The birth of Ella Elizabeth

On January 28th I went in to see my doctor (who had bronchitis so I ended up seeing a different person) She asked how things were going; I mentioned that I was still pregnant. I think that my sense of humor was getting a bit dry at the end of the pregnancy. She laughed and went along with it. Probably because she see a lot of really strange pregnant women everyday. She said that the reason my doctor had wanted to see me is because I needed to be induced. The fluid was low (we knew that from the previous weeks check up) and since my due date was the next day my time for waiting was up. She had to come. I was pretty nervous. By this point I had prepared myself for the fact that I probably would not go into labor naturally. I think that my greatest fear was first the needles (I HATE needles) and second the chance of getting a C-section. Apparently the chance was somewhat higher due to the fact that I was going to be induced and if it didn’t work then that was the next option. Yikes!
That night I had Charles gave me a blessing. Afterwards I felt much better and was even able to sleep. (My last good nights rest till I’m 80) We had to be at the hospital at 8:00 a.m. Charles got up early and made me my favorite breakfast item, corn waffles! They were delicious. I was grateful to eat something that was a bit more filling than cereal since you can’t eat during labor. (Lame isn’t it?) We got to the hospital pretty much on time and spent the first 20 minuets answering questions and filling out paper work. It made me wonder why I had pre registered. They asked me all of those questions again. They had even had a nurse call me the day before to ask questions and they repeated them while we were registering. Talk about a waste of time. Then I was taken to the LDR room where they got to work poking me for an IV and taking blood.
For the first bit I did not feel the pitocin working. The contractions were coming pretty regular but I did not really feel them. Just the slight tightening. My mom had arrived and we all played rich man poor man to pass the time. (I pretty much won every round) Around 12:00 my doctor came to check on me. I was dialted to about 2 or 3 cm. In order to get things moving he broke my bag of waters. Almost imeadityly I began to feel the contractions. They were coming on hard and pretty close together. They had turned the pitocin way up before and now they had to turn it down because the contractions were coming so close together. I remember thinking to myself. These are the easy ones. They are only going to get harder. Don’t make this pain into a big deal. My goal was to do it epidural free. My doctor had tried to talk me out of it, saying that it was going to be very painful (I had assumed as much) and that I would need to maintain control of myself to push the baby out. The nurses also seemed very skeptical of my desires when they found out that I had not taken any serious birthing classes. I remember thinking when they asked how I was going to do it, “you know how women have had babies for thousands of years and have not had any classes or pain medication. I am going to try it that way.” Again, the strange pregnancy humor.
There were many motives behind declining pain medication. I had a lot of people telling me that I couldn’t. I guess I am someone who likes to prove them wrong. I really wanted to give Ella the best chance at a healthy start. Epidurals can be risky and I didn’t want to do anything which could harm her. But it was also more than that; I had it in my head that the labor was like working up to and running some great distance. You work really hard to prepare yourself and you know that even so, it was going to be really hard. But then in the end you get that rush of adrenaline and the exuberant feeling of accomplishment, the feeling of “I did it!”
Things were going along pretty well. The breathing exercises were getting me through the pain. In between I tried to get some rest. They checked me again around 4:00p.m. I was only at 4 cm. That was very depressing. The end seemed so far from sight. It had been four hours since they had broken my water and I had only gotten one more measly cm! Charles and my Mom were so awesome. They really helped me get through this low point. Charles was the best coach a woman could ask for. He worked with me to help me to relax. He applied counter pressure on my back and did whatever he could to make me more comfortable. My Mom had come fully prepared with ideas and any time one method wasn’t working she had another one to try. They kept me going for the next few hours.
By 7:00 the contractions were very strong. I don’t know if it was the pitocin making it worse or just my body was so tired of the pain. They checked me again and I was only at 5c.m. I felt like crying. I decided to get out of bed and use the birthing ball. After about 15 min I couldn’t stand anymore. I had to lie down. The contractions were coming so close together I felt as though I wasn’t getting any breaks. It was at this point I began to start talking about getting an epidural. Charles and my mom had me try some other positions and breathing techniques but to no avail. I was losing it. I couldn’t breathe very well and I was so discouraged about being at 5 cm. The nurse had told me that I might have a good 5 hours of labor left. I was pretty sure I would not be able to make it that long. Finally at about 7:30 I grabbed Charles shirt and said please, I want an epidural. The nurse came in and started to give me fluid. After she left I had another contraction. This time I felt like pushing. I told Charles. We though it was no big deal, especially since a half hour previous I had only been at 5 cm. My Mom thankfully knew better and had us call the nurse back in. She checked me and I was at 9 cm! She said that this baby was coming. If I wanted an epidural then I would have to get it right then. Luckily another contraction came and I started to really feel like pushing. They kicked the anesthesiologist out and called my doctor. This baby was on her way out!
The nurse checked me again and I was at 10 cm. Finally! I could feel Ella coming. I began to be very excited. I realized that I couldn’t feel my hands, arms or legs. My mom said my lips had turned blue. They put me on oxygen to help me breath. My doctor arrived just in time. He said he drove 70 mph to get there. Ella’s head was beginning to crown. The nurse was awesome. She calmly prepared the room for Ella’s arrival. Charles helped me to relax in the break between contractions. The only thing I could concentrate on was his voice. Slowly he would tell me what I needed to relax.
Ella was born at 8:05 p.m. I had gone from 5cm to 10 cm in about 40 min and had only pushed for about 20. The nurse said that is pretty unusual for the first birth, usually it takes longer. I was surprised when all of a sudden they placed a wet, squirming baby on my lower abdomen. They couldn’t put her any higher because her umbilical cord was to short. (Less than 8 inches) Charles cut the cord and then I could hold her! I can’t even describe the emotions that were going through me. Relief, joy, happiness, incredulity. She was a miracle, so beautiful (even though she was covered in goo) as I held her the doctor showed me the placenta. Apparently the cause of low fluid could have been form the cord being so short and the fact that where it met the placenta it thinned out almost as if it was detaching itself. Very odd. He had never seen anything like it.
Ella was 7lbs 10 oz and 21 inches long. It is such a miracle that she was able to be so big! We know that this is because of the many people who fasted and prayed on her behalf. How grateful so grateful for the gospel and for the tender mercies of the Lord. Ella is such a joy, we are so grateful to have her in our family!