The Story Of Kaitlyn Isabella
We have been home since Friday, introducing Kaitlyn to her new digs. If I interpret her crying correctly, I think she is complaining that we have not yet procured a big-screen, flat-panel television for the living room.
Kaitlyn has fed, and is down for a nap. Linda is also down for a nap. And I wanted to take this chance and relate the story of Kaitlyn's birth for you, for me, and for posterity. For many of the friends who have already heard this, I apologize. For those of you who lost money in the betting of how long it would take me before I posted this story, I also apologize.
---
Linda and I decided to induce Kaitlyn. We were not due until the 26th of September but, on a doctor's visit a few weeks ago Linda was 1 cm dilated and 50% effaced. The next week, she was 2cm dilated and 75% effaced. The Monday before we induced, she was 3cm and 90% effaced. Our doctor recommended inducing because, given how quickly Linda was progressing, there were very few dangers of a C-section and it would allow us to schedule when the baby came. Scheduling is nice in that it allows us to prepare the house and make sure that our doctors were there through the process in case anything went wrong, or if we got nervous.
So, here is the play-by-play of this past Wednesday:
4:00am : Linda and I get up and pack the rest of the van and head to the hospital.
5:00am : We arrive at GBMC and check in.
6:30am : Linda is all tucked into her hospital bed, with an IV of electrolytes and some petosine (sp?) which will induce contractions.
7:00am : Our doctor stops in, confirms that we are at 3cm still, and breaks Linda's water. She then heads off to do a 7:30am general surgery and gives orders not to deliver the baby before 9am. She thinks she is joking.
7:15am : Linda opts for an epidural and, as luck would have it, the epidural guy is in the room next door to us. The procedure is painless, took less than 5 minutes, and afterwards Linda felt no pain. In fact, she felt no pain at all until we had delivered the baby and were resting comfortably back in the post-partum area of the hospital.
8:40am : A nurse stops in to check on Linda, who has been hanging out in bed chatting with me and a few "rn's in training" who are stoping in to learn the ropes in labor and delivery. We are shocked to learn that Linda is now 8cm dilated and 100% effaced and that the baby will be coming out in the next hour. Our original doctor is paged out of surgery, but our original, more senior OB is the one who shows up.
8:40am - 9:30am : We see alot of drops in Kaitlyn's heartrate, going as low as 54bpm (110bpm is the lowest they want it to be). Our OB decided this is not good and we begin a pattern of moving Linda side to side, rubbing the belly, poking the baby, and generally trying to do all sorts of tricks to keep the baby's heartrate up. These, though frightening, did a pretty good job.
9:45am : PUSH! PUSH! PUSH! PUSH!
10:30am : Linda did a great job of pushing and, left to her own devices, would have given birth to the baby in another 20-30 minutes or so. But, the heartrate was still dipping low every once in a while so our OB decided to use lower forceps. One nurse jumped on the bed and started pushing on Linda's stomach with both hands to help Linda push and, at 10:31am Kaitlyn was born, wisked to the baby station, cleaned off, and declared healthy. The cause of all of our stress? A cord wrapped around her head and lots of fluid in the lungs.
10:45am - 2:00pm: An emotionally exhausted mom and dad spend some quality time with their new daughter before heading over to recovery. It was one of the fastest "first births" many in the ward had seen, and we were greatful for that, but it was also an emotional roller-coaster until we knew that kaitlyn was going to be OK.
Linda is doing well and recovering well. Baby has been an absolute joy. We are very, very, very proud parents to a very, very, very special little girl. I posted some pictures on our FLICKR site, but this one is, without question, my favorite:
Ladies and Gentlemen, let me introduce you to the two loves of my life:
-Ed
Kaitlyn has fed, and is down for a nap. Linda is also down for a nap. And I wanted to take this chance and relate the story of Kaitlyn's birth for you, for me, and for posterity. For many of the friends who have already heard this, I apologize. For those of you who lost money in the betting of how long it would take me before I posted this story, I also apologize.
---
Linda and I decided to induce Kaitlyn. We were not due until the 26th of September but, on a doctor's visit a few weeks ago Linda was 1 cm dilated and 50% effaced. The next week, she was 2cm dilated and 75% effaced. The Monday before we induced, she was 3cm and 90% effaced. Our doctor recommended inducing because, given how quickly Linda was progressing, there were very few dangers of a C-section and it would allow us to schedule when the baby came. Scheduling is nice in that it allows us to prepare the house and make sure that our doctors were there through the process in case anything went wrong, or if we got nervous.
So, here is the play-by-play of this past Wednesday:
4:00am : Linda and I get up and pack the rest of the van and head to the hospital.
5:00am : We arrive at GBMC and check in.
6:30am : Linda is all tucked into her hospital bed, with an IV of electrolytes and some petosine (sp?) which will induce contractions.
7:00am : Our doctor stops in, confirms that we are at 3cm still, and breaks Linda's water. She then heads off to do a 7:30am general surgery and gives orders not to deliver the baby before 9am. She thinks she is joking.
7:15am : Linda opts for an epidural and, as luck would have it, the epidural guy is in the room next door to us. The procedure is painless, took less than 5 minutes, and afterwards Linda felt no pain. In fact, she felt no pain at all until we had delivered the baby and were resting comfortably back in the post-partum area of the hospital.
8:40am : A nurse stops in to check on Linda, who has been hanging out in bed chatting with me and a few "rn's in training" who are stoping in to learn the ropes in labor and delivery. We are shocked to learn that Linda is now 8cm dilated and 100% effaced and that the baby will be coming out in the next hour. Our original doctor is paged out of surgery, but our original, more senior OB is the one who shows up.
8:40am - 9:30am : We see alot of drops in Kaitlyn's heartrate, going as low as 54bpm (110bpm is the lowest they want it to be). Our OB decided this is not good and we begin a pattern of moving Linda side to side, rubbing the belly, poking the baby, and generally trying to do all sorts of tricks to keep the baby's heartrate up. These, though frightening, did a pretty good job.
9:45am : PUSH! PUSH! PUSH! PUSH!
10:30am : Linda did a great job of pushing and, left to her own devices, would have given birth to the baby in another 20-30 minutes or so. But, the heartrate was still dipping low every once in a while so our OB decided to use lower forceps. One nurse jumped on the bed and started pushing on Linda's stomach with both hands to help Linda push and, at 10:31am Kaitlyn was born, wisked to the baby station, cleaned off, and declared healthy. The cause of all of our stress? A cord wrapped around her head and lots of fluid in the lungs.
10:45am - 2:00pm: An emotionally exhausted mom and dad spend some quality time with their new daughter before heading over to recovery. It was one of the fastest "first births" many in the ward had seen, and we were greatful for that, but it was also an emotional roller-coaster until we knew that kaitlyn was going to be OK.
Linda is doing well and recovering well. Baby has been an absolute joy. We are very, very, very proud parents to a very, very, very special little girl. I posted some pictures on our FLICKR site, but this one is, without question, my favorite:
Ladies and Gentlemen, let me introduce you to the two loves of my life:
-Ed
posted by Ed at 7:33 PM
1 Comments:
Both Mom and baby daughter are absolutely beautiful!!! Thanks for the play by play. I'm SO happy for you both.
How's the sleep by the way? ;)
And go you for changing all the diapers in the hospital. I was SO appreciative that hubby did that for me. You are an awesome dad!
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