As promised here is the long awaited birth story for Vivian Louise (from what I can remember anyway!). It is a little long and detailed, sorry.
At a week and 5 days overdue we had to go to the hospital for a mandatory and routine None-Stress-Test and fluid check Monday, February 22nd at 1pm. I was very optimistic that everything would be OK since we had passed our last None-Stress-Test a few days earlier with flying colors and I was still feeling really good. Greg had taken the day off to be with me and we made our way to Roosevelt and arrived at 12:30pm. They did the fluid check under ultrasound first and after the scan a doctor came in and told us that my fluid index was a 3 and since I was "post-dates" I would have to be induced that day. He told us to go directly to triage for monitoring and he would call my midwife. I was fairly upset about this turn of events but was eager to talk to my midwife about what we could do. The doctor made a comment that if I had not been "post-dates" they would just send me home and carefully monitor me so I thought perhaps this was not that serious and maybe we could go home and continue waiting for Koobie to come on her own. We stupidly went up to triage not realizing that once you go in you don't get to leave. We also didn't realize that the doctor who read the ultrasound was going to call the head midwife directly instead of calling the office. Well she was off that day and happened to be at the dentist and didn't get the call. So we were up in triage for over an hour before we finally called the office ourselves to see what was going on. After a while another midwife in our group called us back. I asked if they could break my water and send me home to labor there and I was told that with my fluid being so low they didn't want to break my water and that I would in fact have to be induced that day. I was so disappointed by that news.
We waited in triage for a room to be available and for the midwife to arrive at the hospital. Later I found out that normal fluid indexes are between 10 and 20 so an index of 3 is pretty darn low. I also learned that if we had been able to get a hold of the midwife she would have told us not to go to triage but to go home instead for a good night's sleep and they would induce us in the morning. Oh well!
When we finally got a room it was about 5pm. Susanna our midwife for the night told Greg to go out and get me a final meal. I wouldn't be allowed to eat during the induction/labor so he went and got us deli sandwiches.
At 6pm I was given Cervidil, a prosteglandin that would soften my still very closed cervix. At that point Greg went home to get my hospital bag. We hadn't expected to have a baby on Monday so we were unprepared. Some friends drove him back to the hospital where I was chillin' and watching TV.
I got to change into my own clothes and robe. I pretty much just relaxed and watched TV until about 11pm when we decided to get some sleep and got ready for bed. Greg had a fold out chair bed and I had a super uncomfortable hospital bed to settle into.
I was on intermittent fetal monitoring which meant they only had to bother me every 2 hours for a 20min listen which was nice.
We were only settled in for about a half hour when all of a sudden I went from no real activity to some serious contractions. They started coming about every 3 minutes. I began looking for ways to cope with the pain. I wasn't in my comfort zone (home) at all and had a hard time getting comfortable. The toilet in the room was a handicap toilet so it was really high and uncomfortable to sit on. The bathtub was really small and almost fully enclosed. At almost 60 pounds of weight gain trying to fit in there was not appealing. The birth ball in the room was too deflated and made me feel unstable when I was on it. The bed was hard and moved when I leaned on it! Argh! Everything was just off. I was allowed to drink clear liquids so we focused on keeping me hydrated with drinks we had packed in our bag. The contractions settled pretty quickly into very intense surges every 3 minutes. That continued for hours. I pretty much don't know the time line at this point. It is all a blur of pain. At some point we settled into a position where I was sitting on the birth ball leaning against the bed (which moved periodically, Argh!) and Greg sat behind me and pushed on my back in the middle of each contraction. That worked well for a long time. I have no idea how long we were in that groove. At some point nausea and vomiting had also set in. That reaction to the pain was very unfortunate to say the least. It was pretty constant and once my stomach was empty I just continually threw up bile. As a result I had to be hooked up to an IV and have continuous fetal monitoring so at that point I was pretty much tethered to machines and a pole and couldn't have moved around if I had wanted to. The only good thing about this turn is that when I was puking my guts out I couldn't feel the contractions! Ha! Another issue was the band I had to wear around my belly for the fetal monitor. Due to my girth it kept rolling up and creating a terrible pain in my back during each contraction. Poor Greg had to keep rolling it down and holding it in place. He would try and hold it down with his knees while pushing on my back with his hands and trying to feed me ice chips all at the same time. No easy task. On a good note, during all of this Koobie maintained a very strong heartbeat and was doing really well.
At 7am the next day Susanna checked my progress and I was only 4 cm dilated. She was able to strip my membranes but at that point I made the decision that I would get an epidural. I had already been up for 24 hours and things were not progressing despite extremely intense drug induced contractions. I had constant vomiting and was not able to move freely. It was just too much. Greg tried to talk me out of it which I had asked him to do in advance but that was when I thought I would be able to labor naturally at home. I had always said that drugs were an option if I was drug induced so after a conversation he could tell that I was very serious and too taxed to go on.
Luckily the anesthesiologists were changing shifts and I got to the top of their list of mothers to help. Once I had decided to take drugs the coping stopped and the pain seemed much worse. It was pain for pain's sake then and waiting for the epidural was really hard. They had to consent me, change me back into a hospital gown and get set up. Then I had to sit still on the edge of the bed. Greg got to stay in the room but had to sit in a chair away from me. Sitting and sitting still while having contractions was very very hard to do. All I could do was vocalize my pain. Some residents were charged with putting in my epidural and boy were they slow. At one point they told me they were going to put an electric pulse into the line to test it and that I should hold still. Then they shocked me and I jumped! Well that caused the line to move and they had to start over. Then they said, "this time don't move". I explained that it wasn't my fault! They shocked me! It causes involuntary muscle movement! Hello, I'm in labor here! Anyway, it finally was in and began to work. That was probably the longest 20 min of my life. Greg said it was the hardest part for him too having to watch me sit there in so much pain but not be allowed to comfort me.
Once the epidural was in I had to have a catheter. It was surprising how much I could still feel even with the epidural. Each contraction brought a lot of pressure but no pain. I promptly fell asleep and got some much needed rest. I drifted in and out of sleep. At one point Susanna came it to say good-bye since she had been on duty all night and Corri came to take over. She checked me and I was about 6 cm dilated. She asked if I wanted my water broken but I declined. I knew it would speed things up but I so desperately wanted to sleep a little more. Corri wasn't actually on call that day so she wasn't around long before Sandy Woods came on board. She is the senior partner in the midwife group we worked with. Sandy didn't want to check me again for a while. She was afraid if I wasn't progressing then hospital protocol would mean I would need either more induction drugs or a c-section so she left me alone for a long time.
Some time after 2pm Sandy checked me and I was 9 cm dilated so I consented to have my water broken this time. Once that happened things really picked up. The pressure became extremely intense and I could feel Koobie moving down through my bones. At one point Sandy asked me what I was feeling and I told her it felt like I had a head in my vagina. She said she doubted that was the case but that she would check me if I wanted (once the water is broken they avoid vaginal exams to prevent infection). I said yes she could check and she started laughing. Suprisingly to her, there was a head in my vagina! It was time to push Koobie out so Sandy and the nurse Mary hurried to get everything set up for the final part of the process. My epidural happened to run out of juice at just this moment so I didn't have to ask for it to be shut off. They took out my catheter and I was ready to push. Greg held one leg and Sandy the other while I propped myself up with the contractions and pushed 2 or 3 times per contraction. I could kind of see what was going on in the reflection of the turned off TV. I could see Koobie's little head appear after the first or second contraction and then progress with each additional contraction. Greg was giving me little pep talks and play by plays. After 5 contractions Koobie's little head popped out. Sandy told me to stop pushing which was really hard as the next contraction came on but she was turning and suctioning the baby. She said she thought Koobie had a boy face (she didn't know we already knew the sex). Then she told me I could push again and out came the shoulders and hips. That sensation of relief as she passed out of me was a really phenomenal feeling. So much so that my attention was diverted for a moment until Sandy had Greg announce the sex (a girl! I was so relieved!) and placed my little baby right onto my chest. That feeling was even more phenomenal! And there she was, all wet and slippery and tiny and still attached to me. Such an amazing feeling and such a beautiful site as I peered down at her. She started crying and I remember saying "you're OK! you're OK!" and kissing her little wet head. It was about 15-20 minutes total pushing time. Not bad! Finally something worked out in my favor. I have a big pelvis!
Nurse Mary asked me if we wanted skin to skin contact and then helped me off with my gown so that Koobie could lay right on my chest with a blanket over us for warmth. And there we stayed just the three of us together looking at her fingers and toes. I think she peed on me at one point. I delivered the placenta and Greg cut the cord after it had stopped pulsing. Sandy showed us the placenta which was really cool. It was very nice and red and healthy which confirmed that Koobie wasn't distressed.
Mary quickly weighed Koobie and we found out she was 9 lbs 2 oz! Almost a pound more than the ultrasound estimate we had gotten the previous day.
She got foot printed and diapered (she was already on her 4th poop at that point!) and then handed back to me. I snuggled her some more while Sandy stitched me up. It seemed like a million stitches. They measured my blood loss and it was pretty significant so there was some discussion about a blood transfusion but instead they gave me some Pitocin in my IV to make sure that bleeding was minimized. Then we initiated breastfeeding which seemed to work out well. While Koobie was nursing they gave her the vitamin K injection and eye drops which we had delayed as long as possible for bonding time.
The time just flew by and the next thing I knew it was time to move to the recovery wing. I got settled into my shared room and Greg went with VIVIAN to the nursery to get her first bath.
We spent 2 days in the hospital. Greg was required to leave each night at 11pm which was very hard for him but I couldn't bring myself to pay the extra $900 per night for a private room. I won't bore you with all the details but once my roommate moved out the next morning being in the hospital was a perfectly fine experience. All my nurses were very nice and helpful. We were happy to go home but it was nice for me to have a little time to rest and get my strength back.
Overall, my birth experience was not at all what I had planned or hoped for. If you look at my birth plan now about 90% of it would have been crossed out as not possible but in the end I look back at it as perfect. It was exactly as it needed to be and in the end we had a healthy baby girl who arrived safely. We are so blessed to have her. She has taught us from very early on to be flexible and roll with the punches!
Vivian was a good sleeper right from the get go. She usually gave us 3-4 hours at a time during the night and took nice long naps during the day. Usually we had to restrain ourselves from waking her up just to snuggle! Only crazy new parents would even consider waking a sleeping baby!
Vivian hated to be cold so most diaper changes caused screaming and crying. We thought even her cries were adorable. Greg did most of the diapering. He was a diaper champ!
I had real trouble with breastfeeding due to issues with inverted nipples. I didn't get good advice in the hospital so by day 4 or 5 I was in excruciating pain and had to turn to a lactation consultant for help. I wish I had done that sooner. She gave us some good advice and after following her directions and buying some nipple shields I was able to start healing. I thought about giving up several times but everyone kept saying that it takes 6 weeks to get into the breastfeeding groove so I just told myself that I would do it for 6 weeks and then I could quit and just pump and bottle feed. Well at 6 weeks we were breastfeeding champs! I couldn't believe it. My advice to any woman with unusual anatomy is to talk to a lactation consultant BEFORE they have a baby and then again immediately after. It would have saved me a lot of pain, tears and frustration.
Grandma Howard came to stay with us for a week to help out and meet her new Granddaughter. They were very cute together. It was great to have her here so Greg could go back to work.
I healed pretty quickly and had no complications. It is amazing how quickly the human body responds after giving birth. Just goes to show it is a normal healthy process.
I LOVED being able to bend over and sleep on my tummy again. I remember my first shower after being home and I could bend in half and easily wash my legs and feet. Such a cool feeling that I had missed. I also remember the first time I was laying in bed and Vivian was next to me so I couldn't roll over but I was tired of laying on my right side. All of a sudden it dawned on me that I could just lay on my back! I hadn't been able to do that for over 7 months. So great.
Vivian had her first real bath once her bellybutton stump fell off. She wasn't sure what to think of it at first but loosened up after a while. It of course ended in tears. Not because she didn't want to get out but because it made her cold!
Lots of other firsts. First time going to church. First walk in the neighborhood. First shopping trip with Mommy. Etc.
One confession I have to make is that I was wrong. Everyone says having a newborn is a lot of work. I thought that since I had lots of experience with babies, loved babies, and was pretty organized it wouldn't be so hard for ME. Man was that arrogant and wrong! It is a lot of work having a baby. I didn't take into account how physically tired I would start out from the delivery. I spent weeks just trying to catch-up! I also didn't think I would need much help and I was wrong again. Having Greg there and then my mom was vital. Our neighbors brought us meals for the first 2 weeks and that was such a huge help. Most days I could only manage to do one or two things and one of those was to get dressed or take a shower so knowing dinner was coming meant I could take a much needed nap. 
People sent us so many lovely gifts and notes. It was so sweet! I am sure I am forgetting some important events and memories. Time moved so fast and then at times so slow. We tried to be good picture takers and I tried to take notes on the things that have happened so we can always remember. It is amazing how quickly you forget. I remember thinking I couldn't imagine ever doing this again. I couldn't believe people had more than one baby! And now as I type this over 2 months after Vivi was born I hardly remember how tough those first days and weeks were and instead I miss them and teeny tiny Vivi. I think we are designed to forget the hard stuff so that we have the courage to do it all again!
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