Friday, April 9, 2010

Big Al

It's been quite a while since I've last blogged; partially because I'm lazy and tired but mostly cause there's so much that's been going on! Well ok, not that much, but things have been busy with 2 little ones and there's just so much to catch up on. So I guess I'll just start at the beginning and work my way through till today...

Our year started out GREAT with the arrival of Alyssa Emily Maughan, aka Aly, on January 20, 2010. When it comes to the unknown I am so NOT a patient person. I need results RIGHT NOW! At 38 weeks and after learning that I was dialated to a whopping 1 cm, lol, people kept telling me "that's great news- the baby will be coming soon, they'd been a 1 one day and two days later they had the baby..." so my hopes were up. WRONGO! I grew so impatient and so anxious I was driving myself, the triage dept. and my Dr., crazy!!! After a Sunday of false alarms, my mom sitting with me and Iz at home, 5 calls and a trip to triage and me thinking I knew what a contraction was when I didn't- a week and a half later...I started experiencing the real "joy" of labor. Notice the quotations around JOY... contractions- EWWW. Probably the most physically painful thing I've ever experienced.
One good memory about my contractions is: It was like 430 am and I was trying to walk through a contraction in the family room when I hear Iz chanting "mama mama mama. Yay! Hoo Hoo Hoo."
Ryan, once again, convinced me of going to the hospital just to see what was going on. So after walking around for an hour in Wal Mart we went in. And of course when we get there, the contractions stop. I was on the monitor for 30 minutes and didn't have a single one. They probably thought I was a FREAK! Since I was scheduled to have a c-section the next day, they told me I could have the baby now. We decided to be induced and try the VBAC.
My contractions started at 230 am, Wed Jan 20, and I think 12 hours later I decided enough was enough. Why go through unecessary pain when wonderful medicine was available?! So I got my epidural and it was smooth sailing. I think I may have napped a little :)

Aly's heart rate started to drop with each contraction but the Dr's were right there watching and reassuring me everything was fine. Up until the point where one of the nurses told me it could be because the cord's wrapped around the baby I was ok. At 10:30 pm I went into surgery for a c-section because I had stayed at 5 cm for 5 hours. No progression, darn!

I was a wreck in the surgery room. I kept thinking the cord was wrapped around Aly and she'd come out not breathing or limbless or something bad. Ryan came in to join me and wipe away my tears and fears. At 11:07 pm, weighing in at 8 lbs 7 oz and 20 1/2 inches long they pulled her out. I remember hearing one of the Dr's say "what a big baby! No wonder she was stuck." haha, then I was picturing a giant Shaquille O'Neal baby. But she was perfect; well except for her enormous conehead (which probably added that extra 1/2 inch).

WARNING some might think this next part may be a "bad image" TMI. So if you dare...
After getting stitched up I joined Ryan and Aly in the recovery room. OMG I was soooo tired! Trying to nurse Aly was probably the funniest thing. I could barely keep my eyes open, I'm pretty sure my eye balls were rolling back in my head, I had one arm around Al, I was trying to stay awake and failing. And there was my wonderful husband- holding my breast so Aly could nurse and I could sleep. Hahaha How pathetic am I?! Although, kudos to me, it was 130 am Friday and I had been awake for 24 hrs...
So that's my story. Another pregnancy/labor scare, but everything turned out perfect with a baby born on her due date :)