Katelyn Virginia DuRant
May 20, 2013
4:04 pm
7lbs. 15oz.
19.5 inches
My heart is so full. I am officially a mommy of two. It was last Sunday, and I was exactly 39 weeks pregnant. That morning I starting feeling some contractions, but I didn't want to get too excited just yet. I went along with my usual routine, but the contractions were not stopping, in fact they were getting stronger and closer together. Around lunch time I decided to call the doctor when the contractions were anywhere from 5-10 minutes apart. Since my labor with Brady was so fast, and I was planning on a VBAC, I didn't want to labor at home too long. The doctor instructed me to go ahead and come to the hospital, and they would check and see if I was in fact in labor. Paul's dad came over to keep Brady since he was napping, and we headed to the hospital.
When we got there, Paul tried to make me take a wheel chair into the hospital by pulling into the emergency entrance which I adamantly refused. So, we parked in the garage and walked into the birth center. They checked me out and said I was still only 1-2 cm (boo!) and 75% effaced which is exactly the same as what I was at my doctor's visit on Wednesday. They then hooked me up to the monitor to check my contractions, which at this point were getting pretty uncomfortable. They confirmed that my contractions were coming steadily ever 6 minutes, and I was in fact in labor. BUT, the doctor instructed them to send me home and wait until the contractions were every 2-3 minutes. Ugh! So, we headed back home knowing that we would likely be going to the hospital in the middle of the night. We went by Paul's parents house where Brady was staying to spend some time with him before he went to bed. I was feeling pretty emotional thinking about how this would probably be the last night that he was my only child. It did not help ease my nerves that he screamed and cried all through his bath and when I put him to bed. He definitely knew that something was going on, and it broke my heart to see him like that. He eventually calmed down and went to bed, so we headed home to get some rest for what would likely be a long night and day to follow.
That night my contractions actually slowed down for a while when I first laid in bed. I woke up at about 1am and just couldn't sleep, so I went and sat on the couch to watch TV. At around 3am, my contractions were really picking up. I called the on call doctor and told him that they were anywhere from 3-4 minutes now and getting pretty painful. It was ironically the same doctor on call that delivered Brady. I knew that had to be a good sign! (Also ironically NEVER saw this doctor on my office visits AGAIN this time.) He told me to go ahead and come in. So, we left for the hospital for the second time.
We go through the whole drill of getting checked in again and the nurse checked me. I was a whopping 3cm and 80% effaced. Seriously after all that? I was getting a little discouraged about having a VBAC, because I was afraid that my labor was not going to progress like I had hoped. But, thankfully the doctor and nurse told me not to throw in the towel yet. I was still in early labor, but things were moving along, and me and baby looked great so we would just carry on. The doctor told me to go walk the halls for 45 minutes and he would check me again. The next time he checked me I was almost 4 cm, so he decided that today was the day and admitted me to the hospital. Yay, we were officially having a baby!!!
I went ahead and requested my epidural, because I knew it would take a little while to get it going, and my contractions were getting painful and pretty frequent. When I first got the epidural I felt great! I was relaxed and just trying to rest a little bit. The nurse came in about 2 hours after I had been checked to see what kind of progress I had made. 4 cm...again...are you kidding me?! They decided that they would go ahead and break my water to see if that would speed things along. I was starting to feel defeated, and worried that I was going to go through all this and end up having to have a c section any way. The doctor came in and broke my water, and we waited. In the meantime my epidural stopped working, and I was in so much pain! Thank goodness my step mom is an anesthesiologist and looked at my monitors and couldn't believe that they only gave me such a small dose. She actually used to work at the hospital and knew my anesthesiologists, so I told her to please get this fixed for me! He came in and gave me some more medicine, and it made a world of difference! The doctor came in a little while later to check me out, and I was not expecting to get any good news, but he told me I was 7cm and about 90% effaced. I was so excited! We were finally moving in the right direction, and they didn't even have to put me on any pitocin.
I was so comfortable now that my epidural was working, so I just tried to rest a little bit and visit with my family. The doctor came in maybe an hour or so later, and I was shocked when he told me that I was completely dilated and ready to push. He said the baby's head was right there, and he didn't think it would take long for her to come out. I probably pushed for about 20 minutes, and she was here at 4:04 pm on May 20! It was the most amazing moment I have ever experienced. I am so glad that I decided to stick with my gut and do the VBAC. Everything went perfectly, and I had a healthy baby girl in my arms. With the c section pretty much everyone got to really see the baby before me, because you have to go straight to recovery. She was cleaned up and immediately placed in my arms. Shortly after all of our family came in to meet her. It was absolutely amazing.
We are adjusting to life with a new baby, but honestly it already feels like she has been with us forever. I feel so much more at ease with this baby. So far, she has been such a great baby. Brady loves her so much, and is such a great big brother. (Another post on the big brother to come.) We are so blessed to have 2 wonderfully perfect children. Welcome to our family, Katelyn Virginia. We love you so much!
