The (birth) Story. (long)

I realized I have never written down Reagan's birth story anywhere, and thought maybe now is a good time to do it! Especially while it is fresh in my memory. Although I have to say, that it wasn't until a while after she was born that the full weight of her birth and the thoughts of what could have gone wrong sunk in. So many 'what if's' go through my mind now; I'm just lucky that my baby girl is here with me! And warning, there may be TMI throughout :)

It was just like any other pregnancy, normal and uncomplicated, until I hit about 35 weeks. Up until that point I had been measuring a week or two bigger, and so all seemed well. At my 35 week check I measured in at a bigger 37 cm. Then at my 36 week, checkup, I only measured in at a 36. Not too horrible, since then I was right on target, but something didn't seem right. Human error? Different doctor? Maybe, so I chalked it up to that and tried to stop worrying about it. It was during this week that I noticed a decrease in her movements also. But, Google always told me that was normal in the later weeks of pregnancy.

At my 37 week appt, I only measured a 35. Ok, I was getting a little more worried but the doctor still didn't seem concerned. But she still wasn't moving as much as I would have liked. This happened again. At 38 weeks, I was down to a 34. But STILL the doctor was not too worried, just said he'd keep an eye on it.

Finally at my 39 week appt, when I measured at a 33 1/2, the nurse practitioner that I saw decided to do a non-stress test, and ordered an ultrasound. Reagan barely passed the non-stress test. I'm convinced that she didn't really pass, but the lady was brand new and didn't want to be the one to say there was a problem. At the ultrasound, the technician found only one tiny pocket of fluid in there. It was bone dry. But still, the induction was scheduled for two days later.

When that day finally came, I was anxious and nervous. I have always been scared to really speak up, even though I had been worried about the baby for a few weeks now. Clearly something was not right! The hospital was beyond packed that day, and I could not get in for my induction until 1 pm. Luckily, we did have my mom there with the kids, and off we went to the hospital.

When the attending doctor checked me in, and I was hooked onto my pitocin drip, they decided to break my water. Well, yeah, there was no water. It was a tiny trickle. More like a few drops. The doctor had been wondering why I was there for an induction, but quickly realized why when I had no water come out. Soon after, around 3:30 pm, I got my epidural, and we were ready for her to come.

Things were slow going at first. I wasn't dilating very fast. Finally at 8:15, the nurse checked me and I was at a 7. Slowly but surely. It was then that I called my mom to update her and check in on the kids. While I was on the phone with her, I felt a crazy, excruciating pain. I tried to mask it, but also got off the phone as fast as I could, and when I hung up I just started screaming. Pain was everywhere. I didn't know what had happened, the nurse had JUST checked me literally 2 minutes before and I couldn't imagine things had changed that fast. Well, they had. Matt called the nurse and she checked me again, and I was at a 10! And I HAD NO EPIDURAL! It had totally worn off. (I had been feeling pain on my left side the whole time too, I think it was put in wrong). I don't know HOW people do that. Oh my goodness, the pain was horrible. And of course it had to wear off when I went from a 7-10 in 5 minutes. You know how people say they scream at their husbands and swear off kids forever when they're in labor? Yeah, that was pretty much me. That pain brought out the worst in me. Sorry honey :)

The doctor rushed in. Sure enough, she was coming! He told me he would tell me when her head was out so I could stop pushing. Well, I gave one heave-ho, and he yelled at me to stop! What? I thought, she can't be out already! Then he asked for one more and she was out. That was it! Two pushes and she came right out. I'm sure it helped that she only weighed 6 lbs 10 oz. She was tiny! I'll never forget looking at her as the doctor held her up for me to see. She looked like a doll. The hands of the doctor seemed to overpower her and swallow her up. But, oh, she was cute.

As the doctor pulled out the placenta, he commented that it was very calcified, meaning dead. Thanks to the low fluid, it had been deteriorating and wasn't functioning very well at all. The poor girl was obviously starving because she nursed for almost a whole hour straight the minute I got to hold her. And I mean nursed! She was a pro from the get go. The doctor made a comment about how lucky we were to get her out before anything else went wrong.

These words didn't sink in until a while after she was born. And as I looked into her face and thought about how much I loved her, and how she looked just like her brother as a baby, I realized that it could have 'gone wrong'. She was born 5 days early, but what if it had been prolonged anymore? Ugh, I can't think about it.

I am just thankful that I have my Reagan here to snuggle and love. In the end, all was well, and she is as healthy as can be now.