Birth day!!

Amber is here, and here’s the story. I hope it’s tastefully told. I tried not to be too too graphic, but this is a baby story...

Tuesday, November 4th, 2014:
On my birthday, I had a doctor appointment at 9:15am. I agonized back and forth for the entire week before the appointment whether or not to have my membranes stripped. That just sounds bad, doesn't it? Having a finger swiped between the amniotic sac/baby's head and my pelvic floor sounded incredibly uncomfortable to me. Dr. Weaver offered to do it at last week's appointment, but I chickened out. This week, he checked found that I was dilated 4cm--two more than last week! Then I finally got brave and let him strip my membranes. And after all my worries, it didn't even hurt. It didn't feel good, but it was done in a few seconds. Then Rose and I went to the church gym for a play group with our friends. When we got home around lunchtime, I was feeling kind of crampy, which, according to my research, is normal for post-membrane-stripping.

Rose and I snuggled up for a nap after lunch, Rose on the couch, and me in my chair. Rose fell asleep in about 5 seconds flat. My cramps kept me awake for a while and then they started to feel more contraction-ish. I had about 3 contractions in that hour before giving up on the nap idea. I was still in my chair when another contraction came. It was a tight one but I had just spent the last hour convincing myself that I was not in labor, so I thought nothing of it until...POP! My water broke. It was 3pm.

I sat in my chair for a split second, processing the sensation that I just sat on a large, full water balloon and popped it--it felt just like when my water broke with Jay. I swear there was an audible popping sound. I said "ohmygoodness, did that just HAPPEN?" and quickly heaved my pregnantness out of the recliner to save the upholstery. I managed to make it to the bathroom before the flowing fluids seeped out into my socks and onto the floor. Rose actually stepped in it before I warned her. Thankfully I had the presence of mind to bring my phone with me. 

I stood there in a puddle of...Amber juice...and called Jeff to get him on his way home from Sunnyside (a 20 minute scooter ride). The next 20 minutes I kind of just stewed in my puddle and wondered what to do next. I felt so scatterbrained and jittery--was this happening?? I texted Dr. Weaver and called my sister Em and freaked her out a little, hee hee. Then the contractions APPEARED. BOOM. I used a contraction timing app to time about 5 of them and they were suddenly 2-3 minutes apart, 45 seconds long each. There's nothing quite like a zero to sixty labor. I felt a kind of panicky "ahh! I'm not ready for labor! I don't want to do this right now! OWWW!" I called the Whites and Dan and Leslie came right over to take care of the kids. 

I was still seeping and standing in the bathroom when Jeff arrived. He brought me a towel, and I contrived to spare our carpet any lasting damage on my way to the car. Dan and Jeff gave me a very quick priesthood blessing while I stood in the middle of the floor with a towel between my legs. Then it was off to the hospital. It was so surreal! I had been waiting for this and suffering for 279 days so of course it felt surreal! On the way to the hospital (a 15 minute drive) those contractions picked it up a notch and I was just gushing fluid all over the place. I had one of those big hosptial pads to sit on, but it was saturated in seconds, along with the towel. So I sat in a puddle on top of the waterproof barrier in the van, sloshing slightly with the motion of the vehicle. OW contractions! 

When we got to the hospital, my pants were soaked and there were puddles squelching in my crocs when I walked. It was so cliche and absurd that I was kind of laughing at myself between horrific contractions. We slowly made our way across the parking lot and into the hospital, where they told us we were supposed to go to the ER to check in, even though it was still regular business hours. How were we supposed to know that? There was NO WAY I was about to walk around to find the ER. So we made our way towards the labor and delivery department, figuring they'd take care of our non-checked-in status. Or at least catch my baby. The lady from the front desk chased after us and said we had to go to the ER, and then left us standing there. Finally Jeff said loudly, CAN SOMEONE TELL US WHERE TO GO PLEASE? MY WIFE IS IN LABOR! And a nice man in scrubs led us not to the ER, but right where we were headed in the first place--labor and delivery. 

Luckily, Dr. Weaver had called ahead and they were mostly expecting us. I changed and peed in one more infernal cup and then eased myself onto the bed, where the nurse checked me and shocked me with the news "you're complete." As in completely dilated. Umm, come again? It was just over an hour after my water broke. Where was my doctor?? They went and called him. He was finishing up his last patient at the clinic in Grandview (that glorious 15 minute drive). He must've sped on the drive over because he appeared remarkably quickly and the room was all bustling for a baby. I kind of felt push-y but not 100% but I figured let's get this over with, so I pushed once and then Dr. Weaver felt inside and said that nope, I actually still had 2 cm left to dilate!! Noooo! If I was a mean laboring woman, I would have probably had some choice words for him at that point. But I was feeling really pathetic and exhausted and in agony. So I just deflated and sank back in disappointment. He offered me an epidural. I had to do some careful thinking in my frazzled pained state, and I ended up saying no to the epidural. I managed to find my little voice of logic waaaaay back deep in my head. It told me that when I'm at 8 cm things go FAST. So I said no. 3 contractions later, I was 10cm for real and 3 more pushing contractions after that, I was looking at baby Amber. I’m happy to share birthdays with her.

She was born at 4:52pm, less than 2 hours after my water broke. It was FAST and FURIOUS. The pain was intense. In my other two deliveries sans pain medication, I felt the contractions all over my stomach, top to bottom. Breathing helped relieve the pressure and agony a little. But this time, I felt 90% of the contraction deep down low so all the careful breathing in the world did nothing to relieve the agony. I still gasped for air, but it didn't have much effect. The other thing that was different from Jay and Rose's births this time was when Amber was coming out, she felt enormous and bony and it HURT! Even after her head came out, OW! I swear, I felt every bone as it emerged. But then she was out and for the first time ever I miraculously did not have any tearing! I also survived labor without throwing up! Firsts all over the place. 

Amber Kay White was born November 4th, 2014 at 4:52pm. She weighed 7 lbs 9 oz and was 21.25 inches long. Our biggest baby yet by half a pound and 2 inches! We love her so much. Grampa Dan and Grama Leslie brought Jay and Rose over to visit about 2 hours after Amber was born. While our family of 5 was together for the first time, I just laid there and basked in it. It felt wonderful to be not pregnant and have all my sweet faces around me. Postpartum euphoria set in and practically made me float through the next few hours. It's just so easy to be happy when I'm not pregnant! I felt like a giant heavy weight had been lifted from not only my body but also my soul! Does that sound cheesy? It's the only way I can describe the relief I feel now that I'm un-pregnant.

 

“Hi, Amber! I’m your big sister!” That’s the first thing Rose said to Amber when she held her. Love. Jay and Rose were SO excited to see Amber and hold her. They put their grubby hands all over her soft head and talked to her and held her. Happy Mommy heart.

I think Grama and Grampa were pretty excited to see Amber too.

 

Jeff left with the kids for the night around 7pm, and it was just Amber and me. I ate a refrigerated hospital sandwich and called my Mom. Then it was baby loving time. That first night alone together in the hospital is one of the things I was most looking forward to for the whole pregnancy. I love snuggling with my new baby and ignoring everything else. This time it was a little bit different than the night of my dreams. When I nursed Amber, I started having MAJORLY painful cramps. They made my whole body shake and suddenly I found myself puking. Yep. I survive labor without so much as a gag and then the simple act of feeding my baby set me off. I ended up receiving 1000mg of liquid Tylenol plus a shot of my beloved frenemy, Zofran, through my IV. After a little bit I stabilized but I felt yucky for most of the night. There was no food for me to eat except another refrigerated sandwich or some cold cereal in a cup. And I only had till 4am to eat before my pre-surgery fast began. I managed to eat two very unsatisfactory cups of cereal before then. I spent Wednesday morning astounded at how good I felt physically--low bleeding, happy mood, no nausea. I felt great in spite of being hungry and thirsty. My body can do amazing things when its not pregnant! 

Sweetface.

AMBER IS HERE! SHE’S HERE! SHE’S HERE! SHE’S HERE!

WAHOOOOOOO!

[next up: postpartum tubal ligation]