And Baby Makes Three

Tennessee Harper Moseley

Born 10:05am on May 17, 2012

7.03 pounds, 19 inches





My sweet little girl came into this world on a Thursday morning. Here's her birth story (minus the icky parts!):

That Tuesday I had a Dr.'s appt and was already dialated to 4cm, even though I had yet to feel any contractions. My OB decided that it would be in my best interest to go ahead and schedule an induction, though they probably wouldn't have to do much since I was already dialating on my own. The plan was for her front office assistant to set up the induction and then give me a call with the instructions. The appointment was made for 3am Thursday morning, so David took Wednesday off of work and spent the day helping me get ready for baby.

Thursday:

I started having contractions Wednesday night, so I didn't get much sleep before we made our way to the hospital. Neither did David, poor guy. We arrived at the hospital a little before 3am, and by 4am we were all checked in and in our birthing suite. The first of many unpleasant things was when the nurse inserted the IV into my arm. She inserted the needle, took several vials of blood, and then started the fluid/Pitocin drip. That combination left me feeling very dizzy and I nearly passed out. Being anemic, I don't take well to losing that much blood! Thankfully, I recovered quickly and was ready to get the show on the road.

I was only given the minimum dose of Pitocin since I was already in natural labor, which I am thankful for. Even so, I was having very strong contractions that got me from 4cm when I first checked in, to 8cm about 2 hours later. While I'm on the subject of contractions, I was surprised to find they felt exactly like my menstrual cramps (which are miserable and always accompanied with nausea), only about twice as strong. I was also very nauseated with each contraction, and once they started coming really close together I had no time to recover from one before feeling the nausea of the next. I told my nurse Amanda and she added Zofran, the anti-nausea medication I had become very familiar with during my pregnancy, in the IV.

A little while later, I decided to get an epidural as I was concerned I would not be able to push with the extreme sciatic nerve pain I was feeling in both hips and legs. David, who had been with me the whole time, decided to go get some breakfast while the nurse anesthetist did the epidural. I was surprised at how well you can feel the needle go straight up. For some reason I figured I'd feel it go in, but not necessarily feel it go up my spine. He had a hard time getting the catheter to lay flat in my back, and asked David to wait outside the room when he came back until it was all ready to go. The nurse anesthetist then explained that he was giving me the smallest dose but that I could up it by pushing the pump he attached to the line. I never did up the dosage, and I'm thankful I didn't since I was still able to feel my lower extremities and move them during the whole labor/delivery, though without pain. The nurses were surprised at how well I could move and feel what was happening. As was I.

About 9am Tanya, my new nurse (Amanda's shift ended at 7am) checked to see how far I had progressed. She determinted that I was fully dialated and ready to go (and also that my baby had a lot of hair!), but she had me hold off a little while longer. During this time she gave me a peanut shaped birthing ball to put between my knees. I laid on my sides with it between my knees for 30 minutes each side, and could feel Tennessee slide further down the birth canal during this time. After the hour had passed, I was ready to push!

Tanya asked if I would mind having an EMT in to witness the birth. I agreed, though I am sorry I cannot remember his name. He stood on my left side, Tanya was on my right with my Dr. at the end of the table. David stood at my head. I pushed through a total of 3 contractions, which only took about 15-20 minutes, before I was holding my little girl. The EMT was great, he was very helpful and encouraged David to watch Tennessee be born, which I don't think he had really planned on doing. He also cut the cord, which he wasn't sure he would do, either. 

Once she was out, Tennessee was placed on my chest and I held her skin to skin for the first hour of her life. I was even able to give her her first feeding, which went surprisingly well. During this time I sent David out to the waiting room to let my parents know everything had gone beautifully, and we were the proud parents of a little girl. I know they were relieved and exhausted, considering they had driven from Tucson that morning to be there for their first grandchild's birth.

I was lucky enough not to have torn or have an episiotomy, but I did have some significant internal bruising. Nothing that wouldn't heal within a few days. It wouldn't have even mattered, since all I cared about was the angel laying on my chest. After about an hour, the nurses took Tennessee to weigh her and get her cleaned up. Once she and I were both presentable, my parents came in and spent a few hours with our family of three.



Later than evening we were moved upstairs to a recovery room. Tennessee stayed with us the whole time, with the exception of nurses taking her from me twice - once to weigh her and the other to do her PKU. I can't even describe how strange (and amazing!) it was to have our family all together that first night. I was lucky enough to only have to spend one night in the hospital, and after a lengthy discharge process we were finally able to take our little girl home Friday afternoon.

I can't thank my Dr. and nurses enough. All the staff at Del E. Webb Hospital were amazing.  Especially Tanya. She will forever hold a special place in my heart as the woman who helped me give birth to my first child. I only wish I had a photo of her with Tennessee to remember her by.

What I learned:

1. The mesh underwear they give you in the hospital is amazing. Ugly, but amazing.

2. As messy as birth is, it truly is a beautiful process.

3. Through all of the pain and discomfort, remember it won't last long and the reward is SO worth it.

4. You will never be more comfortable with your body than after giving birth. Yes, you're way overweight, but it was for a reason.

5. Be nice to your nurses - they deal with a lot in the process of helping you give birth, and even more in the few hours that follow.