Paige's birth was in almost every way different than Logan's. With Logan- everything was quick and full of surprises (maybe because he was my first). I went in to the hospital with minor contractions at 1 AM and I was holding my boy by 7:30 AM. The cupcake was almost methodical. Perfect for Type A parents (though I did enjoy the element of surprise with the Bear). Her story starts a few weeks before she arrived. To preface- my feet started to swell before I knew I was pregnant with my girl (it was my first pregnancy symptom) so by the end- my feet and ankles were huge. My OBGYN and midwife were very impress with their sizes. They were not impress with my blood pressure. My blood pressure was higher than they wanted it and three weeks before Paige arrived, I was going to L&D two - three times a week for NST and ultrasounds (to check her size- any bigger than 8lbs, I couldn't deliver her naturally). I even had to get a day off of work for complete bed rest (and a twenty four hour urine test, ew). On April 8th- I went in for an ultra sound and the tech proclaim she was under 7lbs. This made me a tad skeptical because I was BIG. The ultrasound tech said she has only been off an ounce or two and I was looking at a natural delivery as long as I didn't go past 42 weeks (I was 39 weeks). After the ultrasound, I went for my weekly appointment with my OBGYN. My stats were looking better so I was hoping we can skip the NST and sail onto my desire due date- April 16th (the very start of April vacation). Dr. C had another vision for me- inducing. I was stable, the baby was good size, and I was swollen to capacity. The cupcake was cooked. Dr. C said it made sense to go while I was stable, I would be at 39 weeks, and the baby was a good size. It made me nervous but if my doctor said it was time- then it was time. She gave me the due date of April 11th and the order to show up at 11:00.
That weekend was the last time our family was a family of four. After the doctor gave me my due date- I felt much more like my non pregnant self so I was able to enjoy are time together. We spent it together, doing our typical weekend routine- Gymboree, Target trip, even the playground on Saturday afternoon (it was a very nice day). When Monday the 11th came, Matt drove Logan to school (donning his Big Brother tshirt) and waited for my mom to arrive- feet up, TV on for one last guilt free viewing of Teen Mom 2. Mom arrived and off to L&D. We registered at 11 on the dot, and we got settled into our room. Around 12, the nurses came into my room to do my intake and to put in my IV. Shortly after they started my intake, my water broke (on its own). I was thrilled and I ask if we can delay the piticon and let nature take its course. Contrations did start but were irregular and not strong at all (I had more intense Braxton Hicks). After a couple of hours of small progress, I was talked into a small dosage of piticon. Around the same time, nurses changed shift and we got a new and wonderful nurse, Melissa. Not that my other nurses were terrible (although one of them told me I probably shouldn't get an epidural because I didn't get one with Logan) but Melissa stayed in the room with us and was like "hey, even though you are giving birth, lets talk about fun stuff like TV and shopping). She took my mind off of the contractions that were getting stronger but still manageable. Around 4:30, Dr. C came in and check my progress. Since I didn't dilate since my intake, Dr. C didn't think my water broke completely. Dr. C needed to finish the job and after that- my contraction became regular and painful. The pain was odd- my left side just felt crampy but my right size was racked with pain from my hip all the way up to my molar. I lasted until 6. Here is where I want to say, I never yelled once from any pain and Matt can vouched for me. I asked for Melissa to check it see if I made any progress (no) then I asked for my epidural. One painful half hour later, I was numb from the waist down. Melissa (a mother of two girls and supporter of epidurals) was impressed I lasted as long as I did AND was glad I got one because she said my contractions were very strong and one on top of each other.
The epidural helped me relax. I was tensing up during contractions and it was preventing me from dilating. Dr. C came to check me at 8 and gave me the go ahead to push in about 30 minutes. The only downside of the epidural was my dead weight legs. Oye- poor Matt. Around 8:30- Melissa had me do a practice push. Half way through my push- Melissa told me to stop because she was literally right there (and Melissa did not want to be the one to deliver Paige). Melissa quickly got Dr. C and by 8:40, I was pushing again. And at 8:45- Paige made her appearance and quickly settled on top of my chest.
Although their labors were difference- the after labor experience was exactly the same. Both children were able to go skin to skin with me and I felt the same unconditional love for both. Love you Paigey Cakes! Thanks for a wonderful three months.
