The birth story..followed by pics

On 4.8.09, we went to our Ob/gyn appointment at 3pm to find that I was not effaced or dilated at all. He expected I would go full term. So after the appointment, we went to pick up a few more things for the baby’s room. The rest of the night was uneventful and we headed to bed at 10pm. At 11:05pm, my water broke. I woke Ad with the news and he was a bit dazed to realize what had happened... he thought I just peed myself. From there we headed to the hospital. When we arrived, we found out that he doctor on call was no other than ours, Dr. Bethel. We were thrilled. We were triaged in and told that since it was our first baby and I was not effaced and only dilated 1cm, it would be a long time. About 20-30 hours. I was terrified. I was having contractions but unable to feel them… that worried the nurse and I was put on patossin and antibiotics and moved into delivery room to wait it out. Soon after, I was able to feel the contractions and by 5am- I asked for the epidural. I think the epidural was the most painful thing I have ever felt, even worse than when I had broken my ankle. I held tight to Ad and cried through it. After that, I thought, this is great until I fell asleep and woke not being able to feel my legs. I asked that the epidural be adjusted so I could feel my legs only to find that the contractions were even worse and I still couldn’t feel my legs. They turned it back up. It was a nightmare and when the new doctor on call came to see us at about 11:00am (4.9.09, Thursday), he anticipated that we would deliver on Friday or Saturday. All I could think about was being numb for that long. I was miserable. Luckily, our nurse, Robin, wanted to “just check”. Thank goodness for “just checking”, I was fully effaced and dilated plus she could see Isabella’s head. I cried for joy and the prepping started. The doctor was back and he asked Adam if he wanted to deliver the baby. Ad just thinking he would cut the cord said “yes”. I had a few practice pushes and then it began. The head came out and after the doctor suctioned her mouth and nose, he told Ad to step in. The doctor guided Ad with the rest of the delivery including clamping and cutting of the cord. I cried upon seeing her… tears of joy.
Isabella was born 4.9.09 at 12:08pm, weighing 6 lbs 11.5 oz and measuring 18 ½ inches in length. Her Apgars were 8 and 9.
Post delivery, Isabella was able to stay with us an hour after birth and was then taken to the nursery for her assessment. Ad went with her. We were told that as soon as I could walk, we could move to the post delivery room and get Isabella from the nursery. Ad was anxious and we started moving my legs around in hopes it would hasten the process. It took about 5 hours before I was able to feel my legs. We were moved into our room and Isabella stayed with us the whole 48 hours. Our experience with the hospital and the staff was wonderful.