Adaline Mabel Johnson's Birth story

Well, our little girl never came, so we went in for an induction on December 16th at 7:30 am. I was so nervous!! I was really hoping to go in naturally, but oh well, things would go ok, right? Well, we checked in, they gave me a suppository in my cervix to help me dilate (I was only at 3 cm, the same as when they checked me Saturday). So, an hour later, I was allowed to start walking the halls. Which is exactly what I wanted to do. However, not going to lie, it was very awkward due to knowing 30 people that we passed in the hallways. So Joe and I went to the basement, hoping to divert away from the traffic, but then was told we weren't allowed down there. Even after I explained my situation, they didn't budge....so wonderful, the whole hospital knew we were in the hospital having our baby. LOL, I guess that's what happens when you work in such a small hosp. HR, nursing, admitting, EVERYONE knows you....

So then we had to go back to be see if anything progressed. Dr Lyons decided that enough progress was made to start the pitocin. OK, I was getting excited that some change had happened. HOWEVER, now they had to have constant monitors on me...and they were having the hardest time getting a heart rate reading from Addie. So instead of being able to walk around, sitting on the exercise ball, sitting in the hot tub, doing all of these things that we had learned and prepared in the childbirth class went out the window. That's ok, we can play games.... Well, we started to play checkers, and the nurse came in to see what was going on. I guess me leaning forward was altering the contractions, so games were even taken away from me.

This is not a gripe session!! This is what literally happened. Oh, and the nurse couldn't get fetal heart accelerations and deceleration from Addie when I was on my left side, so I pretty much stayed on my right side, sedentary. That's ok, we were in the hospital, having a baby, and we were willing to do whatever they needed.

Dr Lyon's came by at 6:00 pm after clinic hours to check on my progress. She told me she thought maybe we could stop the pitocin, give me a rest and then start up the next morning. I was a little disheartened, but I was ok with that if it meant I could move around and try to get things going. I turned over to let her check me, and at that moment my water broke!! I was at a 5 cm. So that meant we were going to keep things going and hopefully now my body would progress. We were also able to put a monitor on Addie's scalp to monitor her heart rate, and an internal uterine monitor to record the contractions. Well, due to being on such high dosage of pitocin, my contractions were at 1 minute duration, with 30-40 seconds in between each. They checked me again at 8:30 pm and I was still at 5 cm. I finally broke down and asked for the epidural. I had a fantastic anesthesiologist. He only had to try twice and I was so grateful. I was so fatigued from the contractions and holding my position, my muscles were shaking. 

I am not sure if it's just because my body couldn't go into labor, or if it was due to me not being able to move around, or if getting an epidural slowed me down, but by midnight, the nurse checked me again. And I was still not changing. I could tell that the concern was high, and I was so worried that I was going to have to have a C-Section. But my nurse Janet talked to Dr Lyons, and said, "let me work with her, and we will have this baby by the end of my shift". And so she helped me rotate sides throughout the night, increasing the pitocin, watching the monitors....and by 6:00 am when Dr Lyons walked in the door, I was really progressing! They turned off the epidural, so that I could feel the contractions and know when to push.  Around 6:45 am, we started to push. There were 4 nurses in there, cheering me along, with Joe and Dr Lyons. I can't describe the intense pain I felt, no necessarily from the contractions, but from Addie's progression. Sharp pain started on my right side, and then moved to my left side, and then posterior to my tail bone. That pain alone was what kept me pushing so hard. I just wanted it GONE! The contractions were bad, but this pain never let up. Finally they could see the head, and the sharp pain had moved to my anterior pelvis, where Addie was trying to push her way through. They kept saying how much progress I had made, and wanted me to look into a mirror. LOL, Now I wish I would have, but at the time it was not appealing at all. My Dr said that I needed to keep pushing her out, or she would need to get a vacuum. I said, "Please get the vacuum, anything, just get her out". LOL, I can laugh about it now, and enjoy my own funny birthing story. My mom said I could add an act to Bill Cosby's stand up comedy segment about labor, but at the moment I was dead serious! It seemed like forever until her whole head came out. What a relief from that sharp pain! However, her shoulder was stuck and I had to give some additional pushes to help get her released, which she did, and I could feel Addie slip her way out. What a  relief!! 

Our baby girl had been born!! She arrived at 7:34 am, after 45 minutes of pushing. They laid her on my tummy and I began to rub her body, with the nurses help. She had inspired some fluid, and so after a minute or two they took her to the warmer. Joe said one of the nurses asked Dr Lyons if she needed the hemorrhage kit because I was bleeding so heavily. I lost aroundn 500 ml of blood. I guess I had torn pretty good due to it being my first baby, and Addie being so big, and pushing for a short period of time. Anyways, my doctor needed my placenta to detach so she could start stitching me up and help stop the bleeding. Once again, I never expected that much pain. I had asked people how the afterbirth went, and they said it was nothing. Once again, I don't know if it's because we were limited on time due to the bleeding and therefore the placenta wasn't ready, or if I am just a wimp, but she really worked on my exterior tummy, and then she would work internally, back and forth, until finally it detached. LOL, I can laugh about it now, but oh my goodness, I thought I just wanted a break!! I was exhausted and in so much pain. I just wanted a break to catch my breath.

Meanwhile at the warmer, the nursed had a hard time getting Addie to breathe well. So while she was working on me, Dr Lyons walked over to our baby and within seconds, had Addie crying and breathing clearly. Seriously, Joe and I consider Dr Lyon's a huge answer to our prayers. We wanted a doctor who would be patient and understanding and nonjudgmental to our situation. We wanted a doctor who we could trust, be open with, and who would remain calm. I swear she never broke a sweat! So Adaline was doing well, and Dr Lyon's went back to work on me. 

Here is our baby girl on the scale, you can't see it very well, but she is 9 lbs 7 oz. Look at those cute fat rolls on her thighs!! Those were one of my last things to see in ultrasound a couple of weeks before.

She had a little bit of a burn on her forehead from the internal uterine monitor, and it has since healed nicely.

Isn't she just adorable!! We think that she has Joe's eyes and cheeks. And she has my nose and lips.

I will never forget how I felt when they placed her in my arms for the first time. She was so sweet and perfect. I couldn't believe how beautiful Adaline was, and that she was really mine. At that moment, all of the last 24 hours was so worth getting her safely here. I felt so blessed and grateful that all things considered, everything went really well. My greatest blessing that throughout the 24 hours, Adaline's heart rate kept consistent and she never showed distress until at the end when her shoulder was stuck. What a miracle!!

Joe was a rock! I can't express how wonderful he was throughout the whole ordeal. He was so patient and encouraging. What would I do without him? Even Dr Lyons said what a fantastic birthing coach he was. And the nurses were always so impressed with how wonderful he was with me, and especially Addie. He is a natural daddy. And they bonded immediately.

Here are some close ups of her cute little face...

We stayed that night, and the next day we packed to get ready to go home. The nurses were reluctant to let us leave, they had fallen in love with Addie. She was such a good baby, so calm and sweet. Even with a few bumps in the road, at 9:30 pm we were in our car, with our baby girl, driving away from the hospital to the comforts of our own home. Both of us felt ready, and we were excited to be there. We were hoping that my mom would be able to help us those first few days, but unfortunately she had an accident a couple of weeks before. She broke a vertebrae in her back and had surgery on it. She was so sad to have missed out on the Adaline snuggles. We missed her, but will try to make the long 3.5 hr trip so Grandma and Grandpa Hebdon can see our precious baby girl. 

All in all, things have gone really well for the first week. There were a few set backs, and emotional moments, but we survived!! After 4 days of on and off nursing, she has become a professional! And what a relief to this mommy. I never knew how difficult it would be. But it is so worth it!!

This is Addie with Dr Lyons at her 4 day check up. She only lost 7% of her birth weight. 

Adaline is doing so well. We are so incredibly proud of her and love her so much!! She sleep 4-5 hrs at a time. Which is fantastic at night but during the day, I just want to wake her up so we can play! But I control myself because I know she needs her sleep. I just can't get enough of her!! She is perfect in every way. She has brought such incredible love and joy to Joe and I. We are always taking so many pictures, thinking anything she does is SO adorable. We are absolutely, totally and completely IN LOVE with our baby girl!!

Joe and I laugh about it, but seriously everything that was was covered in the childbirth class DID NOT happen. Seriously, nothing went as planned. There was no moving around to help with the progression of labor. There was no distraction time like playing games, watching movies. Once my water broke and I could really feel the contractions hit, I was 5 cm. My instructor told us that the contractions would be 3 minutes apart, lasting 60 seconds, so therefore giving you time to regroup. Yeah, mine were lasting 90 seconds with a 40 second break. It hit me so hard, no doubt due to the pitocin. There was no warning about the additional crazy pain of feeling the baby move down the birthing canal. There was no warning about the pain of the afterbirth. There was no warning about how emotional and frustrating Breast feeding can be. LOL, I guess they leave it light so that you don't panic. That's ok though. Everything turned out, and we got our baby girl. And yes, we are even talking about our next one =0)