Our sweet baby girl was due to arrive on September 20th, a birthday she would share with her Daddy and Grandma Angie. So much anticipation led up to that day and when it came and went with no baby Jane, I was as anxious as ever to meet her. I followed a textbook labor story. I never felt Braxton Hicks contractions throughout my pregnancy, but once I hit about 39 weeks, they made their debut. I didn't feel them often and they mostly came in the form of crampiness and lower back pain. I lost my mucous plug 2 weeks before delivery, as well.
I woke up around 5am on September 26th with that same menstrual-like crampiness I had been experiencing periodically. The thought crossed my mind that "this could be it!" but I fell back asleep shortly after. I woke up an hour later and contractions were coming every 8-10 minutes. It was an exciting time for me as I knew today would be the day. I tracked how often the contractions were coming for a few hours. After cleaning up around the house and taking a shower, they were 5 minutes apart and lasting what I thought was only about 20 seconds. When I really started timing them, I realized they were lasting about a minute each, which meant it was time to go to the hospital! I spent a lot of time during the last few weeks of my pregnancy praying that God would calm me. I have severe anxiety about a lot of things and the few times I thought I might be going into labor, I felt terribly sick to my stomach and started to panic. I prayed that when the time finally came, God would give me a peace about it and not let me start freaking out. He was faithful-- that entire morning was both exciting and relaxing, but never did I feel that anxiety creep up.
Jacob and I packed up the car and headed to the hospital around 11am. 10 days earlier, my OB did a cervical exam and I was already 3cm dilated. Having never felt any contractions getting me to those 3 cm, I was convinced that by the time I actually started feeling contractions, I would be showing up at the hospital dilated to at a 5 or 6. To my dismay, I was only 4 cm dilated when I showed up, but because my contractions were definitely coming every 5 minutes, I was admitted.
Our labor room was great- so spacious with lots of room to walk around, a rocking chair, and a great view. We spent the next 7 hours with mild contractions (I was convinced for awhile that I was one of those lucky few who don't feel the pain of contractions!). Around 6pm, I got started on Pitocin to speed things up. I was taking the highest dosage and that got my contractions to about every 3 minutes. The doctor finally arrived around 7pm to break my water. The bed was prepped and he was waiting with the needle in hand and as I made my way to the bed, my water broke on its own! Within seconds of my water breaking, I TRULY felt the labor pains. I was in so much pain that it was difficult to breathe through contractions, let alone talk! So much for all those breathing techniques I learned in childbirth class- it was all I could do to even allow myself to exhale during a contraction! After contracting like that for an hour, I got my epidural. I'm not quite sure how anyone goes through labor without one! I was really hoping I could be strong enough to do it without one, but at the end of the day, a healthy baby was my only goal.
The epidural brought instant relief. The doctor performed a cervical exam and I had dilated from 5cm to 9cm in less than an hour! I was very excited to hear the nurses say it was almost time to start pushing. My epidural had begun to wear off so they administered a "bump" through the catheter. Unfortunately, this did not stop the pain and even made me sick. I spent the next couple hours in and out of sleep and vomitting pretty regularly. Next thing I know, there are 3 nurses rushing into the labor room and I am getting a shot in my arm. They are so quick with their responses that I had no idea what was even going on until it had ended. When my water broke, my body released all the hormones that cause contractions, so that mixed with the Pitocin caused me to contract back to back with little break. This caused the baby's heart rate to drop significantly enough for the nurses to need to slow down labor. The next few hours were a bit of a blur, but at midnight the doctor came in and checked me and I was still only 9cm and 90% effaced. He said I should have delivered the baby hours ago and that if I didn't make anymore progress by 1am, I would need a c-section. MY BIGGEST FEAR! Throughout my pregnancy, the one thing I feared was going through hours and hours of labor and then needing a c-section. Here I was, facing that dreaded outcome, but I welcomed the idea at this point. I knew if I happened to progress to 10cm, I wouldn't have enough energy to push. At 1am, the doctor came back and checked me and I still had made no progress. He deemed the labor "failure to progress" and started directing the nurses to prep for a c-section.
As I was wheeled in the Operating Room, I felt scared and exhausted. Luckily before getting too anxious, I saw Jacob walk in the OR in his scrubs and that brought so much relief. I don't know what I would've done without his support. He was so encouraging and understanding throughout my labor and when the c-section started, he was so calm and sensitive with me. It felt like only a couple minutes later when I heard the doctor say "OK Dad, get your camera ready" and they dropped the curtain in front of me. Jacob stood up with his camera to capture Jane's arrival as the doctor pulled her from my belly. The anesthesiologist lifted my head so I could see her at the same time, but unfortunately, I felt the need to vomit again so I missed it. Jane was born at 1:41 am. I spent the next 10 minutes or so transitioning from vomitting to crying as I could hear the sweet cries of my precious baby girl so close by. I listened to the nurses and Jacob interacting with Jane and my heart felt so full already. They announced her birth weight of 8 pounds, 8 ounces and the doctor immediately shouted "I call a re-weigh! That baby weighs way more than that!" The scale didn't lie, our little chunky was indeed 8 lbs, 8 ounces. She was 20 inches long and had a full head of beautiful curly dark brown hair!
Once the surgery was over and I was back in the labor room, I got to spend some quality time with my new family. I remember holding Jane and looking back and forth between her and Jacob and being completely overwhelmed with love for all of us. It was an indescribable feeling. Jane breastfed and latched on perfectly without any hesitation and it seems like she hasn't stopped since! She seriously seems to surprise us with just how perfect she is... she scored an 8 and 9 on her APGARs, she passed her hearing test, was totally cleared of jaundice, latches on and sucks perfectly, and seems to be so well-mannered already! We are truly blessed with this little girl.
It is amazing to simply watch her sleep. The few hours she spends awake, Jacob and I just stare in awe at her bright eyes full of curiosity. We have been home with her for 5 days now (we were discharged from the hospital after 2 nights rather than the required 4 because my c-section was healing so well and I was feeling such little pain). Every day and night has gotten better and better with Jane falling into a great schedule already. She is eating... ALOT! I am nursing her every one to two hours. She is a quick eater, only nursing for about 10 minutes at a time. If she spent anymore time than that, I think I'd be more than overwhelmed with a feeding every hour! Today was her first visit with the pediatrician and she has already gained all her weight back - and then some! Our little chunky is already 8 pounds, 11 ounces and the doctor was SO pleased with her growth.
I am so in love. My life feels so complete with this little family of love. Jacob is the greatest Dad ever- he is so involved with everything we do! He helps with breastfeeding, changing clothes, swaddling, and can you believe it-- I still haven't changed a single diaper!!! We have so many things to look forward to with this little love bug in our lives. So many people already love her like crazy and we feel so blessed that she has brought so much joy to our lives!
Welcome to the world, Mary Jane! You have exceeded all our hopes and expectations and we are madly in love with you!
Mary Jane Melisa Sustacek
September 27, 2011
1:41 am
8 lbs, 8 oz
20 inches long
Perfect.
