Isabella's Birth Story

So, I thought I'd write today about Isabella's birth story.

Last Thursday, on February 25th, I went to my doctor's appointment and was told that I was almost dialated to a 3. I had the doc strip my membranes. I figured being dialated to a 3 and having contractions a lot like I've had, that maybe I could actually go into labor faster! I left the office telling my doctor that I would see him later that night....hoping that I'd be having the baby that night. I picked the girls up from school and we went home and went on a bike ride (I walked, of course). The contractions started while I was walking, so when I got home I made the girls some dinner, but I didn't eat, because I knew that if I was actually going into labor that I wasn't supposed to eat for the c-section. After an hour or so, I texted Mitch and told him that I thought he should come home and we should go to the hospital because the contractions weren't letting up. So, after he got here, and my friend Heather got here to stay with the girls, we left for the hospital. I was admitted at around 9:00. After monitoring me for an hour, the nurse called the doctor who wanted me to be monitored all night. I was dissapointed! I really thought that he was going to deliver the baby that night, but the nurse explained that he needed to have me monitored for liability reasons. So, I hardly slept that night because I was so excited that I was going to have my baby in a few hours! I also was so worried the contractions would stop! They never did, but I just didn't want to get sent home.

Friday, February 26th

So, at around 7:00 am the nurse came in and told me that the doctor was going to do the c-section at 11:30 am. I was so excited to actually have a time and to know that she was coming. I tried not to think about how she was going to arrive, but just to think about the joys of having a new baby. I took a few little naps, and just waited. Around 10:00 the nurses came in and started prepping me for the c-section. I started to get really nervous!! That last hour and a half went by so fast. Next thing I knew, I was walking to the operating room. They made Mitch wait out in the hall while they prepped me in the O.R. I was so nervous that I felt sick. They did the spinal, which was much less painful than an epidural. They don't put the needle in that stays in the back like an epidural. They just do three different shots in the spine. It of course was painful and I was scared, but it just wasn't as bad as the epidural. They then laid me down and strapped me in, and then let Mitch come in. I was so glad to have him there! They had a really hard time getting the baby out. One doctor was pulling on her bottom half, and the other doctor was pushing her head down from the top of my stomach. It was a really weird sensation. Next thing I knew, they were asking Mitch if he had the camera ready, and then I heard my baby's sweet cry. She sounded so good. I was so happy that she was here! Mitch brought her over to me to see, and then they took her to another room, and Mitch went with her. I started feeling very sick when they were sewing me back up. I started having sharp chest pains and felt very nauseated. The anesthesiologist told me that was normal, and it was just the doctors pulling on muscles that are attached up in the chest. After 20 minutes, they were done.

Only 3 hours after the c-section I started to feel pain. The nurses were shocked, as I wasn't supposed to feel anything for at least 12 hours. Pretty much the rest of this day is a big blur. I slept as much as I could and I held my new baby a lot.

Saturday, February 27th

At 3:00 am the nurse woke me up to make me walk. I just had to walk to the bathroom in my room, but with Mitch on one side of me and the nurse on the other, I thought I was going to die of pain! Just after the first step I took, my whole body was shaking from the pain. This whole day was very pain-filled. Although I was on very strong pain medication, I still was in incredible amounts of pain when I had to walk or even just turn onto my side to get more comfortable.

The girls came to meet their new baby sister today. They weren't allowed to come back into the labor and delivery area, and the baby of course was not allowed outside of the labor and delivery area, but the nurses let us meet them right in the doorway, so the baby wasn't outside of the doors, and the girls weren't inside of the doors either. They were really excited and both got to give her kisses on her head.

I woke up in the middle of the night with such horrible pain in my left side directly above my incision. The skin was numb, but the pain felt like it started deep but came to the surface. I was crying I was in so much pain. Mitch called the nurse in to help, but she was useless. She acted like I was inconveniencing her and just told me that I was on the max pain medication that the doctor has prescribed so there was nothing she could do. She had another nurse come in to look at the area, and they both said there was nothing wrong because it didn't look different than the rest of my skin. It was actually time for my medicine at that time anyway, so she gave me more and basically let me be.

Sunday, February 28th

I got to go home today. I was very happy to get to be with the girls again, and for them to get to hold their baby sister. I just wish I could have spent more time with the girls since I haven't really seen them in days, but I could hardly move, so I just lay in bed.....still in lots of pain.