Yet, even with all the pain & suffering I've endured, as my induction date got closer the anticipation & excitement of meeting our daughter sat in the forefront of my mind. I couldn't wait! She is what I'd been fighting for.
We counted down the days, hours & minutes to meet our Story Joy & on Monday morning at 10:30am we headed to Riverside Hospital to get ready to be induced at 11am.
Being induced was uncharted territory for me. In fact a "normal" delivery was like a foreign concept I couldn't even wrap my mind around. BUT I kept my mind positive & didn't dwell on the horrors that haunted my mind of my last delivery with my son, Trust. My husband on the other hand was quiet as a mouse on the drive. I asked him if he was ok & he was honest that he was scared & I told him I was scared too. We prayed & continued on in silence, listening to Mumford & Sons.
We arrived a few minutes early to the hospital & got all set up in our room & met our nurse Carlene, who would be our nurse the whole time, which set my mind at ease. She was an older lady who had been helping deliver babies for 25 years. She was just the person I needed in the room & was very kind & reassuring. I love that we chatted about life the whole time I was being checked in, it made what was ahead not be so much in the forefront of my mind.
My mom arrived shortly after I was hooked up to Antibiotics for Strep B (the bacteria that can be transferred to your baby during delivery) & around 12pm Carlene started the labor inducing drug Pitocin. My contractions were picking up & things were moving along & at 2pm they broke my water with what looked like a crochet needle (but was painless).
My photographer friend Rachel came shortly after that & started snapping moments & we talked about adventures & marriage & it helped having good people with me distracting me from the pain. After they broke my water, my contractions went from achy to strong & fierce. We'd be talking & all of a sudden I'd grab my husband Brett's hand & grip it so tightly he'd lose circulation in it! Contractions are funny that way... You feel fine one minute, then the next you are climbing this mountain of intense pain. During those moments of contracting, I'd fix my eyes on the clock or a specific point in the room & almost blank out.
My pain level was getting crazy & my contractions were VERY close together. The Pitocin was doing a fine job of ripening my cervix & moving things along! As the next contraction came & went I asked Carlene, "ummm sooooo, when was the epidural thing gonna happen??" Shortly after that, around 4pm, the anesthesiologist came in & during a very strong contraction, gave me the epidural.
The epidural helped in many ways. #1 it helped me relax & took away most of the pain during contractions & #2 it sped things along quicker than we were all ready for!!!! Here's where things get exciting...
At 5 o'clock my mom went down to the cafeteria to get everyone some food. (Except me of course) When she came back she had a box of Chinese food that was smelly & I immediately felt sick & said "you can't eat that in here!!" Shortly after that my contraction pain changed to crazy amounts of pressure that was painful & felt like I needed to push. I turned to the nurse & said "uh, I'm feeling very pressure-y... I think it's almost time!" Charlene was busy setting everything up for the delivery & stopped & called my doctor. To our surprise, my doctor was delivering another baby right down the hall, and at that point I was 10 cm dilated & I couldn't "hold it" anymore. Charlene coached me to pant & told me not to push & I grabbed my husband & moaned through the urge & pain of wanting to push. A few minutes passed & I said "Charlene, I can't do it!!!!" She called the resident doctor & I prayed out loud "God please let Dr Cacchio get here! Please God!!" After what seemed like hours, but was only actually 10-15 minutes, Dr Cacchio flies in the room & asks "are we ready to have this baby?!" She reassures me, "it's going to be great. It's not going to be like last time.. We aren't going to use forecepts.. Recovery will be better.."
The "1st contraction hit" & Dr Cacchio asks "are we ready to push?!" I said "YES!" But as I was pushing, I felt like I completely forgot everything about birthing a baby! The nurse quickly coached me to hold behind my legs, take a couple deep breaths & push with my chin to your chest & hold your breath as you push. The first push Dr Cacchio excitedly says "oh I see some hair!!" Hearing that gave me some motivation for the next contraction & I told the nurses "I forget what to do!!" And they coached me through pushing again & I screamed because it hurt so bad & the pressure was crazy & the doctor reassured me, "She'll be out on the next one!!" My 3rd & final push I pushed with all my might & screamed as I felt the doctor pull her out & I saw her lift Story up and Story immediately screamed "waaahhhh wahhhh waaahhhh!!"
Everyone in the room cried tears of joy & relief!!! They immediately put Story up on my chest & I wept, tears rolling like rain down my cheeks. She was still wailing but as I began to talk to her & tell her "it's okay, it's alright, momma's here" she immediately stopped crying, lifted her head up & looked up me! Nothing in the world compared to the pure rapture of that moment. I was able to kangaroo with her for an hour!
It was an exhilarating, emotional, redemptive experience. Night and Day compared the the horrific birth
experience I had with my son Trust. I am truly grateful to have a happy experience to reference now, not just traumatic.
experience I had with my son Trust. I am truly grateful to have a happy experience to reference now, not just traumatic.
Getting to know Story these past couple days has been so wonderful. She is delightful, content, quiet & so sweet! We are head over heels for her & are excited for this new chapter in our family's story. :)
Watch the amazing/emotional video slide show that Rachel Baransi made of the photos she took of Story's birth here:
