Saturday, November 15, 2008

Cara's Birth Story


It all started around 4:30am on 11/7/08. I started getting contractions that would wake me from my sleep and really grab my attention. I was so excited because this was the first time that my baby was "late" - it was already 3 days AFTER my due date. I know that due dates are only approximations but since my other 2 were early, so we were especially excited to finally meet Cara. ;) Since I didn't want to go to the hospital too early and wait around, I decided to try to sleep. I slept a bit on and off but around 7:30am, the contractions got close enough that I wasn't able to sleep anymore. I labored at home for a few more hours and took a nice, long shower that helped soooo much. When the contractions were about 3-4 minutes apart, we decided to pack the hospital bag and head on over. [I know, the bag should have been packed and ready a while ago...hehe.] After arriving at the ER, they sent us to the triage room for some monitoring and I was promptly admitted. We were really excitedly and called some family members to start praying for a quick labor and delivery.

I was really blessed with excellent nurses this time around, who worked with me and encouraged me. I was also assigned a student nurse who was sooo excited because this was her first time assisting with a birth. She even stayed past her assigned time so she could see the baby being born and almost cried when the baby emerged. :) I also felt blessed because her instructor was a midwife - I had wanted to go with a midwife from the start because of my VBAC status but the closest one to me was too far - but there I was, getting one anyhow! Even though I wasn't technically her patient, she advocated for me to be able to experiment with different alternative pain-relieving techniques. It was really neat! My doctor was also really great. Even though I was a VBAC #2, he let me walk around, take a shower and try different things that I didn't get to try when I was laboring with Jana. [Back in Jersey with Jana's birth, I was strapped to the monitor from the moment I got to the hospital and had to stay in bed most of the time, so this was a welcomed change. :)] Kev also helped so much in giving me lots of massages and applied counterpressure when I needed it. He was the best coach and encouraged me so much!

Anyhow, I ended up doing lots of laps around the maternity suite to get things moving. I was making great progress, dilating and effacing well until 9cm. I got 'stuck there' for a while and got really tired, esp with no food since breakfast - and it was already 6:30pm. Finally, I opted for the breaking of my bag of waters, which only helped a bit. As the night wore on, I decided to get some pitocin to help me dilate but not before I got an epidural. [I had pitocin WITHOUT an epidural last time and I really don't think I would ever do that again!] I've heard so many people rave about epidural, so I thought I'd give it a try. :) Man, it definitely works to numb you up, esp your legs - I had what I call 'pillow legs' for a long time even after they turned it off. I was really thankful for the epidural since it gave me the chance to rest and regather myself to push. So, shortly after getting the pitocin, I reached the magic 10cm and began the hard work of pushing. I had ask my OBGYN to promise not to do the episiotomy, so he really worked with me to stretch out the perineum and I had barely any tearing this time around!!! Anyhow, after about 2 hours of pushing, I saw Cara's head emerge [I had a labor mirror] and at 11:51pm, she finally made her debut! :) [I had also asked to see the placenta again this time since I had no recollection of what it looked like last time from being so tired out - it's really interesting looking!!]

It was such a different experience from last time - I can honestly say that I had a good experience giving birth! Having a supportive husband, a supportive staff and a supportive doctor really made all the difference. Maybe next time I'll get to use the tub and skip the pitocin/epidural all together but I really can't complain. ;) The whole having a baby experience from the pregnancy to actually giving birth is truly such a miracle - I'm in awe of it everytime! :)

9 comments:

ChefDruck said...

She is beautiful and you told the story so well! Congratulations. And good luck with the didj contest at my blog.

Sally said...

Wow, congratulations! She looks a lot like you guys. I haven't met Kevin, but do you think she looks a lot like him? It's so amazing to see every child be so unique. We'll say a prayer for you guys during the transition to 3.

freakgirl said...

Congratulations! Welcome to the world, Cara.

Anonymous said...

WOW! that's amazing that you are already talking about "next time"! you are an amazing woman!

ABOUT XIN LEI said...

Look at you, already saying "next time" and you just had a baby?! I love giving birth...I agree, the whole process is so amazing. I am so glad you had a good experience! Congrats on Cara, she's cute!

Sarah said...

Thanks for sharing Jacklyn...I can't wait to meet baby Cara!! =)

Sheryl said...

Thanks for sharing your story. There need to be more midwives around this darn country! I loved the two groups that delivered our sons...
Also, good to hear how an epidural can benefit mom for the RIGHT reasons... So glad you got to walk around, etc., to aid in your labor.
Congratulations!

kevnjacks said...

Thanks for the congrats, all! :) Feel free to check out pics at
http://picasaweb.google.com/hsupix1
Enjoy!

Stephanie said...

I labored and gave birth in the water with my 2nd baby and it was AMAZING. I highly recommend it.

Congrats to you and your beautiful girl! You are truly blessed.