Leilani Diane's Birth Story

Monday, June 8th:
By this date Leilani was eight days passed her May 31st due date. I had to go in for an ultrasound and a non-stress test that morning. During the ultrasound I think Lani was still sleeping so she wasn't moving a lot. This lack of movement coupled with my low amniotic fluid prompted the obgyn to schedule me for an induction. She said that I would need to go in that evening to start the process. So, Rick and I headed back home to inform my Mom of the news. I really didn't want to be induced, but at this point it really wasn't a matter of choice anymore. We spent the afternoon at home and then when the time came Rick and I headed to Northern Dutchess Hospital in Rhinebeck, which is only about twenty minutes from our apartment. My Mom stayed with Ricky Jr. at home since the actual induction process wasn't scheduled to take place until the following morning. Once we got to the birthing center of the hospital, we checked in and were shown to our room. There was a fold up bed in the room so that Rick could stay with me the whole time. That night they just started me out with cervadil, which doesn't induce labor but helps to soften you up.

Tuesday, June 9th:
The next morning it was time to start the induction process. Rick left to go pick up my Mom and Ricky Jr. In the mean time the nurse worked on setting me up with my IV. If you know me then you might know that I hate needles! The nurse tried to insert the IV twice, but both times it just went through my skin. So, she went and got another nurse to try it. The second nurse was able to get it in on her first try. Once the IV was all set up, they started me on a drug called pitocin. Pitocin basically brings on contractions. As they increase the dosage the contractions come harder and closer together. At this time I was only dilated to 2 cm. I was up and about walking with Rick through most of my contractions that day. When I was in bed I tried to just listen to music on my ipod. By the time the evening rolled around they measured me again. I had been on pitocin for hours, bu I was still only at 2 cm despite the high dosage of pitocin that I had gotten up to. I was so disappointed. So, they ended up taking me off of the pitocin for the night. Unfortunately at this point my natural contractions had started kicking in. So, I continued to have contractions all night long, every ten minutes! It was such a long night. At first I would tell Rick when a contraction was coming and he'd come over to my bed, but once he got tired I just let him sleep. I walked through the contractions all night long in my room.

Wednesday, June 10:
The next morning they measured me and I was only about a 2 1/2 so it was time to start me on the pitocin again. The contractions were harder to deal with this day because I had been having them for so long and also because I had to be in my bed most of the day hooked up to the monitors. The nurses were really nice and kept saying how well I was handling my contractions. After a full day of contractions they measured me again at about 3 p.m. I was finally dilated to 9 cm! However, at this point they wanted me to rest for a while because I had been going through contractions for so long without any kind of pain medication. So, they suggested that I get an intrathecal shot that would numb the contractions for a couple of hours so that I could rest before it was time to push. They gave me the shot into my spine, which totally freaked me out, but it didn't end up hurting very much at all. It was nice to not feel the contractions and just rest. Once the shot had worn off after a couple of hours they measured me again and I was finally at a 10! I was so glad that it was finally time for me to start pushing! I was thinking that it was almost time to see my little baby! I was very excited. This birthing center encourages women to try a variety of different laboring positions. I am pretty sure I tried all of them at one point or another after I started pushing. After I had been pushing for a while I thought Rick looked either bored out of his mind or grossed out, so I told him he could leave for a while if he wanted to. So, he went outside and joined my Mom, Ricky Jr., and his Mom in the waiting room. For some reason no matter how hard I pushed, Leilani just didn't want to come. She was being stubborn (like her Daddy!). After a number of hours of pushing the midwife said that she was concerned that Leilani's heart rate had gone up and that I might want to consider getting a c-section. I agreed to it, but I said that I wanted to keep pushing until then. They started to prep for a c-section and drew my blood. Meanwhile I was still pushing and the nurse informed me that Leilani's heart rate had gotten back to normal. So, I didn't have to get a c-section just yet. Later on the midwife suggested that I might want to have Rick come back in for additional support. So, they got him from the waiting room and he was in charge of giving me oxygen after each pushing session. (I really hated the oxygen though.) Once again the midwife suggested that I might want to consider having a c-section because I had been pushing for so long, but I told her that I was okay and only wanted a c-section if there was a problem with Leilani. Soon the midwife told me that she could see Leilani's hair and I got to feel her little head. But the nurse said she was getting stuck on one of my bones. She said that the doctor might need to use forceps to get her out. I said that was okay, but I wanted to keep pushing until then. I made some more progress, and it seemed like she was just right there, but the midwife said she would need to give me an episiotomy to make some more room. So, she gave me the epistiotomy during the next set of pushing. Soon after the epistiotomy Leilani Diane was finally born at 10:53 p.m.! I had ended up pushing for FIVE hours! It was so amazing when she finally arrived. They put her right up against my skin as soon as she came out. She was already crying as she was delivered and she looked so beautiful! She did have a little red spot on her head from where she was hitting one of my bones, but it was gone by the next day. Leilani was crying when she came out until she heard Rick talk to her, and then she immediately stopped. (They say that babies can recognize their parents' voices from hearing them in the womb.) The midwife quickly stitched me up from my episiotomy while I was holding Leilani. I was able to continue holding my little angel for at least an hour before they did anything like weighing or bathing her. She weighed 8 lbs. and 7 ounces and her length was 19 3/4 inches. She never even had to leave the room and she got to sleep with us instead of a nursery. I was so happy about that! She immediately took to nursing, which I was relieved to find out. After a couple of hours the nurse suggested that I get up to take a shower. She walked with me to the bathroom, and as I was trying to get into the shower I totally fainted! Luckily she caught me before I hit the ground and revived me with smelling salts. Wow, smelling salts are strong! When I came to, I had no idea what was going on. Needless to say, we decided to hold off on the shower until the next morning.

Thursday, June 11th
I didn't sleep much the night before because I didn't want to take my eyes off of my little lady. But when I got out of bed I felt like I had been hit by a truck! I was so sore, especially my lower back. Even my fingers hurt, and some were numb. (This is due to the fact that during one of the labor positions, I was pulling on a sheet that was attached to the birthing bar.) My Mom, Ricky Jr., and Rick's Mom finally got to see Leilani on this morning. (They had gone home the night before prior to her birth.) Some of Rick's coworkers also came by to visit us. We stayed in the hospital until Saturday morning and then took our bundle of love home.