Alayna Is Here!
11:34 AM Edit This 0 Comments »
Alayna Catherine Gough is finally here! She weighed 9 lbs and 21 inches long, and was born at 3:55 pm on July 11th...And here's the story...
I was 2 days late, just barely effaced and dilated to a 2, and I started having contractions. They were pretty hard and consistent for about 45 min. Not wanting a replay of Elizabeth who we just barely made it to the hospital with, we called Chad and Aubrey to come over and we left for the hospital at about 1:00 a.m. For the 40 min. drive to the hospital the contractions were consistent and steady, but not as hard. We got to the hospital, and walked into labor and delivery and they stopped! I didn't have one more contraction! The nurses were kind and put me in a room to check me and there was no change at all! They monitored me for a couple of hours. I tried to sleep, but the beds aren't really made for sleeping and I couldn't move to get comfortable because the monitor couldn't pick up the baby's heart beat while I was on my side. So I just endured for a couple of hours but still didn't have one more contraction! I was all ready for them to send me home, when the nurse came in and said they wanted me to stay a little longer because the baby's heart rate was not as good as they wanted...so we stayed a little longer. And a couple of hours later, this was about 4:00 a.m., the nurse checked me again and I had dilated to a 3! The nurse went and talked to the Dr., then came back in with stuff to start and IV and said they were going to keep me and start pitossin! Sweet! Yes! Get this baby out! I want to meet her!
Over the course of the next 10 hours these things happened. (I was there so long I don't remember exact times)
*pitossin was started
*Epidural given
*nap taken (it was heavenly! I didn't have any prego pain for the nap!)
*The baby wouldn't stay put for an outside monitor, so they had to do the one on her head (baby called a little stinker, and stubborn for the 2nd time at least)
*water broken. Thinking that would move her down and put pressure on my pelvis and help me efface and dilate better. (past the point of no return)
*not dilating or effacing, so the nurse "binds me" by putting a sturdy wrap around my belly so baby will stop moving around and start putting pressure on my pelvis. (once again, baby called a stinker and stubborn...uh oh!)
*starting to dilate more, I think I'm to a 5.
*try turning up pitossin to get contractions better, but baby's heart rate doesn't respond well, so it is turned back down. (this happens numerous times, baby called stinker and stubborn again...oh dear!)
*I'm finally fully dilated but not fully effaced...Dr. tells me to push to see if that will make the difference. I push a few times but no dice, baby is stubborn until that last 10% is gone.
*at 3:00 Dr. comes in and checks me, at finds I'm fully effaced! and fully dilated! Tells them to crank up the pitossin and that we need to get this baby out!
*By this time, epidural has run our of meds. so I could feel every contraction...probably not as bad as Elizabeth because there was still meds in me, but still pretty aweful.
*Time to push! A few strong and seriously painful pushes later and out comes Alayna!
*Anesthesiologist walks in with extra dose of meds...oh well, nice try...
*She's put on my stomach for a little while, but is soon taken away because she's not crying hard enough to clear her lungs so they have to stick the tube in her to clear her lungs.
*call up a nurse from NICU to check her and make sure she's ok, which she is!
She's given to me and I do skin to skin and just cry and cry as I snuggle her! I have a beautiful healthy baby and I was so overcome! So, 16 hrs later, I have a beautiful baby girl in my arms. She latches on and she nurses perfectly on both sides. She's then wrapped up, we take pictures and then I'm sent up to my recovery room.
About an hour later, the nurses come to take her down to the nursery to do a check up and this is where my panic starts to come in...Elizabeth was taken the same way, but never came back. We told the nurses that and hoped for the best. A while later, the baby wasn't brought back and I was finished eating, and I started to panic. Finally Charles came back and said that her oxygen was too low but when they gave her oxygen it came back up, so we knew it wasn't what Elizabeth had. I still sat there in horror, but I was able to go down to the nursery and see her and nurse her. They were doing x-rays when we got there and I just sat and cried as the memories of Elizabeth came back! As I nursed her, her oxygen stayed stable and she did really well. I went back to my room to rest. Alayna had to stay in the nursery during the night to be monitored, but I nursed her in my room when the nurses brought her to me. The next morning she was released back to me and stayed in my room.
Here I am, playing the waiting game for Alayna...what a gorgeous picture eh?
She's here! Doing some side massage to get the fluid out her her lungs...
9.04 lbs...so pretty much 9 lbs. even!
Sweet baby!
Pretty girl!
Don't you love my crazy hair? It looks better without a headband :)
She finally got a bath the next day. The nurses didn't want to do it earlier because her blood sugar was low...(she was also called stubborn and a stinker numerous time in the nursery...UH OH!!)
And then the kids came!
Cheese!
Sunday was our planned time to go home.
On our way!
She had to go back up to the hospital the next day for a lab and a Dr. visit because her biliruben was a little too high and she was jaundiced, and the next day we went up too..she just wasn't pooping. But her 2nd appointment, the nurse gave her a rectal temperature and that got things moving. She's been a great pooper ever since!
Baby #5 has been an adventure but we are so grateful she is healthy and happy and she's such a sweet baby! Welcome to our family Alayna!
