Tenley Elizabeth Ditata
October 26, 2011
9:18 am
9 pounds 8 ounces
21 inches long
Here is the story of how my sweet angel made her fashionably late entrance into the world:
When I was 34 weeks pregnant, Tenley’s doctor estimated her weight to be 7 pounds and 5 ounces (BIG ...already). He also stated that if she was born on her due date that he would estimate her birth weight to be a whopping 9 and a half pounds! Seriously?! How could that be possible?! Eddie and I had the mindset of “that is just a calculation – he must be wrong.” The doctor recommended I schedule an induction for October 19th due to her size; however we wanted to give her to her “due date” (October 20th) to keep cooking and I really had my heart set on experiencing the moment I had my “birth show”, my first real contraction, my water breaking, etc. Needless to say, I was hesitant about not giving my body the opportunity to go naturally on its own. So we scheduled an induction for October 26th in case I did not go on my own.
My due date came and went… at 3 am on October 24th I experienced my "birth show". I sat on the toilet telling Ed, “Oh my God!! She’s coming soon!! We’re having a baby!!” That night I could NOT sleep... Instead of sleeping I laid in bed having the strongest contractions I have ever had before and was way too excited to sleep. Eddie and I went for a walk around 9am to try to get my labor started, but it did not work. As I anticipated labor, I went through another sleepless night.
On October 25th, I went to my weekly doctor appointment and it couldn’t have gone any worse. The baby’s heart rate and my contractions were monitored and I was having major contractions and Tenley’s heart rate seemed to be okay. Then, the nurse came to test my fluid levels and the baby’s movement since she had been moving less; which I just assumed was due to her being crammed in my belly, but I was wrong. I had lost 3 pounds and my fluid levels had dramatically decreased. To measure her movement the nurse had to use this buzzer thing to get her to move, but she wouldn’t. The nurse said she was being graded as a C- and was very sluggish because my placenta had “aged”. At this point during our appointment, I started to get nervous and emotional. The doctor came in and expressed his concern about getting Tenley out safely. He said she needed to be out in 24 hours or less because my placenta was not functioning properly. He also advised me that due to her size and my placenta that my risk of a c-section was now extremely high. The water works began and I could not control my sobbing. I felt like such a baby because I couldn't stop crying. The doctor and nurses hugged me trying to give me reassurance, but it did not help. I couldn't stand the thought of Tenley being in danger. I also felt like such a failure. Here I am doing everything possible to prepare myself mentally and physically for labor, but my body was not proving to be capable. My doctor told me to do kick counts throughout the night and to call him immediately if her movement decreased even more.
We headed home and stopped by Tropical Smoothie so I could go home, eat and start my kick counts. I got 10 kicks in 10 minutes so I felt a tid bit relieved, but kept thinking, “how am I going to get through the night worrying abut her movement?” We decided to call the doctor to see if we could possibly go to the hospital tonight rather than 8am on the 26th. He said that he would love it if we went to the hospital now since I only had 24 hours to get her out. He said that he didn’t mention that at our appointment because he knew I was hesitant about being induced anyways. So I hopped in the shower and we headed to the hospital to get this party started.
We arrived at the hospital at 7 pm on October 25th. Our labor and delivery nurse, Cindy, was super nice and made me feel extremely comfortable about my birth plan. She did an exam and said that I was 1 cm dilated and 70% effaced. After talking to my doctor, she started me on the smallest dosage of Pitocin at 9pm and I immediately started having strong contractions that were 3 minutes apart. By 10:30 pm my water spontaneously ruptured. Ed and I giggled with excitement because this meant our daughter was closer to meeting us. Then the laughter quickly stopped because my contractions got even worse. Cindy told me that from this point on my labor would get even worse since my water had ruptured. I kept moving from the bed to my birthing ball while listening to my birthing affirmations and practicing my breathing techniques, but nothing helped. I began feeling nauseous and vomited with every contraction. 4 am rolled around and I was 4 cm dilated. Since I was so against an epidural, I tried to handle the pain the best ways I knew how, but with this being my third sleepless night exhaustion doesn't even come close to explaining how I was feeling. I asked Ed if he would think less of me if I got an epidural and if I would be a hypocrite, but he encouraged me to do whatever I needed to do. We called the nurse and asked for an epidural. The anesthesiologist came to give me the epidural and it kicked in by 4:30 am. Even with the epidural, I was able to feel the contractions coming and going. The nurse was worried since I was still able to feel the contractions, but I assured her that it was a lot better and I was able to sleep through my contractions. I woke up at 6 am with hard core contractions. Cindy measured me at 7cm dilated and informed me that the machine dispensing the epidural was reading low battery and not pumping into my system anymore. The anesthesiologist was currently in a c-section and could not come to administer/correct my epidural. By 7 am, I was 10cm dilated and Cindy called my doctor to tell him I was going to start pushing. Cindy's shift was over and another nurse stepped in for her. I was worried I wouldn't be comfortable with her, but she was awesome. By 8:30 am I was still pushing and making little progress. Tenley’s heart rate began to drop and the doctor said her head was so big that it may not be able to descend so he gave me until 9 am to have her. He booked an O.R. in case 9 am came and no progress was made. Could I really have done all this work for nothing?! I wasn't going to allow that and I was determined to have her the old fashioned way - vaginally. Then, my body started to bear down spontaneously and my body was convulsing with every contraction. I was bearing down like a maniac and Eddie said he could see her head come out more and more with every push (then it would go back in). I was almost there! 9 am rolled around and the baby was crowning. The doctor came in and said “WOAH! I didn’t think this was going to happen!” Tenley's heart rate dropped even more and he began to worry about her. He came to my side and told me that the baby needed assistance coming out because of her heart rate and size of her head and suggested using a vacuum. This was something I did not consider, but what else was going our way through this besides nothing? My doctor said, “You need to start trusting me. I may not know everything about everything, but this is what I do know.” We told him to do whatever he had to do to get her out safely. He called about 9 nurses into the room because he said once her head was out they may have to manipulate her shoulders out because they assumed her body was just as big as her head. The room was full at this point and I had a lot of cheerleaders giving me great encouragement. My body really took over and I could feel that with every contraction I was making more progress. After a massive push and use of the vacuum, Ed looked at me and said, “her heads out babe; you’re almost there!!” I beared down and pushed for what seemed like another hour and her body came out with no problem. At 9:18 am, all 9 of the nurses, the doctor and Ed were screaming “she’s out – you did it!!” My body went into extreme relaxation and my sweet baby girl was put on my chest and I began to sob...
(This is thee greatest moment I've ever experienced in my life.)
I could barely see her because I was crying so hard, but she was starring right at me and began to cry with her sweet raspy lil’ voice. Eddie and I had a Tenley sandwich and just marveled in her beauty. After a little bit they put Tenley under the warmer since our room was an ice cube and her temperature was really low. The doctor came to my side and informed me that she weighed 9 pounds 8 ounces and said, “Now are you going to start trusting me?”
He was spot on with her estimated weight.
He hugged Eddie and told me he was amazed at how well I did and was surprised I was able to give birth to such a big baby, but I was determined and had the BEST supporter by my side - Eddie.
Although the journey did not go as planned, we are extremely happy with the outcome - a beautiful, healthy baby girl. Tenley is thee greatest gift that God has ever given us. We will do anything for her and will love her unconditionally forever.
Tenley's pediatrician came to check her out and since she was doing great, we only had to stay at the hospital for 24 hours. Tenley got dressed in her birdie outfit to go home:
(Gahhhh those ruffles kill me!)
Then, she quickly left us a present in those sweet, sweet ruffles so she had to have a wardrobe change (such a diva):
She has enriched our lives in a way we never thought possible and we are thrilled to be her parents. Now I'm going to go cuddle my chunky monkey and kiss her sweet chubby cheeks ALL day!
No comments:
Post a Comment