Four weeks ago today I had my routine 38 week check up. Earlier during the week I had woken up around 3am with some strong back pain and cramps... I wasn't SURE but hopefully assumed these were the first signs of entering early labor. At my 37 week check up I was told I had dilated 2cm but that it wasn't really a sign that she was coming soon necessarily. I had these pains off and on all week and the anticipation of not knowing when she was coming was KILLING me! I was soo anxious to meet her.
Danny didn't go to every appointment with me and he had told me he wasn't sure if he was going to make it that day but he would try. I really wanted him to because the safety consultant at the hospital was going to help us correctly install the car seat bases and car seat in our cars right before the appointment. He pulled up just as she was finishing with my car. Phew! :) After she finished in his car he asked if I wanted him to stay or not. He was really hungry and hadn't eaten lunch yet, but I told him I hadn't either so suggested he just come up with me since he was already there and then we could go eat together after. After all, "appointments these days are so short," I told him. "It will only be like 5 minutes and she's going to check to see if I'm dilated any more!". He decided to come up to the appointment with me.
When the nurse checked my blood pressure she looked unhappy and somewhat surprised. Throughout my whole pregnancy I was blessed to never have anything abnormal or scary happen. Everything was always "looking good" with no concerns, so I was very curious about this look. She said my blood pressure was high. She tried checking on the other arm and it was even higher. I was getting pretty nervous at this point. She said she'll just let the Dr know and that she'd be there in a few minutes. The doctor came in, checked my cervix (barely 3cm at that point) and said we had an ultrasound scheduled for that day. The plan was to go get the ultrasound and then have them check my blood pressure one last time to see if it would go down at all. I was a nervous wreck and was SO GLAD Danny was there with me! I kept thinking, what if she comes today?!, but I always quickly reminded myself that was silly and I just needed to calm down. It was nice to see Stella again. They measured her at 7lbs 7oz and we saw that she had HAIR which was shocking haha. I had been convinced she would be pretty bald since neither Danny nor I had hair as babies. :) We couldn't get a good picture of her face or profile because her head was down. Bummer about the pic but I was super relieved to know she was in position to come!
After the ultrasound the my blood pressure was even higher - really, really high. Our doctor had gone upstairs to do a C-section for someone so we had to wait while the nurse ran the situation by her. The wait was probably only a few minutes but it seemed like foreeevveerrrr. When the nurse finally returned she walked in and said "Well, are you two ready to go ahead and have this baby today?". Ahhhhhh!!! I was freaking out in my head and my eyes flooded with tears as I looked at Danny. I'm not sure what we actually even said - I honestly think it may have been Danny that said "I guess so". Haha. We were shocked and freaking out. The nurse further explained the doctor's suggestion and reasoning. It sounded reasonable, so we agreed. As we walked out to the elevator to go one floor up to the labor and delivery unit I was filled with emotion and fear. I am so blessed Danny was with me in that moment - he was such a comfort. As we stepped out onto the third floor I began to get excited. They led us to our room where we waited for the doctor to come in to explain everything in person.
They didn't start the pitocin in my IV until around 6pm because I wanted to be able to eat lunch (well dinner at that point) and I wasn't allowed to eat once the IV was started. I was so nervous once they started the pitocin. I really thought I was going to be holding my baby in my arms by midnight... HA. That didn't happen. They started me on a really slow drip of the meds and I didn't even really start to feel contractions until midnight. Looking back, I'm glad it happened slowly. It gave enough time for family to come and I even got to visit with them before I was in a lot of pain. Everyone left around 12:30 or 1 to get some sleep. That time with Danny, during the calm before the storm, was a sweet time just waiting on our daughter. Around 4am I ended up getting an epidural. I was frustrated about that because I had learned several "comforting techniques" and different pain management positions in birthing class but because of I was on an IV of pitocin I wasn't allowed to get up from the bed or anything. That was a bummer, but the nurse was encouraging about it. Her and Danny told me to rest while I can so that I would have energy to push when the time came. I didn't really sleep haha. I tried but after the epidural I wasn't able to get warm and my stomach felt sick. Not to mention I had a lot on my mind!
Its funny how I thought Stella would come before midnight on Thursday... I was 12 hours off. Stella Grace O'Neill was born Friday, August 16 (my little brother's birthday) :) at 11:42am. Phew...it was a long 12 hours... but worth it. When I finally saw her, it was so surreal. Who is this little person?? This is the baby I've carried inside me for so long?! Haha it was a weird but beautiful time.
Since then, our sweet girl has grown and changed tremendously. I never thought I could love someone other than Danny as much as I love her. We literally think she is the best thing ever haha. We have had some really hard times, but we've all three learned a lot and we are still learning more everyday!
*I will post pictures soon!*
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