On Sunday, August 28th, 2011, I woke up with a headache. Earlier, for five days, I had been on bed rest with high blood pressure, and was told to call the doctor if a headache developed. I talked to the doctor on call, Dr. Cowles, and she said to come to the hospital. Before we went, we stopped by Chili’s for lunch. We knew that if I was induced, I wouldn’t be able to eat for a while. After eating my chicken crispers, we drove to the hospital – Exempla Lutheran in Wheat Ridge, Colorado.
We arrived at 4:15pm that afternoon. We were checked into a room, where they took my vitals to see my blood pressure, and if I had protein in my urine. My blood pressure was indeed high and eventually Dr. Cowles came in and said they wanted to go ahead and induce me. I was excited about knowing that we were going to get to meet Penny soon!
They continued to monitor my blood pressure, contractions, and Penny’s heartbeat. Since the estimated delivery time was 18 to 36 hours, Jessyel went out and rented some movies from Redbox to watch that night. Around 8:00pm, they came in and started giving me some pills to help ripen and dilate my cervix. That night, we watched The Dilemma.
Not too long after they gave me the first pill, I started having contractions that felt like cramps. They weren’t too bad that night. After we watched the movie, we tried to get some sleep, but it was difficult with such an uncomfortable bed (Jessyel slept on a fold-out couch). At about midnight, they came in and gave me another cervix pill, along with an Ambien to help me try to sleep. At around 4:00am, we were both awakened to the sound of a woman screaming out in horrific pain. It was terrifying! After that, we definitely couldn’t sleep.
The next morning, August 29th, at around 8:00am, they came in to start giving me Pitocin. I was originally against taking it, but I was ready for Penny to be born and meet her, so we agreed this was the best plan. Afterward, my contractions were still feeling like cramps; they were bearable and not happening consistently yet.
At about 9:00am, our doula Rebekah arrived. She sat with us, while we all talked and watched the TV in the room. We eventually walked the halls of the hospital for a while, as well.
At around noon, my mom arrived to help – and just in time, as the contractions started getting really bad. They were happening more consistently, more often, and getting much stronger. I started having to breath through them and couldn’t talk anymore. I sat on a birthing ball for a while and leaned over the bed. Jessyel and Rebekah were there to massage me and help me relax. I was getting hungry, and my mom snuck in a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for me to eat (even though we weren’t allowed to)!
The contractions kept getting stronger and more painful. Each time the nurse came in the room, she was increasing my Pitocin dosage. Dr. Cowles came in a wanted to break my water, but since I was Strep Group-B positive, I declined this. Since my contractions were getting so strong, I asked for the Pitocin to be turned off (it makes contractions more painful than natural ones) and let my body work through its own contractions. She wouldn’t turn it off, but agreed to stop turning it up.
Around 3:00pm, things really started hurting bad! I was ready to give up and go home. A new nurse came in and was trying to give us some ideas on what I could do help me through the pain. I decided that I would get in the big bathtub for a while. This meant I was able to have the Pitocin turned off!! They filled up the tub and before I knew it, they had my gown off and I was in. It felt very good to be floating in the tub, and Jessyel was right there with me wiping my forehead with a cold cloth and encouraging me the whole time.
At one point, he left for a few minutes – he had slept only a few hours the whole night, hadn’t eaten all day, and between all the craziness, he was feeling weak – almost like fainting. My mom had gone out and bought everyone some burritos, so he quickly ate his and came back to me. After I had been in the tub for about an hour, I started getting the urge to push. It was really weird how my body knew when it was time to push. I was beginning to push involuntarily, so that meant it was time to get out of the tub (babies can’t be born in the tub at the hospital).
Getting back to the bed was rough, though! Jessyel helped me and let me lean on him whenever I had a contraction. He was amazing, and offered lots of encouraging words and support!
I got back to the bed and sat down. I had another contraction and felt like I wet the bed. Nope! It was amniotic fluid. My water had broken on its own!!
At 4:00pm, my mom left the room and I began to push. At first, I was really excited that it was that time; I thought that Penny would be here in no time! Jessyel got excited, too – he said he got a burst of adrenaline. I wanted to try pushing in the squatting position since the pelvis is widest when you squat. (That made sense to me!) I pushed like this for a while and then the nurse suggested I try pushing on my side, instead. I rolled to my side and kept on pushing. It hurt really, really bad, and it was hard work!! Jessyel, Rebekah, and the nurse were all helping to hold my head and legs up while I was pushing.
Finally, at around 6:30pm, they said they could turn the Pitocin back on to help my contractions become a little more regular and strong. I was in so much pain and exhausted from pushing that I said yes! After about another half an hour, they said they could get the doctor and she could help me try to get Penny out. Again, I said yes!
There had been a change in doctors, so the new doctor was Dr. Freeman. She said she could use the vacuum to help me when pushing. I agreed! She said that I had only three tries to get her out, otherwise I would need a C-section. From what Jessyel tells me, most of the doctors hadn’t had much experience with a labor that didn’t involve an epidural. I don’t think anyone thought I could get my baby out. Little did they know that I am a very stubborn person!
Dr. Freeman got the vacuum set up and ready to go, and I pushed! Everyone was encouraging me and telling me they could see her head and that she was almost there. The doctor yanked the vacuum, and it was the help I needed; I was able to push like never before. Then, before I knew it, Penny was out and placed on my chest. It was the best moment of my whole life. I was so happy and relieved that my baby girl was finally here. I was crying and so elated. I look up at Jessyel and he was crying too.
All the pain was completely worth the outcome. I was so proud of Jessyel and myself for working together as a team and having the birth experience that we wanted. I did it without and pain medication even though I was induced. It was an empowering day and I know that I can do anything!
After Penny was born, she had a little bit of trouble breathing, or rather, she was breathing too fast. They took her to the warming table, and Jessyel followed.
Jessyel said that she was very alert, and she grabbed his finger with her whole hand. She was checking out fine, although her breathing was still a little too fast. After she was checked, they brought her back to me and put her back on my chest. She started nursing right away. I was so excited that she was able to eat right away!
I was excited to eat, too – I got to eat after almost thirty hours of not having any food. I had a cheeseburger, fries, cheesecake, fruit, and a real Coke! It was delicious!
At the same time, everyone was in the waiting room eagerly awaiting the arrival of Penny. After the doctor finished with my stiches and Penny and I had eaten, everyone got to come in and meet her. My mom and dad, Jessyel’s dad, two brothers, and sister Dalina were all there to meet our little bundle of joy! (Jessyel’s mother had contracted pneumonia, and his sister was in Nashville for college, so they couldn’t be there, unfortunately.)
The medical staff was still a little concerned about Penny’s breathing and decided to take her to the NICU for more close observation. Jessyel went with her and I stayed behind in the delivery room.
Jessyel was gone for about two hours, and was with Penny the entire time. There, she had her first bath (she cried), and they monitored her heart rate and breathing, which eventually went down after she was wrapped up and calmed down. Coming into the world with a vacuum hurting and bleeding your head would make anyone’s breathing go fast!
While Jessyel and Penny were gone, I was in a lot of pain from all the stiches I had been given, so I was given a Percocet and took a little nap. When I woke up, my nurse helped me up to get a sponge bath and to go see Penny in the nursery before going to the recovery room. I stopped by the nursery with Jessyel and was able to feed her again before heading up to the recovery room.
I got to the recovery room and met our night nurse, Shelly. She was amazing!! She was so helpful and kind both nights we were at the hospital. I was soon informed that Jessyel and Penny were on their way to our room. Her breathing had gotten better and they were going to let her spend the night with us! Finally, at around 1:00am, we were all back together in the recovery room!
The first night in the room is kind of a blur to me. We all slept in the room together. I don’t think Jessyel got much rest, either. It was a great but also surreal night.
The next day, I was checked by Dr. Freeman to make sure I was healing and that my uterus was contracting the way it should. Everything was good and she even called me super woman! Go me!
The thing that was super-awesome about being in the hospital is that new moms can order room service whenever they want and have however much food they want. I ordered a ton of stuff at each meal, and had a desert each time! It was awesome, and the food was pretty good – there wasn’t anything I ordered that I didn’t like. Jessyel, on the other hand, had to go to the cafeteria for his food. Apparently, it wasn’t very good. Boo-hoo.
Anyway, that day, my mom and dad came to visit. My dad brought us a beautiful flower arrangement and some chocolates. They were very proud grandparents! My friends Laura and Katie also came to visit. Jessyel went crazy in taking everyone’s pictures! After everyone left, we were both really tired.
Night two in the hospital was pretty difficult. We were introduced to cluster feeding. Penny was up all night, crying and wanting to be fed every twenty minutes. It was very frustrating and we didn’t know if we were doing something wrong or what was going on. We were both very exhausted, so that didn’t help the situation. Luckily, our wonderful nurse Shelly came in and reassured us that this was normal and everything was okay. After that, it was a little easier to deal with. I’ve learned through all of this, that knowing when something is normal and that it happens to others makes a lot of stuff seem okay.
The next day, we spent the day laying around and napping mostly. We were also able to go and have Penny’s picture made at the hospital’s newborn picture machine. It was a little tricky getting a good picture of a newborn lying down in a plastic bucket, but we got a few good ones! Afterward, it was our time to go home. We packed up all our stuff – most of which we didn’t even use!
Before we knew it, we were ready to go! I sat in a wheelchair and got to hold Penny on the way out. We both waited inside for Jessyel to go and get the car (he had checked the car seat with the hospital staff earlier in the day). He put Penny in her car like an expert! She was crying and fussy, but as soon as we started driving, she fell fast asleep. The ride home was good, and before we knew it we were home with our brand new perfect baby girl!
