It was Wednesday June 8, 2011. The day our lives would change forever. My husband and I arrived at the hospital at 4:45 A.M. and went right up to Labor and Delivery. I got all settled in my room, got the gown on and the nurses came in and got my iv in and got me all hooked up to the belly monitors. The pitocin drip finally got started about 5:30 A.M.
It was calm for the first few hours, with contractions starting to get a little stronger and more consistent. We had the lights down and I think we were flipping thru the channels watching infomercials and old sitcoms. My Grandma came in a probably about 7:30 A.M. or so and sat with us. Not much was happening, just the occasional contraction.
The doctor first came in about 8:15 A.M.to check and see how I was coming along. I was dilated to 2cm. Next thing I know, as he was checking me, it felt like somebody turned a faucet on in between my legs. It was apparent he had broken my waters. So after that, which was the weirdest feeling by the way, everytime I had a contraction more gushed out and it took a while to not feel like I was peeing my pants.
At noon, they checked me again and I was just under 4cm. I got some Nubane to take the edge off. It was nice, but soon after that, the contractions started getting stronger fast. In less than an hour, I was in tears as the contractions all seemed to be centered at the base of my spine. And I don't mean just quiet sobs. I mean loud can't hardly breathe crying. It was so bad, I think my husband was petrified and felt horrible for me. I honestly thought that someone was shoving a knife in my back just above my bottom. It was the worst pain I have ever been in. EVER.
So I moved to the rocking chair in hopes that maybe sitting up would help it. But no, it did not. It actually probably made me feel it even more. At 1:30 they checked me again in hopes that I was further along. They checked and I was 4cm....that meant I was able to get the epideral if I wanted it. Heck yeah I wanted it! I was miserable and not even half way there,and I knew the contractions were going to get at least twice as bad.
So they gave me the epidural just under half an hour later, and it was a huge relief and I was able to kind of rest a little bit and regain my composure. It made me groggy but the stabbing knives were gone, so it was great. I continued to dialate every hour. At 3PM I was 6cm, at 4PM I was 7cm, then at 4:45 PM I was at 8cm. By this point the baby had dropped to zero station, which meant she was getting ready to make her way down into the birth canal. But I had started to feel the contractions in my left hip. The stabbing knives were back and had moved to my one side. And not with every contraction, just every few, but they were quickly approaching the level that had been at my spine hours earlier. So the medicine man came back and shot some more stuff in my epidural. And the pain slowly went away again.
So over the next few hours, the dilating stopped and she hadn't dropped any more. I had hit a wall. The doctor came in about 7 o'clock and checked me. 8cm and zero station. And she was upside down. Face up. Not the way babies should be born. After listening to all the details, while crying my eyes out, it was decided it was best to go ahead with a cesarean section to bring Grace into the world. It was scary, I have never had any kind of surgery. I didn't want her to be shocked at birth coming into it in a way she wasn't expecting. But the important thing was to get her here safely. I didn't want to risk injuring her shoulder if she couldn't fit or got stuck and then have to do a c-section anyway. It was the right thing to do.
So once that decision was made, everything moved forward pretty quickly. The nurses came in and got me prepped, my husband was given his wardrobe to accompany me into the room. And then I was wheeled down the hall, around the corner and into the operating room. All the while, tears were running down my face. Some were because I was scared, but most were because my little girl was almost here! I would be seeing her soon!
Back in the operating room, I laid there looking up at the ceiling tiles, trying to breathe and stay calm until my husband came in. Once he was beside me I felt better. And then the surgery began. I was in random conversation with the medicine man and my husband and the doctor. I felt pressure but never any pain or cutting, which was what I was afraid of. Before I knew it, actually it seemed like it took forever.....the doctor told my husband to stand up and watch his child come into the world. My husband stood up, I saw him snapping some pictures and I asked if she was ok. He said she is perfect! I waited to hear her cry. It seems like it was forever, but only a few seconds before she started wailing. She's got her Momma's lungs!
The doctor then lifted her up and I got my first glimpse of my daughter.
She had hair and was bigger than I envisioned! Then they took her to the warmer, where my husband followed and got to watch them check her and get her cleaned up.
After they had her all clean and wrapped up they brought her over to me and I got to see and kiss our little girl. She was finally here. And she was perfect. Her apgars were great and her color was just right! And she had the chubbiest cheeks! I was groggy and weepy, but I knew how blessed we just had been. My pregnancy was now over and my role as mother had begun.
Because of the surgery, I was in the hospital thru Saturday. I was very sore, had some issues getting her to latch at first, but it was amazing to hold her in my arms. To look at her and know that the love that my husband and I had for each other created this tiny little human that looked at us like we held the moon.
Grace Mae Fisher
7 lbs 11 oz
20 1/2 inches long
6.8.11
7:57pm
7:57pm
