Addison's Birth

So here is a run down of Addison's big day- February 15, 2008

6:45 AM- Leave for hospital. Grandma Sharon comes over to take care of Bailey, who's still sleeping.
7:00- Checked in and just waiting for the Dr. Bowen to come and start my induction.
7:10- Dr. is in the hospital, but I wait.
8:30- Dr. is finally in my room. He breaks my water and it feels really wired. Like you're peeing on yourself and just can't stop. Dr. Bowen leaves and says he'll see me when I've made some progress.

Now I sit and wait for the contractions to getty-up and go. But they don't. I have just normal, random, mild pregnant lady contractions. I watch the Today show, read a People mag and nothing is really happening.

10:30- My mom, Sharon shows up, after dropping Bailey off at Aunt Danielle's house, and she plays cards with Robert. She watches the monitor like a hawk, informing me of all my lame-A, weak contractions. This only makes me more frustrated because she tries to convince me that my body is going into labor when we both know she is completely lying.
1:00 PM- The nurse convinces me to get out of bed (I've literally been sitting for six hours now) and start walking the halls. I've always thought people look kind of goofy walking the hospital hallways while in labor. To me labor is a personal experience and I like to stay in my room. But I decide to stand next to my bed and sway back and forth. Within 10 minutes my contractions start coming at regular intervals of 6 minute apart. This gravity thing really works. And LABOR FINALLY BEGINS!
1:30- I'm walking the halls with mom. Rob is getting some lunch. Which is his like third meal of the day and I've eaten nothing. And I'm getting really hungry.
2:00- Rob and mom trade places, so now she goes to eat and Rob pushes the IV pole for me. Good news, my contractions are now 4 minutes apart and strong enough that I have to stop walking and stand still when they come.
2:10- I'm back in my room and the nurse has brought in the pitocin machine. She thinks she's going to have to hook me up to get my contractions going. But things have changed since the last time she talked to me.

I convince the nurse to check my dilation before setting up the pitocin machine. In hopes that I can get an epidural before the pitocin.

2:15- I'm dilated to a 4, PROGRESS!!! and the contractions are getting really strong. The anaesthesiologist is called and my epidural is on the way.

Pitocin is still on the books because the epidural could cause my contractions to slow down but we'll see what happens.

2:20- Tammie, Roberts mom, shows up and is very excited but sad to see me in pain.
2:45- I'm getting my epidural but it's not as strong as my last (with Bailey). I was waiting for everything to go numb from my belly button down. This time my belly was numb but I still felt the pressure.
3:00- The nurse checks me again and I'm at a 5. Looks like I'll be able to avoid the pitocin because my contractions are coming on fast and strong.
3:10- Much deserved nap for me.
4:15- The nurse is checked me again and I'm at a 7 and 90% effaced. The contractions are about 2 minutes apart and I can still feel the preassure but I'm doing okay. The nurse says she'll check me in 30 minutes. If I'm at an 8 she will page the doctor, talk with him and he'll probably come to the hospital. That's right the doctor is at his clinic and I've only seen him for about 10 minutes this whole time.

The mothers are now in the waiting room to give Robert and I some alone time. And they will stay there until after the delivery.

4:35- All of the sudden I feel a ton of pressure and I call in the nurse (even though it hasn't been 30 minutes). She checks me only to find out I'm at a 10 and basically ready to start pushing. She pages the doctor at his clinic for" delivery". Which means, don't call the hospital just come because your patient is ready to deliver.

Thus, we wait for Dr. Bowen to arrive at the hospital and the nurse keeps telling me not to push. There is another doctor waiting in the hallway just in case I can't wait. But I have no desire to push yet so it's all good.

4:50- The doctor has arrived and starts prepping himself and the room.
4:59- We start the pushing and it's much easier than last time. Probably because I've done this before, so my body is already prepared for delivery and because my epidural isn't that strong and I can tell what I'm doing.
5:06 PM- IT'S A GIRL !!! Just 7 minutes of pushing and we have a brand new baby. And Robert and I are both shocked that it's a girl. But we are very happy that she has arrived. The name game begins. It took 36 hours to get a name for Bailey I have a feeling with this baby it will take longer.

Now the mothers are aware that the baby has come but they still don't know what it is. None of the doctors or nurses will tell them. The mothers leave the waiting room and start sneaking up the hallway. They are very anxious but they get caught and the nurse makes them go back to the waiting room.

5:45- The mothers finally get to come in. The baby is being cleaned and is naked grandma Sharon sees the umbilical cord and shouts "It's a boy". A split second later she realizes her mistake and says "another girl!". Grandma Tammie was right behind her and very excited.

The rest of the evening consists of me finally getting to eat, a lot of visitors, baby's first bath (at midnight) and me falling asleep around 2 AM. It was a long day but it was one of the best days I've ever had.