It all started on Monday October 3rd (Carmella's due date), at our weekly doctor's appointment we learn that I really haven't made any progress in the last week. I am still 70% effaced and 2 cm dilated, a little disappointing. But the big surprise came when my doctor told me she would be out of town this coming Friday through Tuesday. I knew at that moment Dr. Kendrick had to deliver our baby no matter what, so after a little discussion we decided to plan for an induction. I was a little nervous at first but knew this was the right decision, but God had a different plan.
We left the doctors office and headed home and that is when they started, Braxton hicks contractions. I laid on the bed and watched some tv and tried to relax. When the pains began to become more regular I knew these might be a little more than Braxton hicks contractions. So I started to time them and it turns out they were about 15 minutes apart. No big deal, right?
Since we knew we would be having this baby soon we decided to enjoy our last night together just the two of us. So what does a pregnant woman want as her last meal before labor........... um a thin crust pizza please. Since I had been so diligent in my diet during my pregnancy I thought it was time to break a few rules and eat just what I wanted!!
Oh and it was yummy!!
Mom and Dad before Carmella arrived
Once we returned home I found a little project to dive into as a distraction from the abdominal pains I was still feeling. I decided to work on putting together all the scrapbook stuff from our baby showers. It was a great project that kept me distracted for several hours. Then it was off to bed with big hopes of meeting our daughter soon....
Well God definitely had a different plan and at 3:20 am my water broke! I rolled over and felt a pop, kinda like a balloon popping and I shot up out of bed and ran to the bathroom. Thank goodness I made it before a big mess ended up on the floor. Then like any smart pregnant woman would do I crawled back into bed hoping to get a little more rest before labor really started. Well it was beginning because my contractions were getting stronger and closer together. So we called the on call doctor and packed the car and we were on our way to the hospital at 4:30 am.
After we checked in and got the baby on the monitor things started to get more intense. We had made some progress I was effaced 90% and dilated 4 cm. The contractions were getting stronger and I was in a LOT more pain, so I asked for a little something to take the edge off. Some Fentanyl was on the way but first I had to get an IV. After two nurses tried with no luck to place an IV, I started to panic and was unable to focus on breathing. I kindly told the nurses that if in anesthesiologist was present he could start my epidural. So the anesthesiologist came in and started my IV in one try. Ok so give me some fentanyl now!! First the anesthesiologist tells me he will be going into a c-section to deliver twins and would I like my epidural now..... um YES!!
Finally my pain was under control and I was ready to rest. Sadly I was unable to feel my legs since the epidural bolus was such a large dose to help me with my pain. I had just hoped it would wear off a bit so that I could feel myself pushing later. The nurse told us to try and get some rest cause we would be pushing soon. My mom had arrived from Tahoe and our friend Katie was there all awaiting the arrival of Carmella.
And daddy was there too (of course)
After some more rest and watching everyone else eat and drink, I sucked down some water and ice chips, oh yum! At 11:30am I had dilated to 9 cm and we were getting closer to pushing. So after a few position changes we were set up to push this baby out. Even though I couldn't feel my legs and wasn't sure how hard I was pushing, I gave it my all. We pushed through a few contractions and we getting closer, but then baby Carmella's heart rate dropped (deceleration) and took a long time to recover so we held off on pushing for a bit. And as a result my contractions slowed down from a minute apart to 5 minutes apart. Now we were waiting for a call from the doctor to determine if we start pitocin or wait it out. After an hour passed we finally started the pitocin and my contractions were off the charts, literally. I could feel the pressure of the contractions which I knew were big because I still couldn't feel my legs. The nurse took my temperature and found that I had a fever so she advised me to stop drinking water. As a nurse I knew that this could only mean that I might have to have a c-section because my risk for infection was increased due to the fact that my water had broken 10 hours prior and I had spiked a temperature. So I started to panic! I called everyone over to my bed and we all prayed together and for a safe delivery for baby Carmella and me. Praise God the doctor decided to start me on an antibiotic and increase my pitocin drip.
My temperature broke and I had progressed to 10 cm and the baby's head was in position, so it was time to push. I pushed through 3 contractions and the baby's head was beginning to crown, so they called the doctor. It was only a matter of time before we met our baby girl. At 2:30 pm Dr. Kendrick arrived and set up for delivery and at the beginning of my next contraction I began to push and out came Carmella's head and with my next push her entire body was out. The doctor looked at me and said, "Sarah you're strong". They placed the baby on my chest and my eyes filled with tears, she was finally here (and yes I made sure she was in fact a girl). As she began crying and screaming I told her how much I loved her and counted her fingers and toes. What an amazing moment, a new life was brought into this world at 2:35 pm and she was perfect. She weighed 6lbs 9oz and was 19 inches long.
Chris then cut the umbilical chord and followed the baby to get cleaned up. I sat there in awe of this amazing little person that was my daughter. God is truly amazing and this precious miracle had to have come from no other than him. We feel so blessed to be her parents and pray that he guide us in raising her. We're so in love with our daughter!!
15 minutes after she was born
The happy little family ha ha!
Dr. Kendrick and the newest addition to the Ferraro Family!
Aw, that made me cry a little! Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDelete