Welcome to the World, Kadri Sanne!

Now that Kadri is five and a half weeks old, I suppose it's time to update my blog with some information about how I went from looking like this:

To having this little bundle of joy:


The Reader's Digest version:

At 12:30 a.m. on Thursday, December 3, 2009 I woke up from having fallen asleep on the couch with pain in my uterus, which was something like unto menstrual cramps. Twelve hours and twenty minutes later, at 12:50 p.m., after approximately 30-40 minutes of pushing, Kadri was born. Hooray!

The longer, more gory version:

So, I woke up at 12:30 a.m. on Thursday, December 3, with what felt like unto menstrual cramps. I think that was my first true labor contraction, although, technically you could probably say I'd been in labor for at least six weeks, since I'd been dilating and my cervix had been shortening for that time. Anyway, I got up to use the facilities because that usually made any sensations even remotely like unto menstrual cramps go away. I must have lost my mucous plug at that point, although I didn't think at the time that it was my mucous plug. From everything that I'd read I wasn't prepared for it to seem that I'd started my period. So I went and consulted my What to Expect When Expecting book, and then called the hospital, because the didn't reassure that I had lost my plug. They said to come in and they'd check me, so I had Tim drive me to the hospital, and they monitored me for contractions and monitored Baby's heartbeat for a little while, and checked me for dilations, etc. Then they sent me home with an Ambien to help me sleep and said that my doctor would see me at my next appointment, on the following Monday. Ha ha!

So, the Ambien was a joke. It didn't help me to sleep at all! I started having real labor contractions by the time we got home from the short trip to the hospital at 3:00 a.m. After trying to sleep for several hours I took a bath and shaved my legs, because my sister-in-law had said a bath helps to relax her when she's in labor. At this point I wasn't 100% sure I was in labor, but I thought I must be. Unlike the Braxton Hicks contractions I'd been having for months, these contractions hurt! Anyway, the bath didn't help me to feel any better. I got up to take the bath at about 6:30 a.m.

Then I puttered around and got "ready" for the day really slowly because I was doubled over in pain a lot and not really able to move quickly. I called the office and told them that if I was in at all that day, I was going to be late because I was having really painful contractions. Not super regularly at that point, but regular enough - sometimes 10 minutes between contractions, sometimes 5, or 7 or 3. That was sometime between 8:00 and 8:30 a.m.

At around 9:00 a.m. or shortly thereafter, I was timing my contractions at about five minutes apart, so I called my mom to ask her what "real labor" felt like. I was not about to go to the hospital and have them turn me away because of false labor. I talked to her for a few minutes and she timed my contractions - about three minutes apart - and told me to go to the hospital. So away Tim and I went.

I will admit that I swore one time on the way to the hospital because a traffic light turned red. I was already in more pain than I'd ever experienced in my life and the accelaration of the car was uncomfortable, not to mention that sitting down in the car made the contractions hurt more and on top of that the light turned red! How dare it! Anyway, I'd warned Tim it might happen, and since I know he didn't appreciate it, I just covered my eyes for the rest of the trip to the hospital.

We were at the hospital by 10:00 a.m. Tim dropped me off and I went and checked myself in while he parked the car. They took me into triage, checked me - I was dilated to 7 cm - and hooked me up to monitor my contractions and Baby's heartrate again and I complained a little bit about having to lay in the hospital bed because the contractions hurt more laying down. They also stuck me in four different places trying to get the IV needle in. (I had some pretty good bruises for a couple weeks after Kadri was born thanks to my rotten veins!) Not long after I complained about laying down, they checked me again and I was between 8-9 cm, so off we went to the delivery room.

At this point, I lost all concept of time and I don't know how long anything took, or what time it was, etc. I had opted for an epidural so at some point the anesthesiologist came in and gave me the epidural. It only worked half-way. Next time I may not even bother with it. I didn't feel too much on the right side of my body, but on the left side, I felt everything!

Shortly after the epidural my doctor arrived and it was time to start pushing.

Poor Tim didn't realize that Baby was coming TODAY at the time we left for the hospital. He hadn't brought in the hospital bag or the camera after he parked the car, so my doctor gave him two minutes to grab it before she had me push. As soon as he got back, he got another surprise! He was hoping to just be able to stay near my head and hold my hand for the delivery. No such luck! The nurse gave him the assignment of helping to hold one of my legs, so he got to see the whole show! The episiotomy (sp?), Kadri's head making it's debut and her turning her head from one side to another and looking around, and then the delivery of the rest of Kadri and the placenta all at once.

I was a little surprised that I didn't have to wait for another contraction and another push to deliver the placenta. The doctor was stitching me back together and I was wondering about it and then the doctor was off to deliver another baby. I asked the nurse about it and she said it all came with the second half of Kadri. It didn't really have any other option. The umbilical cord was only 12 inches long. Short cord. The placenta was also relatively small apparently. She was a small girl though. What can I say?

According to Tim I was only pushing for 30-40 minutes. Not too bad compared to the nightmare pushing experiences people had been sharing with me for weeks! I sure didn't want to push for seven hours!

Anyway, Kadri Sanne was born at 12:50 p.m. on December 3. She was 20 inches long and weighed 6 lbs. 4.8 oz. and she was perfect!

More to come later on my hospital stay, and as requested by my sister Courtney, more photos as well!