Happy 1st Birthday Snowdrop!!!!
We love you, little bunnie!!!! Happy Birthday!!!!
{and a big old sorry from Mommy since we all got the flu this week and we don't have a cake for tonight!!!}
EDITED: So I totally forgot that I posted Snowdrop's Birth Story last year on my other blog! I'm reposting it below because I know we like to read birth stories. Anyways, here it is:
The Birth of a Snowdrop
I was scheduled for an induction on Wednesday, Dec 30, 2009. We were to arrive at the hospital at 7:30am to be admitted, start fluids, etc. I hardly slept the night before… we dropped Juniper & Magnolia off at my in-laws around bedtime and ended up staying so late that we didn’t get a chance to run by Babies-R-Us for last minute things. No biggie… and we also didn’t get to go out to dinner. This wasn’t in the official plans but I sort of wanted to enjoy our last night. We ended up at McDonalds. I only had a small fry as I really didn’t want to eat McDonalds before going into labor…
We also stopped at three different places for Barq’s Root Beer before stopping at a grocery store to pick up a twelve can pack. I had a major Barq’s craving and it being my last pregnant night… I wanted to celebrate with a little bubbly.
When we got home we cleaned up a little, finished packing, I showered and we went to bed. Around 2am. I couldn’t fall asleep. The excitement, the nerves, the everything. I just couldn’t sleep. Eventually though, I did sleep and when my alarm went off at 6:30am – I POPPED straight out of bed and got myself ready to go! You know when you’re so excited about a day that although you’re exhausted out of your mind you can still jump right out of bed and start the day? That was one of them. To make the day even greater – It was SNOWING!!! Not a lot. But enough to cover the pavement and to satisfy my crazy love for snow. I was so happy. I wanted my little Snowdrop to be born on a snowy day…
I ate almost an entire Thomas’ English Muffin (the Cinnamon Raisin kind… yummy!), drank some water and off we went to the hospital! I drove us. I’ve mentioned before that I’m a better snow driver than good old Hubby. We arrived a few minutes late but… that was just fine. Labor & Delivery wasn’t very busy at all anyways so we were able to get settled right away.
My nurse was… FANTASTIC. A Godsend. Just what I needed. The perfect addition to my labor. I couldn’t have done it without her. I want to request her for ALL of my future births. Winnie. Oh, Winnie. She broke out into random song clips, was light and cheerful, and refused to believe I’d end up with a c-section and also insisted that we’d have our baby out by the time her shift was over (7pm). She was in a word: Magnificent!
We got our bracelets, I got hooked up to the IV, and got my cervix checked. I was no more than 1 and a fingertip. That sucked. I was really hoping I’d be a little further dilated but alas, I was not. And it freakin’ HURT when she checked me. YIKES. It never hurt when my doctor did it. Anyways…
The snow was still coming, but now it was falling faster and harder. I was so excited!
So the house doctor came in to also check me, ask questions, etc. Around 9am, they hooked me up to the Pitocin at a really low dose. Everything was going really well. I was definitely having contractions but they weren’t awful. I was sure I was going to be able to do this epidural free. YAY!!! I was also a couple more centimeters dilated after a couple hours so the house doctor conferred with my doctor and it was decided that they would break my water and see if that helped move things along.
Well. Did. It. Ever.
Within two minutes of breaking my water I was having the most INTENSE contractions I’d never had in my life. Oh. My. GOD. It was terrible. I was in pain. Ridiculous pain. Crying out to Mary, Mother of God, prayformehelpme. HailMaryFullofGrace... I was panting prayers. It was breathtaking. I had never felt such pain before. I can’t even describe it. (Which brings me to a thought – really, that show “I Didn’t Know I was Pregnant”… I don’t buy it.) So the pain was just awful. The doctor said that there was plenty of time to get the anesthesiologist in there to do an epidural but if I didn’t want one there was no pressure to get one. I thanked her for her support and she left me & Hubby alone.
At this point, I had another contraction and asked Hubby to go get the anesthesiologist.
My contractions were coming about two minutes apart by this point. After what seemed like imminent death, the anesthesiologist arrived and began the processs of administering the epidural. Although I’ve had one before, this time was equally if not more terrifying. The idea of someone sticking a needle in my SPINE… that although the chance is rare, I could become paralyzed… the whole idea is pretty scary. So throw in RIDICULOUS contractions every two minutes – yeah. It was not fun. But after several minutes and in-between a few contractions she was able to get the epidural placed and the medicine flowing. I was golden and hardly felt a thing from then on.
She also told me a fabulous French bakery nearby to my house that just opened recently. I’ve already gone there to get Pain du Chocolat – and let me say folks, I’ve found a new little haven in the Little City to satisfy my bakery cravings. At least some of them. Croissants aplenty!!!
ANYWAYS… so after the epidural I could stand to live again and so I did. Winnie put me in all sorts of positions, most noteably on my sides with one leg raised. She said it would help draw Snowdrop down into my pelvis and get things moving. It totally did! I was progressing quite well.
Around 4:30pm they checked me again and I was past 7cm! I was excited as I had not progressed past 7 with the girls… so this was a good sign. I decided to close my eyes and let Mother Nature do her thing. A little less than an hour later, I woke up when Singing Nurse Winnie came in to check me. I was 9.75cm!!!!!!! I could hardly believe that I was hearing when she said “Well, it’s time to push.” The nursing team hating he videotaped already brought in all the equipment we’d need for when Snowdrop came out so the room was ready. Nurse Winnie had me push a couple times and called my doctor.
My doctor called me a “SuperStar Pusher” and Winnie had us chuckling more or less the whole time. It was hardly as I had imagined it. The room was quiet other than our small talk and chuckling and the 1 to 10 counting from Winnie. There was only Hubby, my doctor, and Winnie present in the room… until the very last few pushes of course when the rest of the team came in for the BIG MOMENT!!!
After 39 minutes of pushing, a popped tailbone (possibly broken, definitely still painful now in postpartum recovery 5 weeks later), and my husband insisting he videotape me (no nether-region taping, just video footage of my face & of Snowdrop being placed on my stomach), our little Snowdrop was born!!!
She was born at 6:04pm and weighed 7lbs 2oz and was 19 inches long. Ten fingers, ten toes, and as healthy as can be. She’s just perfect. Other than not having red hair, of course! (Ha. Ha. Ha.)
I’m so excited to have gotten my VBAC. It was so important to me. I believed I could do it, and with a medical team that supported my wishes – we made it happen! (To First Time Mom C-Section Ladies: Don’t fear repeat c-sections -> if you’re a good candidate for a VBAC, you just might be able to have one next time!!! ) I was so surprised at the length of time I pushed – I was expecting to be pushing for at least two hours. It was like tunnel-vision when I was pushing and until Snowdrop came out. There was nothing else on my mind really other than push, push, push! I only had a minor tear that required a couple stitches. My doctor said it was so tiny I didn’t really need stitches but that she was going to stitch it up anyways to be on the safe side. (And I tore UP, not down like I expected would happen. Which by the way, makes it hurt even more like a mother when you pee… yikes!!)
I guess that’s about it. The In-Laws brought Juniper & Magnolia over to visit about two hours later. Snowdrop was still on the warming bed. The girls said hi to their little sister then they were ready to leave. Magnolia goes “Ok Gigi. Let’s go now.” It was so cute. Despite their lack of interest the day the baby was born, both Junie & Mags are SO interested in the baby now. They love to kiss her hello in the morning and goodnight at bedtime – throwing fits if they don’t get to kiss the baby. It’s so adorable! They’re great big sisters, we feel so lucky for this!!
I am really hoping to have more giveaways with better prizes next year! So stick around!!! Thank you so much for playing in my first one ~ Sarah, please contact me via email with a mailing address!!
