a bushel & a peck: Welcome to the world Avery Laiken

The short version: Avery was born on her due date, 6.4.13 @ 11:29pm. She was 7lb,5oz and 19 inches of pure perfection.

We were quickly approaching Avery's due date; Tuesday, June 4, 2013. I had been having some (what I now know as minor) contractions since Sunday (well actually for a few weeks, but those were way more sporadic) but they were never consistent or painful, just uncomfortable. The same continued Monday so mom and I decided to go walk around the mall to see if I could get anything going. They definitely increased in intensity so we decided to head home. They got anywhere from 7-10 minutes apart so I decided to go to bed and see what happened, knowing that if it was real labor, they would continue.

I woke up Tuesday morning without contractions and we headed in to my 40 week OB appointment. I was 3 cm and 80% effaced. That was progress but I have to admit I was a little disappointed because I had been 2cm and 70% for 3 weeks. We sat an induction for the following Tuesday but he reassured me my body was prime for spontaneous labor at any time. Of course my overly anxious husband asks if it was going to be that day. He said probably not that day but he wouldn't be surprised if it were just another day or two.

Mom and I hit the road again running errands and going to lunch. I was definitely starting to feel more intense of something, but at this point I was questioning if I even knew what contractions were. After lunch I decided to go home and lay down. I woke up about 4:30 and started doing stuff around the house with my mom. By 5:15, I was starting to get some stronger pains pretty frequently and opened up my neat little contraction timer app. I was told to head in when they were 3-5 minutes apart for 2 hours and I couldn't walk or talk through them. They were steady at 4-5 minutes and every time one came I was bending over the back of the couch. I called Darrell and gave him a heads up but told him we'd head in we got home at 8. By 5:45 he called to check in and I couldn't talk to him so my mom told him to head home then. At this point, they were coming closer to 3 minutes apart. I was so nervous that it wasn't really labor and they'd send me home.

We got L&D around 615 and they took me right back, checked me and asked if I wanted an epidural and I told them I did when I was 5-6 cm. The nurse checked me and I was 5 cm and 90%. Another nurse came in and took labs and when I asked what it was for, she said the epidural. I didn't even realize they were admitting me :). We got to our L&D room at 7 & by this point I was having contractions every 2 minutes. I was doing good breathing through them, but what was hard was how quick they were coming and I didn't feel like I had time to recover before another one hit. I was really wanting that epidural at that point.

The anathesiologist finally came in at 9:00. He was looking over my records and was very concerned about my history of spina bifida. I had a consult with another anathesiologist from his practice and he felt confident that I was a good candidate but that paperwork didn't get sent over. He was asking me all types of questions about my surgery that I couldn't answer so thankfully my mom was there by this point to answer them. After looking at my scar he felt confident. He was going over the risks with us and poor Darrell was terrified. He was more nervous than I was. The dr was amazing and everything went smoothly. It kicked in immediately and I never felt another contraction. I felt what felt like a Braxton Hicks one time and after that I was feeling awesome!

The nurse came in to insert the catheter and checked me again and I was 7cm by 9:30. The OB came in about 30 minutes later and decided to break my water. There was a little meconium so the dr. explained that NICU would be in the room just in case. I was 8cm at this point, still 90% effaced. Baby was sunny side up so we did some repositioning to see if she'd turn. I started feeling some pressure in my right tail bone but nothing unbearable. When I flipped to my right side it got a little more intense. I was supposed to lay in that position for 45 minutes but after about 20 minutes I told her I was feeling lots of pressure. She told me I could bear down if I needed to but to definitely let her know if I felt my body was pushing and I couldn't stop. I was to that point about 10 minutes later. I don't think she believed me because she kept talking to me about laboring down and letting the baby move down on her own without pushing too soon. She checked me and I was complete, baby was coming! The OB came in, confirmed it was go time and that Avery had almost turned completely so she was working on flipping her a little more.

My epidural was so good I didn't even know when to push. My OB turned the medicine down and we started pushing right at 11. 5 or 6 contractions later, Avery cried her first tiny cry at 11:29pm on her due date.

Then everything got scary. They put her on my chest immediately. She was opening her mouth like she wanted to cry but she wasn't making any noise and wasn't turning pink. The NICU team already left since she came out crying and the baby nurse started suctioning her on my chest..still, no reaction. They had to take her to the baby warmer and I could see them put a pulse-ox on her and the monitor. The oxygen flashed 80 and heart rate was in the high 180s. I was hysterical as they put an oxygen mask on her and people were rushing trying to get her stats stable. They reassured me everything was fine but wanted to take her up to get her stable and monitor her. Darrell went with her and my mom came in in his place. I was such a mess but he was constantly texting updates and pictures to my mom. She looked good and they brought her back to me about 2 hours later. We are so in love!!