Gabrielle's Birth Story!

   I couldn't find this on my computer but remembered I had posted it on Myspace! So here it is! 

  On March 23 at 2:30 a.m. I woke up having contractions 2 to 3 minutes apart. I wasnt in any pain but I knew that I was going in labor. I was so excited that I couldnt sleep. I got up and scrubbed the bath tub. At 4:00 I ate breakfast; eggs, vegetarian sausage links and toast. Then I washed the dishes and cleaned the kitchen. At around 4:30 a.m. I called my mom, she was getting ready for work. I told her I was pretty sure I was in labor. At 6:00 I got back into bed and woke Kevin up. I told him I was having really close contractions. At around 8:00 a.m. I started to have some pain in my pelvic area every time I had a contraction. Kevin took me to the hospital. They were so busy that we had to wait in the waiting room for two hours before they even got me into triage to check me!!! When I got in there they said I was only dilated 1cm and 70% effaced. They hooked me up to a machine that recorded my contractions for a while, then they had me walk the hallway for about an hour to see if I would dilate anymore. Finally around 2:00 p.m. they told me that I was either in early labor or false labor and that I could stay there a couple more hours to see if I progressed at all or I could go home. I decided to go home because I wanted to take a warm bath and lay down in my own memory foam bed. We stopped and got Burger King for lunch. I had a veggie burger and fries with an orange soda. When we got home I immediatly got into the bath tub because I was hurting a lot. I felt a little bit better. Then I got out and laid in my bed for a while. I took another bath and then laid down again. I was really starting to have a lot of pain in my pelvic area and stomach. All my pain was in the front. So around 8:00 P.M. Kevin took me back to the hospital. They hooked me up to the monitor and said that I was still having contractions around 2-3 minutes apart but they were not like real contractions because they were all over the place and just a bunch of peaks. They got my urine test back and said they thought I had a UTI and wasnt in labor but they wanted to keep me over night to see if I progressed at all. I was given a shot of Demerol and stadol to help me sleep, plus an anitbiotic and another pill to stop bladder spasms which they thought was causing the pain. I laid down and tried to sleep because the shot made me drowsy but it didnt even touch the pain. Then I ended up getting sick all over the bathroom which was No fun at all! Finally the nurse checked me again and said I was 3Cm and maybe I really was in labor and they didnt think I had a UTI anymore. I asked for an epidural then because I was having so much pain but they said I had to wait untill I was 4cm. I took a shower which made me feel a little bit better and my water broke, then I was 4 cm when I got back into bed and they came in and gave me an Epidural around 4 a.m. After that I fell asleep for about an hour. Before being in labor I had said I would never have an Epidural. The only real complication I had from it was that my blood pressure kept going really low, but they gave me lots of IV fluids to bring it back up. Around 6:30 A.M. they checked me again and I was 7CM. The doctor came in at 8:15 and checked me and told me I was ready to push and asked if I felt any pressure. I couldnt feel anything because I was so numb from the Epidural. I asked him if he could turn it off but He said he wanted me to try to push with it first. So the nurses had me push about 4 times and then the babys head was crowning so the doctor came back in, I pushed three times and Gabby was out at 8:46 a.m. on March 24. She weighs 7 pounds 14 ounces and is 19 1/2 inches. It was the most amazing thing when they put her on my stomach. I was in shock, I just couldnt believe she was really here! I fell in love immediatly. She is the most precious thing in the world. She has been a wonderful baby and sleeps 3-4 hours at a time at night. She nurses really well, I havnt had any trouble with it. The one thing I wasnt really prepared for is how sore I am after giving birth! Places hurt on my body I never imagined would! I felt like I was hit by a car! But it is worth it!

Here are some Pictures of Gabby at Birth.