Several times throughout my pregnancy, I was reminded that every pregnancy is different and unique. What you experience throughout your first pregnancy is not aways what you experience with your second. This advice I found to be true. I had two completely different pregnancies. The same is to be said about labor and delivery. Each labor and delivery is supposed to be unique and different. Guess what!?! Not mine. Although the actual time of labor was cut in half from 27 hours with Madi, to just over 12 hours of labor, the events that unfolded throughout the day were eerily similar to my first delivery. In fact, at one point, I started telling the nurse what the next course of action or treatment that would follow. More or less, I have a stubborn cervix that did not want to open to allow our little one to enter this world. He was ready and the rest of my body was ready, just not my cervix. Crazy! Anyway, this is how the birth story unfolds ...
At my 39 week doctor appointment, Dr. Folkestad and I decided that if the baby did not come by the following Wednesday, that we would induce. Well, that is exactly what happened. I was informed by Dr. Folkestad's office that my inducement paperwork had been approved by Arrowhead Hospital and to expect a call from the hospital on Wednesday evening to let me know when they would have a bed available for me. Typically, they admit women into the hospital anytime between 9pm and midnight. The office also instructed me that if I did not hear from the hospital by 9pm on Wednesday, to give them a call to make sure I was still, in fact, on the list.
Since Madilyn would be staying with my parents while Josh and I were at the hospital, we decided to have dinner with them so we could put Madi to bed there. While we waited for the phone call from the hospital, we decided to play a little pinochle with my parents to pass the time. Not that it is important, but Team Josh/Shirley did have the winning score that evening. However, to my credit, my head clearly was not into playing cards. Anyway, 9pm came and still no call from the hospital. So, as instructed, I called the hospital, They informed me that I was on the list, but there were several other women ahead of me and they could not pinpoint when I would get a call. It could be anytime between now and 5am Thursday morning. Uggh! They then told me to "relax and get a good night's sleep.". Sleep, who could sleep! Card playing continued and so did my anxiety and lack of patience. Sometime after 10pm, I told Josh that we should go home so I could try to sleep because it was useless waiting at my parents for a call that may not happen until the wee hours of the next day.
Somehow, I did fall asleep and was woken up abruptly at 2:45am with a phone call from the hospital. My room was available and they would like us to arrive within the next hour. Okay. I jumped in the shower to wake up, ate a couple of Eggo waffles and we were off to the hospital. On the way, we picked me up a couple of movies to watch since I knew that Josh would be able to go back to sleep. That was not going to happen for me. By 3:45am, we were checking into the hospital. The next couple of hours just dragged on. They were spent getting me all hooked up to all of the machines and filling out more paperwork. It is ridiculous how many IV's and gizmos that I was connected to, but I guess all necessary. Finally, at 5:45am, they started me on a pitocin drop -- at this point, I was 3cm dilated. And the waiting began ...
At 8:30am, I was visited by Dr. Folkestad and he decided to break my water. My stats at this time were: 4-5 cm dilated, -2 station, and 50% effaced. More waiting ...
Around 9am, my mom and Madilyn decided to come visit us in the hospital. Madi really did not understand what was going on. She did behave very well and entertained the entire hospital staff. They hung around for a couple of hours until it was time for Madi's nap. While they were down in the cafeteria, getting Josh and Madi something to eat, I did receive an epidural. Although, this time around, I think that I probably didn't really need one. My contractions appeared very strong on the monitors, but I was not in any unbearable pain. However, I didn't want to take the chance that the pain would increase and then it would be too late.
By 10:30am, the nurse decided that it was time to have me start using "the peanut" birthing ball. This was not my first introduction to "the peanut". They also had me use this contraption when I was in labor with Madi. If you are not familiar with this ball, here is what it looks like:
At my 39 week doctor appointment, Dr. Folkestad and I decided that if the baby did not come by the following Wednesday, that we would induce. Well, that is exactly what happened. I was informed by Dr. Folkestad's office that my inducement paperwork had been approved by Arrowhead Hospital and to expect a call from the hospital on Wednesday evening to let me know when they would have a bed available for me. Typically, they admit women into the hospital anytime between 9pm and midnight. The office also instructed me that if I did not hear from the hospital by 9pm on Wednesday, to give them a call to make sure I was still, in fact, on the list.
Since Madilyn would be staying with my parents while Josh and I were at the hospital, we decided to have dinner with them so we could put Madi to bed there. While we waited for the phone call from the hospital, we decided to play a little pinochle with my parents to pass the time. Not that it is important, but Team Josh/Shirley did have the winning score that evening. However, to my credit, my head clearly was not into playing cards. Anyway, 9pm came and still no call from the hospital. So, as instructed, I called the hospital, They informed me that I was on the list, but there were several other women ahead of me and they could not pinpoint when I would get a call. It could be anytime between now and 5am Thursday morning. Uggh! They then told me to "relax and get a good night's sleep.". Sleep, who could sleep! Card playing continued and so did my anxiety and lack of patience. Sometime after 10pm, I told Josh that we should go home so I could try to sleep because it was useless waiting at my parents for a call that may not happen until the wee hours of the next day.
Somehow, I did fall asleep and was woken up abruptly at 2:45am with a phone call from the hospital. My room was available and they would like us to arrive within the next hour. Okay. I jumped in the shower to wake up, ate a couple of Eggo waffles and we were off to the hospital. On the way, we picked me up a couple of movies to watch since I knew that Josh would be able to go back to sleep. That was not going to happen for me. By 3:45am, we were checking into the hospital. The next couple of hours just dragged on. They were spent getting me all hooked up to all of the machines and filling out more paperwork. It is ridiculous how many IV's and gizmos that I was connected to, but I guess all necessary. Finally, at 5:45am, they started me on a pitocin drop -- at this point, I was 3cm dilated. And the waiting began ...
At 8:30am, I was visited by Dr. Folkestad and he decided to break my water. My stats at this time were: 4-5 cm dilated, -2 station, and 50% effaced. More waiting ...
Around 9am, my mom and Madilyn decided to come visit us in the hospital. Madi really did not understand what was going on. She did behave very well and entertained the entire hospital staff. They hung around for a couple of hours until it was time for Madi's nap. While they were down in the cafeteria, getting Josh and Madi something to eat, I did receive an epidural. Although, this time around, I think that I probably didn't really need one. My contractions appeared very strong on the monitors, but I was not in any unbearable pain. However, I didn't want to take the chance that the pain would increase and then it would be too late.
By 10:30am, the nurse decided that it was time to have me start using "the peanut" birthing ball. This was not my first introduction to "the peanut". They also had me use this contraption when I was in labor with Madi. If you are not familiar with this ball, here is what it looks like:
Apparently, this ball is used on women who receive epidural injections during labor since they cannot use other proven birthing methods such as squatting or using an exercise ball. The peanut-shaped ball fits comfortably between the patients' legs, opening their pelvis to create a path for the newborn. It looks ridiculous, but the nurse swore it would work. And we wait some more ...
By noon, Dr. Folkestad stopped by my room again to check on me. At this point, he said I was progressing nicely -- 5cm dilated, station 0 and 75% effaced. More waiting, but they have decided to up my pitocin level to get this baby moving. I was already at the highest level the nurse was approved to go, so Dr. Folkestad approved an even higher level.
At 2pm -- I was dilated to 6cm.
At 3pm -- I was dilated to 7-8cm, station 0 and 80% effaced. However, because they increased my pitocin level the baby's heartrate began to decel. This is exactly what started to occur when I delivered Madi. This was the point where I told the nurse to start me on oxygen, since that is what the next step was with Madi's delivery. And guess what? That is exactly what they did. Yea, I love how stylish I looked in the oxygen mask. Also, do to the decelling of the baby's heartrate, the nurse decided to perform an amnioinfusion. Amnioinfusion is a procedure in which normal saline or lactated Ringer's solution is placed into the uterus after sufficient cervical opening and rupture of membranes. Yet one more contraption that I had to be hooked up to.
Finally at 4:45pm, I was at 9cm dilation. It was decided at this time to call Dr. Folkestad to see if he wanted to start having me "push." He showed up in my room around 5pm and accessed that it was time. I clearly remember Josh asking if Dr. Folkestad thought that the baby would arrive before 5:30pm. And Dr. Folkestad responded, "I can guarantee that." As you can see, my husband was more concerned about the date of his son's bris than actually getting him out of me. Anyway, I started the "pushing" portion of labor just after 5pm and at 5:07pm on Thursday, August 11th, Aiden Price Landers arrived into this world. This time around, the whole post-delivery portion was in slow motion. I remember how wonderful it was to have Aiden placed on my chest so I could greet him. He was so blue! And at first I thought something was wrong, until he started to wail. While on my chest, he held my finger. I knew from that moment on that I had my little boy. Josh cut the umbilical cord as he had with Madi. Then Aiden was taken away to receive his Apgar test. He scored a 9.9. I lay watching Josh as he took pictures and admired his son. I remember feeling so happy! Cold, actually freezing, but very happy. And a little nauseous. This was very similar to how I felt with the first pregnancy.
Shortly after delivering Aiden, my parents and Madilyn came to visit the newest member of our family. None of us knew how Madi would respond to Aiden, but her face clearly showed she was not happy to meet this little guy. I *so* wish that we had a photo of that precise moment. Her face was priceless. She didn't really want anything to do with him. In fact, she wanted to eat cereal over sitting with Mommy and Aiden. Only when they took him away for his first bath, did she finally show some interest in him and followed him along with Josh and my dad to the nursery. Too funny!
After a long wait, they finally moved us into a postpartum room. Aiden stayed with us that night. This time around, the first night with a newborn, was much easier. I think it was because we were not as nervous as the first time. Plus, you are pretty confident that you have the experience to care for this new little person. Both Josh and I did get a little sleep that night and decided it wasn't as horrific as we remember the first night with Madi.
Friday was spent welcoming visitors. We are truly blessed to have wonderful family and friends who wanted to visit us in the hospital. Madi vsited once again with my mom and Oma. She warmed up a little more to Aiden that day, but still clearly didn't understand that he would be coming home with us. Boy, was she in for a rude awakening. We needed to stay another night in the hospital as the test to check the baby's bilirubin aka jaundice could not be tested until 24-36 hours after the baby is born. So we wait ...
Saturday morning the nurse came at 3am to take Aiden for his bilirubin test. Upon his return, Aiden's pediatrician visited and informed us that Aiden's level of bilirubin was a tad higher than they'd like. She had us start to supplement his feedings with formula. She didn't want to send him under the lights quite yet, but they would run another test later that afternoon to see if that was needed. Well, from the onset, my two children decided that they would be compete with each other. That is right, Aiden, like Madi, did need to spend the entire night lying under the bili lights. Since Madi had been at my parents for the past couple of days, we felt it was best for her and Josh to return home, so she could spent the night in her own bed. Technically, I was discharged from the hospital that night, but the hospital allows breastfeeding moms to "nest". This means that they allow you stay in a hospital room, if one is available, while your baby is being cared for so I was able to still nurse him every three hours, but you are pretty much on your own. They do not check in on you nor do you receive any food or medicine. By this point, I was ready to go home and I was lonely sitting there all by myself in the hospital. No baby, no husband. It really was not all that fun. The only bright spot of that evening was that I did get a good amount of sleep. I guess that is a plus.
Luckily, by Sunday morning, Aiden's bilirubin level was in an acceptable range and we were able to be discharged from the hospital. Yea!
And there is the full story of Aiden's birth. We are so blessed to have two happy and healthy children. We are so excited to how each one of them thrives and what adventures they will bring to our lives.
By noon, Dr. Folkestad stopped by my room again to check on me. At this point, he said I was progressing nicely -- 5cm dilated, station 0 and 75% effaced. More waiting, but they have decided to up my pitocin level to get this baby moving. I was already at the highest level the nurse was approved to go, so Dr. Folkestad approved an even higher level.
At 2pm -- I was dilated to 6cm.
At 3pm -- I was dilated to 7-8cm, station 0 and 80% effaced. However, because they increased my pitocin level the baby's heartrate began to decel. This is exactly what started to occur when I delivered Madi. This was the point where I told the nurse to start me on oxygen, since that is what the next step was with Madi's delivery. And guess what? That is exactly what they did. Yea, I love how stylish I looked in the oxygen mask. Also, do to the decelling of the baby's heartrate, the nurse decided to perform an amnioinfusion. Amnioinfusion is a procedure in which normal saline or lactated Ringer's solution is placed into the uterus after sufficient cervical opening and rupture of membranes. Yet one more contraption that I had to be hooked up to.
Finally at 4:45pm, I was at 9cm dilation. It was decided at this time to call Dr. Folkestad to see if he wanted to start having me "push." He showed up in my room around 5pm and accessed that it was time. I clearly remember Josh asking if Dr. Folkestad thought that the baby would arrive before 5:30pm. And Dr. Folkestad responded, "I can guarantee that." As you can see, my husband was more concerned about the date of his son's bris than actually getting him out of me. Anyway, I started the "pushing" portion of labor just after 5pm and at 5:07pm on Thursday, August 11th, Aiden Price Landers arrived into this world. This time around, the whole post-delivery portion was in slow motion. I remember how wonderful it was to have Aiden placed on my chest so I could greet him. He was so blue! And at first I thought something was wrong, until he started to wail. While on my chest, he held my finger. I knew from that moment on that I had my little boy. Josh cut the umbilical cord as he had with Madi. Then Aiden was taken away to receive his Apgar test. He scored a 9.9. I lay watching Josh as he took pictures and admired his son. I remember feeling so happy! Cold, actually freezing, but very happy. And a little nauseous. This was very similar to how I felt with the first pregnancy.
Shortly after delivering Aiden, my parents and Madilyn came to visit the newest member of our family. None of us knew how Madi would respond to Aiden, but her face clearly showed she was not happy to meet this little guy. I *so* wish that we had a photo of that precise moment. Her face was priceless. She didn't really want anything to do with him. In fact, she wanted to eat cereal over sitting with Mommy and Aiden. Only when they took him away for his first bath, did she finally show some interest in him and followed him along with Josh and my dad to the nursery. Too funny!
After a long wait, they finally moved us into a postpartum room. Aiden stayed with us that night. This time around, the first night with a newborn, was much easier. I think it was because we were not as nervous as the first time. Plus, you are pretty confident that you have the experience to care for this new little person. Both Josh and I did get a little sleep that night and decided it wasn't as horrific as we remember the first night with Madi.
Friday was spent welcoming visitors. We are truly blessed to have wonderful family and friends who wanted to visit us in the hospital. Madi vsited once again with my mom and Oma. She warmed up a little more to Aiden that day, but still clearly didn't understand that he would be coming home with us. Boy, was she in for a rude awakening. We needed to stay another night in the hospital as the test to check the baby's bilirubin aka jaundice could not be tested until 24-36 hours after the baby is born. So we wait ...
Saturday morning the nurse came at 3am to take Aiden for his bilirubin test. Upon his return, Aiden's pediatrician visited and informed us that Aiden's level of bilirubin was a tad higher than they'd like. She had us start to supplement his feedings with formula. She didn't want to send him under the lights quite yet, but they would run another test later that afternoon to see if that was needed. Well, from the onset, my two children decided that they would be compete with each other. That is right, Aiden, like Madi, did need to spend the entire night lying under the bili lights. Since Madi had been at my parents for the past couple of days, we felt it was best for her and Josh to return home, so she could spent the night in her own bed. Technically, I was discharged from the hospital that night, but the hospital allows breastfeeding moms to "nest". This means that they allow you stay in a hospital room, if one is available, while your baby is being cared for so I was able to still nurse him every three hours, but you are pretty much on your own. They do not check in on you nor do you receive any food or medicine. By this point, I was ready to go home and I was lonely sitting there all by myself in the hospital. No baby, no husband. It really was not all that fun. The only bright spot of that evening was that I did get a good amount of sleep. I guess that is a plus.
Luckily, by Sunday morning, Aiden's bilirubin level was in an acceptable range and we were able to be discharged from the hospital. Yea!
And there is the full story of Aiden's birth. We are so blessed to have two happy and healthy children. We are so excited to how each one of them thrives and what adventures they will bring to our lives.
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