Birth Story

My pregnancy was…well let’s say very interesting. The first 12 weeks were a little rough. Whoever said “Morning” sickness was just for mornings are full of lies. I was so nauseous. It felt like a hangover, a REALLY bad hangover. My diet consisted of saltine crackers, ginger ale and pregnancy lollipops. My bionic nose wasn’t helping much either. I could smell for miles. Mike’s feet never smelt bad, but for some reason his left food would always smell TERRIBLE! I asked him randomly to please wash his foot.
I felt like I could sleep for days the first 12 weeks. I got off work at 4:00pm. I’d come home, make dinner (which was always grilled cheese) take a bubble bath then head for the couch to watch my DVR, I was always out before the sun went down. I couldn’t wait to get out of the 1st trimester.
The 2nd trimester was wonderful. The weather was warm and I was sporting my oh so cute baby bump. This was WAY before the calories from my abundance of grilled cheese and Oreo ice-cream caught up with me. 2nd Trimester was also nice, because I was:
1. Still able to bend over
2. Get up without using Mike as a rail
3. I could still see my feet.
BOY did that stage come to a brutal halt. The 3 trimester was TERRIBLE!
I was now in the waddling stage. At 30 weeks I was pretty much done with being prego. I was miserable. I was so “lucky” to develop a case of PUPPS. When I went to the DR. She’d say “Sometimes pregnancy does weird things to your body” The PUPPS were icing on the cake. I felt like a dang science project, I had gold bond all over my body to help with the itching, I smelt like tar from the anti-itching soap I was told you use, my left foot was so swollen it could have been mistaken as Shrek’s foot, oh and I developed this attractive wheeze…all the time.
I was more than excited to enter the month of July. Hannah’s due date was August 5th but I was determined to evict her by the end of July. July was an exciting month for the doctor visits. We were on the home stretch. I was supposed to start seeing Dr. Deed weekly to see if I was making any progress. I loved my Dr. she was the cutest little PETITE thing with tiny hands. So when she said she was going out of town, I politely declined to see one of the other “big Flintstone handed” doctors. I said I would wait and be checked by her when she got back.
Monday, July 26 I went to see the doctor with high hopes. I thought she check me and I would be 100% effaced and 9cm dilated. WRONG. My cervix was locked shut tighter than Fort Knox. I was 80% effaced and 1 cm dilated.
So here I go…to the treadmill, I had a tried pregnancy tea to get things going, that didn’t work. I had no other choice but the treadmill. Picture this: Huge prego girl, in her husband’s T-Shirt, sweating because it’s 90 degrees at 7:00pm, in tennis shoes that don’t fit. I could barely get them on and you can forget about tying them. I would walk, run, walk, and run for 30 minutes. I did this Tuesday and Wednesday night.
Wednesday night, I got my burst of energy at 10pm. I cleaned EVERYTHING, made tuna salad, did all of the laundry I had to make sure the place was in tip top shape for when family got here. Once I finished cooking and cleaning, I assumed my position on the couch. I wouldn’t say I slept there; sleeping anywhere was out of the question. I was so uncomfortable. So there I was sitting on the couch watching reruns of the Nanny at 5 in the morning and I starting feeling cramping in my stomach so I waited. I was told “You’ll know when you’re in labor”, when you A. still have a smile on your face and B. You don’t care to take a picture to capture the moment. I wasn’t quite there. I called my mom to let her in on the new news. She told me that my water didn’t necessary have to break in order for me to be into labor. I got excited. Mike arose from his 8 hour slumber of sleep around 6am. He told me to get in the shower and get ready to go to the hospital.
I took a shower and got ready, and then I remembered someone telling me that once I checked into labor and delivery, I wasn’t allowed to eat anything. I waddled myself to the kitchen and ate a bowl of cereal. I remember not being able to eat without having contractions. They were getting closer and closer. So off we went.
The car ride seem to take forever, once we got in and settled into my room my doctor arrived and checked me. I was only 3cm dilated. REALLY?? Thankfully she told me I could have my epidural any time. I’m pretty sure my next breath I said “I think I’ll have it now”
Things were pretty smooth sailing from that point a little too smooth and slow. I stopped dilating at 5cm and I was told Hannah was face up (imagine that, Me with a Nosey baby? Afraid she was going to miss something).
My parent’s and Devin were driving up from St. Louis the made it right before they took me to have my C-Section around 6:00pm that night.
I have never felt so close to God than during my C- Section. I prayed the entire time; God gave me such a peace about everything. I eventually heard Mike say “Oh my baby girl” Hannah was born at 7:58pm. 21 inches long, 7 pounds even.
She has truly changed our life.