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Kelsy's Birth

After 8 months of trying to conceive I found out I was pregnant. My husband and I were excited, shocked and scared. We were shocked because this month it actually worked! I had been taking the drug clomid for 4 months and we were getting used to a negative monthly result. We hadn't been concerned about infertility yet, but we're still shocked that I was pregnant. After a day or two, the excitement set in. We kept it a secret from everyone for three months so by the time we told everyone I couldn't wait. Keeping it a secret between the two (three) of us was fun.

My due date was Dec 27, 1997. On Fri, 19 Dec I saw my doctor who said I was 3 cm dilated and I would probably have the baby over the weekend. I was very excited! I was excited to see my baby and was so uncomfortable I was looking forward to NOT being pregnant anymore. The weekend came and went and I went back to the doctor the following Monday, 22 Dec. They had me come in early since the office would be closed because of the holidays. This was a different doctor who was shocked that I was 3 cm dilated and had felt no contractions. He said if I didn't have the baby by the following Sunday, he would see me Monday, Dec 29 at the office and probably induce me that day. My doctor was on vacation during the holidays.

I woke up Monday morning at 3:15 a.m. with what I though was a terrible stomach cramps. As I made my way to the bathroom I felt a small gush of liquid, which turned out to be blood, not my water. The stomach cramps were non-stop as was the diarrhea. During this time I expected my husband to get up. He didn't seem to feel my sense of urgency, so I shouted "get out of bed now!" He was trying to find the doctor's phone number while trying to time my pains. The contractions came one right after the other. He decided we needed to get to the hospital right way, but I couldn't leave the bathroom.

At 3:50a.m. I was laying in the backseat while my husband drove us to the hospital. We were there in 10 minutes. I was taken to the maternity ward and got the last LDR room available. I changed into a gown and had another bout in the bathroom. The first time I was checked I was 7cm dilated. That was at 4:20a.m. I was shocked that it was going this fast. I had told the nurse that I wanted an epidural but after I was checked she told me it was too late for that. WHAT??? Are you kidding ?? I groaned to myself. She asked if I would like Demerol. Originally I didn't plan to have it, but after being rejected for the epidural, I was desperate! They got an I.V. started and then checked me again to find I was at 9 1/2 c.m.! They said no Demerol either. I couldn't believe I was going to do this without drugs! I thought to myself, you've got to stay calm because there's no way out of this.

To get through each contraction which were about a minute apart I squeezed the dickens out of my husband's hand. I had to lay on my side since my back hurt so much. The nurse periodically made me lay on my back so she could read the fetal monitor on my belly. Apparently it didn't work well when I was on my side. The nurse said that at this rate I should have the baby by 6 a.m.. That was encouraging so I kept my eye on the clock in the room. The nurse asked me if I had the urge to push yet - no not yet. Around 6 p.m. she told me to start pushing even though I still didn't have the urge. Learning to push took a few tries. When I finally got it right my bowels continued to empty. At first I was embarrassed, but the pain made me forget about that. First I pushed laying on my side and holding one leg up myself. This was not very productive but I did it for an hour. It made me very tired. By this time they had put a fetal monitor on my baby's head and the urge to push was definitely there. The shift change at the hospital brought me a new nurse, one I liked a lot better. She had me get off the bed and squat on the floor holding on to my husband. We tried this for a few contractions, but I was so shaky I had to get back in bed.

The last hour was a blur to me. I remember a resident at the foot of the bed, nurses wheeling in carts with lots of metal instruments and a baby unit. My doctor was in and out. They were concerned because the baby's heart rate was very low - in the 70's. At this time the resident repeated said where is Santiviago? (who was the head of the O.B. unit at the hospital). This made me nervous. Finally a nurse and my husband were holding my legs for me -didn't' know my knees could go behind my head! I was exhausted and was trying to hold my pushes for 10 seconds but it was hard. The resident attempted attaching the vacuum extractor to my baby's head 7 times before my doctor finally stepped in and was successful after 2 tries. My husband said one nurse was pushing down on my stomach at this time also. I really don't remember this. I do remember getting shots prior to my episiotomy. I didn't feel the cut. The doctors were getting nervous because the baby wasn't doing well. I was getting nervous too. Finally her head popped out (face up) and with one more painful push the rest of her body slid out at 7:58 a.m.. What a relief!

They cut the cord immediately (my husband didn't get to do it) and the neonatal doctor took her. I could see the doctor and a nurse working on Kelsey. We didn't hear anything from her but my doctor said she's fine. After what seemed like a long time we heard some noise from our baby. I was so tired that I didn't even mind that I hadn't seen her yet. I don't think she was breathing right away and they wanted to get her heart rate up. Later we found out Kelsey had been stuck on my pelvis bone and because her head was compressed her heart rate was low during delivery. My doctor later told me I had been a half-hour away from a c-section. That scared me, but I was glad it didn't turn out that way.

After 45 minutes I finally got to see and hold my baby. Kelsey had a lot of dark hair and was very active with arms and legs going everywhere. She continually stuck her tongue out! We found this adorable. The first pictures we took of Kelsey she's sticking out her tongue. After another 20 minutes I nursed Kelsey and to be honest I don't remember if that was hard or not. Kelsey didn't turn out to be a great nurser so by the second month I was pumping and she was drinking out of a bottle. She weighed 7 pounds, 8 ounces, 20 ½ inches long. She had cute chubby cheeks. Now Kelsey is 4 months old and doing great! She is the most precious little girl and I am blessed to have her. I can't wait to have another baby!