On Saturday, the 17th, Matt and I decided to make a regular old day out of it so that I wouldn't be sitting around and pouting about still being pregnant. We slept in, then went to Crystal Cove, one of our favorite places, for some lunch. We ate at the snack shack, then went down and walked on the beach for a little bit. Matt didn't want to go too far down the beach, just in case I were to go into labor... I kind of giggled to myself that that certainly wouldn't be happening, but agreed with him. I had been having Braxton Hicks contractions all day, but nothing painful to be excited about.
After that, we headed home to hang out until 4:30 when we were going to go to a local church to see what all the fuss is about with their Saturday night service. We came home, turned on the TV and were hanging out on the couch... I promptly drifted into a little nap. I woke up around 3:30pm to some painful contractions. It was kind of like period cramps. "Hmm," I thought. I got up, freshened up and we went over to the church service (which wasn't what we imagined it to be, by the way). I had a couple of contractions during the service and it was more difficult to stand up, sit down and walk... I just felt heavier.
Came home, ate some dinner and parked it on the couch. By 6:30pm I was starting to feel the contractions irregularly... pretty far apart, not very long, but definitely there. Around 8pm I was really restless and wanted to get out and go to the grocery store, but Matt thought it might not be a good idea. I huffed and puffed that I wasn't in labor and it was no big deal, but ended up deciding he was probably right and I should chill out... just to be on the safe side.
We went to bed around 11:00pm... by 11:30 the contractions had started becoming very regular. We got out a pen and paper and started timing. About 5 minutes apart each time, usually close to 1 minute long and getting progressively more painful... oh crap! I remembered the "5-1-1" rule: call your doctor when your contractions are 5 minutes apart, 1 minute in length, for a period of 1 hour... you may be in labor! So we timed for over an hour, then called the doctor. It was about 1:00am at this point. Doctor said to time for another 30 minutes and if they were still regular to head to the hospital.
30 minutes later, we were on our way to Hoag! The car ride was surreal... there were so few cars on the 405 and it was a little foggy and I couldn't believe we were doing this! We checked in to the Labor & Delivery floor a little after 2:00am on Sunday, the 18th. They put me in a room, checked me out and basically said I was definitely having contractions, but wasn't dilated at all. They had us walk around the L&D ward for 30 minutes to see if that would move things along, and sure enough next time they checked I had begun to dilate... we wouldn't be leaving that hospital without a baby now!
They put in the IV which was maybe one of the worst parts about the whole experience! It hurt SO bad! I don't recall ever loudly exclaiming, "OWW!" when getting an IV, but dang! I sure did this time! I didn't watch, but when I looked at Matt he had gone white and had to sit down. After she got it in and "cleaned me up" I looked and my fingernails all had blood under them. Matt later told me that blood shot on the floor and it had been a pretty big mess. What the heck!?
They had me walk a little bit later for another 30 minutes and this time I had to stop several times because the contractions were getting intense. Matt was so great the whole time... right by my side. After we got back in the room and checked me again, they decided to give me Pitocin to get the contractions going better and get the process really moving. They hooked me up to the Pitocin around 6:00am and a doctor came in and broke my water (what a sick feeling, by the way... to feel the flood gates open- so glad that didn't happen in public somewhere). At 7:00am we made a few phone calls to let people know I was having the baby sometime that day. Contractions were pretty strong at this point and I couldn't really rest. I don't remember much from that point... just being checked on a lot and concentrating on breathing through the contractions. They told me to let them know when I needed the pain meds (which I had already told them I would want eventually- bring on the epidural), but I was trying to put it off for a while.
By about 9:45am I was shaking with every contraction, sweating and in notable pain. Matt's mom and dad showed up somewhere before then... then went down for some breakfast in the cafe. Matt's brother, Ryan, arrived just in time to see me start to sweat profusely then proceed to toss my cookies into one of those pink, kidney shaped dishes. Sorry, Ryan. And sorry, Matt! He was awesome- holding my hand, cleaning me up... I was just embarrassed that I had just puked in front of him and his brother. Matt called my mom and told her to head down... I think he could tell I needed my mommy!
The nurse came in and said the anesthesiologist would be going in for a c-section soon and would be unavailable for an hour, so if I wanted the epidural I could get it now or wait an hour. GIVE IT TO ME NOW!!! Getting the epi was not bad at all... the worst part was just trying to keep still through a contraction (by this point I was shaking violently through them and writhing in pain) so she could place it. The nurse, Mary (who was amazing, by the way), held me and helped me get through them while I got the epi. It was cake... so NOT painful at all. I highly recommend epi's to all laboring women- they are a gift from God!
Once that was done, Matt's mom, dad and brother came back and we visited for a bit. My mom and grandpa arrived and we visited too. They all got some lunch downstairs while Matt and I napped... it had already been a long night/day. We got a nice nap before they returned.
The nurse kept checking the baby's heartrate and began to get concerned that her heartrate dropped sharply with each contraction. They stopped the Pitocin and monitored her... the nurse gave me the news that if this continued much longer, I would be getting a c-section. I can't remember the whole conversation, but it had something to do with being a week overdue and sometimes the placenta isn't functioning as highly as it needs to for the baby. Everything worked itself out, though, eventually, and we were in the clear for now and they turned the Pitocin back on.
Around 4:45pm I could start feeling the contractions in my belly slighty. I told the nurse and she checked me- she said we would start pushing probably around 5:30ish. I must've looked like a deer in headlights, because she said, "It's ok! This is a good thing! Yay!" and tried to comfort me... I was super nervous now. Really?! I'm going to have to push this thing out, now?! I'm scared!!!!
I started needing to push just before 5:30. The nurse came in and she and Matt got me started. Three hard pushes with each contraction for a count of 10. I will take this moment to state that Matt is the most wonderful, phenominal man in the entire world. We went into this thing thinking he could just sit up by my head and not have to see anything... we were both content with that. But it didn't really work out that way. He became my full on birth coach, counting, telling me how great I was doing... and he saw a lot more than he had bargained for. A lot more. Pretty much everything. And it totally didn't phase him. He was so encouraging and wonderful... I can honestly say I don't know if I could have done it without him.
So... I pushed. And pushed. And pushed some more. The nurse was practically yelling, "YOU'RE DOING GREAT! She's right there! Push HARDER! Push HARDER!" I wanted to rip her face off a couple of times and I felt with every push like my face was going to explode. I know I threw up again at some point, but it was the least of my concerns at that point. The doctor, Dr. Hsu, came in (my doctor was not on call that day, so she wasn't able to deliver me, but Dr. Hsu was the sweetest, gentlest woman... I'm so grateful that it could be her if it couldn't be Dr. Grouse) and I knew we were moments away from meeting our little girl. I did end up needing an episiotomy (if you don't know what that is, then be thankful) and almost right after she did that, I gave it a few more pushes and Kathryn Elizabeth Conrad made her debut appearance at 6:27pm!!! I heard Matt say, "Oh my gosh..." in an awestruck voice (I think it was awestruck, but it could have been more of a grossed out reaction to the madness that had just gone down).
Kathryn started crying immediately and they put her on my belly. I have never felt an emotion like I felt at that moment. I was so struck by love and amazement at this little, crying bundle squirming around on my belly... she was incredible. I couldn't get it together- I just cried and cried. They let Matt cut the cord then took her over to the warmer to weigh her, clean her up and suction the goo from her nose and mouth. The nurses kept saying how beautifully pink she was and sounded genuinely impressed at how cute she was already. The nurse, Mary, kept gushing about how beautiful she was. I was proud :) I couldn't have cared less about being stitched up and all that at that point... the massaging part hurt a bit, but I was so focused on watching Kathryn and watching Matt watch her. It was so amazing.
I could hear the whole gang outside the door waiting to come in and meet her- all our friends and family. After they stitched me up and got everything cleaned up, Matt and I spent some time just with her. We knew everyone was waiting to meet her, but we needed some time. Not too much later, we opened the door and let everyone in. My mom and Matt's mom came in first... my mom was so overtaken with emotion. I'll always remember the look on her face. Then came my grandpa (beaming from ear to ear), Matt's dad, Ryan & Beth, Chris, Summer and Chris Baldwin. I was so proud at that moment and so filled with joy and love and thankfulness that so many people care about us and love us. Kat got passed around and eventually it was time for everyone to head out. It flew by.
They moved us up to the Mother-Baby floor around 9:00pm and Scott and Andrew were there waiting to meet Kathryn. We visited for a while and they oohed-and-awwed at how cute she was...
then they left and it was just us. Our family of three.
Recovery has been fairly easy... I'm a little sore, but nothing unusual. Kat is such a good baby, and I am amazed every time I look at her. Breastfeeding is hard- really hard! I never knew how much work it is, but I know it is what is best for her. We're learning together. The nights have been pretty long- last night was better and I know it only gets better from here. Matt is the best daddy ever. He is so patient and gentle with her and is so good to me right now. I can't imagine how hard it would have been to come home, only to have him go to work everyday and leave me with her alone. This first few days home has been a learning experience, but so wonderful. She is such a great addition to our family.
So today is Thanksgiving. The day of our original scheduled induction. Kathryn is in her swing, Matt is sleeping in (he deserves every minute of it) and I am here, counting all the things I have to be thankful for on this national day of Thanks. I can't even begin to count my blessings, as there are so many. I can't wait to head down to Matt's parent's house in a few hours, where my mom and grandpa will join us, for our first holiday with our daughter. We have so much to be thankful for.
My cup runneth over!!!
