Birth

There are the factual details of this event and the emotional. The factual I can recite (and will). The emotional - well, I've put off writing this post because of them, thinking I would get them sorted through and then write. But I realize now that that process will be on-going.

So, just the facts, to start:

On Friday, Oct. 9th, I saw my doctor. I was showing very few signs of being ready to go into labor. I was looking for an end date, so my doctor and I scheduled an inducement for Oct. 14th, just in case. That night, Jason and I went out to a very nice dinner at Saffron and had a great date night and a horrible case of heartburn (well, that was just me). The next morning, nada. So, I figured I had another day of being pregnant.

Around 11 am, we were getting ready for our day, when I stood up and a gush occurred (i.e., water broke). So, we headed to the hospital and got checked in and the contractions started. Not too bad at first, but they grew steadily more intense - and adding to the discomfort was being stuck in bed, strapped up to monitors for both the baby and I. I was able to get up and walk around a little but that was also uncomfortable. My parents showed up around this time, but both were coming down with a cold, so they hung out in the waiting area, popping in every so often.

After about 3 hours of contractions, I got an epidural. It took another hour to kick in, then everything was great. It was a fantastic epidural - I could still feel my legs and move around (in the bed). Jason and I then spent the next few hours hanging out, watching TV. We found Mexican wrestling and watched that to get us pumped up for pushing.

Around 8 pm, I started feeling some pressure and by 9, the doctor said I could start pushing. My mom and Jason were by my side, supporting my back when I raised up to push and encouraging me. My mom kept holding her breath and she almost passed out at one point. During the pushing, the nurse would hold up a mirror, so I could see my progress - the top of her head. The doctor was taking bets on how much the baby would weigh - she guessed 8 lbs, 6 oz and the others bet lower (I didn't bet). I kept wanting to ask what time it was, but resisted knowing that if I knew, it would make it feel like forever. I decided it would be the longest 15 minutes of my life - in actuality, it was 2 hours. At 11:14 pm, I pushed Agatha all the way out - while the song, Modern Girl by Sleater-Kinney was playing.

I don't remember much right after - I kinda went into an exhaustive haze. They asked if I wanted to hold her, so I did, while Jason cut the umbilical cord (and he didn't pass out! So proud of him!). He says I cried. Then the nurses took her because she was being stubborn and not breathing much, so they gave her some oxygen - I remember I kept asking Jason if she was really all right. Then they cleaned her up and weighed her - 9 lbs, 3.1 oz!!! I guess my pasta and ice cream diet during the final weeks of the pregnancy really paid off. Later, they measured her at she was 21.5 in. long.

I got to hold her again and she was beautiful. I never imagined our baby would be so beautiful.