Kaylin's arrival :)

Well, you all already know that my last 11 days didn't go as planned. For the full details of what life has been like since my ultrasound I figure I'd type a blog..

It was 7am on December 31st and I was just getting up to get ready for my ultrasound. I was feeling pretty crappy since I barely slept the night before but convinced myself to go and not reschedule. We stopped to get breakfast before heading there so I could make sure Kaylin was moving plenty for the ultrasound tech. Once there we waited for about 30 minutes before she called us back. I had felt Kaylin kick a bit after eating in the car but then not much after that.

The ultrasound tech began measuring and talking to us about our upcoming induction. When she got to the AFI (amniotic fluid index) part of the ultrasound she asked me if I had been leaking any fluid which I hadn't been. Once I said that she seemed a bit concerned but assured us baby looked good. She then asked me if she had been moving normally, which she had been. She then began massaging my belly to try and get Kaylin to kick her back.. that freaked me out because I didn't know why she needed her to kick back suddenly. When Kaylin wasn't really giving her what she wanted she called in another tech. The second tech confirmed I had low amniotic fluid and was also concerned she wasn't kicking back so they talked to the radiologist. Once he found out he called my doctor which told him to send me to Labor and Delivery to be induced.

I was in shock when he said "Dr. Mathieu would like you to go to labor and delivery.. looks like you'll be having a baby." I wasn't expecting the last part.. monitoring, yes.. but not induction! Of course this is the day Adam and I both don't have our cellphones charged much and didn't have our chargers with us. We started calling people as quickly as possible once we got in the car. Luckily we managed to tell everyone we needed to before our cellphones died.

Once we got there at 11am they started the admitting part of the process which took a good hour. After that they started the IV. The nurse had some trouble and after the second attempt she called the anesthesiologist hoping he'd be able to find a good vein. He was AMAZING. The best anesthesiologist I've had! He first made a good impression by numbing the area before attempting to put in an IV. How nice of him! Once it was in he talked to me about getting an epidural. He explained that usually they wait until you're a certain dilation before giving it but that since I was being induced at only at 1cm that the process could take hours even days and that once the pain became too much he would do the epidural for me regardless of what I was dilated to. After that he left and the midwife on call came in around 1pm.

I wasn't too thrilled that she was the one caring for me since I knew my doctor was there. Unfortunately she couldn't start the process for me so I had to deal with the midwife. She was funny and nice but definitely had problems getting things started for me. She explained I would be getting a foley bulb catheter to help dilate my cervix before getting pitocin. She attempted it 3 times on me before telling me they would just start the IV pitocin. I was pretty upset at that point because it was extremely painful for her to try and insert the catheter. Once the pain subsided from that the pitocin was started.

The pitocin was in for 3 hours before the 2nd on call doctor came in to check my cervix. It was already 4pm. The doctor informed me I was still only 1cm and that they would be attempting the catheter again. She was much better at her job and got the catheter in with no problem. I loved her for that! It was really painful but since she did it so quickly it was barely noticable. After that I had both the catheter and pitocin working its magic to dilate my cervix.

At first the pitocin wasn't so bad. Around 7pm they had upped the pitocin so much though that I was in extreme pain. I was easily measuring a 9 on the pain scale. Once the pain got to the point that breathing was hard and I couldn't stop crying I had them call my favorite person.. the anesthesiologist. He entered the room and said "Oh wow, you definitely need that epidural, don't you?" I was in so much pain but listened to every thing he told me to do. Once I was sitting on the side of the bed with my feet dangling he told he was was going to push something through my IV for pain. Once that hit me I was MUCH calmer for him to attempt the epidural.

He first numbed the location with a shot then began inserting the epidural. Getting an epidural didn't hurt AT ALL. The only part I felt was the pinch and slight burning (went away quickly) from the shot he gave me to numb the area where he was inserting the epidural. It took a bit for it to kick in completely but within 30 minutes of receiving the epidural I was numb from the belly button down. The epidural comes with a pump that you can press the button when pain becomes noticeable again. He told me I could push it once every 20 minutes but that if I pushed it 3 times in a hour he would come in and adjust the medicine. I never had to push more then 2 times an hour and that wasn't until I was 25+ hours into labor.

After the epidural was in though I was able to sleep. Around 4am on the first my nurse came in to check if the catheter was out. It had finally come out after she tugged on it. I was finally 4cm dilated!! After that she upped the pitocin again.. it had been upped 12 times by that point. I fell back asleep until 7am when my doctor entered the room. I was SO glad to finally see her caring for me! She checked my cervix to find that I was still only 4cm after 3 hours. She broke my water and explained she would come back a couple hours later to check on me. At 11am my doctor checked me and I was still on 4cm. Again I was left waiting. 3pm rolls around and the nurse checks this time and tells me I'm 6cm! I was SO excited!! At 6pm though my doctor comes in and checks me again. She said she did notice change from the last time she checked me (when I was 4cm) but that I definitely wasn't 6cm.. at most she said I was 4 1/2 cm dilated. I was devastated. At that point I had been 4cm for 14 hours.

She explained to me that she didn't see me going into labor naturally since I was stalled out at 4cm and there was nothing left for them to try to get me to dilate farther. I then had to make the decision to go ahead with a c-section. I was terrified but knew she was the best doctor to be doing the surgery. At 6:30pm I was prepped for surgery and at 7 I was wheeled into the OR and they began the surgery. At 7:23pm Kaylin entered the world letting out the most beautiful sound I have ever heard.. her first cry. Tears filled both mine and Adam's eyes as they told us how healthy and happy our little girl looked. I was relieved once I knew she was out and could relax for the rest of the surgery.

It also helped that my anesthesiologist was giving me really good medicine the whole time to keep me nice and calm. It truly was the best surgery I've had!

After they had me all stitched up they wheeled me back into the room where Adam and Kaylin were waiting. I was glad to be out of the OR and with them. I was extremely exhausted but watched them give her the first bath and then I gave the first feeding. It was all so amazing! By 11pm Adam and I were ready for bed. Kaylin was by my bed side and we all drifted asleep. I woke up every couple hours to feed her and managed to survive the first night! I was proud of us both for getting through the first night with no issues with feeding her.

After that the hospital stay seemed to fly by. She was tested a lot and everything kept coming back great! The only issue was she was jaundice so the second night they took her from me to put her under the lights. I was glad she was back to me by the next morning to feed. I was doing great as far as healing and walking so I was the first one discharged around 1pm. We had to wait for her to be cleared which by 5pm she was good to go home too. So Monday night around 6pm we loaded the car up and headed home!

Monday night was rough but we managed. Tuesday we had it harder because we were starting off completely solo. Things took some adjusting but I started a routine by Wednesday.

Yesterday she had her first check up and it went well. She did lose more weight but they said that was understandable since my milk supply is taking a bit to come in and she is jaundice. The jaundice level came back much higher then what she was when discharged so he has me taking her in today for more testing as well as formula feeding with breastfeeding to help her clear her system out. I'm eager to see if all the feedings payed off and if she has a lower level today when they check. She also will be getting weight checks every day or every other day until they see she's doing well. Most likely wont be until they see her at her 2 week appointment.

The last couple days have been a roller coaster of emotions and a lot of trial and error to make things work. I'm still trying to settle down more into my life with her but feel so blessed to have her in my life. I'm tired all the time and in extreme discomfort/pain but it all is worth it. I really just can't wait to see how things develop and just want to make sure we keep getting good feedback at every appointment.

I love my daughter more then I can express and just want to take in every moment of her life. Life is truly amazing right now.