Audrey Rose

I've finally got a minute (and the energy) to write out the "birth story" of Audrey. I know a lot of people have been waiting to hear about it, and I'll try to do my best to include all of the details everyone is wanting to know.

As I mentioned earlier in the blog, I was having high blood pressure issues and my doctor was getting concerned about my health. He decided to have me induced on Friday, June 3rd. We were on-call and just had to wait for a phone call from labor and delivery telling us when to come to the hospital to get things going. They called bright and early at 6:30am and told us to be there by 7:30. Since we knew when I would be going to the hospital we already had all of our things packed so it was a quick and easy morning for us. We got to the hospital, checked in, I got in my *lovely* gown, and after an examination they decided to start me on Pitocin. The doctor was concerned at my previous appointment that I would need Cerdivil to help ripen my cervix, but I had apparently made good process that week.

For a long time I was having contractions but didn't feel much at all. I was still making progress and the doctor eventually came in to break my water. That was not a very comfortable experience at all! The doctor asked how I was doing and told me, "contractions are going to get pretty mean from here on out." They kept asking if I wanted my epidural yet, but I didn't feel like I was in enough pain to have one. I wasn't really sure how bad things would get so I was trying to go as long as I could before asking for one. When I finally decided to give in and get it the nurse told me that the girl in the room next to me was getting hers and that it would be about 15 minutes. I was sure I could last that long. My contractions QUICKLY got harder and faster and I was crying in pain five minutes after asking for the pain meds. It was the worst pain I've ever felt in my life and I hated that nothing I could do was making the pain easier. Tony was trying counter-pressure moves, I was trying to breathe well, but it just was too much for me. FINALLY the epidural came and all was well again in the world. After the medicine kicked in the nurse checked me and told me that I had labored to 8cm and 90% effaced on my own with no medication. No wonder it hurt! I was a little relieved that I wasn't just being a pansy, and proud of myself for going that long! The nurse told me if she had known I was that far along she would have given me the epidural first.

All the family took Tony to the cafeteria for lunch after I was feeling pretty good and right after I left the nurse checked me and said that I was nearly "complete" and told me to call Tony and tell him not to leave the hospital. The doctor didn't want me to start pushing because my body was doing well at pushing the baby down on its own. He didn't want to make me use all of my energy pushing when I didn't need to. On its own, my body pushed her past my pelvis and about an hour after I called Tony the nurse had me start pushing. The nurse kept saying how impressed she was with how well I did (I'm sure she says that to everyone). I pushed for about an hour, and then little Audrey was born. She weighed 6lbs, 7oz and was 21 inches long. The doctor commented on how little she was. She's a super skinny little girl!

I'm recovering from everything really well, and I've been up doing things since about day 3 postpartum. We are still adjusting to live with a baby. It's amazing how differently I do things now. We are trying our best to get sleep and its been really great having my mom here for a couple weeks to help us adjust. We sure love our little Audrey!