We just got home from the hospital today! =)
Daddy and daughter are napping, so I thought I'd take this moment (while it's still fresh in my head!) to write down the little Sharklette's birth story! :-)
If you aren't into the whole, long saga, here's a synopsis: Everyone is healthy, baby is perfect (of course!), Madeleine weighs a dainty but healthy 6 pounds 1 ounce and she measures 18.5 inches.
If you have too much time on your hands (or are one of her grandparents), here is Madeleine's whole story:
For a while, I had been having Braxton-Hicks contractions, not real contractions but unpainful 'practice' ones. I had gone to the doctor on Wednesday, and while on the monitor, I had one but did not realize it. So, the nurse explained to me what to look for and, of course, since then I started to feel these Braxton-Hicks contractions.
Here's a link that explains Braxon-Hicks contractions, if you're interested: http://www.americanpregnancy.org/labornbirth/braxtonhicks.html
She was due Monday, March 10, but with no signs of her coming over the week-end, we started making bets on when she REALLY would come. I guessed start labor Tuesday/deliver Wednesday and Sharkey went for Thursday.
Sunday rolls around and I'm feeling more of those pesky, but painless Braxton Hicks contractions. I'm also feeling antsy and bored, so I decide to try out this website that times contractions, just for fun. I start timing them at 6:00pm, and find they're surprisingly regular (every 4 min), but very short (lasting only ~30 seconds). I figure this definitely isn't the real thing, because by the time contractions come every 4 min, you should be in the hospital, or at least well on the way there, and besides, they're just not lasting that long and certainly aren't very painful. So, I decide to stop this false excitement with a walk around the block because, of course, I was sitting on my bum at the time, and BH cxs stop once you start walking around. sigh. off we go...
But they don't stop! We walk around the block, and I'm still feeling a tightening every so often...
We get back home and I decide to give Labor & Delivery a call to see what they think. I call (now it's 7:00pm) and the advise nurse is more interested in hearing about my clotting history, and when I finally get to talk about my contractions, she's clearly not impressed (especially since nothing Big has happened like water breaking and the like, AND I put my pain level at ~2 on a 1-10 scale). She politely tells me to call back once/if something actually happens.
Ever-supportive Sharkey suggests I watch a movie (I was feeling rather deflated). I start the movie and it's really bad. (Take Con Man off your Netflix cue if you fell for it because it SUPPOSEDLY has Johnny Depp in it, it doesn't!)
I don't know if the contractions are getting worse in actuality, or because I need something to take my mind off the horrible movie, or because I want to prove the advise nurse wrong, BUT they do seem to be getting worse.
I've heard a warm shower is supposed to feel nice in early labor, so I decide to try that out (AND I'd rather like to be clean just in case we are allowed to go to the hospital...)
Don't know what simpleton thinks showering is such a great idea, but I end up having to wait out contractions to shave my legs. Super. This shower is going to last forever! Am wondering if shower made the cxs worse, because by the time I get out, things are definitely getting stronger. I start counting (much like 'Rainman') to take my mind off it. Not sure where THAT idea came from, not even sure why I'm including that fun detail. :P
Anyway, I try out the online cx timer again... not much difference! grrr =( Well, I figure it's a Sunday night, and what else do we have to do? I'm curious as to what might be going on down there and the contractions are defnitely getting stronger. I decide we're going to the hospital. They'll probably send us home, but at least I'll have an idea of how far along I might be, and if I'm not in REAL labor, what IS happening. I decide this at 8:15pm.
However, getting Sharkey to stop his work (really, those spreadsheets?!) was not the easiest. :P
Finally got it across that I needed him to get ready now. So, he showered (much more quickly than I, fortunately) and sprang into the Loading of the Car. Again, we figured they'd just be sending us back home, but we'd need to load the car sometime, so why not now? I had hospital bags packed (for weeks now) & kept thinking of more last-minute junk to bring (a cold washcloth, some ice water, etc. etc). FINALLY, we're good to go.
I called my friendly advise nurse back. I lied and said I was concerned about a lack of fetal movement (knowing they would have to tell us to bring this show on in) I also lied and said the contractions were lasting ~1 minute because I wanted her to think we were making some progress, even though it was the same 30 seconds. Of course, thanks to my little white lies, she told us to come in and they'd check my progress. yea!
Sitting in the car was rather uncomfortable during the contractions, but Sharkey drove very well; he even found a parking spot nearby. =) We climbed up the hill (this IS San Francisco!) and went on in to the Emergency Room. Of course, random people were futzing around, but we didn't have to wait too long before we got a wheelchair, and up we went.
At 9:10pm, we got to Labor & Delivery and much to my pleasure, they actually had me go to a labor room and put on a gown!
A nurse came to our room, hooked me up to a monitor, and started asking a bunch of questions to fill out all our paperwork.
I was answering between cxs, and I finally asked if they weren't happening a little too close together? I thought they were supposed to start out mild, get more severe over the course of several hours, and increase in duration as well. Mine seemed to start mild & build in intensity, but they really weren't so bad and the duration of each contraction was not really increasing. They only lasted ~30 seconds. AND my water hadn't even broken! I thought that was supposed to happen someplace public and embarrassing.
The nurse next asked if I was planning on an epidural. Duh, OF COURSE!! I'm not trying to win any medals here! She had me rate the pain. At this point, I was going with a 6 out of 10. She asked at what point did I want the epi? Again, duh, NOW! What's the point of waiting?? To be MORE relieved when you can finally relax?? She said, "OK, let's just see how far along you are." Snaps on the gloves. Feeling around, she says I'm 10 cm. WHAT??? I don't know much, but I know that's as far as it gets. (I HAVE been feeling the urge to push with recent contractions, though, so I do believe them.) She brings in the resident, and she concurs. It's time to push. Forget the drugs. Again, WHAT?? Fine. Let's do this. I'm NOT looking forward to this whole pushing thing, but I figure without the drugs, at least I won't be pushing without feeling, and maybe we can prevent some of the horrors I've heard/read about (tearing, stitching, hemmies, and all that fun stuff).
At this point, it's determined that they will NOT be sending us home after all, so Sharkey goes to the car to get all our gear.
Meanwhile, everybody's rushing around frantically setting up shop in the room. I still can't believe we're doing this. Surreal.
Sharkey comes back with our gear, and I officially start pushing shortly thereafter.
I have to admit, I was a bit wussy when it came to pushing. It burned really badly and I was really afraid of ripping everything open, so I went pretty slowly and didn't really 'bear down' with all my might. The doctor and nurse were great coaches. They helped me focus and breathe (Lamaze classes are for masochists or suckers, LOL!). Sharkey was also great, keeping my washcloth icy cold and at the ready. =)
Despite my wussy pushing, little MADELEINE ANN SHARKEY made her Grand Entrance into this world at 9:40pm Sunday, March 9, 2008. Exactly 30 minutes after we arrived at the hospital! She came out a dainty, but perfectly healthy 6 pounds 1 ounce and measured 18.5 inches long.
THANK YOU, MADDIE! =)
Such a good girl!!!
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