Welcome to the world, baby girl! Last Thursday, July 21 at 11:18 pm, Ella Kennedy Meakins made her arrival into our little family. She is absolutely perfect - it's crazy how much we loved her from the very beginning. The delivery went better than I could've ever hoped it would!
Tuesday, July 19
At our doctor's appointment on Monday, we learned that my blood pressure was a bit high. I went back the next day to have it checked again. Later Tuesday afternoon, my doctor called to tell us she had decided to induce my labor the next day, Wednesday night, before my blood pressure rose any higher. So...the rest of Tuesday and all day Wednesday, we readied ourselves and tied up any loose ends before we checked in to the hospital later that night.
Wednesday, July 20
Wednesday at 7:00 was our appointed check-in time, so it was somewhat of a surprise when we got a call at 6:15 telling us the hospital didn't have enough nurses, and that we should just wait for a call saying it was okay to come in. My wonderful friend Maggie, who is a postpartum nurse at St. Vincent's Hospital in Portland - and just one of the most sweet, encouraging people that I know - had been ready and waiting for days because we planned for her to be there for the entire labor and delivery experience. I was so comforted knowing she would be there - someone who Jeff and I love and trust, and also who has loads of experience with labor, delivery, and postpartum care.
So, the three of us went and had dinner at Pizzicato as we waited for the hospital to call. We got the word around 8 p.m. that I needed to check in later that night at 11 p.m. It was a relief knowing it wouldn't be postponed for too much longer! I was ready to get the show on the road...which is somewhat of an understatement!
At 11 p.m. I was greeted by my first nurse - Amber - and got all situated in my room, my IV placed, and swallowed a Misoprostol pill which was supposed to get labor started. Maggie, Jeff, and I were up until around 1:30 when we finally caught a few zzz's...my nurse gave me a sleeping pill so I could rest, which I needed especially because some minor contractions were starting up....
Thursday, July 21
Around 5 a.m. things began picking up a little more, after I was given a second dose of Misoprostol, as well as a small dose of Fentanol, to ease some of the discomfort. I think the words "I feel high as a kite" may have been used, but I felt much better and was able to sleep a little more. :) I was sad to see my wonderful nurse Amber go around 7 a.m. when there was a shift change, and she was replaced with a different nurse who…just wasn't as good as Amber (I honestly just think we were a bad match). Maggie encouraged me to ask for a new nurse - afterall, we would be spending the next twelve hours together, and possibly she would be there for the delivery. So Jeff marched on down the hall and took care of things for me (what a great hubby he is :) and I was assigned a new nurse, Mary, who I just adored. The on-call doctor, Dr. Stewart, came in around 8:00 a.m. to check me and at that point I was around 3 cm dilated. Around 9:30, Dr. Olmstead (my OB) finally came in and attempted to break my water, but wasn't successful, so she started a very low dose of Pitocin, which also induces labor. I was a bit hesitant because I have heard such horror stories about the itensity of inductions using pitocin, but the dose was so small, all was under control. By late morning, I was having even stronger contractions, and was dilated to 4 cm. Moderately uncomfortable, and the anesthesiologist was going to be unavailable between 12-1:30. I chatted with Mary, and we decided it was time to get the epidural. This was the part I had been dreading for months. Have you seen the size of that needle?
…But…I couldn't believe, it was no big whoop!! After another dose of pain meds, we were all laughing and joking and talking about Hawaii as the giant needle went straight into my back…I couldn't hardly feel a thing, and couldn't believe I had worried about this for so long when it didn't hurt more than a pin poke. After the epidural was done, my legs began to feel numb and I was able to sleep for a few more hours. Dr. Olmstead stopped back in shortly after the epidural, and saw that my water had actually started to break on its own. All was looking good. By 3:30 p.m. I was dilated to around 6 cm.
By mid afternoon, I started to regain feeling in my right leg…and also started feeling sharp pains from the stronger contractions, but only on my right side. This happens sometimes with epidurals I was told. So for the next several hours, the anesthesiologist kept popping back in and giving me stronger doses of the medication, which would help temporarily, but the sharp pains eventually returned. As annoying as these pains were, they still were nothing compared to what some women go through who receive no epidural…I felt like kind of a pansy, but my mentality through this whole thing was pretty much…if I don't have to feel anything why should I? Oh boy, I'm not going to even pretend to be tough. Maggie and Jeff were so great the entire time…constantly refilling my plethora of different beverages, and doing many other things to keep me relaxed which I honestly don't remember. :)
By 8:00 p.m. I was almost fully dilated, at 8-9 cm. Instead of re-administering the whole epidural, which they were planning to do if things didn't improve, the anesthesiologist was able to adjust the tubing in my back and this corrected the problems with my numbness being uneven. From here on out, I was feeling great! Not a wink of pain. Dr. Lisa Gorenson, the on-call doctor and one who would be delivering our baby, came in and introduced herself. She was so calm, encouraging, and wonderful! Around this time the nurses realized I was running a slight fever, most likely from my water breaking so much earlier that day. They gave me a round of antibiotics in my IV to eliminate any infection. I was then able to rest for the next hour and a half…and all was calm in the delivery room!
At 10:30 p.m. the doc came in, checked me out, and said "oh wow, I can see her head! I think we're ready to push!" I pushed for about 30 minutes, and little miss Ella Kennedy Meakins was born at 11:18 p.m. on the night of Thursday, July 21st, 2011 - exactly 42 minutes before her due date. She was 20.75" long and weighed 7 lb. 8 oz. which we just couldn't stop chuckling about because BOTH Jeff and I weighed 7 lb. 8 oz. at birth!
What a perfect and gorgeous little baby girl. I know all parents say that about their babies. She just couldn't be any cuter in our eyes. I know this little one will change our lives forever.
