This whole pregnancy has been like that, so I should have know our baby girl's birth would be anything but normal. I delivered Christina and Gabriel at 37 1/2 weeks. So by Feb. 9th, we were all on bated breath, thinking our little one would come any time. Well, we got to Sunday, Feb. 13, and no baby yet. David told me every morning, "Well, I got to sleep through the night." I'm notorious for going into labor in the middle of the night, and David always teases me about it. ;-)
I kept telling myself, "Okay, we just wait." I was very uncomfortable by now. I didn't even make it to Mass on Sunday, I just felt miserable. I was sleeping okay, but my whole body hurt. Over the weekend, I took to walking our block, once, twice, three times. On Sunday, I walked it 4 times (although not all at once). I wasn't sure it would start labor, but I couldn't bear to lie down or sit on the couch anymore.
Monday morning, I was exhausted. It had taken me a couple of hours to go to sleep the night before. And of course, I lost track of how many times I'd had to get up and go to the bathroom. I asked David if he could get the kids off to school, and he said yes. So I lay in bed. It was about 7:00 o'clock, and I was have a few strong contractions, but didn't really think too much of it. I'd been having contractions on and off all weekend.
David and the kids were on their way out the door (by now, it was 7:30). All of a sudden, I heard and felt a big "pop." It sounded just like a bottle of wine being uncorked. I called to David and said,
"Honey, you'd better come back after you get the kids to the bus stop!"
"Okay!!!"
By the time David got back, I confirmed what I'd suspected. My water had broke. I told David,
"It's time!" (Oh, and by the way, you did get a full night's sleep, so you can't complain this time.)
By now, my adrenaline was kicking in. I got up, showered, and was dressed in record time. David went to get our babysitter, and by 9:30, we were on our way to the hospital. Once there, I was observed for about an hour, and then they took me to a labor and delivery room. Only then did it really occur to us that unless labor was really long, we would be having a Valentine's Day baby. Awesome.
My OB/GYN, Dr. M came in about an hour later. He said,
"Well, what's the plan Miss Kimberly?" I love Dr. M.
I told him I was ready to have a baby, and to "hook me up," meaning I was ready for the pitocin and epidural. My contractions were managable, but I just wanted to get it over with. Usually, I wait and hold out for as long as I can...I don't like the side effects from the epidural (the shaking, slightly sick feeling, etc.). But not this time. I was ready.
So, by about 1:30, I had the pitocin and epidural. By 3:20, I was dilated to 8 cm. (I walked in at a 3). I was quite surprised it was going so fast! The nurse I had told me to call her when I started feeling pressure. Well, that didn't take long...David called her back only 20 minutes later. Sure enough I was 10 cm dilated, and ready to push. Dr. M was summoned, and he was there 10 minutes later.
I love teasing Dr. M. When Christina was born, she was coming pretty quickly and they'd paged him 2x. I wasn't even pushing, but she was coming all on her own. So by the time Dr. M got there, he had to scrub in quick, because she was born barely 10 minutes later. Ever since then, I tell him, "Now, when they page you, you'd better run, because you almost didn't make it that one time!" Of course, Dr. M says he was there in plenty of time. Sure...
David and I thought we'd have the baby by 4:30, but things were progressing so fast, I changed my estimate to 4:15. I pushed 3 times, and our sweet baby girl arrived at exactly 4:11PM.
Theresa Ellen Reisinger
February 14, 2011
7 pounds, 9 ounces, 19 inches
I was overjoyed when she was placed in my arms. She was perfect in every way, from the light dusting of pale brown hair on her head to the tips of her wee toes. And of course, she scored straight 9's on her Apgar scores. That's our girl. ;-)
All the kids came up to the hospital and wanted to hold their baby sister. Even my big, 11 year old boy demanded a turn, which brought tears to my eyes.
As for me, I feel pretty good. Tired, but it is blissful to hold a tiny babe again, and even though my jolt of reality hits at around 2:00 AM, God's graces that are giving me strength.
So we are lovin' on our little sweetheart we got for Valentine's Day. I'll try to post more later.
