My First Born

In light of my older daughter’s 7th birthday this past Wednesday, I decided to write a post about my pregnancy with her and the day she was born. More like reminiscing for me…probably totally boring for you. But, it’s my blog so I can write what I want.

My pregnancy with her came as a surprise, but I like to say that it’s the best surprise I’ve ever, ever had. However, I quickly discovered that I’m not a pleasant pregnant woman. Other then the excitement of a new baby coming, I was eternally miserable. I greeted each day by puking and continued to puke all day for the first 4 ½ months. (Did you know you can throw up a jolly rancher sucker? You can.) Instead of gaining pregnancy weight, I lost 10 pounds from vomiting. I was exhausted; I literally had dark circles under my eyes all the time. I withdrew that semester from Angelo State University. I eventually quit my job for AAFES at the Base Exchange. I couldn’t leave the couch most days in the beginning.
Then FINALLY like an overnight miracle I was cured from morning sickness! I was approx 5 months into the pregnancy now, was barely showing (an advantage of being 5’10) but had gained my 10 pounds back and probably 25 more at this point. I started a licensed daycare in my home to maintain two incomes (I must have been a glutton for punishment in those days).
Around 7 months into the pregnancy, my active little baby kicked a disc loose in my lower back. I limped around for a about a week and sat with a heating pad on my back until it was healed. My upper back pain was horrendous. My back couldn’t believe that my boobs were so huge…. as this had never been an issue before.
My due date was September 24th and it couldn’t come fast enough. I was at my biggest during the hottest time of the year! We slept with the air around 58 degrees, my husband slept in shirt, shorts, sweat pants and sometimes a sweatshirt. I slept in underwear and a tank top. Granted, I did have to sleep in that ever so comfy “pregnancy position”…on my side with a heating pad on my back, two pillows under my head, a pillow folded between my legs, and another pillow propped up behind me.
So 50 lbs later, my due date came and went and my body had not shown any signs of wanting to go into labor. My doctor said I would be induced the following Monday…. October 1st, 2001. I was to be at the hospital on that Sunday night at 9pm for the torture to begin. For those of you who know what I’m talking about, you’ll understand this brief explanation….I didn’t just have to start on Pitocin, I had to start with Cervidil. That’s all I’m gonna’ say. Oh, but let me add that when you’ve been given several “doses” of Cervidil, eventually when being checked for dilation, it feels like they’re using a knife.
The true pain started somewhere on Monday afternoon. My plan was to see how bad the pain was before deciding on an epidural, but I knew that I did not want the pain medicine that they put in your IV (can’t remember the name).
After the contractions were coming every minute and were pretty damn strong, I asked for medicine. My mistake was calling it “medicine” and not an epidural. So after my husband griped at the nurse for not coming fast enough with it, she quickly came in and injected my IV without consulting with me first. I immediately felt sleepy…. the problem was I would doze off only to be jerked awake by horrible pain every minute or two. I couldn’t talk to people without my eyes closing. I started explaining that I wanted an epidural. My mom thought I was too looped to know what I was saying. My mind was very clear, but the meds made my movements slow…which is extremely frustrating, especially for a control freak like me. I looked at my husband and said, “tell them to get me an epidural”. He did what he was told, like the good little birthing partner he is. NOW. Sitting up on the table to get an epidural, while you’re having contractions is a very uncomfortable situation to say the least. Oh yeah, and being told not to move a muscle while they insert a needle into your spine…just icing on the cake. But once I got through it, laid back down, and it kicked in…awesome. I could finally think straight and be excited that my daughter was coming into the world!
I fell asleep and slept for two hours, when I woke up I was dilated to a 9. As soon as I felt like pushing we began. After an hour and a half of pushing, and 22 hours and 40 minutes from when I checked into the hospital, my daughter was born... and pain free for both of us! She weighed 7 lbs, 9 oz and had curly blonde hair matted to the top of her head. And now, because this post is long enough already, I end the story with the fact that she has had a very healthy, happy childhood for 7 years, and is one of the biggest blessings in my life.