Sunday, November 9, 2014

She's Here!

Piper Amelia Rose has made her appearance! I can't believe she's already a week old. Part of me feels like it couldn't possibly only be a week because I feel as if I have been her mommy my whole life and another part of me feels like this week has gone by so quickly and it makes me a little sad, she's growing up so quickly!
I've had a few people ask me about how she got here, if it was a scheduled thing or not, so I decided to let the world know. After all, you guys have been there from the beginning, why not include you in the end.
On Saturday, November 1st, around 4 pm I realized that I hadn't felt Piper move since about noon. I called my doctor and he asked me to go into labor and delivery "immediately." We got our hospital bag and diaper bag, just in case, and headed out. When we got there the nurses were really excited because they hadn't had a patient all day. They hooked us up to monitor my contractions and her heartbeat. Her heartbeat was strong and my contractions were sporadic. They checked my cervix to see if I was dilated and I was at a 3, at my appointment on Monday I had been at a 2.
The nurse called my doctor to update him on my progress and ask him if they should send me home. Next thing we know, she walks in and says, "Well, do you want to have a baby?" Uh...yeah! I guess my doctor decided that since I had dilated another centimeter, felt like there was a decrease in fetal movement, and 2 days overdue that we should induce, just to be safe. Caleb and I are pretty sure that they were actually just really bored and needed something to do, but we are so not complaining.
They took me to a delivery room and started me on pitocin. That started up the contractions and got my cervix dilating quickly! It was only supposed to dilate a centimeter an hour but I was doing like 2-3 and the nurses kept having to turn down the drip.
I think when I was about 5 cm the pain of the contractions became scarier than the pain of the needle from the epidural, so I got the epidural. Boy am I glad I did. I just sat through the rest of labor and didn't feel a thing. Why does anyone choose not to get one??? After I got the epidural a doctor came in and broke my water.
When I got to 10 centimeters the nurses came in and said it was time to start pushing. I always thought the doctor would be there for that part. Turns out I have been paying this guy a bazillion dollars to make me sit in the waiting room for two hours so that I can see him for three minutes and then have him catch my baby at the end. I don't get it. Nurses should make more money than doctor's, they do so much more work...at least it feels that way on my end.
Anyways, I pushed for like an hour and my epidural was wearing off, even though I kept pushing the button for more (it was a self-regulated pump). She was crowning, but for some reason she just wasn't making it through the canal.
The nurses couldn't figure out which way she was facing and why she wasn't coming out so they told me to take a break (thank heavens) and they would get my doctor in. I got to rest for about 1/2 an hour before he got there. He couldn't tell which was she was facing either, turns out she was faced the right way but her head was bent so the back of it was coming out first. Dr. Astle used the little suction cup thing like 3 times to try and get her out but it wasn't working. I had to keep pushing during all of this and my body was ready to give up. It's not that it hurt a bunch, but my body was just done. Dr. Astle ended up having to give me an episiotomy, which I didn't feel at the time, and then like 3 minutes later Piper was born.
They cleaned her a little and then put her on my chest. What a powerful moment. I started bawling, not because I was in pain or exhausted but because I suddenly felt this crazy amount of love for her and the spirit in the room between me, Caleb and Piper was so strong. It's something I have never felt before. I love this little one more than I could ever explain.
That's it. It's over. Now I just get to enjoy being her mommy.
I just wanted to say a quick thank you to all of you who have encouraged me along the way. Being pregnant was so hard for me and I am so lucky to have the friends and family I do who helped me along the way. Your words have meant so much to me and truly helped me through this. Thank you for being you. :)
I promise to keep you all updated on Piper's life...I might not be as good at blogging about it, but you can rest assure there will be a ton of pictures.