April 18, 19, 20, 2013

Our beautiful Baby Bethany is Born.

On Thursday April 18, 2013.
7:58 pm
7 lbs 15 oz
19 iinches

Bethany Dorothy Freeman

She arrived healthy and adorable and we feel so blessed.

Enjoy the pictures.  My husband who is not normally the family photographer did a pretty excellent job documenting this birth.

The whole story.

I had asked that if there was room for us to be induced on Thursday the 18th, that we we be put on the schedule.  I had been feeling ill and didn't know how much longer my body could take being pregnant for.  Being one day over due was enough to decide to be induced.  The night before they called to say that it was very full and they were not sure there would be room for us.  Thursday morning they called to say that it was very busy and that if they had a spot they would call.  I was so anxious the night before that I hadn't slept, and so I went to take a nap, with my phone by my side in case I got a call.  Around 11 the phone rang.  I answered it groggy from sleep to a woman saying "GET READY!"  In a very excited way.  I thought it was a super crazy nurse. It was actually an ad for a Vegas vacation in the end.  But it woke me up and I was ready.  I decided to call the hospital again, they had said I could call to check and when I did they told me to come on in.  So we called my mom and had her come over to be with the kids and Jake and I loaded the car.  It is a bit strange to not have any urgency at all going to the hospital to have a baby.  I was mostly grateful for the almost two hour nap I had gotten.  I would need it of course.  We got me a giant cup of ice for the drive down and talked about names most the way.

We checked into the hospital and they showed us our room. I changed into a gown and then we waited.  And waited and waited. We put up some guessed on the white board. We pulled into the hospital around 12:30.  And around 2 they started my IV.  But with only the saline, no antibiotics that I needed and no pitocin.  I think it was almost three before they did that.  I spent a lot of time complaining about my iv.  It was making my arm numb.  And getting up to use the bathroom because of the giant cup of ice I ate.  Finally they started the antibiotics for Strep B and the pitocin.  But things were still moving slow.  I relayed the story of our last birth and how I was sure I would go really fast to all the nurses and doc just so we all could know what to expect.  So when I had been on the pitocin for a couple of hours and they checked me and I was only at a 4 I felt a little foolish and I think they all thought I didn't know what I was talking about either.    I decided to have my epidural, again sure things would be moving fast and not wanting to almost miss it like with Marianne.  It was a poor job and crooked and shot down one of my legs and not the other and so I got to lay on my side for the rest of labor.  With one leg completely numb and the other not numb at all.... just like with Kate.  I think it was the same anethesiologist too.  I was feeling sick and clutching a blue throw up bag.  And feeling light headed.  And was not sure why.  My contractions got too close and strong every 1 min so they took me mostly off the pitocin and put my on oxygen.  I had never had to do that before either. We waited and waited and finally the doc came and broke my water.  But things still were moving slowly.  Our main nurse was helping deliver another baby and was gone for a long time.  And we were mostly just left alone in our room.  Eventually somebody came to check on me, and when they checked me I was sure they were going to be surprised by the fact I was ready to have a baby.  But nope.  I was only at a 6 he said.  About ten minutes later I decided to ask for the upped epidural.  I had never had it before, but the crooked epidrual made me feel most everything on one side and I didn't want to be afraid to push like with Marianne. So I had the nurse call for him.  She also checked me per my insistance even though it had only been maybe 20 minutes and I was at an 8.  The epidural came and made me completely numb like I have never been before.  Finally the doc came to check on us.  When he checked me he said "how long ago were you at an 8"  I thought it had been 15 minutes.  He checked the chart, saw it had been 30 minutes and then checked me.  Had I known it had been thirty minutes I would have been begging for the doc to come knowing I was ready.  When he checked me he said "this baby is half way out"  I thought I was ready but like I said- I kept telling the nurses that and they kept telling me I was wrong.  In a minute a team of nurses were in our room.  I was getting Jake to bet on how long it would take for her to be born, the doc and nurses joined in.  It took about five pushes and she was out.  The minute we saw her we thought she looked just like Sam when Sam was born.  I talked a lot, and was shaking out of control.  My body was in shock.  Similar to when I delivered Kate.
Doctor Aagard cut the cord and she was placed on my chest.
I don't know if it was revelation, but when she was given to me to hold the name Bethany came to my mind.  Not from no where- it was a front runner already, but it did come to my mind and I held my healthy sweet baby.  Who cried only for a minute or so.
She was cleaned up a bit, weighed, given a score of 8-9 and all those things they do for a few minutes before she was given back to me.
And then we just hung out together for a while. Jake held her.  Then I held her again.  Then we wrapped her up and let her nurse which she did perfectly on her first try for 40 minutes.  Then Jake held her again while I ate a sandwich.  It was 9 at night and I hadn't got to eat all day.  And it was delicious.  I continued to shake uncontrollably.  Then when I could stand- we all went down to the recovery area together.  Before the baby had her bath or anything.   They put me in my room, then Jake took the baby to the nursery for shots and baths.  I was left in my room and in serious pain.  My nurse was locked out of the computer where she could get perscriptions for some reason, and later we discovered that on top of normal wounds and pain from delivery, I had a bruised uterus from the delivery of my placenta, and a bruised tail bone.  Like I said.  I was in serious pain with the epidural gone and no access to pain meds.  Part of it was expectation I guess, because my last two recoveries haven't been so painful. They ask you about the pain scale 1-10 and I kept saying an 8.  I am sure I was being dramatic.  Put I couldn't sit or lay down, standing seemed to hurt less.  So I was just standing in my recovery room alone for a long time.  Finally a nurse came in and said if I was going to stand I was welcome to stand in the nursery and watch by baby get her bath.  And so I did.  I walked down to the nursery and picked out the blue bow for my daughters hair.  Eventually I felt sick again and was walked back to my room.  And finally they got me some pain meds.  Which didn't seem to do much.  It was a long night.  Bethany didn't want to sleep, but at least she was happy eating.  She likes to suck her thumb too already.  I was up all night in pain, and also thinking about what to name our girl, and of course being woken up by nurses for vitals and things, and still starving.  I slept part of the night with the baby in my arms.  She kept gagging and choking and was very uncomfortable - on fluid in her stomach from delivery.  I asked if they would take her to the nursery and suck it out... they can do that. They took her observed her and said they didn't need to.  And our next day started.
We spent a lot of this day trying to sleep still, but the baby still was gagging and choking.  And was now refusing to eat because of it.  A different nurse now on suggested they help her by sucking all the fluid out. Yes I agreed.  Baby Beth has been a different baby ever since.  First she slept like 5 hours after that and has been a pro eater and sleeper mostly ever since.  I spent the day feeling light headed and throwing up. I have never had that be a part of recovery.  I thought it might be because of the pain meds so I stopped taking them.  I would learn later, that really I had the flu the last few days and that is why   I felt so bad.  Amy stopped by to say hello.  My mom dropped the kids off and all of them came running down the hall even Mary with a present in hand.  Sweet Mary is very anxious/ excited about that baby, and of course seems to old. We had some cake and sang the new baby Happy Birthday.  Right before the kids arrived Jake and I decided that indeed her name would be Bethany.  We just had to choose a middle name.  Some visiting with the kids and I was exhausted.  I was actually in pain and exhuasted the entire day to the point of almost falling asleep mid sentence when my sister had been to visit earlier.  Jake took the kids home. And me and baby Bethany were left on our own for the next little while.  I had never had a pediatrican stick so close to the 48 hour rule, and he was telling us that he didn't want us to leave for 48 hours.  It was a long day and a long stay at the hospital.  In the past I have really liked our little quiet days in the hospital but not this time.   I was anxious to get home, or to at least not be alone with the baby any more so I was thrilled when Jake came back around 1pm to get us.  When he arrived we had to pick a middle name for our Bethany.  We chose Dorothy after his paternal grandmother.   We packed up and were finally released.  We dressed Bethany to come home.  She got some new duds to come home in and is super stylish, plus we had to buy a new car seat because our other one expired so he is riding pretty pretty.  Home we headed with baby Bethany.
And that is a quick summary of how Bethany was born.  We are home now and recovering well.  Especially after Sunday where Jake took the kids downstairs to the basement all day and I took three naps next to my precious new girl.  She continues to eat really well and sleep fairly well too.
And she is completely adorable, purring and cooing at us all the time.
Lots more Baby Bethy coming up I'm sure.

At home the night of our arrival Sam started throwing up.  I tried to clean and lysol and santize the entire house while taking care of myself and a two day old baby while Jake cleaned up Sam a million times and puke.  I thought it might have been food related sickness, but also possible he had what I had had and that we had the flu.  Last night confirmed that it is indeed the flu.  Jake and I were up with Marianne all night, cleaning up puke and trying to get her to sleep.  Really.  As if taking care of a newborn i not enough laundry and lack of sleep, now we are all getting through the flu.  What a welcome wagon.