April Arrivals

4/20 - Amy (SailorsWife79) ~ William Henry (4 lbs; 17 in.)


May Arrivals

5/7 - Monica (MonicaD) ~ Keoni Joseph (7 lbs, 9 oz; 19 in.)
5/7 - Kyrela ~ Arianna Faith (6 lbs; 18 in.)
5/12 - 3Miracles ~ Amirah (5lbs, 3 oz.; 19 in.)
5/12 - Sarah (susu97) ~ Samuel Malek (6 lbs, 10 oz; 19 3/4 in.)
5/15 - Rubie ~ Aixah Flores (5 lbs, 15 oz.; 17.5 in.)
5/16 - Renee (TeamISG) ~ Max and Asher (5 lbs, 3 oz; 18 1/2 inches and 5 lbs, 3 oz; 18 inches)
5/16 - Tami (Tami_86) ~ Rafee' (7 lbs; 19 in.)
5/17 - Jennifer (ajbow) ~ Adam Josiah (6 lbs, 8 oz; 18.5 in.)
5/18 - Marie (marielil001) ~ Ronald Keith (6 lbs, 8 oz; 18.5 in.)
5/20 - Mona (TXFLMommy) ~ Lincoln Lee (6 lbs, 8 oz; 19 in.)
5/20 - Chandra (iui4ivf1) ~ Daniel (6lbs, 15 oz.; 20 in.) and Ava (5lbs, 9 oz; 17.5 in.)
5/22 - Tara (Taraskids) ~ Alyssa Danielle (7 lbs, 11 oz; 20 in.)
5/23 - ANNMARIE ~ Ethan Benjamin (8lbs, 2oz)
5/24 - Shellby ~ Lila deClairville (7 lbs, 2 oz; 19.75 in.)
5/25 - Kristen (AshtonnJacksonsmom) ~ Mason Andrew (9 lbs, 6 oz; 19.5 in.)
5/25 - Michelle (Sabresue) ~ Heidi Grace (7lbs, 10 oz; 20 inches)
5/26 - Keri (Kricket) ~ Kolton Jamison (8lbs, .01 oz; 20.9 in.)
5/28 - Kelly (princessashlynn) ~ Andrew James (7lbs, 14 oz; 19 in.)
5/30 - Drake (azuredrake) ~ Gaius Anthony (8lbs, 2.5 oz)
5/30 - Katherine (sing4u) ~ baby boy! (7lbs, 15 oz.; 20.5 in.)
5/31 - Stephanie (Houseplantgirl) ~ Alexander Ethan (10lbs, 2 oz)


June Arrivals

6/1 - Nelly (nelleebellee) ~ Grace Kathleen (8lbs, 1oz)
6/1 - Candice (twins+1+1) ~ Teagan Mary (10lbs 10 1/4 oz; 20 inches)
6/1 - Becky (QueenB) ~ Brady Robert (6 lbs 8 oz; 20.5") Brianna Patricia (6 lbs 12 oz; 20")
6/4 - Jen (JenniferRose) ~ Donovan Lawrence (5lbs 15oz and 18 1/4")
6/5 - Samantha (samanthaj) ~ Zander Bane (6 lbs, 8 oz; 19 in.)
6/6 - Erin (Chicagoirish) ~ Aiden Daniel (8 lbs 5 oz)
6/6 - Jeanne (Red315) ~ Emily Marie (7lbs, 7 oz)
6/6 - Staci (mom2aednrow) ~ Kieran Michael (9 lbs 20.5 inches)
6/6 - Melissa (toeandmel) ~ Nicole Christina (7 lbs, 3 oz; 20.5 in.)
6/7 - Natalie (natalieegbert) ~ Hailey Lynn
6/7 - LiRedHead ~ Lucas Wyatt (6 lbs, 8.5 oz)
6/7 - nroy ~ Alexie Ann (7lbs, 4 oz, 19 in.)
6/8 - Angie (Angileek) ~ Madeline Sunshine (7lbs 1 oz; 20 inches)
6/9 - Casey (Caseydilla) ~ Gavin Todd (7 lbs 10 1/2 oz; 20 3/4 inches)
6/9 - Marie (reeree22) ~ Zachary David (8 lb., 13 oz. and 21.5 inches)
6/11 - Trina (Trina7201) ~ Alyssa Danielle (6lbs 4oz, 18 1/4 inches)
6/11 - rdpharmd ~ Dylan Preston (7lbs; 19.75 in.)
6/12 - Katee (PLWife) ~ Kyla Evelyn (7 lbs, 4 oz; 20.75 in.)
6/12 - Emily (Emily Rose) ~ Ethan Paul (6lbs, 14 oz; 19 in.)
6/13 - Brenda (fourbees13) ~ Brock Matthew (8 lbs, 14 oz)
6/13 - Lisa (lgatica06) ~ Lionicio Ray (7lbs, 4.8 oz; 19.75 in.)
6/13 - Suzanne (Fruitsy) ~ Abigail (5lbs, 6 oz; 18 in.)
6/15 - Becky (BeckyJ) ~ Terran Duane David (9lbs, 5 oz; 21 in.)
6/15 - Sue Ann (suearoo22) ~ Kyleigh Love (8 lbs, 4 oz; 19 in.)
6/16 - Trina (loveleap) ~ Maya Virginia Nicole (7 lbs, 6 oz; 20.5 in.)
6/16 - Jen (Jen516) ~ Jonah Aden (8lbs, 4 oz)
6/18 - Beth (bethram) ~ Justice Tyr (7 lbs; 19.75 in.)
6/18 - mindy ~ Caleb Michael (7lbs, 13 oz; 20.5 in.)
6/19 - Heth (supermomof3818) ~ Sophia (7lbs, 5 oz; 18.75 in.)
6/20 - Latoya (latoya) ~ Daniel Anthony (6lbs, 10 oz)
6/20 - Jennifer (summerbabies047) ~ John (8lbs, 10 oz; 20 in.)
6/20 - Monti (ezralite) ~ Annabelle Gianna (6lbs, 7 oz; 18.5 in.)
6/21 - Randi (RandiRed) ~ Mira Zippora (7lbs, 4 oz; 19.5 in.)
6/21 - Karen (mom2Ethan) ~ Emma Grace (6lbs, 12 oz, 19.5 in.)
6/22 - Deliah (Dizzydeliah) ~ Damyon Sean-James (8lbs; 20 in.)
6/22 - Jennifer (babyonboard07) ~ Clarissa Grace Jennifer (9lbs, 8oz)
6/24 - Megan (Meggles) ~ Blake Phoenix (8lbs, 1 oz; 19.5 in.)
6/24 - 4littlenameths ~ Sarah Emerson (8lbs, 6 oz; 20 in.)
6/25 - Colleen ~ Isabel Theresa (8lbs, 4 oz; 21 in.)
6/26 - Stef (yoroshiku) ~ Zachariah Thomas (8lbs, 11oz; 21 in.)
6/26 - Stacey (Gracefulgirl) ~ Chloe Lynn (7lbs, 9 oz; 20 in.)
6/28 - Amy (AmyJK) ~ Tyler (9lbs, 12 oz; 19.5 in.)

ladies -- please feel free to paste your birth stories to this thread in addition to the general board. i'll do my best to keep the arrivals updated! i'm expecting it to get pretty busy here in the upcoming weeks! crazy ... but true!!

congrats to all our june mommies!!!
this is it, girls!!!

__________________
staci (35)
dh chad, married 8/5/95
ds aedan patrick, 10/7/01
ds rowan quinn, 10/23/03
ds kieran michael, 6/6/07

rowan ... the sly dog

oh where to even start. how bout i make this simple and just put the details so no tiff will be made.

saturday- may 5th.
was all alone here and all night had uncomfortable contractions about 6 mins apart but since they kept sending me home i ignorned them.

sunday- may 6th.
went and met cj for lunch at the beach club and he said i looked funny and i told him i was ok but wasnt feelin my best. we were gettin that bad nor'easter so thought it was the weather making me have pressure down below cause of barimetric change.
cj said lets call ANGIE(my midwife). i said i dont wanna they will tell me to come all the way the the hospital and then send us home and he said im calling. so they said come in. and we came home i showered and packed bags for my kids to stay at my moms just in case. and off we went.
took kids to my moms and went to l&d.
wheni got there i had people doctors and nurses waiting for me to check me out including my midwife waiting on hand. she got me all settled in and gave me a cervical check and an ultrasound to make sure he was in the correct position. i was 5cm and he was head down but very high. and they told me that and i whined. i was tired of bein told i was crazy and nothing was to be done. angie came in and said i want to check you. she did and she said hes so high. you got 2 choices. i can send you home or break your water to see if it brings him down but then we are commited. i said BREAK IT!!!! she did an it was so painful cause he was so high and my cervix is backwards so she had to pull and do alot of just stuff.

6pm water is broke and im so excited. angie said she had been on the phone earlier when i called her with the head of pediatrics and he said he would be there with a team to have him immediately checked out cause he was early.

730pm they move me to a labor room and me and cj talk and joke and wait for my mom and logann to get there and wait for things to happen. contractions are coming along but very lame ones. so angie says nipple stimulate so get this goin we dont want to be all night. i laughed and did it till my nips hurt so bad and it worked for like the first 20 mins.

my mom gets there with my daughter logann around 8pm.

somewhere in here i texted trina few times! thanks trina!! i love ya girl.

ok, man i dont remember well i should have cj doin this. lol.

ok to make it shorter. i stall out at like 7cm. they put a pill in my cervix to stregthen them.

11pm-nothing im still gettin useless lame contractions and angie says its pitocin time. i said ok lets do it i want to be done with this pregnancy!.

12pm pitocin admitted.

OMG!!!! IM IN HELL!! i was in so much pain now. almost immediately! but hey this is what we need right?

this is very foggy now. i remember asking for something pain wise i was in so much. angie says i will give you half dose of nubain but we dont want anything to make the babies breathing slack. ok so i agree. nubain is lame!!

sometime around 3ish. im in amasing hard labor and im 9cm but he is high still. so angie says lets push a few to move him down so you can get to 10cm. so i was like NO I DONT WANNA I WANNA GO HOME NOW! yeah i babied out bad!

i begin to push and while she is putting her gown on i end up pushing past 10 and his head is out and they are all panicking. the peds are called in and i push him out and cj gets to deliver him from the nipples down.

all i can say is i was in pain and screaming and dont remember details. i know he was terribly purple, maroon even. i freaked, "hes not breathing hes not ok, dont lie to me"! the peds take him and everyone is like hes fine monica. and i look over and he is all pinked up and peds are telling me and how amasingly perfect he is. he let out one cry and i lost it. it was over and he was alive! they weighed him and i was so shocked and so was everyone else. he is humongous. 7lbs 9oz 19 1/2inches long. omg!! cj and him go to the special care nursery to get frther checked out and diabetes checked and all that. i was left alone in the labor room balling and releived, and scared. my momma reassured me he was perfect.

he was born 348am.

can i remind but not terribly scare everyone delivering a placenta feels like another baby bein born. i thought a twin was coming out.

neways. they let me go to the nursery to see him before moving me to the otehr room. and they were just monitoring his heart and blood sugar. this was about 6am.

they brought him in our room at 7am. he was fine. nothing wrong, not diabetes, not respiratory, NOTHING.

hes been perfect from then on and so have i. my itching is still there a bit but other than that i feel like a million bucks.

i guess thats it. im not sure if im missing stuff. but this is my story and im glad to be done. ima go download pics now.

__________________
MonicaD(27)
DH CJ (25)
DD Logann (9)
DS Cooper (4)
DS Keoni (1)


http://www.flickr.com/photos/angeleyesstudios/

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6013042

This really touched me...thank you for sharing.

__________________

On Wednesday April 11, I started having chest pains, and a weird feeling like someone was squeezing my neck with their hands (hard to explain). I had also gained 13 lbs in 4 days. I went to my appointment that afternoon, and my bp was 170/120!!! They immediatly sent me upstairs to L&D and admitted me. I had tons of protein in my urine, so they started magnesium. I was only 31 weeks and 5 days. They transported me the next day to a hospital a bit further away, because the first hospital doesn't have a NICU. When i arrived at the new hospital, they told me to get ready to be delivered either that day, or the next. Well, the next day came, and they started prepping me for surgery. They gave the the yucky tasting stuff you have to drink before surgery, then another lady came in with an emergency, and they decided to deliver her. and make me wait. After all of that they decided to just postpone the surgery for as long as possible, and start the steroid shots for the baby's lungs. That was at 32 weeks and 1 day. My bp went up and down for the whole next week. The plan was to have me stay in the hospital until 34 weeks, then deliver. But at 33 weks and 1 day, they finally decided we couldn't wait any longer, and we got ready (again ) for the csection. They took me back to the OR around 3:15pm, on April 20th. They gave me the spinal. It kinda hurt, and my leg felt tingly. I was nervous (this was my 4th csection). I could still feel my whole body! I couldn't feel any pain, but I felt EVERYTHING!!!! I could feel someone grabbing my foot, I could move my toes even! I felt them start the surgery, but it didn't hurt! My DH came in around 3:45, right after surgery began. I could hear (this is gross) them snipping my old scar tissue away with scissors! I dont think Ill ever forget the sound of the doctor cutting my insides (YUCK)!!! Finally around 4pm the doctor said "ok, you'll feel lots of pressure!" They couldn't reach the baby b/c he was so far up, so the anesthesiologist started pushing the top of my stomach downward. OMG!!! That didn't feel good at all. But shortly after William Henry Alexander was born, screaming and crying! It was such a wonderful sound. I looked at my DH and said "tell me what he looks like!" Dh said "he has red hair!" That's when I started crying. He has my hair!!!! After they cleaned him up they rushed him to the NICU. I told my DH to follow him and stay with him. My surgery lasted another hour! They tied my tubes, but they couldn't get everything to stop bleeding. FINALLY it was all done and they took me back to my room to recover. I was already starting to move my legs by this point, and just a few minutes later, I could feel everything again. The nurses were shocked tht the spinal almost didn't last all the way through surgery. But everything went well. I had to stay in bed for 24 hours b/c they wanted me to stay on the Magnesium. But as soon as they tok me off of it, I got out of bed and started walking around, i almost passed out! I wasn't in much pain, but my bp had dropped suddenly. Anyway, after 3 more days, i finally got to go home. william did great, was only on oxygen for a day. He weighed 4lbs and was 17 inches long.

__________________

Here is a copy of my birth story:

Another MAY BABY!!!! My little boy (Lincoln Lee) was born at 3:52am on Sunday morning at 6lbs 8ozs and 19 inches. He was born at 36weeks 3 days.

Sorry I just left y'all hanging on Saturday. The past 36 hours hours have been a blur.

So we went to L&D and it was real labor after all. If you read my last post I had been having sporadic contractions since midnight on Friday PM/Saturday AM and they finally got regular early Saturday evening so we went in to L&D. When I got there I was at 3 cm. 2 hours later I was at 4cm and 2 hours later I was at 5cm then I just stalled out. Hours and hours past with LOTS of painful contractions but no progress. My OB was hesitant to push things along to agressively since we were still preterm. Finally at about 2:30am we decided to break my water. Well...that literally opened the flood gates! I progressed from 5 cm to 9 1/2 cm in less than 1 hour. I then pushed for about 1/2 hour and out he came. He was born sunny side up so he got a little banged up during his ride through the birth canal. And, unfortunately, he has some amniotic fluid in his lungs so he had to go to the NICU. He will be there getting antiobiotics for about 1 week. He is doing well though and never needed respiratory assistance or feeding assistance. He is nursing like a champ! I will post pics later after I have a chance to download them.

I really expected to have a short & sweet labor since it was my second and my DD's labor only took 12 hours even with 6 hours a magnesium sulfate trying to stop it. Instead I had contractions for 28 hours and was in active labor for 14! It was a tough experience but we did it! I was able to do another natural birth (NO MEDS!) wit the help of my wonderful DH and amazing doula! Overall it was a beautiful and amazing experience and I hope you all have just as wonderful of a birth experience.

I probably won't be around much over the next week or so. I will be released tonight from the hospital and things will get really crazy. I have a 22 month old at home and my 1 day old DS in the NICU and will I have to find a way to get back up here every 3 hours to nurse him. My mom does not arrive until the 1st of June so things will be tricky for my DH & I for a while. I wish you all lots of luck and lots of ELV if your time comes up and will be in touch soon!

__________________
Mona
_____________________________________________
Married to DH 1/29/2000 DD born 06/30/05 DS born 05/20/07

Rubie's story....

Aixah’s Birth Story

Tuesday May 15, 12:44am
I had just gotten into bed, 15 minutes before. I was lying on my back and decided to rollover onto my left side. A few seconds later I felt a gush of water. And when I say gush, I mean gush. I called Victor and told him, “I broke my water…look there’s water all over the bed. He helped me get out of bed, and there was more water as I made it to the bathroom. I sat on the toilet for like an hour, my water still coming in gushes every so often. While I sat there my DH got dressed, paged the Dr.and proceeded to help me pack my hospital bag. We were both very calm.

At 2:00 am we headed out to the hospital. I was wearing my maternity jeans and newborn diapers so that I wouldn’t leak amniotic fluid all over the car. All the while, I’m thinking, “I can’t believe I’m going to have a May baby…I’m only 34 weeks,” and, “I never even got a baby shower,” and “We didn’t paint the bedroom,” and, “I’m so glad I got a pedicure yesterday and groomed myself you know where, just this week,” and, “Thank God my water didn’t break when I was on the train this morning.”

We arrived to the hospital at 2:29 am, and walked over to the emergency room. My DH parked in a no parking zone because the parking lot is so far from where we had to go. At the ER I used the bathroom and saw that I had lost my mucus plug (it was on the diaper and it’s just as gross as everyone has described). We went to the second floor, labor and delivery, and of course, had to explain insurance and all that good stuff. When she put the hospital band on my wrist I began to cry--it had suddenly become very real.

I was then called over by a scruffy nurse who looked like a janitor and cried some more. He loked like he should be holding a mop, not hooking me up to a fetal monitor. I was given the hospital gown and told to strip from the waist down (yes, I cried some more). I was then plugged onto a fetal heart monitor. Her heart rate ranged from 140ish to 160ish. A Dr. came and did that cervical exam (you guessed it, I cried, and then felt violated). I was 2cm dilated, not that it mattered because the baby was still breech. It was time to bring in the big boys, I was having major surgery. I didn’t cry, I asked what type of pain meds were involved.

It must’ve been like 4am, and my Drs. Assistant (who I had never met) was due to arrive at 5. My DH made the phone calls as I proceeded to be probed and stabbed with a needle. Let me tell you, putting in an IV is painful, and who would’ve thought that it took more people and a longer amount of time to insert an IV into your vein than to perform major abdominal surgery.

After the IV, I had a catheter inserted and wow, that is not a good sensation. I kept on asking why they just couldn’t do that after I was given the spinal tap. The nurse who was doing it wasn’t very pleasant, she kept on saying, “It doesn’t hurt okay? It’s just pressure.” I wanted to pee on her hand.

I was left in peace for a while and was actually able to crack some jokes. I met the Dr. who was going to operate and my anesthesiologist, my DH changed into scruffs (is that what they call the outfit). He looked pretty funny. Kept on telling me that he had to check me down there.

My DH wasn’t allowed into the OR until after I was given the spinal tap. My anesthesiologist was wonderful, I barely felt a pinch and then a small electric current that traveled down my left leg a few moments before I lost all sensation. They did the c-section and all I felt was as if some one was drawing on my stomach and then a slight pressure as the baby was pulled out. I remember when they said that one shoulder was out. I was so excited, couldn’t wait to hear her cry.

She coughed a few times and then cried, a bit. They cleaned her and called my DH over so that he could cut her umbilical cord. They finally brought the baby over to me so that I could meet her. She looked just like me, was my first thought, and so peaceful. Then my DH left with the baby and the pediatrician (I think) to the nursery, where she was measured and weighed and given a vaccine. I was stitched up and remember feeling very thirsty.

Unfortunately Aixah was brought to the NICU and I was unable to see her again until the next day, at 5am, when I was finally able to walk.

I can’t really complain about my labor. I mean, I didn’t have any complications, no labor pains, no contractions. My water just broke, at an excellent time (I was home and my DH was with me), it couldn’t have worked out any better.

Aixah was born May 15th at 6:23 am. She weighed 5lbs. 15 oz and measured 17.5 in. We are so happy to be home with her, even if she is a little fussy at night.

Welcome to the world Aixah!!!

Tami's story....

I know I’m too late , but I just didn’t have the energy or time to write down my birth story ,, but I’ll try to make it short so I won’t be so boring

Tuesday, may 15th

1:00 AM
before I go to bed I saw some blood down there I thought it was nothing serious it was too little.. but I woke up twice that night to somewhat hard contractions..

10.20 AM
I woke up to find out that I’ve lost my mucus plug , and it was bloody .. I started to have veeery mild contractions every about 2 to 1 and a half hour .. but I paged my doctor , she said I should wait for hard ones…

5:00 PM
I went to the mall with DH had lunch and was feeling so tired.. I was still seeing blood down there all the time ..
We stayed at our in law’s house until after mid night .. but I was looking so tired as my MIL said..

Wednesday ,May 16th

1:00 AM
we were going back home , ( 10 min from my in laws’ ) when MIL called DH told him we should go see a doctor before we go home .. and I started complaining how tired I was and that I needed to go home..
but eventually I was like ( OK OK I WILL !! )

soooooo… the doctor examined me and she was like ( YOU’RE IN LABOUR !! and you’re already 4 centimeters dilated .. and you may be having this baby at 7 AM this morning )

…. So we did what we had to do.. dropped my daughter at my in laws… etc..

5:00 AM
I was only having mild contractions.. so the doctor suggested that I take an injection to put me to sleep before the actual contractions come.. and so they did .. then the doctor came and broke my water.. until 6 AM .. I wasn’t asleep but only half conscious .. feeling contractions all the time..


7:00 AM
the doctor came to check how dilated I was by that time.. and then I heard her saying ( she’s only 6 centimeters dilated and the contractions died… we better induce her..) and I was half asleep and like ( noooo… I don’t want to have stronger contractions!!!! ) but of course they induced me …. And OH MY GOD !!!!!!!!!!! it started……..

let me not make it very scary and dramatic…but that pain.. was sooooooooooooooo beyond my endurance to the point where I wished I can grap a knife and cut my throat !!

sorry is that too dramatic !!! lol … but it really reeeeally hurted like death …

until Showtime began …

9:45 AM
I was 9 cm dilated , the doctor came and said ( are you ready to push ??? ) I was like ( NO I DON’T EVEN HAVE THE ENERGY TO BREATH !! )

So pushing time was there .. in 4 VERY EXTREMLY hard and strong contractions… with deadly painful pushing… something just blew down there and I saw blood and water like a flood coming out of me that cover the doctor from top to toe !!!!!!!! it was crazy and scary like a crime seen or something !! and the his head was out… and then everything else came out;… and I was finally in peace !!!

10:15 AM
was the 1st time I held my baby and heard him crying… he looked so blue-esh but yet cute …

I had some stitches that still are hurting me and are very annoying but thank God I’m fine and my baby is so healthy

He was 7 lbs , 19 inches he’s very cute and adorable like all babies are ! lol

The second he was out of me I forgot all my pains and was overwhelmed that a whole different soul is coming out of me … even he minute I was pushing him out of me .. I said to myself.. ( I can not believe that someone will come out of me crying right now ! !
And the first thing that came to my mind when I saw him was
( welcome to this world ! )

we named him Rafee’ , which is an Arabic name that may by hard to pronounce .. but it means gentle and tender .. and it’s my FIL’s name..
I hope you like him ..

Lila's birth story:

I was scheduled for an induction on Thursday, May 24th. At quarter to 7 that morning, my MIL and Norman arrived at the house and we all drove to the hospital for my 7 am appt. They were expecting me and as I walked up to check in, the nurse said, “You must be Shellby.”…and we were on our way. My L&D nurse, Cece came in and we filled out all the necessary paperwork. She was a wonderful nurse and I’m so glad she was there when I delivered Lila.

Cece checked me and I was 2 cm and 50%. She talked to my midwife, Lee, who was upstairs doing rounds and Lee said to start pitocin and she would be down in a bit to break my water. Cece tried to start an IV, but I have *awful* veins and she couldn’t. She had to call IV Therapy (my favorite people in the whole hospital) and they came down and got it on the first try. At about 8, she started the pit and Chris, Norman, my MIL and I were just sitting around talking.

At 8:30, Lee came in and broke my water. Holy hell did that hurt. I remember it hurting really bad with Tate too. After she broke my water, I could feel the contractions, but they weren’t painful yet. I could still laugh and talk through them. So we’re all just watching the news & chatting. We all placed bets on the baby’s gender, size, length, time of birth, etc., including Lee & Cece.

At this point, Cece is checking me every hour and I’m making small progress. At 9:00 I was 3 cm and 80%; at 10:30 I was 5 cm. She mentioned to me that she thought they would be taking the woman across the hall for an emergency C soon and if I wanted an epidural, I should start thinking about it. She needed about 5 minutes notice to get a bag of IV fluids in me before they could put the epidural in. I said, I think I can make it to 11:30. I was still feeling pretty good. The contractions were painful and I had to breathe through them, but the pain wasn’t outweighing the comfort yet. Chris said he though 10:55. So then we all placed bets on when I would want the epidural.

Sure enough, about 15 minutes later, I said we should start the fluids. The anesthesiologist was prepping the woman for her c-section, so Cece started the fluids. Norman and my MIL left the room while I got my epidural. It was more painful going in then I remember with Tate. But all in all, TOTALLY worth it. Once it was in, I felt great. Cece cranked the pitocin up and Norman and my MIL and Chris went to grab an early lunch downstairs while I slept for a bit.

Cece continued checking me and I was up to 8 cm within 10 minutes of getting my epidural and her cranking up the pitocin. Everyone came back from lunch and I tried to sleep, but I had some bad nausea and asked for something to help with that. Even the Phenergan didn’t really help, so I just tried to not think about it and kept chatting with everyone.

Lee came down around 1:30 and checked me as I was starting to feel some major pressure. I just had a little lip left to dilate, so they had me roll from side to side a couple times to get to 10 cm. While I was doing that, with each contraction, I could feel the pressure getting stronger and stronger. I told everyone I was going to need to push soon, so they got the table ready. Lee was worried this baby was going to be big, so she had called another nurse in to help in case Cece had to climb on the bed with me and push to get the baby’s shoulders out. I told them I thought the baby was smaller, but they wanted to be prepared. They walked me through what might happen if the baby’s shoulders got stuck and not to be worried if Cece climbed up and started pushing on me.

I started pushing and on the first push her head came out and at 2:04 pm Lila deClairville Kemper was born…3 pushes total. It was so easy. Everyone was screaming “It’s a girl! It’s a girl!” They put her on my stomach and I lifted one of her legs to make sure she was a girl. I didn’t believe it. She was 7 lb 2 oz (little, like I thought!) and 19 ¾ inches long. All in all, it was an easy labor and delivery.

__________________

__________________

Here's my birth story:

I went in on Tuesday, May 22 at 6am to be induced after thinking I was going to be induced on May 16 but then finding out that the baby's lungs were not quite mature enough. The hospital is great and our nurse Tracie was wonderful. She had just started her shift at 6am and said that she wanted me to have this baby before she left at 6pm.

So, they got me settled in and hooked up and started the pitocin at 7:15am at which point I was about 2 1/2 centimeters and 50% or so effaced. My OB came in and broke my water around 9am. The anesthesiologist was on the floor with 4 women waiting for an epidural so around 9:30 my nurse asked if I needed one and I told her that I didn't need it yet. She suggested I get on the list and by the time the anesthesiologist got to me, I might want one and if not, I could ask them to come back later. So, she came in at 10 and I did not feel like I needed one yet, so I waited. At 11 the nurse anethestitist (sp?) was on the floor and came by so I got one around 11:30. He was the same one who did my epidural with Jacob and he was great. He said that I was a champ, I stayed still, was calm, and did not even wince (those relaxation exercises and imagery that I use with my clients came in handy for me to stay relaxed!).

By 2:30pm I was 4 cm (when they consider labor actually starting). At some point shortly after this, the monitor was having trouble picking up the baby's heartrate so they put an internal monitor on her head. This made it easier to keep track of her since she was going in and out of the birth canal with contractions. Between 2:30 and 5pm I went from 4cm to fully dilated and ready to push. My nurse had told DH he could get some dinner around 4:45 since I was only 7cm but not to go to far so he went to the cafeteria downstairs. By 4:55 they were telling me to call him and get him back quickly, I needed to start pushing. His cell phone was not picking up so my dad went to find him and met him already on his way back. My parents had to get Jacob by 6 but wanted to be there to see her right after she was born so they waited outside with their ears to the door. I started pushing at 5 and Alyssa Danielle was born at 5:21pm, a few minutes after my dad left to go get Jacob at daycare. The cord was wrapped once around her head so the OB cut the cord so they could take her and make sure she was ok. Her face got a bit bruised from coming down the canal so quickly. I had to get an episiotomy and a few stitches because she was rather big for my pelvis.

Her APGAR scores were 8 and 9 and she was weighed. The nurse guessed 7lbs, 4 oz and we were a bit surprised that she was 7lbs, 11oz, given that the u/s two weeks earlier had said 5lbs, 14oz. I tried breastfeeding right away but she didn't want to latch. My mom came in to see her and my dad and Jacob got there around 5:45. We had Jacob come in by himself and we introduced him to his baby sister. We told him her name (we had not told anyone yet) and let him tell my parents when they came in the room. Of course, he said Melissa first and we had to correct him and tell them that her name is Alyssa. He was awed by her and very excited to meet her. He gave her a stuffed animal that we got for him to give her and he was concerned that she was not able to take it from him. Everyone then left to go with her to the nursery to get cleaned up and I made a bunch of phone calls before being taken to the family care unit.

Well, that's the story of her birth. We were at the hospital until Thursday around 3pm and have been home adjusting since then. Thanks for reading!!

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Tara
Mom to Jacob born 5/21/04, baby boy #2 born still on 3/30/06

Alyssa Danielle was born on May 22, 2007 at 5:21pm, weighing 7lbs, 11oz and 19.5 inches. She is doing great!!

Hey Ladies,

It is so good to finally be able to post. Thanks Stephanie for updating everyone. We are doing great, and yes, he was a little chunker. He is nursing like a champ, and we are so in love with him. The boys are just so proud.

I went in to be induced on the 25th, and I was having pretty regular contractions already by that point. THey were about 6-7 minutes apart. They started me on pitocin at 6 AM, and at 8 AM I was 3 cm. They broke my water and moved me into my room at that point, that was about 10 AM, and I told my nurse at that point that I wanted an epidural. She obliged. LOL! After I got my epidural she decided to check me again, and I was 7 CM! Holy cow! I went from 3 to 7 in 2 hours. Quite a suprise. Well, in an hour and a half I went from 7 to 10 cm. I pushed through 3 contractions and Mason was here. Needless to say I was suprised that he was 9 lbs. 6 ozs. Hard to believe that all of that was inside of me. LOL!

He is amazing and the boys can't get enough of him. Here are some pics from the hospital. I hope that everyone is doing well, and I can't wait to catch up and here how everyone is doing.









Thanks Everyone!
Kristen

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500am- We get to the hospital and get settled in. I'm 3cm and 70% effaced already.

730am- Pitocin is started. No real upswing in contractions that I noticed, but I was wondering why the hell they had me there at 5am when they didn't start anything for 2.5 hours.

1000am- Still 3cm but 80% effaced and -2 station.

1030am- Got my epidural. My God in Heaven Above did that sucker hurt! Granted less than birth itself, but holy hell! It took the lady forever to get it in and she kept hitting a nerve that shot pains to my right hip (I think she may have done damage because that same spot in my hip still hurts.) I was balling and had snot actually dripping from my nose because I couldn't move to wipe it. Ewww. After that was in, I couldn't feel a damn thing. They could have chopped off my legs and I'd been fine. My feet SWELLED sooo bad though, I had little piggies for toes. Kinda weird and I didn't like the feeling of the numbness, but it was *a lot* better than the pain of childbirth.

1100am- Dr. came in and broke my water. Didn't feel a thing.

1230pm- Having contractions every 3 min but I don't know I am because I can't feel a damn thing below my ribs.

145pm- I'm at 5cm.

2pm- I'm at 8cm and they call the dr. to get his butt to the room because I'm about to have the baby.

230pm- I'm complete and start pushing.

237pm- Total of 6 pushes and he's out with the help of the vaccuum. I didn't know this until after they cleaned him that he had the cord wrapped around his neck pretty tight, so that's why the dr. needed to use the vaccuum (and why he came out so fast.)

Because he came out so fast, there wasn't enough time for him to expel all the liquid in his lungs (normally done during pushing- it compresses the baby's chest and helps him expel all that stuff.) As a result of the extremely fast delivery, he still had fluid in his lungs and was having trouble breathing (he was doing the grunting thing with every exhale.) Dan took him down to the nursery where they consulted with the neonatologist, who then transferred him to the NICU (in the same hospital thank God!). They put him on a ventilator and started antibiotics. Today they took out the breathing tube and he's just in an oxygen hood over his head.

Andrew James was born at 237pm on Monday, May 28, 2007. He was 7lbs 14oz and 19 inches long.

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