March 1, 2012
I went to work like normal. I had had an acupuncture treatment the night before. My contractions were all out front and about 10 minutes apart. By the end of the work day, the contractions were 6 minutes apart. So I went to bed at about 9:30pm. At 11:30, I woke up with some significant back pain and contractions that were 5 minutes apart. It was the beginning of the end.
March 2, 2012
I had been unable to sleep between contractions since my labor was all in my back. I just wanted to be on my hands and knees. I was in child's pose, on the yoga ball leaning forward onto the couch, in the tub, or on my hands and knees doing cat cow postures. The rice socks Josh had made for Valentine's day were a God send. I had them across my back the whole time. In between contractions, I cleaned the house. My bag had been packed for weeks.
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My Contraction Timer
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So I woke Josh up at 4:45am and asked him to get ready to go to the hospital. We got there by 5:30 and contractions were 2-3 minutes apart. I still had all back labor. When I got to the hospital, I was only 2cm dilated. After an hour of monitoring, I was still only 2 cm. They said to go home. I asked to walk around for an hour and then get checked again. So Josh and I walked around the hospital and after an hour, I was 3cm, which qualified me for admission to the labor and delivery unit.
Once I got admitted, I had the best nursing care (Thanks Cindy and Michelle!!). I was able to walk around and took full advantage of that. Josh was great the whole time at helping me breath and and focus of relaxing. He also provided great counter pressure on my SI joints for a little relief of the back pressure. Once I got to 4 cm, things progressed rapidly. My water had broke, so I got a shower. Once in the shower, the contractions came every 30 seconds it seemed. I became irritable...So I called for the nurse and asked if I could get a shot of something to help. The midwife, Robin, came in and checked me and I was 8cm!! She was ordering a Nubaine shot for me. I waited, but the contractions got worse and I was feeling the urge to push! So 30 minutes later, I called for the nurse again and told her I was going to start pushing!! I felt like a terror at this point. There was no comfortable position, I was cursing and pacing around the room, I couldn't communicate anything. It was very instincual feeling. So Robin and the team came in and it was time to push. After about 40 minutes of pushing, our baby entered the world!! I was screaming "It's my baby! It's my baby!" Josh cut the cord and they took her to get her breathing started. A little scary, but she is fine.
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First family photo! |
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Hey Daddy!!!
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So while they worked on her, Josh and I picked her name, Maeve Willow McElroy. She was weighed in at 6 lbs, 9 oz and 19.25 inches long. Out little peanut!!
So while Robin and the team is working on delivering the afterbirth, the cord separated from the placenta. This is when things got complicated. The surgeon came in and said I needed to go to the OR to get a D & C. Talk about a mess of emotions!!
So I got to feed her and then had to go to the OR. I got a spinal, but it only took on the left, so I had to get another, which took up to my chest. It was also at this time, that I noticed my blood pressure had dropped to 60/30's. I was put on a medication infusion to get it back up. After surgery, I had to go to PACU to stay on the infusion. I was so sad to be away from Maeve and Josh. Josh stayed with her and even gave her some formula while I wasn't around. I was able to call him and check in, but couldn't see them until I was able to bend my knees. After 3 hours, I was able to go to my room and see them. It was overjoyed to see them again.
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Reunited at last!!
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That night, family poured into my room and everyone got to hold Maeve. I was feeling better, but was very tired. The first night was not too bad, as she only got up twice to feed. Feeding went well.
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| New Grandparents!! |
March 3, 2012
We were still pretty high on endorphins in the morning. The midwife came in and said we could go home, but the peditrician made us stay another day to make sure all was well with Maeve. So we hung out and relaxed and stared at Maeve all day. We had some more visitors that evening and went to bed. Maeve decided night time was the time to cluster feed. So I didn't get much sleep.
March 4, 2012
We got Maeve ready to go home. This was a very emotional process. Josh's Nana Lippincott had sewn and knit an outfit for Josha nd Kellen to go home from the hospital in. Heidi had given it to us for Maeve to go home in.
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The bring home outfit from Nana Lippincott |
It was quite comical to see her in the outfit. Maeve is so petite that both of her legs fit into the one pant leg. She only filled out half of the outfit. She looked like a starfish.
So we brought her home and got settled into our new life. First on our agenda, go for a hike. We took her out for a walk and showed her the barn and the garage, and the cats, the apple trees, and the garden. She loved them all!!
We had some visitors that night and then went to bed, or so I thought!
Another sleepless night!
March 5, 2012
Our first trip to the peditrician!! We got all dressed up and got a good report from the doctor. On the way home, we stopped at Bause's Drug store to say hi to Jane and to pick up a heating pad.
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Outfit for running errands |
Next on the list was to go to the grocery store for some fresh food, then home. Grammy Roberts came over and later we took Maeve to meet Cooper at the McElroys!!
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| Maeve and her Vermont Teddy Bear from the Garvins!! |
March 6, 2012
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| Hanging with Daddy in the window sill |
We had another rough night, but Josh was home again today, which makes life a lot easier. We gave her her first bath and got her dressed up again. Grammy Faust came over and clenaed and dropped off a lot of food. After lunch, we all went for a hike in the woods. It was a beautiful day. Later, Nan and Jill and Sloane came over for a visit. Then, it was time for bed.
March 7, 2012
Our fist day alone!! Josh had to go back to work and so Maeve and I slept in. After we got ready, we went to the bank and Target for a few things. We spent the afternoon relaxing and Pop-pop McElroy and Nan stopped by later before dinner. Josh got to hold her for a few hours before bed. The night started out a little rough, but I actually got some sleep last night!!
