Anna's Birth Story

Well, I'm about 3 weeks late in posting this, but.. Oh, well! Better late than never, right?!?!

It all started on Tuesday, May 31, at my 38 week appointment with Dr. Reiter. I went in like normal, weight gain was fine, BP was fine, measuring 2 weeks ahead (like normal)... Just a routine appointment. Dr. Reiter did my internal exam, and I was 3 centimeters dilated and about 70% effaced. While listening to Anna's heartbeat, he said, "We can induce tomorrow if you'd like." Matt's immediate reaction was, "Let's do it!" Dr. Reiter joked about that! The reason he did this was because of how ready we were to have this baby. Note: I'd been on bed rest for the last 4 weeks due to pre-term labor scares. So, I got dressed while Dr. Reiter contacted Willow Creek. When we walked out, the nurses were guessing how big the baby would be. **Their guesses were in the low 8 lbs.**

We left Creekside and headed down to Willow Creek to get paperwork and blood work taken care of before the induction. That took about 30 minutes, and we rushed to go pick up our precious Katie who was at my parent's house. When we got there, we told my parents what the plan was and OF COURSE they were thrilled. We took Katie home with us and enjoyed dinner and bath time with our angel. Once she was ready for bed, we took her back to my parents to spend the night. I cried leaving her because I knew things would never be the same...

We got back home and did last minute things.. Matt brought baby things down from upstairs. We repacked our bags. We cleaned the house. We enjoyed some cuddle time. We went to bed around 11:00, but I just could not sleep. I slept on and off until the alarm went off at 4:30 am. I took a nice, hot shower and shaved my legs. While getting ready, my mind was racing. Even though I had been through labor and delivery with Katie, I was still nervous and scared about the "What Ifs."

We left the house at 5:15 and arrived at Willow Creek around 5:25. We checked in and were given a room by 5:35. However, the nurse didn't come back in the room until 6:15. You can just imagine our frustration levels! During that time, though, we took a few last minute preggo pictures! The nurse (Sara) came in at 6:15 to get me in my bed and start my IV. However, she had real trouble and ended up getting another nurse (more experienced) after she failed two times. The new nurse got it in immediately, but it hurt quite a bit. Once the IV was in, they started the pitocin on a pretty low level and checked my cervix. I was already dilated to 4 cm and 75% effaced just from my appointment yesterday afternoon. Once the pitocin was started, my contractions picked up and were VERY uncomfortable. They let me labor for a few minutes while the nursing staff switched over.

My new nurse, Margaret, came in around 7:00 and introduced herself. Dr. Chase, the anesthesiologist, came in around 7:15 to give me my epidural (THANK GOODNESS!!). I had to lay back to let it all even out. While I was laying back, Margaret started taking my history. During this time, I started feeling woozy and had Matt answer the questions. It wasn't getting better, and I noticed I was having trouble hearing and was getting extremely hot and nauseous. My BP had dropped down to 70/40, and Anna's heart rate was dangerously low. I actually wasn't too sure what all was going on during this time, but I vaguely remember. A whole bunch of nurses came in, turned me on my side, and slapped the oxygen mask on me. One of the nurses was also doing an internal exam to try and stimulate Anna. The other nurse was trying to loosen the contraction.

After getting that all calmed down, she explained to me that my body was reacting negatively to the epidural by lowering my BP all while the pitocin was creating a constant contraction, not giving Anna a break in between. So, it was a scary few minutes in our little room. Thank goodness for a strong husband! After giving my body a short break, Margaret began taking my history again. I tried to sit up a little to answer her questions; however, within a few minutes, I felt very woozy again. They had to slap that silly oxygen mask on me to stabilize things again. I decided to just lay back for the time being.

Around 8:45, Dr. Reiter showed up to break my water. He checked my cervix, and I was still a 4 and on the lowest level of pitocin. He said that I would've gone into labor naturally within a day or two. Oh, well... I was ready to have my baby!

My mom and Sandy both arrived around 9:15. Dad brought the girls (Emma and Katie) up to visit for a little while. It was so nice seeing my sweet girl! Margaret came back in at 9:30 to check me again, and I was 5 cm. I was amazed at how quickly everything was progressing. Dad left with the girls around 10:15, and we all just visited while we waited.

At 10:30, Margaret came back in just to check if we were ok. She proceeded to stay and talk for 45 minutes about lots of nonsense stuff. I ended up falling asleep while her, my mom, Sandy, and Matt talked. It was rather humorous! They all thought I was faking, so she would leave. I wasn't, though. I actually fell asleep! She left and retured at 11:35 to check me again. This time, I was 7 cm!

Aunt Mischelle arrived at 12:00. I was in great spirits until 12:50 when I felt an overwhelming urge to use the bathroom - which usually means you're fully dilated. I only told Matt because I didn't want anyone else to think I was crazy :o) At 1:00, Margaret came in to check, and I was 10 cm and ready to push!!!! She left to go tell Dr. Reiter and quickly came back in with some not so great news. Dr. Reiter was down the hall sewing someone up who had an extensive tear. She said that he wouldn't be able to make it for at least another 20 minutes. So, I had to breathe through each contraction or urge to push. It was extremely difficult.

Dr. Reiter made it into the room at 1:30 and got everything ready to go by 1:35. I quickly started pushing. I only had to push through 1 contraction before I could see her crowning. The second contraction moved her even further down. With the third contraction, Anna baby was out!

Anna was born at 1:50 p.m. weighing 8 pounds 15 ounces. She was 20.75 inches long and had a beautiful head of dark brown hair! I ended up with a 2nd degree episiotomy because Miss Anna was on the large side! Giving birth this go round was SOOOO much easier than with Katie!

Pictures will come later!