So I've been gone for awhile...out enjoying my maternity leave I suppose. If enjoy is even a word that can be applied. Honestly, its not. Not in relation to the whole 6 week period. The last couple of weeks were alright. But I'm going to be very honest and admit that the first month pretty much stank.
Let me catch you up on what all has transpired since my last in-depth post. I went to the hospital at oh-dark-thirty on February 7th to have a baby. I had a good breakfast before I went (something I didn't do and really regretted the first time) and had gotten a good night's sleep. I was rested, well-fed and fully expected to have Elly in my arms by supper time.
Those hopes were quickly dashed.
By lunch the doctor was talking about sending me home and having me come back in a week or two for a c-section. Despite having good, strong and regular contractions for several hours the baby had moved up, not down and I was not dilating. I cried. I was taken off the pitocin and told to walk the halls for 30 minutes to an hour and see what happened. My nurse really pissed me off by saying maybe it was best for me to go home. Maybe the baby just wasn't ready. (in hindsight, waiting a couple of weeks probably would have made a lot of things much easier. But hindsight does tend to show things in a different light) At the time, I was furious. All I could think was how disappointed I would be. And the fact that I had already taken my maternity leave from work and that they not only wouldn't let me come back and work until I had the baby, I couldn't even take any additional time because I had taken all that was available already.
So I cried some more. And prayed. And walked the halls. And cried a little more. Posted very depressed Facebook status messages. About an hour later I was put back on pitocin and my doctor called to talk to me. He explained that if I didn't progress he was worried that the baby was already too big and it wouldn't be safe to try and deliver her. He wanted me to be prepared to go home still pregnant. He said he'd see me after 5 and wished me luck.
When the doctor came to check me he deemed me worthy to proceed with labor. And shocked me by breaking my water and telling me he would be back to deliver the baby. Of course I think I was only at like a 2 at that point.
So labor progressed. I got to experience back labor. Which I was spared with my first labor. And couldn't believe anyone had survived without an epidural. I was told that I was handling the pain with a lot of grace and aplomb.Which I felt like I was being a wuss...and in wuss fashion requested my epidural. Quickly.
Labor continued to progress. Slowly.
Around 1 a.m. the nurse came in and I told her that I was feeling a lot of pressure and kind of felt the urge to push. It had been an hour since I was last checked and I was at a 6 then. I had been making such slow progress it didn't really seem likely. My husband was asleep and my mother-in-law and I had just been watching television. The nurse checked me and then instructed me very seriously NOT to push. They had to call the doctor and get the room ready.
A few minutes later the nurses bustled back in and hurriedly began to prepare the room. Turning on lights. Setting up the warmer and the equipment tables. They kept asking me how I was feeling and I kept telling them I felt like I needed to push. They again told me NOT to push. After everything was set up they checked me again and said the baby was right THERE. And again. Do not push. It was repetitive and funny.
I pushed for exactly thirty minutes. A short time in Elly's heart rate began to drop with the contractions and I was told to push really hard to get the baby out as quickly as possible. So I did. And my little Ellynor was born. The placenta was much smaller than Evie's but equally ugly. I still didn't cry. I was tired and happy and relieved. But unlike everyone on tv, I didn't cry.
I had been told so many times how quickly the second one would come. My first labor lasted about 18 hours and Evelyn was born at almost 2 a.m. My second labor also lasted about 18 hours and Ellynor was born at about 2 a.m.
The very first time I held her she smiled at me. I don't care how many people can say that babies don't smile that early. Or that it was gas. Five-minute old babies do not have gas. She opened those big blue eyes at her momma and smiled. It was precious.
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