My doctor agreed to induce me on Tuesday the 21st (even though it was her day off) because Monday night was when my WONDERFUL mother-in-law, Jaylene, flew in from New York to help out around the house after I had the baby. My sister-in-law, Savannah, also flew back here from New York the same day after having been gone for three weeks. So Tuesday the 21st seemed like the best idea, knowing I would have someone to watch Logan and knowing that I could get full use out of my mother-in-law for the week that she was here. So Zac left work early Monday night to drive to Salt Lake to get his mom and sister. There were some construction issues which detoured them for an extra 45 minutes in Salt Lake, but when they finally got back here to Provo (about 12:30 a.m.), we visited for all of 20 minutes before everyone went to bed. After all, we were expecting an action-packed Tuesday and wanted to get our rest.
Well you can guess how well I slept. I think I fell asleep around 2:30 but woke back up when Logan came into our room at 4:15. So I got him his juice and decided I would sleep better on the couch. Which I did. For an hour and a half. When the hospital called.
Me: Hello?
Nurse: Hi Sarah, this is so-and-so from Utah Valley Regional. We have you as the first on our list of six inductions for this morning. How early can you be here?
Me: Um...
Nurse: Is quarter after six going to work?
Me: Um...maybe. What time is it?
Nurse: 5:40.
Me: Um...
Nurse: Would 6:30 be better?
Me: Um...yeah, sure.
Nurse: Great! See you soon!
So I rolled out of bed...er...couch, and made myself a bowl of oatmeal before rousing the rest of the house and calling Savannah to come watch Logan. We made it to the hospital by 6:37 (I may have gone to mother/baby on the 4th floor instead of labor/delivery on the 5th floor) and got everything situated. I was in my room and getting the heck poked out of my veins by 7:00. The nurse blew the vein in my left hand (the same thing happened with Logan) and then tried for the vein in my right hand. And blew that one, too. I still have bruises ten days later. So I asked Zac to punch her after she left to find someone else to try the third time. A few minutes later she came back with two other nurses, one of which was able to get a vein below my thumb on my right hand. So the pitocin was started at 7:30.
The contractions were about how I remembered with Logan...just really bad menstrual cramp-like feelings. So I put up with them while lying in the bed for a few hours while chatting with Zac and Jaylene. After a while I made them leave to go eat some food and when they got back I got out of bed to use the bathroom and pretty much refused to get back in bed. The contractions were getting harder and being in bed was not making it any easier to deal with them. But when I was standing and swaying a little, they were tolerable. But all good things must come to an end and the nurse really wanted me back in bed to monitor the baby. So I complied. And when she checked me, I was at a 3 1/2. I wasn't impressed.
A few more hours went by and we watched TV while we waited for everything to progress enough for them to break my water. My doctor was monitoring me from home (since it was her day off) so her intern came in to break my water around noon when I hit a 5. His name was Dr. Kirk. He also put on an internal monitor so I could move around. But I was really starting to feel some Pain (with a capital P) so I wasn't planning on moving too much anyways.
*side note: I was on oxygen at this point, too, because the baby's heart rate would dip during contractions*
So I was lying on the bed, really feeling the contractions, considering my options. As previously stated, I really wanted to avoid the epidural. And though Jaylene knew right where to rub my back during a contraction to relieve some of the pain, it was still AWFUL. So I asked for some drugs to "take the edge off."
Nurse: Ok, I've got the Fentanyl. Did you want a whole dose or the half dose?
Me: Whole?
Nurse: Ok, but the whole dose might make you dizzy.
Me: Then just half.
Three contractions later
Me: I need the whole dose. Now.
So here I am, doped up with something 100 times more potent then Morphine (source: Wikipedia) and still crying "Ow, ow, ow" through every contraction. And only at a 5. I started weighing my options and thought to myself, If I'm only at a 5, this could go on for another few hours. So I begged for the epidural and started crying, "I can't do this." Zac called the nurse and told her I needed the epidural and she bumped me right to the top of the list. Then a few minutes later, enter Nurse.
Nurse: Ok, you were at the top of the list, but the anesthesiologist had to go to an emergency C-section. But he will be here as soon as he's done.
Me: I can't do this, I can't do this!
Jaylene: crying
Me: Thinking: There is NO WAY I am going to be able to sit still through an epidural. No EFFING way!
So my contractions were right on top of each other and I wanted to die. And then two minutes passed with no contractions. It was the best two minutes of my life. And I justified getting the epidural if I would be able to go through the rest of my labor feeling like that with no pain. It sounded glorious. And then I had three contractions where one wouldn't go away completely before the next would start. And I was back to wanting to die. And at some point, I flipped over on my hands and knees which seemed to freak everyone out. Mainly because my doctor wasn't even at the hospital yet.
Nurse: Sarah, you don't feel like pushing, do you?
Me: Thinking: I don't know, I just need the pain to stop!!!
Nurse: Ok, I'm going to check you again.
Me: Thinking: Ok, well, you're going to feel a head.
Nurse: Alright, there's the head. Sarah, don't push.
Jaylene/Zac/Everyone else in the room: Don't push, just breathe, breathe through the contraction, etc, etc.
Me: (After breathing through one contraction) Thinking: Who is in the room? Zac, Jaylene, my nurse, I think one or two other medical personnel...screw it. I'm pushing.
So I started to flip over on my back again but while I was still on my side, I pushed. And the head was out. And again everyone started telling me not to push...but this time they had good reason. They wanted to ease the shoulders out so I didn't tear. Good plan. However, it was still painful to have half a body in me so I may have flipped out a little. At this point, my doctor was pulling into the staff parking lot and was ready to rush up to my room so she called the nurses station to let them know.
Dr. Harrison: This is Heather Harrison and I'm on my way to Sarah Steele's delivery. Would you patch me through to her room so I can hear how she's doing?
Nurse: Well I just heard her scream, "Get it out of me NOW," so I think you might be too late.
So that was a bit embarrassing to find out later. And it was a little sad that my doctor didn't make it, but it was the first time my nurse ever had to deliver a baby. At lest it was memorable for her!
So I went from 5 cm dilated and 80% effaced to complete delivery in 26 minutes. Kaylee Faye Steele was born at 12:26 p.m. (the exact time predicted by Dani!) and was a petite 7 lbs 4 oz and 18 inches long. Or 18 and a half...there is some dispute over what was heard. But now looking at this picture, I see that 18 1/2 was recorded. And though there was some meconium when they broke my water, she didn't have any problems. And since she came out so fast, her head was even normal-shaped...she is just perfect!
Oh, and some people are wondering about her name. Kaylee doesn't have any real significance. It just happened to be in both mine and Zac's top five names and was the only one we agreed on. And the Faye is after my Grandma Shelia who's middle name is Faye. My grandma is really special to me and I wanted both her and my daughter to know it :-)
So will I do it without an epidural again? Probably, but I'm not positive yet. Having done it both ways, there are pros and cons. I loved the recovery without it. I literally hopped right out of bed minutes after Kaylee was born. And painful as it was, the feeling of giving birth to your child is pretty cool. And indescribable. However, it really freaking hurt. Not so much the birth, but the contractions at the end (and during transition...okay mainly during transition). So if you're going to get an epidural, you should do it the second you get to the hospital and not feel any pain. But if you're going to sit through contractions for a few hours to see how much you can handle, you might as well go all the way without it because it was amazing.
And yes, Logan loves her!
