On Saturday November 30, at 3:24 AM, we welcomed Kollyn Marie to our family after about 12 hours of being in the hospital and almost 24 hours of actual labor.
We called my parents, told them about it, and told them that we weren't going to be coming up to dinner because we wanted to stay close to the hospital, just in case anything happened. My mom then called my sister Melissa who lives in Lehi and asked if we could do dinner at their house so David and I could join them and still be close to the hospital. We're lucky to have such supportive family members!
David and I went home from the hospital and decided to try and take a nap, since we'd woken up earlier than we'd originally planned. I didn't really nap, mostly just closed my eyes and timed the contractions. They weren't very regular and didn't seem to be increasing in intensity but I wasn't sure if that was because of the pain medication they'd given me, or if they weren't getting more intense. I had times all over the place, from 2 minutes apart to 11 minutes apart so I was thinking, I might be in labor, but it's just early labor and the nurse said that could last for days so I wasn't very concerned.
At around 1 we headed up to my sister's house. The contractions felt like they were getting more intense but I wasn't sure if that was because the pain medicine was wearing off or if they actually were getting more intense. Each time I had one hit, I'd grab David's hand and squeeze through the pain. Doing that made the pain a lot more bearable, and it gave me hope that I'd be able to go unmedicated through the labor and delivery. My doctor and I had discussed it because I have scoliosis and the way my back was curved, he wasn't sure the epidural would really be as effective in reducing the pain as it would be if my back was straight.
All through dinner the contractions kept coming and each time I would reach over and grab David's hand, my sisters would watch me, ask if it was a contraction, and then ask me if they were getting more intense, how long it had been, and seem to get more and more excited as they seemed to get more painful. I was feeling really hot, really achy, and really tired by the end of dinner so I laid down on the couch, not able to sleep but glad to close my eyes. We left around 5 to go back home because the pain was getting more intense and I was feeling really hot. On our way home David asked if I wanted to go back to the hospital and see if they could give me some more medication so I could sleep through the night. I wasn't sure but as the exit neared another contraction hit that was really painful, so I decided we could give it a try.
We went back to the hospital at 5:30 and the nurse checked me. I was dilated to 3 cm so she decided to ask the doctor who was on call for my OB's office, Dr. Cloward, what she wanted to do. She decided to admit me at 6:30 pm. The contractions were close together and more intense, but having a warm bath helped me deal with the pain for a little while. Dr. Cloward came in at 8:30 to break my water and after that, the contraction pain became exponentially worse. My parents came and helped by bringing things up from our apartment and being there when the pain got really bad. David was so supportive, constantly telling me that I could do it, that I was doing so great, he held my hand while I went through the contractions, and put pressure on my back and pushed on my knees to help relieve the pain and pressure from my lower back as the contractions came and went.
At about 9:30 I was in so much pain I knew I needed the epidural because I knew I needed to sleep but the contraction pain was going to keep me from doing that. After David and I talked about it, I decided I wanted the epidural and David, after double checking to make sure that it was really what I wanted, went to find the anesthesiologist. Almost immediately the nurse and anesthesiologist came in and started getting set up. They told me it would take them 10 minutes to set up, 10 minutes to put the epidural in, and 10 minutes for it to kick in. I was excited about having only a half hour of the pain to deal with. Unfortunately, because of how my back is curved, it took an hour and a half for him to get the epidural in. The pain in my lower back during the contractions was almost unbearable, and at about 10:30 I passed out from how much pain I was in, only to wake up a half hour later when he said that he was done.
The relief was almost instantaneous. The tears that had been tears of pain were now tears of relief. I had made it about 5 hours in the hospital without the epidural and that made me feel pretty good, but I was so happy to have a relief from the pain. I was finally able to sleep and I did, until about 2 am on November 30. At that point I woke up, threw up for about two minutes, and then was getting ready to go back to sleep when the nurse said that usually when you throw up it means you're ready to push so they checked me again, and sure enough, I was at 10 cm.
They had paged Dr. Lind, my doctor, and he had said he was on his way, even though he wasn't on call that night. He got there at about 2 am, just as I was getting ready to push. The nurse told me what to do and had David on one side holding my knee up to my chest and my mom on the other side.
Then, after a little more than an hour, she said that I was really close and went to get the doctor. He came in with a few more nurses, from the nursery, and a respiratory specialist, since when they broke my water they found meconium in it. Luckily there were no problems from that.
And so, at 3:24 am, after a little over an hour of pushing, we caught the first glimpse of our little girl. It's amazing that feeling right after having a baby. It's an intense relief from the pressure, but it's so surreal. It's hard to think that the reason for all the little flutterings and flips is right there now, you can see them and hold them now. It's also crazy to think that this little person is half you, half someone else, and that they depend on you for absolutely everything.
Our little angel was 7 pounds 8 ounces, 19.5 inches long, and just gorgeous. I said she looked more like David but I keep hearing people say she looks like me. I don't really see that.
It's a weird feeling, being a parent, especially since the timing wasn't what we had originally planned on, but it's been rewarding so far.
I'm lucky that my parents live close because we were able to spend the first week there. The extra help was awesome! It made it a little bit easier to adjust to the new responsibilities, and it was nice since David had a huge project due that next week that he needed to work on every day. Having the help from my mom and dad was invaluable.
Also the help from my sisters. Their advice was great. Laura told us her method to helping babies sleep through the night and since we started trying it, Kollyn wakes up once in the night instead of the five that she woke up the first time that had me on the phone to my mom in tears because I didn't know what to do. Since then, nights have been easier, and it's been nice having David around. He doesn't wake me up at night though...not sure how I feel about that.
And now, just some overload of cuteness for those of you who actually made it through all those words. :)
Grammy and Kollyn. Kollyn loved spending time with Grammy last week.
And Kollyn with her Poppa. Yet another one of Poppa's sugar-pies.
She got spoiled with cuddles and love all week.
The stocking that Grammy and Poppa bought her for Christmas. We tried to get her inside it to take an adorable picture, but she's a little bit too big for it. :) That's ok. It kind of looks like she's in it, right?
We are loving having her here. Yeah, it's been a bit of an adjustment, but it's been fun too. We're learning new things everyday, how to get her to sleep in her own bed instead of in bed with us, how to help calm her down when she she's just crying, and all kinds of other things. We're excited to keep learning about this little lady!
