Wednesday morning started off like any other morning. Ev and I were both up early, me with contractions and him for work. Ev was going into work early in hopes of being able to come to my OB appointment that was rescheduled at the last minute due to the doctor being out for a delivery. I was hoping that his work would allow him to leave to come, but we weren't sure.
Evan was able to meet me at the doctors appt at 8:30am. The appointment was pretty average. We were measured, weighed, and were able to hear her heartbeat. Dr. Vendola came in and checked me and much to our surprise told us we were already 3cm dilated and he wanted to see us back at the hospital later that afternoon. He said he had a hunch I might be going into labor. His advice was for me to go walk around for a few hours and then we would check to see if I was making any changes. He said I could go into labor in the next 5 hours or 5 days!
Well, his first prediction was pretty accurate. I left the appointment and did some shopping at Target and Kohls. I started to notice during my shopping excursion that my contractions were a little bit stronger and they seemed closer together but I wasn't really paying attention (I had shopping to do), so it was hard to say! After coming home, I realized something was different. I was definately having regular contractions! By this time it was 11am, I was debating calling Ev and telling him we needed to go to the hospital early, but I also knew we were planning on meeting at the hospital at noon. So I decided just to wait it out.
Ev and I arrived to the labor and delivery unit around 12:15 and were quickly hooked up to monitors and were checked to see how things were progressing. We were admitted less than 45 minutes later. We were both shocked to learn I was having regular contractions every 5 minutes apart was was now dilated to 4cm! I asked the nurse if she thought we were really going to have the baby today and she said she would be surprised if we delivered after midnight!
At the hospital in labor and still smiling......for now!
The next couple of hours went by pretty quickly. We walked the halls and watched tv, Ev noticed that I was no longer talking during my contractions and they were much closer together. Both my nurse and Evan recommended I take a shot of pain meds to help me get through the contractions. So at 5pm I took them up on their offer and it helped, but not enough. We tried to let the medication work, but I told my nurse I wanted something else. I was discouraged to learn I couldn't get another shot of Demerol until 8pm (not for another 2 hours!), she recommended trying to give the Demerol some more time and then to try the whirlpool tub. If that didn't work we would talk about an epidural.
The birthing tub was horrible! I was in so much pain! After less than 10 minutes I told Ev he had to get me out of this thing and NOW! As soon as I stood to get back to bed I knew something was different. I was shaky, nauseasated, and in severe pain! Ev quickly got me back into my hospital gown and back to bed. He called the nurse and in a very nervous voice told the nurse, "we need help in here!" Our nurse arrived and I told her I wanted the epidural! Well, that didn't happen......I was already 9.5cm dilated and was told this baby was coming now and I would have to deliver her without any pain meds!!!! Dr. Vendola was brought in and at 7:50pm he broke my water.
Evan was amazing during my labor! I could not have done it without him! He coached me through every contractions and helped me relax in between. After pushing for nearly an hour, the nurses and Evan both assured me she was almost there. During my last contraction, it was Evan who actually encouraged me to get in one more good push. All I wanted to do was sleep, but I listened to him. I sat back up and pushed! I could tell this one was the one and opened my eyes just in time to see Harper arrive into the world!
She was gorgeous! She arrived at 8:53 pm on 3/7/2012. She weighed 7lb 3oz and was 20 3/4 inches long. Evan cut the cord and the nurses took her to check her out. Unfortunately, our little girl required some oxygen shortly after delivery. They were unsuccessful at weaning her and were concerned at how fast she was breathing and the possible risk of her having aspirated some amniotic fluid during birth. Although both her Apgar scores were 8 (she was only marked down for her color), the doctors still decided to admit her to the NICU for observation. We were hoping she would be there for less than an hour, but her chest xray showed heavy streaking and was very cloudly! She was then admitted to the NICU and was put on antibiotics for the next 48 hours. Evan and I were finally able to see and hold our baby 10:30pm. She was so tiny and seeing her hooked up to so many lines and monitors broke my heart. I was thankful the nursing staff seemed to think she was doing so well, they even had her down to room air by midnight and were getting ready to hook her up to her first tube feeding.
Ev and I left to get some much needed rest and food shortly after midnight. We were very surprised when a nurse came into our room 2 hours later asking if I wanted to go down to the NICU to breastfeed. Of course we said yes, and were thrilled to learn when we got there Harper was off oxygen and her feeding tube was already gone! I nursed my little girl for the first and fell in love with her all over again. Seeing Evan rock her was amazing. I couldn't believe how much love I had for both of them! We sat in the nursery for awhile just holding and staring at our beautiful little girl. We were over the moon to learn the doctor was releasing her from the NICU at 3am, although she would have to go back every 8 hours for antibiotics we were allowed to keep her in our room!
The next 3 days were filled with family and friends meeting Harper for the first time! We are so thankful for everyones love and prayers. Our little girl is now home and doing amazing! We are so blessed to be a family of three and we could not be more in love with her!
