My firstborn is 5 today. Five!! I would like to say I remember the day she was born like it was yesterday. But to be honest that isn’t true anymore. I remember it of course, but those baby days are moving away from me too fast. She is in Kindergarten and I feel like I am grasping to hold onto her “little girl” days.
Five years ago today I woke up feeling “funny.” Not knowing exactly what that meant I told the hubby to stay home just a few more minutes. Suddenly I rushed to the bathroom, making it just in time to have my water break all over the bathroom floor. Hubby looked at me excitedly and said, “I am so excited, we are going to meet her today.” I could only think, “Holy crap I got to push a baby out of me today.” And I was trying to figure out how to make it stop.
Now, I should back up a minute and tell you all that I had planned on giving birth naturally. We had taken the Lamaze courses and I don’t even like to take an Advil so I was not to thrilled with the giant needle stuck in my back no matter how many people told me how great it was. I was pretty confident I could handle it. Later I would find out I could with Hannah. Lily was a different story.
So the hubby and I headed to the hospital ready for this baby to come any minute now. Except the baby had different plans. My labor would not start. So I did laps around the hospital for 4 hours trying to start it naturally. I was going to avoid pitocin at all costs. Eventually my labor began with a whimper. And then a little bit stronger. And then a lot stronger.
Still I persevered and avoided the drugs. I breathed, I got on the birthing ball, I got in the shower, I breathed some more. But I was hanging out at 8 centimeters and experiencing back labor. My resolve was slowly slipping away. So I began begging for the drugs. BEGGING!! And they took their sweet time getting the doctor.
When he came, he explained to my hubby that he would need to sign a wavier and there could be side effects like paralysis, death, blah, blah, blah. My dear, sweet hubby looked at me mid-contraction and said, “I don’t feel comfortable signing that.” I am not sure what I said, but I think you might have heard my shrieks that night from wherever you were. Needless to say, he signed the papers.
Ah bliss. Love watching those contractions come across the screen and laughing in their little face. So for a while, I rested and waited. And they brought my hubby food and told me, no I couldn’t eat anything in case I needed surgery. Somehow I still managed to vomit all over him without any food in my stomach. All over him. Possibly as payback for not signing those papers sooner.
That seemed to be my signal that things were starting to happen. So we got ready to push. I was pretty good at it too. But it seems Lily did not want to make her appearance. So THREE hours later, still no baby and I am pooped. So they tell me they are going to have to use forceps.
Up until this point I had always assumed forceps looked kind of like salad tongs. Yeah, they don’t. They are quite large. Like pull the head off a kid large. The hubby grabbed my hand and we braced ourselves. But all the bracing in the world doesn’t prepare you for a forceps delivery. When they rip a baby out of you with giant salad tongs that epidural don’t do crap.
And your beautiful baby you have always dreamed about them placing on your belly as you gaze into her eyes. She looks like a conehead. A beautiful conehead, but a conehead. But I loved her instantly and I have never stopped. Thanks Lily for making me a mommy. Please stay my little girl just a little while longer…
feener
says:
amazing ….
feeners last blog post..Firsts …
[Reply]
September 22nd, 2008 at 11:20 pm
nicolerenae
says:
I’ve often thought that birthdays are just as significant for the moms as for the kids!
[Reply]
September 23rd, 2008 at 8:43 am
Jenny from Mommin' It Up!
says:
wow, great story! it is very funny that you puked all over hubby! I guess we are not twinsies after all. I was begging for drugs from the moment i found out i was pregnant! I also had back labor though. Never been so happy to have a needle jammed in my back.
Jenny from Mommin’ It Up!s last blog post..Again With the Drama
[Reply]
September 23rd, 2008 at 8:46 am
Nancy
says:
Happy Birthday Lily!
Awesome birthing story!
Nancys last blog post..Cooler Weather
[Reply]
September 23rd, 2008 at 11:05 am
jean
says:
I know exactly what you mean by the forceps. I remember in the birthing classes the teacher saying “the last resort a dr. will use is forceps as they are the most dangerous and can cause so much damage.” So what did the dr. do when Sam was so stubborn coming out? Pull out these two huge paddles that I thought there was no way possible would fit in me and still to this day I don’t even want to know how they fit in there.
Happy b-day Lily!!!
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[Reply]
September 23rd, 2008 at 11:14 am
Char
says:
Happy Birthday Lily! I hope that she has an amazing day, and yes the little girls do slip away oh so fast….trust me.
[Reply]
September 23rd, 2008 at 11:38 am
Rachel
says:
I think the vomiting is a side effect of the epidural.
At least, that’s what the doctors told me after I puked my guts out as they were trying to hand me my new little girl.
It happens to the best of us.
Rachels last blog post..The Tony’s Ain’t Got Nothin’ on Me!
[Reply]
September 23rd, 2008 at 2:51 pm
HeatherY
says:
Happy Birthday, Lily! I’ve always enjoyed reading birth stories. It’s such an amazing day.
HeatherYs last blog post..Please Tell Me Why You are Crying???
[Reply]
September 23rd, 2008 at 9:16 pm
Julie
says:
I so understand! My son’s birthday is actually today, but he is a year older. I had the same experience: pitocin, epidural (which fell out), puking, pushing for three looooong hours, forceps, more puking! What we don’t go through for our children.
I’d do it again for that little guy!
Julies last blog post..Online Again!
[Reply]
September 24th, 2008 at 8:48 am