Avery's Big Entrance

Six days overdue. Forty pounds over my starting weight. I was ready to get the show on the road. I had an appointment on Wednesday and was told I was "almost" 3 cm dialated. I "almost" cried. The following Saturday, May 30th, I had attended a birthday party for Mr. Mason. I felt like I couldn't sit still. This blog will probably be long just to warn you.

That night, about 8pm, I started having some contractions. I didn't think much of it, becuase I had been having contractions all along. However, I found it funny that they were consistently 10 minutes apart. After 2 hours of this, and the contractions continually getting worse, I decided I'd hop in the shower and pack up my bag. So I did. At 11pm, they were getting pretty strong, so we decided to call the doctor. "Did you water break? Are they 5 minutes apart?" No and no. "Call us when you get to that point." I started to worry.

About 20 minutes later, my water broke. Dan said, "Are you sure?" I darted a nasty glance and barked at him to get the phone. I called the doctor and they said to come in. In the car ride down the contractions took a quick turn to be about 3 minutes apart. I am now becoming worried that I am going to miss my epidural window.

Now, a note about epidurals. I am not an advocate of taking medications unless absolutely medically necessary. I feel as a whole this nation is way over medicated and doctors are very quick to scribble on their prescription pads. However, I will say having had 2 other births with an epidural, I wouldn't want it any other way. I was able to relax and really enjoy and take in the whole experience.

Anyways, we pull into the ER parking lot about midnight. I told Dan to drop me off becuase I would go get started on the check in process. I made it through the doors and quickly dropped onto the nearest chair I could find. Doubled over with a contraction the security guard found me a wheelchair and helped me in. Dan had met us at that point and began to wheel me into the ER to check in. Upon entering the ER, we were met by a million eyes of people waiting to be seen. The first patient I saw was a sruffy alcoholic male holding a pink barf bin. Many thoughts went through my mind, until I was relieved by the ER nurse who turned me right around and wheeled me to the maternity ward.

I was assigned to a bed in triage, and was found to be 5 cm. My first words uttered to the nurse were, "I'm going to miss the epidural window aren't I?" She smiled and said they'd "do their best", but that they had to get the IV going and draw labs before the doctor would come to do it. I was not comforted by all those steps.

I eventually made it into my room. Things were getting pretty intense with contractions. I clung desperately to the bed rails with each one, and must have asked 1000 more times about "missing the window." Dan told me to stop focusing on the epidural. Again, I darted a look at him, and quickly told him that I would not be having any more children after this.

Finally the nurse told me the lab tech was on thier way to take my blood. When she arrived and took her 2 vials, I leaned over the rail of the bed I was clinging on to and told her, "please do whatever it is you need to do with those, to get them where they are supposed to be, so I can get an epidural." She said she was on her way.

Shortly after, in walked the blue suited man with the big needle. I felt relieved already. I get into place, leaning over the edge of the bed clinging to the nurse. I'm pretty sure I squeezed her hands so tight, they were purple. So he began the epidural process. I feel pressure, poking, then hear a "hmmm." More pressure, more poking, more "hmmmms." After 4 of those sessions, I looked at the nurse and said, "what's going on??" The doctor then told me he was having a hard time finding the space because my contractions were so strong in my back. "Let me try going higher" he said. I now knew I was going to be paralyzed. However, in the moment, I felt it a small price to pay. He finally got it in, and within 10 minutes I was laughing and joking again. Dan, watching the contraction monitor and seeing a huge mountain of a contraction pass by, as I chatted calmly with the nurse, asked me, "did you just feel that"? Nope. Life is good.

I was then told to just try and get some rest. At this point, it is now about 3am. I settled in and shut my eyes. Before I knew it it was about 4:45am, and the doctor was coming in and gowning up. She told me, the baby was on her way out. Well, I'm glad someone was paying attention. The entourage of nurses came in to help, I began pushing, and 5 minutes later, Avery was laying on my stomach. Yes, that fast.

However, I looked down at my little lady, and realized right away, she was still and blue. Everyone stopped in the room. They quickly had Dan cut the cord and they swept her over to the little isolette. Next thing I knew, they hit the button for the NICU team and all I could hear was the lack of crying. I looked at Dan and he reached out to hold my hand. An overwhelming feeling of having been there before 3 years earlier with Zachary began to take over. The NICU team came in and began administering oxygen and pumping her with air. For 3 minutes they did this until we heard the most beautiful cry ever. "She's fine" I heard them say. Then I heard the doctor say, "looks like you had a placental abruption".

What happened, was that my placenta had detached early from the uterus and this caused some blood clots to get caught in her mouth on the way out. This also caused a lot of bleeding for me as well, so they had to administer some certain type of medication and keep an eye on things.

After all that, I was able to hold our new addition. Seven pounds, ten ounces, 20 inches long, FULL head of blonde hair, she was as beautiful as ever. We are so happy to have her, and feel like she's been with us all along. Our family feels so complete and the other kids are doing so well with her. She had her first doctors appointment today and is doing great. Growing like a weed already...And so, now life begins!