April 24th, 2011 Our lives changed forever. I found out I was expecting our first child. :) One of the best days of my life. I called my OB office the next Monday and made my first baby appointment. May 26th. I should have been 10 weeks and a day along, but my Dr put me back 10 days.
It was about weekd 11 I started getting really bad morning sickness. And that lasted till week 22. I lost 20 pounds in that 11 weeks. I lived off of milkshakes and french fries. Oh and Diet Coke. lol. By week 25 I was very hypertinsive. My blood pressure was 150's/90's and never really went down.
This was me at a wedding I was shooting. I was 20 weeks along. Shooting a wedding in the middle of August outside while pregnant is not ideal! lol It was a very long day.
This is me at 25 weeks in Phoenix. And I absolutely love this picture! I love the dress too! I was feeling pretty good at this point. I was feeling her move a lot too. That was the best part.
This is me at week 30 and feeling very pregnant. Blood pressure still high, but still able to work.
This is Brittney and I meeting our favorite singer David Archuleta. She doesn't know yet that he is her favorite, but in time she will! lol
And now I am at week 36 and now on bedrest! My blood pressure was up to the 170's/90's. Dr. Kaelberer was worried and asked me to go on bedrest. I was being monitored by MFM by doing non-stress tests twice a week since week 35, but my BP was too off and on.
As much as we need the money, I am glad that I was put on bedrest. It gave my baby girl enough time to grow and be healthy. Although at the time I was MISERABLE! lol But looking back, I appreciate it.
At week 37, my Dr. told me that he was comfortable taking me anytime. It was hard though because my cervix was doing nothing. I was still at a 0 and 0%. SUCK! I was that way till the day before I delivered.
The week I delivered, I was in L&D everyday. Monday I had a Dr appointment and my BP was elevated. I was sent down to check my labs. This was I think my 5th trip to L&D. The next day, I went out with my mom and that night, I started contracting. They were 3-4 minutes apart and lasting 45-90 seconds. After 2 hours, we called my Dr. and asked him what to do. He said that he would like me to go get checked. I waited another hour and went in. After 3 hours of that, I thought I was going to die. I was so uncomfortable. Thats why I was SO MAD when my cervix was still not changed and they sent me home! I was told by my nurse to make an appointment with MFM the next morning. I was not given an order so I had to call my Dr office to get them to order it. About 10 minutes later, Dr. Kaelberer called me and told me that he would be willing to order me to be induced the next day. I would have to go into the hospital that night and get a medication to help soften my cervix. He warned me of the risks of doing this due to my cervix not being favorable. My risk of needing a C-Section was 50%. But at 39 weeks I was willing to do anything!
I was admitted to L&D (For the last time) at 730 PM on December 21st, 2011. I started the medicine soon after and was hooked up and strapped down (for lack of better words). My mom and Dustin were there with me all night. I was too nervous to sleep. I was up all night. I got up and showered about 330 and when I got back into bed, I got my 3rd dose of medicine. I started to contract really intesly. It was about 4 AM when it started. I tried SO hard to not complain too much because my mom and Dustin were finally asleep. But about 30 minutes into it my mom was awake and My back labor was literally killing me. They kept asking me if I wanted my epidural, but I didnt want to be weak. I lasted till about 5 and had to get some relief. I then opted for my epidural. Getting the epidural at least made me think about something besides my contractions! lol
Dr. Green was the Anestheologist. And can I tell you how bad I wanted to hit that man! not even kidding. I dont know how many of you have had an epidural or a spinal tap, but they are not fun! I kept jumping and all he said to me was "It goes in better if you hold still". All I could think was, "well then stop tapping my nerves and get the freaking catheter in the right spot!" Poor Dustin, he was trying to hold me still. He was shaking so much. It was even harder cause i had a huge lump in the way.... I think we call that a baby! lol. But he finally got it in and there went the feeling from the belly down. It was a relief but a burden at the same time. I soon after got a foley and was in bed the rest of the day!
Dr. Kaelberer came in at 7 before clinic to check in on me. He checked me and I was still just a 1 cm and 50%. He put in a bulb that went above the cervix to help the dilation along. I was feeling pretty good.
At 11 AM they started me on Piticon (Pit) by IV. My contractions were getting pretty irregular. I didnt know what to think. I was nervous that nothing was happening. They checked the bulb at noon and it was doing something. YAY! Around then, my left side was waking up. I felt every contraction and it was horrible. Again, the back labor was the worst part. Dr. Green came in and gave me a huge dose of some sort which made me COMPLETELY numb. But it sure felt good! At 1 they checked the bulb and it was still the same.... or thats what we thought. I was told that when the bulb came out I was going to be a 3. I was disappointed when she said it still wasnt out. But when she checked it, my legs were dead and one was on top of the other. Dr. Kaelberer came in half an hour later to break my water. When he checked, the bulb was out and my water had already broke. I was now at a 5cm and 90%. My stomache was turning. I couldnt believe it was really happening. He said it was going to be between 3-7 hours before I start pushing. It wasnt 2 hours later that I was a 9 and 100%. Again my epidural was not working on the left side and Dr. Green gave me more medicine. This was the 3rd dose. This time he pulled back the catheter. 10 minutes later I was 10cm and complete! I had the need to push. I never fully went numb after this dose. I pushed for an hour before Dr. Kaelberer came in. And by this time I felt everything! I mean EVERYTHING! I wont go into details, but I felt it all. Again, I will tell you that BACK LABOR SUCKS!! It was the worst part. And I felt it the entire time I pushed. I pushed for about half an hour with Dr. Kaelberer doing what he does. I felt so much pressure on my tailbone, I started screaming. I have broken it 3 times before and I was told that I would probably break it with every child. Which is what I was feeling, it breaking. I am about 95% sure it broke. While I was screaming, Dr. Kaelberer told me to "Just push through the pain". I thought to myself, "I'll show you push through the pain!!" I wanted to kick him upside the head! And at this point I could because my epidural was completely gone. So much for getting one, huh. I was in so much pain at this point that I'm not really sure what happend next. I remember hearing "just push through the pain" and "come on, just one more" and finally "Emily, just give me one more little push, her head and shoulders are about out." And then, nothing. I didn't hear her cry. I looked and saw Dr. Kaelberer suctioning her, but no sound. Then I felt a big "Plop" onto my stomach, and there she was.... in all her glory. I remember yelling "SHE'S HUGE!!" I can just remember how heavy she felt. And yes, I was right. She weighed a whopping 8lbs. 11oz. and was 22 inches long. They took her away from me to give her some oxygen. That worried me a little. She did look pretty greyish. All I can really remember at this point is Dr. Kaelberer finishing the delivery. Then sewing me up. Ouch! Dustin came back and forth between me and Brittney. After they cleaned her up a little, he brought her over to me and he had a few tears. What a proud moment for him! He came over and showed me our Brittney, and what a beautiful moment it was. I was finally all put back together. I got myself sat up in bed and Dr. Kaelberer came back in. I told him that next time, I WILL NOT go to 39 weeks. He will induce me or I will find someone that will. He laughed. I looked at him dead in the face and said, "I'm serious". :) He told me that she would be small because hypertensive moms have smaller babies. Not in my case. I am pretty sure that the 3 weeks of bedrest gave my blood pressure a rest and gave her time to grow properly. Which is fine looking back on it. I wouldn't change anything. Even the epidural part. I got to experience birthing a child all natural. Sure, I didnt labor all day in pain, but I got to feel what it is to truely birth a baby. What a blessing.
Below are some pictures of the birth day. Pictures taken by my sister Amber.
My Mom feeding me ice!
I LOVE my husband! He is the greatest!
Trying to rub my back with my back labor.
Dr. Green trying to adjust the catheter for the epidural.
My contractions were piggy back at the end. felt like one constant contraction.
Me deciding if I want to start pushing.
Again, I LOVE this man!
I just love this picture with my dad!
And that is the story of how we became parents! It was a long day, 23 hours in L&D in fact. I spent 2 more nights in the hospital. I was released Christmas Eve. When we got home, we had family there to greet us and open presents. I couldn't have asked for a better Christmas.
