sorry to leave you hangin'...

so, i left off talking about the contractions...

i forgot to mention that somewhere in there my nurse told me that my doctor was "in house".  yay!! i was very relieved my doctor was there and she'd be delivering our little one.  then, nurse jess came in and told me she was in an emergency c-section then had to go to a different hospital to deliver another little one.  okay, fair enough.  we have plenty of time and she will be back.  so in came the on.call ob [who just so happened to be my friend's doctor...loved her].  she was cool, calm and collected.  checked me.  i was at a 3 and 100% effaced.  and my cervix was completely to the front.  she also confirmed that i was 'grossly' ruptured ...but i could have told her that. we were certainly having a baby.  i thought, ok.  i know how this goes.  we might have a baby by lunch time.  then i asked jess about that epidural again, because then things got pretty serious.

i've been trying to explain serious, intense, full.blown contractions to people who have never experienced them and that is very difficult.  then, a fellow blogger described them perfectly.  she said, "i felt like a giant had picked me up, given me a wicked indian rugburn all over my stomach and back, and then kicked me with steel-toed boots just for good measure".  and even that doesn't explain it fully.  while i wasn't necessarily prepared to handle contractions this intense [i had planned on that epidural], i tried all the techniques i could think of.  the 'hee-hee-hoos', the focal points, counter pressure.  nothing worked.  all i could do to get through them is lean on my side, grab the rail of the bed and move my legs in a motion similar to riding a bicycle.  and just when you get relief from one...you can't help but think about how another one is just two short minutes away.  

nurse jess came in to let me know that both anesthesiologists were still in surgery.  i'm pretty sure i cried at that point and maybe let out a few french words.  poor jake was trying so hard to make things better, but there is just nothing on this green earth that he could have done to help.  jess informed me that she needed to place an iv line, at this point.  typically, i hate this part.  but, i have to say...having her poke at me twice to try to find a vein almost felt good compared to those contractions.  when she couldn't get a good vein, she brought in another nurse who had to poke me twice as well.  and while i had absolutely no concept of time [remember, we haven't been to sleep yet], we believe i got my iv somewhere around 2:30 or 3 am.

the next hour to half hour was a total blur.  more contractions, tears, swear words, breathing...begging jess to go wrap up one of those surgeries.  and then finally....he walks in!!  an anesthesiologist sent from up above.  foreign as he ever could be and i couldn't understand a word he was saying, but i had watched enough episodes of a baby story to know how these things went.  i didn't feel the giant needle one bit between my contractions [which are a gazillion time worse when you're sitting up and someone is telling you to sit still].  all i remember is that he told me i would have one more contraction and then i shouldn't feel a thing.  and he was right.  and i was in heaven.  and i could have kissed him.

again, not sure what time that was but we're thinking sometime around maybe 3:30 or 4 am.  jess wanted to check me and place my catheter.  i was at a 9!  we decided to make some phone calls to parents to let them know that we were probably going to have a baby sooner than we thought!  jess told me she'd check me again in an hour and we'd go from there.  oh, and my doctor was still back at the other hospital at this point.  after making some phone calls i started to feel an e n o r m o u s amount of pressure in my behind.  the only possible way to explain it is like you have to go #2 like no other, but a bathroom is nowhere to be found so you're doing everything you can to hold it.  i started feeling this pressure regularly [like contractions].   and they were just teetering on being painful.  jess told me she would check me sooner than an hour unless i started to feel constant pressure.  well, just as soon as she left the room, that pressure went from intermittent to constant and i experienced that 'need to push now' feeling.  and the more pressure i felt, the more that pressure became painful.  painful?  didn't i get an epidural?   i swear.  i pushed that epidural button as often as i could, but...nothing. 

jess scurried back in, and checked me...and i was at a 10!  problem was, my doctor was still at the other hospital but soon to be on her way.  i was aware of the driving distance from one to the other and i really did not think there was time.  i think jess could read the desperation on my face and all of the sudden there was another anesthesiologist in my room.  i'm not sure exactly what she gave me but it was through my epidural and was supposed to be more localized to the nether region...specifically the perineum.  in fact, i think it was called perineal anesthesia.  she gave me the one dose, and nothing.  so much pressure.  she gave me a second dose, and still nothing.  now, might be a good time to also note that i could totally move my legs at this point.  i had complete control of them, which made me nervous.  i was afraid i was going to feel everything.

the pressure continued to intensify and i asked the nurse if i could push.  in fact, i pretty much just begged her to have the house ob come in and deliver our baby.  i didn't care who it was at that point.  i would have even taken that anesthesiologist that i couldn't understand.  finally, she let me do a few 'practice pushes' [it's tricky to get the hang of that pushing stuff].  suddenly, jake became leg holder and lead counter.  he would count 1-10 three times during contractions [which i could feel].  i think this all started happening somewhere around 5 am.  then, finally...somewhere around 5:30 or so...in comes my doctor!!  in a total fog and state of exhaustion...i pushed for about 30 minutes, practically sleeping in between.  i had almost forgotten that we were about to get the most awesome surprise of our lives.  was he a she or was she a he?  the last leg of the delivery went pretty quickly.  i remember one big push, then a little snip [yep]...then out she came!  

my doctor shouted, "it's a girl!".  and jake and i errupted into laughter and tears.  we were so surprised.  we were both pretty convinced it was a boy.  a girl!!  she was here.  exactly four weeks early.  at exactly 6 am on the nose.  she was ready to be in the world.  everyone asked us her name and i felt terrible telling them that we didn't know.  throughout my pregnancy, jake and i said that if it's a girl, and she's an itty bitty thing...we'd name her drew olivia [for some reason, we felt it would fit her].  and when they put her on the scale and she tipped it off at a whopping 5 lbs. 2 oz., we knew...drew olivia she was!

and that's the story of how she came into the world.   

nicu nurse checking her out. 

and baby makes three.

my dad was ready for a second grand.baby

p.s. we did not get the name drew from jessica simpson.  we've gotten that questions a lot.  drew was on our list far before maxwell drew was born!  

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