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Alexandra Lauren's Birth

I felt I had to tell my birth story since I read so many while I was pregnant. Some of the stories scared me and some gave me reliefe, but I think it helped prepare me. I felt like I had to tell everything, so get ready, it is long!!

My husband and I decided we would start trying to have a baby on our anniversary (September 9th). We figured out later that we conveived on September 13 (after a friends wedding reception)! 4 days of trying! Wow, good thing I did not mess around with this when I was in high school!

The day after I was to start my period we went out and bought a pregnancy test. I had a feeling (call it mothers intuition) that we were pregnant. Before I took the test I read the directions front to back (which I recommend, you will see why). After the recommended time had gone by, my husband and I went into the bathroom to look. It was a MINUS sign (minus was negative, plus was positive)!!!! I immediately became histerical. I just knew that I was pregnant! When I bent down to pick up my underwear and shorts (don't ask me why, but I did not have them on) I looked at the test more closely. I started screaming for my husband, "It has a slight pink line that makes a plus! Look!". Jay (my husband) replied by telling me that it did not mean anything, it was more of a negative than a plus. (Here is where reading the directions come in handy) I ran and got the directions and showed him the bright red area where it stated that if there was even the slightest bit of a plus sign it is positive. After he read it four times he started to believe we were pregnant. I started crying even harder this time!! We are pregnant! I had to take the other test in the package to confirm this. It did the same thing! The next thing I know I was running out to the store to buy a diffent brand (I had to know for sure). This time it was positive. We were convinced we were pregnant. Talk about an emotional roller coaster! I called everyone we knew to tell them the good news!

I was due on June 6, 1997. My pregnancy was picture perfect, I never got sick and I was never overly tired, all the "bad" things never happened (unless you count the one month I gained 9 pounds)!

Jay and I went to see Dr. Salinas on February 11 to have an ultrasound. Jay wanted to find out what sex the baby was and I did not. When we got there we told Dr. Salinas this and he said he would write it down on a piece of paper in case we wanted to know later. Well, a friend of mine told me this theory about the doctor. She said that if he says he knows what it is, it is a boy! If he says that he is not 100% sure, it is a girl! So, after looking for a while, Dr. Salinas moved the ultrasound and said, "I know what it is!" So, according to the theory, that would mean it is a boy! So, my husband and I were believing it was a boy! I even told the doctor the theory that I had heard and he smiled and said, "That could be right." So, a boy it is! When we were leaving the examining room Dr. Salinas called Jay back into the room and told him he would write down the sex. Jay told the doctor that there was no need and that we know it is a boy. Dr. Salinas insisted on writing it down. "IT'S A GIRL!"

When I went to see the doctor on May 5, he said I was 2 cm. dialated and 70% effaced. He said he wanted me back in the office on May 12. He also said that if I did not have everything in order, now is the time! Good thing my nursery furniture was being delivered and set up tomorrow! When I went back on the 12th I was 3 cm. dialated and 75% effaced. See you soon he said! I had to go back on May 16th, I thought my water was leaking. It was not leaking. He said that if I did not have her by next Friday, May 23, he would induce. The next weekend was Memorial Day weekend. I was sure that when I went into his office on Friday that he would not induce me until Tuesday, May 27 because of the holiday weekend and having Monday off. I went to the appointment on Friday. 4 cm. and 80% effaced. "How about having this baby tomorrow?" Dr. Salinas said. "WHAT!!!!" I started freaking out!! I was going to have a baby tomorrow, what about the holiday weekend. Surely, he wants time with his family. "Meet me at the hospital tomorrow morning at 6:00am." Holy Cow!! "O.K., see you there!"

I immediately went to my car (almost running) and called my husband, called my mom and called work to tell them I would not be in for a while!!!

On Friday nights I go out to dinner with my parents. Why should this Friday night be any diffent, I am only have a baby tomorrow. We went to Red Lobster for my last supper. After dinner my parents and I went to the grocery store to get some snacks for my husband and all the spectators (family members). You never know how long it will take!

I woke up around 4:00am to take a shower and make sure that I had everything. Around 5:00am I woke my husband. We were in the car heading to the hospital at 5:30. Once I had checked in and was taken to my room and given my beautiful gown the doctor on call came in (around 6:30). He checked me and started laughing. He told me I was 7 cm. dialated! 7cm.!!! He asked if I was in any pain and if I wanted any medication. I told him that I was not feeling anything and I would still be at home! The nurse started an IV and took blood. An hour later another doctor (shift change) and the first doctor came in to check on my status. The new doctor looked at the first doctor and they both started laughing. "You are now at 8 cm., are you sure you are not feeling anything!" I was completely fine. No pain what so ever. I could see the contractions were bad on the monitor, but as for feeling them, nothing! At this time my husband started calling everyone that wanted to be there for the birth. "You better get here quick, it is going faster than we expected!" I asked the doctor when the pain would start and what would I do for pain reliefe. Both doctors looked at me and chuckled. "We have no idea what to tell you, we don't have women walk in here at 7 cm. dilated and unable to feel the pain." We decided to hold off on the pain and wait and see what happens. Remember the blood they had taken? The nurse just dropped it off the shelf. SPLAT! All over the floor. Good, I get to give blood again!!! YIPEE!

Around 8:30 in the morning (a half hour after the doctors checked me) the nurses started brining in tables, clothes, supplies, instruments, everything you could imagine. I asked the nurse if there was something going on that I had missed. "No, we just want to be ready!" The nurses had called my doctor to let him know what my status was. He told them that he was in another delivery and might not be able to be at mine. This was no big deal to me, I figured everyone in the hospital knew what they were doing and I could not change the fact that he might not be here, so why get upset.

Around 9:30 I sent my husband out to the waiting room to see if any of our family was there. Everyone was in place ready to wait. I told my husband they could come in my room. What the heck, I was not in any pain and I was sure my husband and I were going to get sick of staring at each other. About 15 minutes later I had 7 people, plus my husband and the nurses all pilled in my room. I pulled out the cookies that I had bought the night before and we had a little party. The nurse brought in a pot of coffee and soda for everyone, since she broke my vials of blood. We all sat in my room watching t.v., talking and reading magazines just waiting for this baby to come. I still did not feel anything.

I do not really recall what time it was, but it seemed liked hours had passed when my doctor came in. He checked me. 9 cm. dilated. The babies head was looking to the side and that is what was taking so long. If she would just look straight she would have been out by now.

Everyone came back into my room. By this time they had broken open the chips and dip I bought. I sent my husband down to the cafeteria for lunch. Once he was done eating the nurses came back in. "The doctor wants to break her water now!" Let me tell you, nothing clears a room better! After all the hugs and kisses and everyone was gone I started to get real nervous. It had not seemed real until now! I am going to have a baby!

After my water was broken, KABOOM! The contractions started to kill! I survived one. The next one came and the nurse told me to lay on my side, but that only hurt worse. "I NEED THE EPIDURAL, I CAN NOT HANDLE IT." I had made it to 9 cm. and 98% effaced, but I could not hold out any longer. The pain was too great.

The Anastegiolist came in to give me my epidural. I must tell you, that was the worse pain I have ever been felt in my whole entire life. No one had ever told me the epidural was going to hurt. HOLY COW! About 20 minutes later I was not experiencing pain again. The pain of the epidural being put into place was well worth it.

Around 4:30 the doctor came in and told me it was time to have this baby. I was 10cm. dialated and 100% effaced. He said she was a big baby and he would need to help me. He attached the vacuum and told me to push. The only thing that hurt at this point was the pressure from the vacuum. I did not know this at the time, but the vacuum had fallen off her head. The doctor looked at the nurses and my husband as if they needed to start giving me a lot of encouragement to push. The nurse was afraid I was going to have to have a C-Section. The doctor put the vacuum back on her head and also used forceps. Talk about pressure! After I pushed about 6 times I felt like I could not push anymore. I can remember yelling, "I can not do this anymore, I quit!" My husband and everyone else in the room starting yelling at me that I could not quit, her head was out.

The next thing I remember was the sound of my baby crying! "It's a girl!" Automatically I started to bawl. They placed her on my stomach so we could see her. I could not believe that God had given me this miracle. It was the most wonderful experience anyone can ever feel. She weighed 9lbs. 8oz. and was 20 1/2 inches long. She was beautiful, a little swollen, but beautiful! My husband and I were looking at her as the doctors got her cleaned up and I said to my husband, "There is our Alex!" We named her Alexandra Lauren.

After me being in the hospital a week and a half after she was born for Kidney Stones and her going in the hospital a week and a half after that for an infected umbilical cord, everything is wonderful. She is the joy of my (and my husband's) life.