And we're baaaack!

I know, I have been neglecting the blog and all you blog stalkers lately! But I have a damn good excuse. Helen finally decided to make her arrival 2 days late. She was due on the 28th, and I was induced and she popped out on the 30th. I know the birth story might be too much info for some of you, but I, personally, am always curious about what happens during births, and I also want to write this down to remind myself that I actually did this. Yes, I REALLY popped a baby out. Still unbelievable to me.

So, I went for my 40 week doctor appointment on April 29th, and I had progressed to about 2 cm dilated, and I was getting pretty cranky...as you can all imagine. My doc gave me the option of being induced the next day or the next week, and of course, I chose the next day.

On April 30th, we showed up at the hospital at 5am to get the show on the road. I got checked in, and went up to our room. I don't think I have ever been that nervous! The day started off with a bang.

I am not the bravest person when it comes to needles and things, but I have come a long way, and thought it would be no big deal. After all, I was going to experience far worse that day, right? Well, of course I got the most incompetent nurse from the night shift to put in my IV. Ugghhh...I still have the bruise on my forearm where she "blew my vein". And to make it worse, she actually said "Oooh, I just blew your vein" when she did it. Are you kidding me? Anyway, after a few tries, and me already crying hysterically to Kevin, she finally got the IV in my hand. At that point, I was thinking...if I can't take an IV how the hell am I going to have a baby??

So, after that, they began the pitocin. For those of you who haven't had a baby or been induced, it's the drug they use to start your labor. Because it's a "chemical labor" as opposed to going into labor naturally, the contractions are more intense and closer together than natural. Contractions are no joke to begin with, but with this drug...ugh, they were pretty uncomfortable. My doctor finally showed up and broke my water. OUCH! I won't go into it, but it hurts. After your water is broken contractions get more intense on their own, despite the pitocin. So, I opted to get the epidural when I was just between 2 and 3 cm dilated. I think the "usual" time to get it is at 4 cm.

Let me tell you, this epidural is no joke either. Of course, the worst possible scenario happened to me...the girl who is afraid of needles in the first place and cried through the IV insertion! Ha! Apparently, the bones in my spinal cord are extremely close together, making sticking the epidural needle & catheter in all the more difficult. They had to stick me 4 times to get the damn thing in. Yes, 4 TIMES! This resulted in me getting a "wet tap" where your spinal fluid begins to leak and you get a headache worse than a migraine. Pretty unpleasant, but I have to say, I know I couldn't have given birth without the epidural. It turned out to be a lifesaver, wet tap or not.

After I got medicated, things started to go pretty quickly. My doctor checked me a little bit later and I was already 6 cm dilated, and an hour later I was 9 cm, then 10cm about 30 minutes after that. Then the scary part begins...they told me to push! I was so nervous...just because I really didn't know what to expect. Plus, with the epidural, you really can't feel where you're pushing or if you're even doing it right. I was, I guess, because 45 minutes later, I had a baby girl in my arms. (I attribute 45 minutes of pushing to walking religiously, ladies. I was by no means in great shape, but I really did walk about 1.5 to 2 miles a day.) But, and this was the worst part, to get her out, the 2 nurses in my room got on top of me, literally, and pushed her down in my stomach. I really thought they were going to break my ribs! I will give them a shout out, though, after that terrible night shift nurse left, I got the BEST nurses ever. I couldn't have done it without them.

So that's our story. The day had a few hiccups, but it was all worth it. Even pregnancy was worth it!! I can't believe it is all over and Helen is 2 weeks old today. She is doing great, and we love her to death!