a little kooky for a while. My blood pressure dropped dangerously low a couple of times and my nurse had to give me a shot to bring it back up again. I had to wear oxygen and lie only on my right side. I was completely numb from the belly button down and very nauseous. I felt incredibly worried about Katie; it is never good to see your nurse frantically pushing the "call" button on your behalf. Luckily, Katie's heart rate remained strong through all of the complications and within about an hour, things had settled down.
By about 12:30 things were a bit better and I was even able to close my eyes and rest for about twenty minutes. My doctor returned and broke my water and then Ben and I began to get really anxious. It was so exciting to know that after a long and painfully slow morning, things would begin to move more quickly, though we had no idea how much more quickly that would be!
At a little before 2:00, Ben asked my dad- who was waiting in the waiting room- to come in and keep me company while he quickly ran to the cafeteria. My dad was a wonderful distraction and once Ben returned, the two of them were cracking jokes and filling the time for me. I wasn't feeling the contractions because of the epidural, but at about 2:45, I started to feel really uncomfortable again. The nurse came in about five minutes later to check me again. She sent my dad out of the room and after a quick check, she excitedly said, "You are ten centimeters and I can see the baby's head! Don't push yet- let me call Dr. Many!"
I can honestly tell you that the next seven or eight minutes waiting for the doctor to rush over were some of the strangest of my life. The pressure that your body feels when a baby is ready to make her arrival is overwhelming and the urge to push is primal. To be asked to try not to push was uncomfortable to say the very least. I was terrified of Katie making her arrival without the doctor, though, so I was just taking slow, deep breaths and trying to stay very still.
At 3:04, Dr. Many was in her scrubs and I was allowed to push. Catherine Isabel was born at 3:06. Her cord was wrapped around her neck and Dr. Many quickly intervened, but there were no other complications and she was perfectly healthy, weighing in at seven pounds, two ounces and measuring nineteen inches in length. We couldn't get over all of her dark hair! She was just beautiful to us.
After much deliberation over her name (would she be Lucy Kate, Lily Kate, or Catherine something? Catherine Hannah? Catherine Claire?) and even some input from our nurse, we finally settled on "Catherine Isabel" at about seven that evening. Gracie, Luke, and Drew came up with Patti and my dad to meet her and I was so happy to see all four children together.
The next two days in the hospital were a blur of getting to know our new baby girl. It was such a happy time with the three of us in the little cocoon of our hospital room. Katie arrived home on May 21 to a celebration arranged by Patti, my dad, and the kids complete with balloons, a welcome banner, and a huge yummy dinner. It was a wonderful homecoming for such a special little girl.
It is a little bittersweet to know that I will never again experience the miracle of birth, but I am so incredibly grateful to have delivered four healthy babies.
Welcome to our world, sweet Kate!
I sat down this morning to write Katie's birth story for her baby book and opted to share on here as well. I am fascinated with birth and if I weren't so darned squeamish about blood, I could see myself being an OB nurse. It is all just so miraculous and amazing. I love to hear birth stories and thought that maybe some of you fellow mothers might too.
(But if you are not comfortable with this sort of thing and would rather not know such personal details.....skip this post. You have been warned, male readers. ;) )
Near the end of a healthy and fairly uneventful pregnancy, my doctor informed me that she thought a 39 week induction would be a good idea for me based on my history. (Drew was born within two hours of my arrival at the hospital and was almost a C-section because of his size.) Once I found out that I would need two rounds of IV antibiotics during labor because of a positive result on my Group B Strep test, I was even more sure that the induction was a good idea. We set the date for May 19: 39 weeks and 1 day pregnant. Interestingly, at both my 37 and 38 week OB appointments, I was told that most likely my body would go into labor naturally before that date.
Although I had been uncomfortable for about a week, it wasn't until May 15 that I started having serious but sporadic contractions. I wasn't sleeping, was incredibly anxious, and felt like a ticking time bomb. By May 17, I was timing the contractions with the instructions to head to the hospital once I began having them six minutes apart consistently for over an hour. Because I was already three centimeters dilated and had a history of fast labors, she warned me to play things safely.
I spent May 18 counting contractions and trying to keep busy to distract myself. Ben came home from work at lunchtime because the contractions were between five and ten minutes apart all morning long and were become much more intense. We spent a long afternoon hanging out with my dad, playing with the kids, and eating yummy Thai food. I remember starting a movie that night, but I was too anxious about leaving for the hospital the next morning to concentrate on it.
I got into bed around ten and managed to get a few hours of sleep before waking up at two in the morning full of nervous excitement. I was having strong contractions and was very sick to my stomach, so it was a very long three hours until it was time to shower and wake Ben up to leave for the hospital. Once it was time to leave, I was trying to stay calm while making sure that Patti (who had arrived after I went to bed) and my dad had directions to the hospital, necessary information for the kids' schedules, keys to the house, etc.
I am pretty sure that I talked the entire drive to the hospital. I am also pretty sure that Ben did not say a word during the entire drive to the hospital. We were both nervous wrecks and showed it in completely opposite ways.
After getting checked into our room, I was given an IV and hooked up to monitors to track contractions and Katie's heart rate. Ben and I turned on the TV and prepared to spend a quiet five hours or so while my antibiotics were given watching movies or resting. After we were there about an hour, the nurse came in and said, "Boy, you are really contracting, aren't you? You would have been at the hospital today even if you weren't being induced!" By that point my contractions were 2-3 minutes apart. The original plan had been for my doctor to arrive once my antibiotics were done, but the nurse called to suggest to her that she arrive sooner just to check me. Dr. Many arrived at the hospital around ten and told me I was five centimeters dilated.
By about 11:00, I was really, really feeling the contractions. By 11:30, I had requested my epidural. The anesthesiologist arrived and, unfortunately, things got a little kooky for a while. My blood pressure dropped dangerously low a couple of times and my nurse had to give me a shot to bring it back up again. I had to wear oxygen and lie only on my right side. I was completely numb from the belly button down and very nauseous. I felt incredibly worried about Katie; it is never good to see your nurse frantically pushing the "call" button on your behalf. Luckily, Katie's heart rate remained strong through all of the complications and within about an hour, things had settled down.
By about 12:30 things were a bit better and I was even able to close my eyes and rest for about twenty minutes. My doctor returned and broke my water and then Ben and I began to get really anxious. It was so exciting to know that after a long and painfully slow morning, things would begin to move more quickly, though we had no idea how much more quickly that would be!
At a little before 2:00, Ben asked my dad- who was waiting in the waiting room- to come in and keep me company while he quickly ran to the cafeteria. My dad was a wonderful distraction and once Ben returned, the two of them were cracking jokes and filling the time for me. I wasn't feeling the contractions because of the epidural, but at about 2:45, I started to feel really uncomfortable again. The nurse came in about five minutes later to check me again. She sent my dad out of the room and after a quick check, she excitedly said, "You are ten centimeters and I can see the baby's head! Don't push yet- let me call Dr. Many!"
I can honestly tell you that the next seven or eight minutes waiting for the doctor to rush over were some of the strangest of my life. The pressure that your body feels when a baby is ready to make her arrival is overwhelming and the urge to push is primal. To be asked to try not to push was uncomfortable to say the very least. I was terrified of Katie making her arrival without the doctor, though, so I was just taking slow, deep breaths and trying to stay very still.
At 3:04, Dr. Many was in her scrubs and I was allowed to push. Catherine Isabel was born at 3:06. Her cord was wrapped around her neck and Dr. Many quickly intervened, but there were no other complications and she was perfectly healthy, weighing in at seven pounds, two ounces and measuring nineteen inches in length. We couldn't get over all of her dark hair! She was just beautiful to us.
After much deliberation over her name (would she be Lucy Kate, Lily Kate, or Catherine something? Catherine Hannah? Catherine Claire?) and even some input from our nurse, we finally settled on "Catherine Isabel" at about seven that evening. Gracie, Luke, and Drew came up with Patti and my dad to meet her and I was so happy to see all four children together.
The next two days in the hospital were a blur of getting to know our new baby girl. It was such a happy time with the three of us in the little cocoon of our hospital room. Katie arrived home on May 21 to a celebration arranged by Patti, my dad, and the kids complete with balloons, a welcome banner, and a huge yummy dinner. It was a wonderful homecoming for such a special little girl.
It is a little bittersweet to know that I will never again experience the miracle of birth, but I am so incredibly grateful to have delivered four healthy babies.
Welcome to our world, sweet Kate!
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Rachel