A Baby Story

On Friday, October 30, I was five days overdue with our second child. Aaron and I arrived at the hospital at 7 am that morning for my scheduled inducement. I was nervous about this because I really didn't want to be induced. Mari was 8 days early, so I never thought I would made it this far with our second child. Despite my wish to go into labor naturally, I also didn't want the baby to get so large that I wouldn't be able to get her out on my own. So by 8 am, I was all hooked up with the Pitocin. I was already having contractions on my own 3-6 minutes apart, but the Pitocin helped make them more regular. Around 10 am, my mom and Mari came to visit for a few minutes. We explained to Mari that the baby was coming very soon.

They slowly increased my dosage of Pitocin, and after noon, I began to feel back labor. I had it with Mari, so I knew what to expect. During this whole time, every time I went to use the bathroom, the baby's heart rate would drop and not go back up until I was back in bed. Just before 3 pm, the nurse checked my progress and I was at 3 cm. I went to use the bathroom, and shortly after I came back, the baby's heart rate dropped drastically. Lots of nurses and the doctor rushed into my room. They put me on oxygen, but the baby's heart rate still didn't increase. They believe that pressure was being placed on the cord every time I went to use the bathroom, but this time, it wasn't recovering as quickly. They took my off the Pitocin and gave me a shot to stop my contractions. The baby's heart rate was down for 6 1/2 minutes. If it had been down one more minute, they would have taken me in to do a c-section.

The whole time her heart rate was down and nurses rushed around me, I was completely calm. Like in the eye of the storm. I knew that the baby was going to be okay; I just didn't know how she was going to get out. Once the baby was stable and the nurses and doctors left, I just about lost it. I had received a blessing from Aaron that morning before we left for the hospital, and I asked him to say a prayer for us. So he stood next to me, held my hand, and prayed that everything would be okay. Next, I had him call my mom. I knew if she knew what was going on, word would get passed along and I would have a lot of people praying for me.

Even off the Pitocin, I was still contracting, but the baby was doing better. I was not going to get up again! Although I didn't absolutely need an epidural yet, I decided to get one inserted in case they had to do an emergency c-section and so I wouldn't have to get out of bed to use the bathroom! I had a walking epidural inserted and I was able to relax more. All the drama had really frightened me, but the mixture in the epidural helped me calm down and save energy for the big event.

Around 4pm, I was dilated to 4 cm and the doctor broke my water. By 5 pm, the baby's heart rate remained strong, and I became more optimistic of having a vaginal birth. (The doctor and nurses reassured me that I would probably still delivery vaginally, but I had myself emotionally prepared for a c-section.) At 7 pm, the nurse checked my progress and I was dilated to 5 cm. Slow going, but I was just happy that the baby's heart rate was strong. I got "the shakes" and shivered although I wasn't cold. I guess that's completely normal when you are getting close to delivery. When we were alone, I had Aaron come sit right next to me and hold my hand. He held it for a long time. I enjoyed this private time we had together before the baby was to be born. His calming influence worked, and I stopped shaking. The incident earlier that day slowed things down, so I was expecting to have a Halloween baby.

At 9 pm, I turned on the new episode of "Monk" and was able to relax and enjoy. At 9:30, I was feeling a lot of uncomfortable pressure. I asked them to increase my epidural dose a bit so I could have more energy for the pushing. When the nurse checked me, I was at 7 cm. I was happy to be making more progress!

At the end of "Monk" (at 10 pm), I was feeling more pressure than before and it didn't feel like the extra dose on the epidural was taking. So I had the nurse check me again, and I was 10 cm!
I dilated the last 3 cm in 30 minutes! I planning on watching "White Collar" after "Monk," but I didn't get to because I started pushing. I had asked for more on the epidural because I did not want to feel pain when she was coming out. (Last time, they turned the epidural off and it was torture. I had to have a vacuum-assisted birth with Mari.) After pushing for a few minutes, I realized that I actually had too much numbness, so I asked them to turn it down (I love how you say exactly how much you want!). Once I got more feeling back (I felt just the pressure and no pain), I was able to push more effectively. With Mari, I pushed for 2.5 hours and still had to have a vacuum. With this baby, I pushed a lot more effectively because I knew how to push now. At the end, I was able to feel the baby come out but had no pain! I pushed for 1 hour and 15 minutes. At 11:18 pm, Alice Juleen Clift was born.

After Mari came out, I was in so much pain and was exhausted and delirious, so I didn't fully appreciate the event of her birth. When Alice came out, they put her on my stomach, and I was just amazed about how good I felt and how alert and awake I was! With Mari, I tore and received 3 stitches, but I didn't tear at all with Alice. Going nice and slow with the pushing helped to stretch me in preparation for her arrival. When Alice was born, I was able to feel the emotions of happiness and pride in what I had just accomplished and received. It was such a great feeling! Before they put her on the scale, the doctor predicted 7 lbs 2 oz, but the nurse said, "Try one more pound!" At one of my prenatal visits, the doctor told me, "For a small woman, you sure make large babies!" Mari was 8 lbs 1 oz 21 inches, and Alice was 8 lbs 2 oz 20.5 inches. Amazing how similar! From my prepregnancy weight to my "term" weight with Alice, I gained a total of 15 pounds. I gained about 20 pounds with Mari, but with both of them, I lost weight in the first trimester, so my lowest weight and my prepregnancy weight are different.
After an hour, the room cleared out and Aaron, Alice, and I had some time alone. I nursed her and Aaron held her. This time in recover was very special.

Around 8:30 am on Halloween, my parents brought Mari to see her new baby sister. Going from a family of three to a family of four is an amazing thing!

Mari was in awe of Alice. She kept saying, "She's so cute!" Mari couldn't keep her hands off Alice. I love seeing how Mari is so in love with Alice. Before Alice was born, Mari would hug and kiss my stomach and say, "I love my baby sister."

Something I was determined to do was look alive for the first family pictures. I look awful in the first pictures we took when Mari was born. Before I started pushing, I had Aaron bring me my brush and make-up bag. Afterwards, I changed into a more tasteful nightgown that I had brought for that special occasion. What a difference doing those things made!

Mari and Alice definitely look like sisters. Mari was a pretty mellow baby, but Alice is even more mellow than Mari was. I hope it lasts!

Mari came to the hospital in her Snow White costume on Halloween. A long time ago, I had a dream that I was in the hospital on Halloween, and it came true! The whole time, I expected to be at least a week early, so I never thought being in the hospital on Halloween would come true. My parents took Mari trick-or-treating, so she didn't miss out on any Halloween fun.

Alice has been such a good little girl. We are all so in love with her! I didn't understand before Alice was born just how much love I have to spread around.

We are a happy family!