Baylee's Arrival and birth story

Sunday night (Sept 23) around 11:30pm I thought that my water had broken and I had a few random contractions, but nothing consistent. I called labor and delivery and told them I thought my water had broken and that at my last appointment I was already dilated and effaced. They told me if I was at least dilated to a 4 or 5cm when I came in and my water had not broken they were going to admit me. So Stephen and I took showers and packed our bags and left for Kaiser Irvine hospital.

We arrived at the hospital around 1:30am Monday morning. We obviously didn't rush to get there because we wanted showers because if I was admitted we knew we wouldn't get showers for a day or two. 

 (this picture is me in the labor and delivery observation room)

 They checked to see if my water broke with this metal device thing. AND IT HURT more than a PAP smear! They determined that my water had not broken. But the good news was that I was dilated a 5cm and 75% effaced and the baby was at 0 station now. Also once they started monitoring me and the baby I was actually having strong contractions every 5-7 minutes. Which was good because I was showing progress even though my water was not broken. I GOT TO STAY!!! They admitted me and I was sent to my regular labor and delivery room..............

At around 3am they got me hooked up to all the fun stuff, the IV (which I ALWAYS hate)! The midwife came in and broke my water. She had a hard time breaking it. She said it was a strong bag. It took her about 3 times with they device to pop it. It was very strange because after she broke it we thought my contractions would get stronger and closer together. It was the opposite they slowed down and almost stopped.

They started me than on the pitocin to get them going again. After about an hour on the pitocin I wanted my epidural!!

Got my epidural and at this point I was feeling so much pressure already within a half hour of being on it. My labor moved so fast at this point and I was already telling the nurses that I was feeling tons of pressure with the contractions. They didn't believe me, but than when the checked me I was already dilated 10cm and fully effaced and the baby was in the right station. The nurse went and asked the midwife if it was okay to start pushing. OHH YA a cool tidbit, it was the same midwife that delivered Brooklind two years ago. I was so excited because she knew my history with the bleeding/clotting like what had happened with Brooklind's delivery.

So at 10am Monday morning I started to push. I pushed for an hour and Baylee was born at 11:02am.

 Baylee Emma Erwin

Born Monday September 24, 2012 @11:02am

8lbs 4oz 19 inches

 After Baylee was born the midwife was delivering the placenta and found that there were fragments of it left inside my uterus and I kept bleeding. She called in an doctor (MD) and they brought in an ultrasound machine to see inside. They just couldn't get it all so they rushed me to the operating room (OR) to do a D&C procedure to clean everything out and to also stitch up what tore during delivery.

I was scared to death because I had never been in the OR before and I only got to see Baylee for about 5 minutes and no one could come with me in there. The anesthesiologist gave me a huge dose into my epidural of my numbing meds before I went into the OR. I was in there for about an hour and a half. I got claustrophobic when they stuck the stupid oxygen thing on me so I had them take it off. Then I got nauseous so they gave me more meds in my IV for that as well. I was so drugged up and the doctors and nurses were laughing and smiling because I would make funny and random comments. The procedure all went well and I got to meet Stephen and Baylee in recovery.

 (Pic in recovery right after the OR)

I am finally getting to hold me baby after about 2 hours. I was in recovery before going to postpartum about 2 hours. They had to do blood work to check my blood count because they were worried I might have to have a blood transfusion. Thankfully I didn't and I was okay. They gave me more hardcore pain killers in recovery so when I got to postpartum I was still drugged up.

Finally I got to go to my postpartum room....

PA (grandpa) with his grand girls. 

  

 Brooklind meeting her sister for the first time. Brooklind didn't like the hospital so much. She was also a little freaked out of me because maybe I was so drugged up.

 Our first picture as a family

 Me and my girls

Baylee with her eyes open. She has blue eyes (Brooklind had brown)

I recovered well in postpartum and was given 2 different antibiotics in my IV every 4 hours, pain killers, med to control the bleeding, and maybe some other stuff that I might be forgetting. I usually can't sleep in hospitals, but I was so wiped out from all the drugs and from the delivery that I actually slept. Well as much as I could with the thousands of interruptions from the nurses.

All my bloodwork came back normal the next morning (Tuesday) and I had had a temperature, but that went back to normal as well. They let me go home at 2pm. I couldn't wait to go home and take a shower and get in my own bed. It was a crazy day and a little traumatic. I am not sure I ever want to go through that again. I am very grateful Baylee is healthy and strong!!