The long, awaited arrival....

As I wrote about before, my pregnancy was absolutely wonderful and I really wasn’t ready for it to be over but I was definitely excited about meeting my sweet little girl for the first time.  So many thoughts went through my mind….  “Who would she look like, would she have lots of hair, how much would she weigh…”  But most importantly, “Would she be healthy..”  I guess that is the major concern of most mothers—just wanting their baby to be healthy and normal. 

My due date was May 1^st which also happens to be Craig’s birthday and in 2010, the KY Derby fell on May 1^st.  We thought it would be cool if she came on that day but in a way, I also wanted her to have her very own birthday!  Well she didn’t arrive that day and so my doctor scheduled an induction for me on Monday, May 3^rd.  That Sunday night was so hard to sleep—I’d never done this before and really didn’t know what to expect.  I wasn’t nervous though or scared.  I knew that God would take good care of us. 

We had to be at the hospital at 5:30 AM Monday morning so I think I got up at around 4:30 so that I had time to take a shower and pack some last minute things.  Austin had spent the night with Craig’s parents and would be staying with them until we came home from the hospital.  My baby was coming today (or so I thought) and I was so excited. 

We arrived at Central Baptist at 5:20 AM and filled out some paperwork (most of it had been done on-line because I had pre-registered).  They hooked me up to the monitors and at around 6:10 AM they started the Pitocin.  Side note:  getting that IV in my hand was so awful—that is NOT a good place for an IV.  I received the Pitocin all day long and nothing was happening—I had dilated ZERO.  Not sure if my body was refusing or if the little strong-willed girl inside of me wasn’t ready to make her grand appearance, but we did not have a baby that day.  They stopped the IV of Pitocin at 5:30 PM and brought me dinner which was wonderful because I was starving!  My doctor came in and told me that we could do one of two things:  try again tomorrow morning or send me home and let her come on her own.  Now if I could go back in time and change things, I would have chosen the 2^nd option but so many arrangements had been made in preparation for her arrival this week (Craig was off work the whole week, my maternity leave had started and I was going to be off for 8 weeks and wanted to spend that 8 weeks WITH my baby not WAITING for my baby to be born, etc…), that I decided to try another induction the next morning. 

Craig of course spent the night with me at the hospital and we went to sleep around 10 PM Monday night.  At midnight the nurse came in and checked me (cervix still closed) and gave me a pill in my cervix that was supposed to help open it up.  At 2 AM, I woke up as I started having contractions—they were tolerable though and I was able to breathe through them without waking Craig up.  I knew he was exhausted.  At 4 AM, the nurse came back in and checked me (cervix still closed) and gave me a 2^nd pill into my cervix.  Almost immediately the contractions got worse—way worse.  I got very upset and started crying.  Craig called the nurse and she came in and at 4:30 AM, she gave me Stadol in my IV.  Within minutes of receiving that, I began laughing uncontrollably.  Everything was funny and I was saying CRAZY, insane things!  I told Craig that I needed to go to the bathroom but I was laughing so hard that I actually peed a little bit in the bed.  I asked Craig to help me to the bathroom so that I could finish what I started (ha) but I was so loopy that he couldn’t get me and my IV pole over to the bathroom so he told me to just finish peeing in the bed, which reluctantly I did.  We had to call the nurse and get new sheets, gown, everything.  I was so embarrassed—how old was I?  Craig assured me that the nurses had seen a lot worse than that and I agreed that he was surely right.  We got cleaned up and settled and the Stadol really did help me—it took the edge off but by 6:30 AM, the contractions were unbearable again so they gave me another dose of Stadol.  They checked me and this time I was dilated to 1, 90% effaced and -1 station (not sure what all of that meant but HOORAY, it meant PROGRESS to me).  I was still feeling very loopy but was feeling strong contractions and squeezing the bed rails and Craig’s hand when he would let me!

At 8 AM on Tuesday morning, Dr. Cunningham came in and broke my water and they started the Pitocin again.  By 8:30 AM, I was in SEVERE pain and asked for the epidural (I have a new respect for women who do this au natural).  The nurse called Dr. Cunningham to ask if I could have the epidural and she said that I could—by this time I was dilated to a 3.  The anesthesiologist didn’t get to me until an hour later and his bedside manner was non-existent.  I know that he was busy as the labor and delivery floor was hopping that morning, but it isn’t easy trying to bend over while battling contractions and he didn’t seem sympathetic in the least.  Once the epidural kicked in, I felt wonderful but had no control whatsoever over my legs which was a very strange feeling. 

Two hours later, at 11:30 AM, the nurse checked me again and to my disbelief and hers, I was 9 cms dilated.  They told me it was almost time and that I would probably start pushing soon!  Let me backtrack…  the day before, everyone was at the hospital anxiously awaiting Addison’s arrival but on Tuesday, we told everyone not to be in any hurry to get there because it would probably be an all-day affair.  We weren’t even sure if she would be born on Tuesday after the experience from the day before.  So I was dilated 9 cms and it was just me and Craig at the hospital!  We frantically got on the phone and started making phone calls.  Craig’s mom was already on her way with Austin but everyone else was still at home or work!  Craig’s mom arrived just in time for me to throw up everywhere.  She helped get me cleaned up which I later found out was a miracle because stuff like that usually makes her sick herself! 

Everyone arrived and all was good.  They came in and checked me again at 1:15 PM and I was told I was ready to go.  The nurses started prepping me for delivery and they called Dr. Cunningham and told her it was time.  I started pushing at 1:30 with the help of several nurses.  I also had a strong support team in the delivery room with me—Craig, Mom, Lyndi, Ruth, Lisa, and Ann were all in there with me.  (Dad, Austin, Brad, Randy, Katie Belle, Mamaw & Papaw Pogue, Aunt Shelly, Lucy, and Kylee were in the hospital waiting room.)  The nurse would watch the monitor and then tell me to push for 10 seconds while she counted for me.  That was hard work—especially when you can’t feel your legs at all.  Dr. Cunningham arrived at 2 PM and said we were very close, but she got called out at 2:15 for another delivery for someone who was apparently closer than I was.  While she was gone I got very nauseous again and threw up several more times—unfortunately I threw up on Lyndi who was pregnant with Connor which, in turn made her sick.  Dr. Cunningham was back in the room at 2:30 and Addison was born at 2:40—what a miracle!  I was completely exhausted but overwhelmed with happiness.  She was perfect—she weighed 7 lbs 12 ozs and was 19.5 inches long.  They laid her on my chest and I cried tears of joy for the gift I had waited so long to receive—the greatest gift on Earth and totally worth the wait.

One big happy family!

Best big brother a girl could have!







GOING HOME!!!