On the day that A was born....

Today is my little A's birthday. She is turning 5. I can't believe she is that big already. I realized that I had never told her birth story here, so I thought I would share that today.

We had just found out two weeks before that my hubby had cancer and needed major surgery. We wanted to get that taken care of before the cancer had any more chance to spread. I talked to my doctor about being induced. So 8 days before my due date we were scheduled for induction.

The night before, we got a call from the hospital saying that they were full and didn't know if we could come in the next day. They told us to call back in the morning and see if we could come in. We called the next morning and they said that we couldn't come. We were majorly bummed because we wanted to have the baby as soon as possible since my hubby was scheduled for surgery on the 26th. We wanted to have a few days with the baby before he had to go. Awhile later the hospital called back and said that my doctor insisted that they let me come (thank you!). When I got there they put me in a recovery room with another mom that they were going to induce. They started me on pitocin. I was already dilated to a 3.

My DH and I sat and played battleship and talked. He gave me a wonderful blessing. Every half hour they kept coming in and upping my dosage of pitocin. They had upped my dosage to a 13 by the time they moved me to my own room. My nurse was so great. She kept telling me I was wonderwoman. She said most women were crying at a 5. (My roommate was!) I really wasn't having any pain yet. I have since realized that I don't feel any pain until my water brakes. They put me in room #219. I was so glad to finally be in my own room, but I was even more grateful for what number it was. Do you know what hymn number 219 is? Because I have been given much. It seemed so appropriate for this time in our lives.

I had been on pitocin for almost 4 hours, and I had only dilated to a 4. I was so dissappointed. I thought this was going to be a long labor. My doctor came in to check on me and decided to brake my water. I quite impressed the nurse when he did because he totally got sprayed. I have always had a lot of amniotic fluid. he he

Let me just tell you right now that you should never have pitocin with a natural delivery. The next hour was the worst hour of my life. After my water was broken, I had a few contractions that I was able to handle and breathe through, but then they didn't stop. It was horrible. The contractions were right on top of each other, and so hard. It felt like one l....o....n....g contraction. I had my first daughter natural as well, but this was nothing like it. I try to maintain as much dignity as I can when I am in labor, but I lost all decorum. I screamed my head off. (My room mate later asked my nurse if I was alright...I don't know where her room was, but apparently it wasn't far enough away to escape from the noise I was making.....Sorry everyone that was in the hospital that day!!!)

I started feeling the urge to push, but they said I couldn't until I was checked and until the doctor came. WELL TOO BAD!!! My body was pushing whether they said I could or not. That is the thing with natural birth. You know completely that it is time to push and there is no stopping it. Luckily the doctor came right then and after two pushes she was out. I said, "Thank Goodness!!!!" My hour of torture was over and I finally had my beautiful little girl. I was so shell shocked for awhile that I don't remember much right after she was born. I do remember asking if it was for sure a girl. Oh, and my doctor said to me, "I can see why you go natural, it looks like a lot of fun." I didn't really appreciate his sarcasm.

It is amazing that while you are in labor you think you are going to die and that you can't keep going, but as soon as that little baby is born you think it was totally worth it. Our little A was finally here and we were so happy to have her.

She has been a little joy her whole life. She was such a great baby, which is just what we needed at the time as my hubby struggled through chemotherapy. She is a lot like my husband, so I haven't always understood her as well as I would like, but the older she gets the more we connect. She is quiet and doesn't always let you know what she is thinking, but she often comes up to me and wraps her little arms around me and tells me, "I love Mom." She is sweet like that. She is so fun and helpful. She is the best to help with her baby sister even though she is not the oldest. She is calm and talks to the baby so sweetly. And she is absolutely gorgeous. A couple years ago for Halloween she was a fairy, and I put make-up on her for the first time. She was a knock-out even at three!!! We are so in trouble when she is a teenager! I will miss her when she goes to school next year. This past year she has been so close to me. She has helped me through some hard days. I love her like crazy.

Happy Birthday A!!!