Ella was due on Monday, December 17th 2012. I baked a cake in her honor and she didn't come to celebrate with us. I was a little frustrated but hopeful that I would have the baby soon. I went to my appointment the next day and got checked to see if I had progressed at all from the previous week (I wasn't even dilated the last time we checked). Thankfully there was quite a bit of progress! I was at a 3 and 70% effaced! I started having regular contractions that day. They were not terribly painful, just annoying. So fast forward to Thursday. I woke up and noticed that I was leaking some fluid. It was not soaking me so I waited it out a little bit. I felt the same discomfort I had felt the last few days and was not overly concerned. Trevor went to play disc golf while I laid on the couch watching lame movies on Netflix.
When Trevor came home from disc golf he asked me how I was feeling and I told him what was going on. He practically INSISTED that I call the doctor to see what she wanted me to do. I was hesitant to call her to tell her that I was leaking fluid because I had already called her two other times thinking my water had broken. I was pretty embarrassed and did not want to make that mistake again. I finally swallowed my pride and called her around 2 pm and told her what was going on. She suggested that if I continued to leak fluid to go into the hospital between 4-6pm.
We took our sweet time getting ready. I took a shower and got ready as though we were going on a date. Maybe I was in denial because I wasn't even nervous.We packed our bags as a precaution but neither of us felt we were having a baby that night. We even planned to go to our favorite pizza place following the quick check at the hospital. We arrived at the hospital at around 6:30. The nurse admitted us to triage and had checked to see if the fluid I was leaking was amniotic fluid. The first test came back negative. I wasn't really surprised and started to imagine the delicious pizza I was about to get my hands on! As a precaution I was hooked up to a non stress test and they monitored me for a little bit before discharging me. I started to leak a little more fluid at that point and my contractions became slightly more intense, but not super painful.
The nurse came back and tested the fluid I was still leaking and it tested positive for amniotic fluid. She checked my cervix and I was still at a 3 but because they suspected I was leaking fluid for over 8 hours she went to go get the doctor who was on call. It was about 7:30 pm when he came and confirmed that they would need to admit me and hook me up to pitocin to get my contractions going. I was pretty disappointed at this point because I did NOT want pitocin. My birth plan was that I would go as far as I could without any medical interventions and then make the decision to get an epidural. I wanted some freedom walking around and using the birthing ball. I even had a play list ready and waiting to help me through labor. Pitocin was not in my plan! I was also bummed because this meant I would not get my pizza. All about priorities right?
After the nurse left to go prepare a bed for me, my contractions really started to kick into gear. I stripped of the fetal monitor and started to wander around the tiny triage room to help ease the discomfort. Trevor was on the phone informing family what was going on. I am pretty sure that I made as many bathroom trips as he did phone calls in that short amount of time. I had become extremely uncomfortable--mind you I was still in triage. Trevor handed the phone to me to talk to my mom and another contraction hit me--I couldn't even talk through it. I handed the phone back to Trevor, bent over with my head on the bed and felt a huge gush. Yep, my water had definitely broken. All of a sudden my contractions became unbearable. The nurse came back and was startled to see me in so much pain. She hurried to go inform the staff in labor and delivery that I was ready to go. At this point it was about 9 pm. She returned and asked if I could walk to the room. I nodded only because the thought of holding still through those contractions was not my idea of pleasant.
The walk to labor and delivery is a little fuzzy for me. I don't even remember how I got there. I do remember dry heaving in the hall way outside of my room. All I could think was "Am I only at a 3? Seriously? What does a 7 feel like?! I'm such a wimp!" As soon as I got into the room Trevor and the nurse helped me change into a new gown (I was soaked). The nurse, Erin, was awesome! She called for the epidural as soon as she saw how awful I was feeling. I remember her asking if I wanted the epidural but I couldn't answer because honestly, I was kind of losing it. Trevor gave an emphatic YES and before I knew it I was in bed getting hooked up to the IV.
The anesthesiologist came in, I signed the consent, and Trevor was dismissed while I got my epidural (hospital policy). I felt so much pressure at this point but had to hold completely still. That was rough. I'm pretty sure I bruised Erin's hand. Again--she was awesome and didn't even make me feel bad for being such a baby. On the bright side, the epidural did not hurt because my contractions hurt more. It took about 20 minutes for the epidural to take effect. Trevor finally joined me again which brought me a ton of relief. As soon as I was calmed down (I was shaking almost uncontrollably previous to the epidural) and the drugs started doing their job the nurse finally checked me. She kind of gasped and looked up at me with wide eyes and asked if I was ready to push. I was kind of confused because 90 minutes ago I was only dilated to a 3. She then told me that I was dilated to a 9 1/2! If I had known that I was going through transition I am pretty sure I would have been able to see the light at the end of the tunnel and remain a little more positive during the whole experience. Everyone in the room was surprised, including the doctor! Before I knew it the staff was putting on their gowns and they were talking to me about how to push. I started pushing at around 10 pm. Fortunately the epidural was really light. I was able to move my legs and could feel every contraction so I was leading everyone instead of the other way around. I pushed for about 40 minutes and at 10:44 pm Ella Madeline Tippets was born. They placed her on my chest and I immediately started to cry, as did Trevor. She was the most beautiful baby and I couldn't believe she was ours!
Love her snuggles.
First family picture--swollen is the new skinny. ;)
Love those lips!
Cute little buns.
Love her.
The whole experience was so fast. Writing it all down makes me realize how blessed I was to have a fast and uneventful delivery, even if it wasn't how I pictured it. Despite the pain that I felt it was immediately forgotten when I held Ella in my arms. We feel so blessed to have such a sweet little spirit in our home. She has already taught us so much.
I am in the process of blogging about my hibernation and how much Ella has changed our lives. Be patient with me--I'm sleepy these days!
