(Baby) Survival Tip #21: Don't think you're too cool for an epidural. You're not.
Ramona has (obviously) made her debut and is amazing. For those who care to know I thought I'd post a brief "birth story". I wanted to write this ages ago, but these are the things that have happened since Ramona was born: We came home from the hospital, Chelsea visited, Vander threw out his back and was in crippling, debilitating pain, I went back to school (and finished the quarter with solid A's!!), Vander went back to work, my mom visited, my dad and Laura visited, Vander had an MRI, we had two more wonderful baby showers(!), Thanksgiving, Vander is finally diagnosed- herniated two discs in his spine, Vander gets shingles, Vander gets shots in his back to successfully treat pain, Christmas, Leavenworth trip, Ramona goes through INCREDIBLY fussy period leading us to fear somethings wrong (which leads to fears of bladder infection that isn't there) but it just turns out she was over tired, etc. ... And here we are today.
I'll try to keep it brief, though I know it won't be short, and I won't give too many gory details (I'll spare you that, as well as myself the memories), but here it is!
We decided to induce her birth the day after she was due for fear of her size becoming so large that a C-Section would be necessary. I never originally wanted to induce, but my doctor was on call during the time period of her induction and I trusted her fully with actually giving me the chance to labor. We arrived at the hospital on 10/19 at 8am and she was born 10/20 at 8am. I had been having contractions before going to the hospital, but nothing regular. I could feel some, but turns out a lot more were happening that I couldn't feel. Upon arrival to the hospital we let our families know the baby's name started with an R, and they were free to guess, though no one was able to do so. (With exasperation my dad wittily guessed Rumpelstiltskin). After the first part of the induction process I had barely started painfully contracting and wasn't dilating... eek!
So we moved on to procedure two, and that brought on hours of painful contractions that eventually led to some dilation. I first used a pain med that went in through my IV to dull the pain, but by the time the second dose of that was administered I thought I was just about going to die, even with the drug. The girls in my WA family were so sweet and came and sat and prayed with me while I was in so much pain, so Vander could have a break, even though I know it freaked them out. So I got an epidural, even though I was only dilated to 2. The doctor was so awesome and I did not feel any pain what-so-ever during the process. I wish I could remember his name because he deserves a raise! The best part was I could still move my feet (though I couldn't get out of bed) and feel the pressure but not the pain of the contractions! I figured this was the best one could hope for when it came time to push and was SOOO pleased. I was a new woman at this point, and my body could tell, and began to dilate more quickly, but I was only at a 6 by the time 10pm rolled around. So the family went home, and Vander and I went to bed.
I kept waking up during the night because what ever side I was sleeping on would start to tingle, so I would roll over, which would wake Vander from his restless sleep, but all seemed to be going well. At 4am June called to make sure we had not had Ramona without calling. We assured her that hadn't happened, but after hanging up I realized I felt like I needed to go to the bathroom, (a telltale sign it might be time to push). The nurse came in and checked me, and I was dilated to 9! In the process of checking she accidentally broke my water! What a WEIRD feeling! The nurse told me to wait as long as I could to push because Ramona still hadn't dropped enough. About 30 minutes later I couldn't wait any longer. We called June to let her know, and started pushing with the nurse.
It is bizarre how primal the birthing process feels. It was like my body totally took over, but not to the point of pushing Ramona out for me. It is also worth noting that about 15 minutes after I started pushing a doctor noted my epidural bag had run out of medication, but decided not to replace it. Not a big deal necessarily; they want you to have some feeling so you can push more effectively. But I already had some feeling. I was so disappointed that it was going to hurt more than I wanted it to (silly, I know). If only we knew after an 1.5 hours of pushing labor would stall and pushing would last about 3 hours total and I'd feel every painful moment...
I wasn't a great pusher. It's true, but Ramona wasn't a great maneuver-er either. She got stuck in a position and couldn't get out for a whole hour. Yes. An Hour! (TMI alert: I could feel her hair she was so close to coming out, but wasn't moving!) I had maintained some composure but after two hours of pushing I broke down and started swearing. The doctors took this as a sign that she would come out soon. I was in so much pain from not having the epidural, and the desire to eject that baby out of my body was so extreme I thought I was going to die. My doctor was about to call it and send me out for a C-Section when Ramona finally wiggled enough to start moving again. About 30 more minutes of pushing and she was out!
It was the weirdest sensation and I had so much relief, but I was in so much pain that I wasn't able to adore Ramona like I wanted to. When they held her up I was shocked by her beautiful, dark hair, and her sweet cry, but I don't remember much else. They placed her on my stomach and I tried to hold her as the doctors dealt with the rest of the birthing stuff that needs to happen, but I was in so much pain I thought I was going to drop her!! I was so scared and I just sobbed. Needless to say, the pictures aren't pretty. She was also thickly covered in vernix, which makes me think if we hadn't induced she would have stuck it out for a while longer. Also doesn't make for cute pictures, but it's Ramona so they are totally cute.
Not to scare those who haven't had babies yet, but I felt like the whole birthing process was horrible. It was like a violent crime was committed against my body that I could not stop until Ramona was out. I am sure not all moms feel this way, but it was awful.... And oddly totally worth it. Hours after Ramona was born I told Vander we were adopting our other kids. Days after I said we were waiting a good long time. Now, I need to really think about it to remember how much I hated it. I'm scared to do it again some day, but I know I will. And maybe, hopefully, the next time will be better :).
Ramona is a girl of round numbers. Ramona was born...
at 8 in the morning,
weighing 9 pounds
in the 10th month
of 2011,
on the 20th day
measuring 22 inches.
A quick special thanks to the Corley family for the hours spent in the hospital (especially June!) waiting for Ramona, and our many sweet visitors who brought our family presents and told us how beautiful Ramona was (the Abshers, the Linkes, the Kuriatniks, Paula and Caleb, Terri, the Stabberts represented by James, Austin, John, and others I can't think of in this late hour). Thank you Lou for spending time with me while Vander was out. And a huge thank you to Vander. I will write another post about how amazing he was through this whole process.
I'll write another entry later with details about how badly Ramona scared us in the hospital, but in the mean time, here are pictures I know you're waiting for. Vander took most of the them, BTW.
 |
| 10/19- Going to the hospital! |
 |
| It's Go Time! |
 |
| Foot Print |
 |
| Trying not to drop her |
 |
| A nerve was pinched in her jaw during the birthing process, so she has that lazy lip there when she cries. It's so cute. |
 |
| First Family Photo |
 |
| Ramona Lee, I'm sorry I put a picture of your swollen newborn face and adorable nipples on the Internet. I couldn't help myself. You're just too cute! |
