Her birth was both similar and yet markedly different than her sister's. This is how her story began.....
Wednesday, June 29th:
6 p.m.--Grammy arrived in town to assume her position of Jilly patrol. We were blessed to have several friends "on call" for the previous two weeks just in case I went into labor. I decided to have Mom come on this particular day because we were approaching the holiday weekend, and had just one back-up person available for Jilly care at this point. Also, I wanted her in place before Friday morning's scheduled appt in case I was induced that day. I admit I breathed a sigh of relief when she arrived, because it meant that we would no longer have to consider waking Jillian and taking her somewhere else should I go into labor in the middle of the night.
9:30 p.m.--Ate a big bowl of chocolate oreo ice cream. Started to feel some more painful contractions, and commented to Mom that maybe I should start timing them.
10:36 p.m.--Was lying in bed trying to sleep, but noticed what felt like a "real" contraction. Noted exact time on paper beside my bed and grabbed my sports watch for timing of any subsequent contractions.
Thursday, June 30th
Midnight--Realized that the contractions I'd been timing were 8-9 minutes apart and getting stronger. I woke Matt to tell him I was going downstairs to call the nurse and find out when we should head in. She told me to check back in with her in an hour, and that waiting until they were 5-6 minutes apart with a second baby was about right. I went back upstairs to inform Matt, and told him I was too uncomfortable to sleep and that I was going to the basement. He acknowledged me briefly, but fell back asleep. (Later he told me he has no recollection of this conversation, and asked why I didn't get him up!)
1:15 a.m.--After an hour of contractions that were now 4-6 minutes apart, and time spent sitting on our exercise ball, watching mindless TV, and surfing the internet, I called again. The nurse said to come on in. I woke Matt, gathered the rest of my things for my bag, and woke Mom to tell her we were leaving. I paused before leaving to enter Jillian's room to kiss her soundly sleeping little head, and was overcome with emotion as to what changes I knew were ahead for her (and all of us) in the next several hours.
2 a.m.--We arrived at the OB triage unit, where my contractions were now at least every 3-4 minutes and increasingly painful. The resident checked me and reported I was at a 3, and about 90% effaced. I cried realizing that those last several hours of painful contractions had done very little to progress me further into dilation/effacement that was necessary to be admitted. I had a sudden flashback of a similar situation during my labor with Jillian, and tried not to be frustrated at this point. After 20 minutes of monitoring, I was allowed to get up and walk. Matt and I walked up and down the same halls we walked as I labored with Jillian for nearly an hour during intense and frequent contractions.
3:30 a.m.--I was checked again and heard the word "unchanged". I fell apart completely and felt as though I was having some sort of post-traumatic stress response to my labor with Jillian. This drama was all to familiar. The resident told me I should go home and try and relax. Matt asked when we should return, and she replied that we should wait until the contractions were every 4 minutes for an hour. The nurse spoke up and reminded her that I was already there. Matt also reminded her that the last time I was in labor I went from a 3 to nearly an 8 in an hour, and that we were not comfortable going home without a better plan. We had already decided that even if they did kick us out, we'd just go downstairs or outside the hospital to continue to walk. I didn't want to go home in the early hours of the morning to disturb Mom and Jillian with my laboring. I was an emotional mess and the contractions were too intense. It was decided we could "hang out" in our triage room another hour. I was offered a shot of morphine, which I at first declined due to the subsequent vomit fest I experienced last time, but out of desperation I consented when I was also offered some zofran to ward off the nausea. The nurse brought me a birthing ball, and I dutifully sat, listened to my iPod, and tried to relax through the horrible contractions (Matt told me later I broke some blood vessels in his nail beds from squeezing his hand so hard during this time--oops. Small price to pay, Dad). The morphine did nothing to take the edge off, but in hindsight I think it did help me to relax between contractions. I texted Mom with an update, and silently prayed for my cervix of steel to do something that coincided with what my uterus was obviously doing a great job of.
6 a.m.--Life was suddenly good again. I was officially admitted to my L&D suite (updated from a couple years ago--very nice), and had my epidural. I think I professed my appreciation for the anesthesiologist about 75 times. I texted Mom and my sisters about 6:30, and Matt called his mom as he went down to grab a quick bite to eat before the action got underway. I sucked on lots of Jolly Ranchers, which I never eat, but had decided to bring in case some hard candy sounded good in absence of the ability to eat or drink anything beyond some sips or ice chips.
7:45--Checked again and was now at an 8. They decided to go ahead and break my water since it never did break on its own.
9 a.m.--I asked to be checked again because I was feeling lots of pressure and lower back pain. I was somewhere between 9-10, not quite ready to push. I was also informed that the baby was "sunny side up", and though acceptable, it's best for them to be face down. She turned the baby, but said she might not stay in that position. My wonderful labor nurse (Sarah) suggested that if my legs were strong enough we should try having me on my hands and knees in bed. This would take the pressure off of my back pain, and help the baby to move down as far into my pelvis as possible. The goal here was to keep her face down and reduce my pushing time as much as possible. I certainly feared another 3 hr pushing ordeal and a broken tailbone, and really wanted to avoid that repeat performance. Sarah dutifully massaged my lower back and Matt rubbed my shoulders as I labored on my hands and knees. I was in a great deal of pain in my back with each contraction, but somehow it was so much more tolerable in this position and I could relax. I declined another epidural bolus when offered because I feared losing the urge/ability to push effectively.
Just before 10:30 a.m.--My urge to push was strong, and the resident and OB came in to check me. I was told I was ready to go and they asked me to give a practice push to see where we were at. I quickly heard "Whoa, we are going to have a baby" and was asked to stop as they quickly set up . I cried in disbelief that it might not actually take me nearly 3 hours to get this baby out, as it had with Jillian.
10:38 a.m.--Adrienne made her grand entrance and was placed immediately on my chest. I was overwhelmed with relief and emotion, and at the peacefulness of her birth. The crowd was small (Matt, the nurse, OB, and resident) and the sun was shining through the windows. Adrienne was calm and alert as she took in her new surroundings. The OB grabbed the camera from Matt at some point during the pushing and she snapped several birth photos that I think speak volumes about our emotions that morning (not to worry, I deleted those graphic in nature!). What a beautiful moment it was.
Finally, Dad gets to hold his baby girl. I love the grin on his face.
Back for a little skin to skin with Mom
All done in recovery....now it's time to head to our post partum room
Our great labor nurse, Sarah
The first shot I have of Jillian holding her baby sister
Grammy's turn!
Dad and his girls. Hard to get a good shot of all 3 of them, but I tried!
I cannot put into words what a wonderful, fantastic, emotional day this has been. I am truly in awe of the blessings God has bestowed upon our little family.
Welcome sweet baby Adrienne, we are all glad you are a healthy baby girl and you took it easy on your mommy!
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