Ellie's Birth - June 29, 2010

Ellie's Birth Story

At my 38 week appointment we had a sonogram that made us decide we should schedule to induce labor on June 29. I had progressed pretty far and Dr. Limosnero said that was the best thing because Ellie's head was already measuring past 40 weeks and we needed to get her out before she was too big and we would have to do a c-section.

On Tuesday, June 29, we woke up at 4:00 am so that we could be at the hospital at 5:00 am, SO early! We both woke up really excited and a bit nervous!! Micah got the rest of the stuff in the car and off we went. It poured all the way to the hospital. I think that Ellie will like storms as much her daddy. We got there right on time but they were not quite ready for us... They had apparently had a very busy night in Labor & Delivery and did not get to me until 7:00 am.

At 7:00 the shifts changed and I met my L&D nurse, Laura. I am really glad I got such a sweet nurse, she took very good care of us. She started the Pitocin drip, explained that it would start slow and increase throughout the day. I felt great for about 3 hours. Then around 10:30 I decided I was feeling more contractions than I cared to feel and told the nurse I was ready for the Epidural! It took at least 30 minutes to get the anesthesiologist and nurses to my room and by that time I was very uncomfortable. The Dr got me in position and sat Micah right in front of me. He had to numb (lots of shots) and insert the epidural (huge needle) three times!!! I was in tears at this point and in a lot of pain. Thankfully only a little bit later I felt great, I was able to see family and was in good spirits.

I don't really remember when exactly things started hurting again, maybe around 3:00, but it hit hard and fast. The nurse checked me and I had gone from a 6 to a 10 in about 20 minutes and was ready to start pushing. Nurse Laura had me turn on my side to help with the pain and that only made Ellie move into position even more which made the pain pretty unbearable. I'm not really sure what happened to the epidural but it was not working and the anesthesiologist was completely not available to come increase it or reinsert it, so I was on my own. I felt a huge urge to push but couldn't because Dr. Limosnero was still at her office about 15 minutes away. Nurse Laura, Micah and my Mom did such a great job helping me breathe through the contractions and not push. I wasn't the best best breather though... I hyperventilated and I kept saying my hands and face were stuck (I couldn't move them). Micah and Mom rubbed on my hands and held the oxygen mask over my face (I got really mad when it was touching me) so that I could calm down. Finally Dr. Limosnero got there and got all set up. Even though she wasn't there right when I needed her I love my Dr, she was such a calming presence that made the pain more bearable. I pushed for about 20 minutes and I was so exhausted from all the pain that I literally felt like I could not do it anymore. So to get her and her big 'ol head out more quickly, Dr did an episiotomy :-/ Ellie was out immediately and I have never felt more relief in my life; the second she was out I felt no pain. Dr put her on my chest and I felt a huge rush of emotions and so much joy and happiness. Micah then cut the cord and then Ellie was whisked away to be warmed, cleaned, weighed and measured. After everything settled down, nurses and doctors left us alone to be with our little girl. We had about an hour together to bond and nurse, such a special time. Then all of the eager family was allowed to come in and see Ellie. We passed her around and got pictures with everyone and even caught her first sneeze on camera.

Our stay in the hospital went by so fast. We had so many visitors that wanted to see Baby Ellie and brought us flowers, cookies, food, clothes, stuffed animals and other gifts. Such a blessing to be loved by so many. When Dr. Limosnero came by on Thursday to release me I asked her about the pain and the epidural and exactly how much of childbirth I felt. She didn't know what had made it stop working but I did feel about 75% of the pain. But even though it hurt so much and childbirth was so difficult I would do it all again. The joy that baby brings makes it all completely worth it.