The Birth of my Joy

Ok, so its 9 am on Tuesday September 23 and Jere is off. I'm standing in the kitchen doing something when all of a sudden I pee on myself. Or as Melanie put it, dropped the pickle jar ~ Translation? My water broke!! Here we go to have a baby!!! Sooo, I call Melanie and tell her. She asked if I was having contractions and I tell her no. She said to wait til 1 pm to start having contractions. If I'm not, i am to take caster oil!! UGH!! Melanie tells Jere what to get from the store as I get out the stuff to make cookies from scratch. Jere goes off to the store. I stay home to get into my birth project, the cookies. I happily make double chocolate chip cookies and leak fluid all over myself after calling the important folks.

It's 12:20 and no regular contractions. So, we head to Dr Amber's office after getting Aunt Bethy. Dr Amber started acupuncture after the caster oil so we can get this show on the road. And we spend a couple of hours at Dr Amber's office. We walk around the office buildings, as I leak fluid on myself. I take a second dose of caster oil and more acupucture. Few contractions, nothing to write home about or call Melanie. My mom has made it to the Woodlands so we decide to go to the Woodlands Mall for more walking and leaking. Note to self: Next baby, use Depends!!!

It's 3:30ish and we meet Mom and Eugene (Mom's new beau) at the mall. Some contractions and bad shoes!! And we walk, walk, walk. Stop to get snacks and go to Motherhood for clean undies and new shorts. Really, next baby, I'm getting Depends to leak on!! That was the third time I needed to change clothes since this whole thing got started.

At around 4:30ish, Mom and I run off to find me better shoes for all this walking. I was having contractions and we were recording them. By this point, Uncle Jme has met us at the mall. Jere has a minor hissy fit when Mom and I go off alone but he is okay with it.

We were back around 5ish. And Mom and Eugene are going back to Katy to await a call that its time to come back. I start having regular contractions around that time. Jere, Jme, and Bethy are timing, writing, and following the progress as I contract. Still at the mall, still leaking on myself ~ next baby DEPENDS!!! I've started stopping when a contraction comes because of the pain. Someone holds my hand and lets me squeeze sometimes.

Around 6:45ish we call Melanie and she says to head to the Birth Center!! We get there about 7 pm. Melanie hooks me up to monitors and checks me. I'm dialated to a 3. UGH!! After all that!! Oh, yeah! I make a huge wet spot on her exam table. Melanie asks me "What did you DO??" with a smile. She says I can stay and gets my room ready.

Bethy, (Jme left when we headed to the birth center) Jere, and I go to the Mary Breckenridge room at Nativiti. Its the room with the bigger bathtub so I can be turned to fit in it. I walk around after changing clothes again. This time, I put on the tank top that we got for this occasion. It all gets blurry around this time. I know that I walked, sat on the birth ball, and wanted to get into the water but was told I couldn't yet. Megan (our birthing class teacher) comes in to be with me as I contract. Another mom has come in that needs Melanie. Megan stays with me. At some point, I'm allowed to get into the water and we call Dr Amber. Dr Amber comes with acupuncture needles and her punchy thing in hand. This is around 11 or 12 midnight. I contract in the water with the jets on for a little while. When a contraction comes, I reach for someone's hand and lean forward into the pain. I breathe through the contractions til its over. Jere was amazing through all this!! After the contraction, I get a cold, wet washcloth put on my face. That feels good!!

I know that I was checked by Melanie at 1 am and I was dialated to a 6 or 7. Jere or Bethy calls my mom. Mom gets there when I'm still in the water. Bethy leaves the room. And I contract in the bathtub for a little while longer. Then Megan tells me to get out of the water. I do and we try other things that I can't remember. The birthing rocking chair, the birth ball, etc.

At about 4 ish, Melanie checks me again. I'm still at a 6 or 7 and Rachel is effaced to a negative 2. That means I have not progressed in three hours. Melanie tells me that she will give me an hour and if things have not changed, we are going to the hospital!! My heart sags and I get scared!! The first thing I think about going to the hospital is c-section. My contractions slow as Megan tries jasmine oil on my belly. Megan tells me to not fear what Melanie said. She says that my body has been contracting all night wonderfully and now its slowed because of my imaginary fear. (Dr Amber, Mom, and Eugene left before Melanie tells me this. Bethy is on the couch in the birth center. The other mom has had her baby around midnightish.) Around 5ish in the morning, Jere and I are told to get some rest. So I pretend to between irregular contractions and take a shower somewhere around 6ish. Jere calls the post office to tell them he can't start training today around 7ish.

Katherine comes in about 7:20ish and checks me. I have made no progress. Still dialated to a 7 and effaced to a negative 2. Katherine and Melanie (my beloved and trusted midwives) tell me and Jere that I need to go to the hospital. My heart screams NO NO NO!!! However, my beloved husband says he just wants a healthy baby and wife. We trust our midwives and agree to go to the hospital. Melanie goes home (she was up all night) as Katherine makes the necessary calls to the coordinating ob/gyn and the hospital. Jere and I tell the news to Dr Amber and Mom.

We follow Ketherine to St. Luke's around 8ish with Mom, Eugene, and Dr Amber. As we are on the way to the hospital I resign to the need of an epidural. I'm exhaused and heart broken and hurting terribly.

We check in the hospital around 8:30ish. The nurse that Katherine called named Leah checks me and says that I'm at an 8. Then Katherine and Dr Amber leave. Dr Eckheart comes in a little later and checks me. He says I'm a 6 or 7. He orders pitocin and leaves. I get the epidural and start the pitocin. Kelly and Chris show up. Kelly and Chris start praying ferociously, like they always do. Jere topples over and cries his heart out for about two minutes as they take authority in the spirit relm. Jere has been so amazing through all this!!! He was right by my side the whole way!! He's allowed to break down!! I TRULY got the BEST!!!

About 30 minutes after starting the pitocin, Leah comes back in the room with other folks and puts an oxygen mask on me. She says that Rachel's heart rate has dropped and she is taking me off the pitocin. Leah checks me again to find that I have gotten a fat lip on my cervix. I'm now at a 4 or 5. She tells me all this means that I will have to have a c-section she thinks. She said the final decision was up to the doctor but she was going to get me ready.

Leah leaves after shaving me and giving Jere the clothes for the OR. Another nurse comes in and starts the pitocin at a lower dose. But Leah comes back and wheels me down to the OR. This is about 11:15ish on Wednesday the 24th. My neck is hurting something aweful. In the OR, I'm by myself as there are tons of people prepping me. I keep asking for Jere and they tell me he can come in when the doctor comes. I'm begging someone to rub my neck. I can't feel anything below my breasts. They strap my arms down and give me more medicine and other stuff.

Finally, the doctor and my beloved come in. Jere stands behind me. I feel some wierd pulling and pressure. Lots of pressure, I say ow. They tell me to breathe. Then I hear crying and Dr Eckheart say "Its a girl!" I start crying and saying "That's my baby girl!! That's my baby girl!!" That's all I can say. "That's our baby, Jere!!"

There she was. All 7 pounds and 19 inches of her!!! She was born at 11:58am on Wednesday, September 24, 2008!! The day my life's joy was born!!!