As I said in a previous post, I had my 38 week appointment on Wednesday, February 29th...aka the ONE day I did not want to have sweet Quinn. :) I was for sure there were other plans for me after I woke up that morning incredibly early around 3 AM with contractions that would not stop. I decided to go about my day like normal after timing them and none being closer than 12ish minutes apart. I just got an extra early start to my day. It was an interesting day at work to say the least because I was still trying to train two new girls to our group and had to do this through several hard contractions. Luckily, they both have kids and completely understood. My afternoon appointment FINALLY came after what I thought was going to be a never-ending day. I got several reminders that I should have Quinn that day from multiple co-workers that were convinced she was coming. :)
My blood pressure was the exact same it had been at every appointment and my weight had dropped 5 pounds. Apparently that's pretty normal in the end because there's NO room for food. I can attest to that - eating (and just about everything else) was impossible. After being checked by Dr. H (if you need a recommendation for Parkhill she is AMAZING) we got a little surprise. She expected sweet Quinny to be here sooner rather than later. I had the option to go ahead downstairs and be monitored, but that didn't sound too fun because I knew they wouldn't let me eat or drink ANYTHING once I was down there. I had different plans for a fun date night with my love before meeting our sweet daughter! We headed to Chili's so I could get my last Oreo molten cake. They're SO good!! CJ also got to take a few pictures of me since I had refused pictures almost the entire pregnancy. I felt like a whale!!! I'm really glad to have those pictures now so Quinn can see how big my belly got. :)
We were going to head to the hospital after dinner, but my contractions were still pretty far apart and seemed to just stop. We (mostly CJ) tried to get as much sleep as possible starting around midnight after deciding to hang out at home for a little longer. CJ went into work the next morning to get a few last minute things done and even got in a workout that I didn't know about. :) By the time he got home I was laying over the counter with the worst pains I've ever felt. The contractions were INTENSE, but were still only 8ish minutes apart.
My plan was to walk out more progress in Target, but Quinn had other plans. CJ was very thankful for this since he HATES Target. My contractions went from 8ish minutes apart to 3-4 minutes apart after gathering a few last minute things before planning to head to Target. I called the clinic and told them I was headed in. That was the LONGEST wait I've ever had in a waiting room. I only had to sit there maybe 10 minutes, but doing that with heavy contractions was horrible. Not only was I having really hard contractions, but I had to sit quietly in a waiting room full of other people...I had been slightly yelling out the contractions at home. :) One of the doctors was finally able to check me and told me I was at a 5 CM and 100% effaced. I was shocked! I did not expect to be that far already. CJ and I were going to be parents that day and we could not have been more excited!!!
We headed downstairs (about 1030 AM), got checked in (room 23), got my IV put in with fluids started, filled out paperwork, called family to tell them to head this way, and worked through contractions until my new best friend (aka Mr. epidural man) showed up. I never once said I wanted to do my delivery natural. It just wasn't for me. I was absolutely miserable through almost every contraction and I wanted to enjoy my day as much as possible. I had amazing nurses that helped me SO much. My favorite was the one who kept a steady stream of Popsicles coming into my room. :)
The doctor predicted that I wold have Quinn by 3 that afternoon. That definitely didn't happen. My water finally broke around 3:30 and I started progressing more. Everything was really smooth until I got to a 9.5 CM and stayed. After giving it quite a bit of time and trying a few things that made Quinn's heart rate drop, the doctor decided to put me on my hands and knees to see if Quinn's head could help me dilate to the full 10 so I could push her out. Doing this proved almost impossible since I had an epidural. I did not have any feeling in my left side at all so CJ and my wonderful nurse had to pick me up and turn me over. I was able to hold myself up a little bit once they got me up, but I know it had to be hysterical watching all of this happen. I was able to stay up for about 12ish minutes and that seemed to do the trick.
At this point the doctor was very ready for me to have Quinn (most likely so he could go to sleep) and the nurses helped me get ready to push. I had done a practice push earlier and I felt ready to go! I was beyond exhausted at this point and really wanted to have a March 1st baby, but knew we would be pushing it if the doctor didn't get me going soon. I started my pushing around 11. I was sure it would only take me a few minutes and I would get to see my sweet baby girl -- WRONG! I would push through the contractions as I would feel the pressure, but Quinn would go back up as soon as I stopped. I was not able to keep this from happening so the nurse had me grab a towel and pull through every push. This really seemed to do the trick. The doctor, nurses, and CJ were SO encouraging and really helped me give everything I could. I never knew I could hold my breath that long, concentrate so much, or want something so badly. They kept talking about how much hair she had (NO idea where that came from!) and she finally got down and stayed where I could feel it. That was all the motivation I needed - I wanted to hold my girl right now! After one more big push her head came out. I waited for the next contraction (they were pretty continuous at this point) and pushed the rest of her out.
Sweet Quinn Elizabeth Weatherford was born March 1st 2012 at 11:55 PM weighing an even 8 pounds and was 21 inches long. She came out screaming SO loud and pooping all over the doctor. :) I was not able to do skin to skin because she had stuff in her lungs from pooping while inside me. They immediately took her to the warmer getting her scores and cleaning her up. The first thing I asked CJ after bugging everyone to tell me if she was OK was "Is she a girl?" I had been having dreams all week that my sweet Quinn was going to be a sweet baby boy.
The nurse let me hold her for about .5 seconds before having to wheel her to the nursery to take care of all the fluids in her lungs and to observe her. I was so happy I was crying and could not wait for her to be back to me! After about 30 minutes and me getting all cleaned up by the doctor I was able to hold her for the first long period of time, do skin to skin, and breast feed her. I was in heaven and so thankful everything was OK.
Looking back now, everything went fairly smooth after a long, long day of labor. Yes, I had an epidural, but it was still SO exhausting! I was initially really worried after seeing who was on call. It was the ONE doctor that I did not want after seeing him for an appointment in the clinic, but it turned out wonderfully. He was very cocky and full of himself and it was EXACTLY what I needed to get me through labor. It's funny how things work out!
I will be posting newborn pics, a picture a day post, her first week, etc etc very very soon!
My plan was to walk out more progress in Target, but Quinn had other plans. CJ was very thankful for this since he HATES Target. My contractions went from 8ish minutes apart to 3-4 minutes apart after gathering a few last minute things before planning to head to Target. I called the clinic and told them I was headed in. That was the LONGEST wait I've ever had in a waiting room. I only had to sit there maybe 10 minutes, but doing that with heavy contractions was horrible. Not only was I having really hard contractions, but I had to sit quietly in a waiting room full of other people...I had been slightly yelling out the contractions at home. :) One of the doctors was finally able to check me and told me I was at a 5 CM and 100% effaced. I was shocked! I did not expect to be that far already. CJ and I were going to be parents that day and we could not have been more excited!!!
We headed downstairs (about 1030 AM), got checked in (room 23), got my IV put in with fluids started, filled out paperwork, called family to tell them to head this way, and worked through contractions until my new best friend (aka Mr. epidural man) showed up. I never once said I wanted to do my delivery natural. It just wasn't for me. I was absolutely miserable through almost every contraction and I wanted to enjoy my day as much as possible. I had amazing nurses that helped me SO much. My favorite was the one who kept a steady stream of Popsicles coming into my room. :)
The doctor predicted that I wold have Quinn by 3 that afternoon. That definitely didn't happen. My water finally broke around 3:30 and I started progressing more. Everything was really smooth until I got to a 9.5 CM and stayed. After giving it quite a bit of time and trying a few things that made Quinn's heart rate drop, the doctor decided to put me on my hands and knees to see if Quinn's head could help me dilate to the full 10 so I could push her out. Doing this proved almost impossible since I had an epidural. I did not have any feeling in my left side at all so CJ and my wonderful nurse had to pick me up and turn me over. I was able to hold myself up a little bit once they got me up, but I know it had to be hysterical watching all of this happen. I was able to stay up for about 12ish minutes and that seemed to do the trick.
At this point the doctor was very ready for me to have Quinn (most likely so he could go to sleep) and the nurses helped me get ready to push. I had done a practice push earlier and I felt ready to go! I was beyond exhausted at this point and really wanted to have a March 1st baby, but knew we would be pushing it if the doctor didn't get me going soon. I started my pushing around 11. I was sure it would only take me a few minutes and I would get to see my sweet baby girl -- WRONG! I would push through the contractions as I would feel the pressure, but Quinn would go back up as soon as I stopped. I was not able to keep this from happening so the nurse had me grab a towel and pull through every push. This really seemed to do the trick. The doctor, nurses, and CJ were SO encouraging and really helped me give everything I could. I never knew I could hold my breath that long, concentrate so much, or want something so badly. They kept talking about how much hair she had (NO idea where that came from!) and she finally got down and stayed where I could feel it. That was all the motivation I needed - I wanted to hold my girl right now! After one more big push her head came out. I waited for the next contraction (they were pretty continuous at this point) and pushed the rest of her out.
Sweet Quinn Elizabeth Weatherford was born March 1st 2012 at 11:55 PM weighing an even 8 pounds and was 21 inches long. She came out screaming SO loud and pooping all over the doctor. :) I was not able to do skin to skin because she had stuff in her lungs from pooping while inside me. They immediately took her to the warmer getting her scores and cleaning her up. The first thing I asked CJ after bugging everyone to tell me if she was OK was "Is she a girl?" I had been having dreams all week that my sweet Quinn was going to be a sweet baby boy.
The nurse let me hold her for about .5 seconds before having to wheel her to the nursery to take care of all the fluids in her lungs and to observe her. I was so happy I was crying and could not wait for her to be back to me! After about 30 minutes and me getting all cleaned up by the doctor I was able to hold her for the first long period of time, do skin to skin, and breast feed her. I was in heaven and so thankful everything was OK.
Looking back now, everything went fairly smooth after a long, long day of labor. Yes, I had an epidural, but it was still SO exhausting! I was initially really worried after seeing who was on call. It was the ONE doctor that I did not want after seeing him for an appointment in the clinic, but it turned out wonderfully. He was very cocky and full of himself and it was EXACTLY what I needed to get me through labor. It's funny how things work out!
Our first (rough!) family picture:
I will be posting newborn pics, a picture a day post, her first week, etc etc very very soon!
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