Once Upon A Baby -- My birth story Part 2

So, sorry I left you hanging.  I'm sure you've just been on pins and needles wondering how this whole thing ended up.  SPOILER ALERT:  I had a baby:)   I went ahead and posted the part of the story that has been "saved as draft" in my blogger account for the last few weeks.  I haven't really had the free time to finish it up, so there's a good chance there could be a few installments of this!  The following could get a little TMI, so if you don't like this kind of thing, don't read on.  Just warning you!

I left you with Mark running to get us a few movies to get us through the long night.  I was so nervous that this was false labor and that they would send me home in the morning.  Even when the contraction started get really intense, I wouldn't get an epidural for fear they would send me home with it and I would have to drag my limp body around my home, chasing after my 2 year old.  If you have ever had an epidural you know how your legs are completely and utterly gone!!!  I knew my arms weren't strong enough to pull my body around, so I wasn't going to let this happen if I could help it.  Not until I was completely sure this was real labor.

So anyway, the contractions were getting worse and my nurse, Jen, the most AMAZING OB nurse ever, finally said, "Listen, I would bet my mortgage on the fact that you are in labor.  Get your epidural." She knew that it could take an hour for the anesthesiologist to arrive anyway, so if I wanted one soon, I had better decide.  Never one to argue with logic, I submitted and the process began.  I was never so happy to feel that warm numbing feeling creeping down my body.  It is the most amazing feeling, even though getting the epidural is the most excruciating part of the whole deal for me.  I don't do very well, not very well at all.  For some reason, the idea of a HUGE needle in my back, that if done incorrectly could paralyze me or give me the most horrendous headache ever, freaks me out a little.  I was already shaking (for some reason labor does that to me), so adding my intense fear into the mix made it all the worse.  My uncontrollable weeping didn't help either.  Finally, as I set, my back hunched over ready to have the needle inserted, my nurse looked me in my eyes while holding my hands, and said, "You've got this!"  For some reason, that gave me the strength to get through it without completely melting down.  That, and the horrendous contraction that came right after.  I knew I couldn't deal with those much longer, so the doctor finished up and I was off to happy town.   I don't remember everything about my anesthesiologist, but I do remember he was a hoot.  I was weeping and he was cracking jokes and that definitely eased the mood.  I have seen him on the elevator since then, and he still makes fun of me for my intense fear.

After the epidural took full effect, Mark and I enjoyed our movies until we finally got pretty sleepy.  We headed to bed and hoped that things would progress through the night.  Early the next morning, they checked me and my water bag (this term makes me want to throw up a little) was bulging (another throw up word) and I was at a 7.  When my doctor came in, he decided to go ahead and break my water and give me some pitosin to speed things up.   Before he broke the water, I warned them that I tend to have a lot of amniotic fluid in there.   They just looked at me like, "we've seen it all before" and continued to break it.  Boy were they surprised when they saw the amount that came pouring out and continued to pour out for the next few minutes.  I warned them!  I know that's a little yucky, but like I said, you should probably stop reading.

After a while, my dreaded itching came back and I began to get pretty uncomfortable.  The epidural seemed to be wearing off and I started feeling the contractions again, but my equally amazing morning nurse thought it might be good if it did wear off some so that I could feel myself pushing.   She did however give me some Benadryl to help with the itching and to help me sleep for awhile.  This was around 8:00 am.  I fell asleep, but after awhile, I was awakened by some pretty intense contractions and some major pressure in my nether regions.  I told Mark and he had me ring my call button.  When my nurse came in, I told her about the pressure and she did a quick exam, sure enough, I was crowning!  She warned me not to sneeze as the baby would probably come falling out!  Yikes.  She went to page the doctor, only to learn that he was in the middle of a c-section!!!!   So, they told me to just breath through the contractions and NOT to push until he could finish up.  Easier said then done!

As Tim Gunn says, "I made it work", and was able to hold out from pushing.  It sure was hard, though.  Finally, my doctor came in and did a quick exam.  He also used the "Don't sneeze!" one-liner.  Two contractions later and little McKinley Joy Murrill entered the world.  The time was 8:53 am.  She weighed in at 5 pounds, 10 ounces and was 18 inches long.  She was just so adorable!  I got to hold her for a little bit, but they needed to take her to the special care unit.  I kept asking if her cry sounded okay, because with Monroe, they could tell her lungs weren't okay by the sound of her cry.  They all assured me that it was fine.  I was so relieved and so tired and so happy, all at the same time.  A few hours later we learned that her lungs weren't quite finished baking and they would have to give her Surfactin, the same stuff they gave Monroe which caused a pneumothorax (hole in the lung).  The only difference was that McKinley didn't have to be on the cpap (helps with breathing) and only used the nasal canula (also helps with breathing, but not as much), so her risks of getting a pneumo were very small and sure enough, she ended up being just fine.  She was in the special care unit for a few days due to the need for a feeding tube and jaundice, but the time flew by and she was able to come home by Saturday.  I felt a lot less terrified by the situation with McKinley because it was so similar to Monroe's birth.  I felt emotionally prepared and was able to relax.  It also helped that her prognosis was so much better.  The nurses and doctors at GlenOaks were amazing.  I have never felt so loved and in such good hands in a hospital setting.  They communicated so much better than our last experience.  I was apprehensive to give birth there at first, but I am so glad that I did.

I would love to post some pictures of the event, but they are all pretty much x-rated!  I told Mark that I would love for him to take more pictures of the process this time around and he did not disappoint.  He took A LOT and 98% of them contain some aspect of my lady parts.  So, for your sake, I decided to keep those to myself.  You're welcome.  

That's pretty much everything in a nutshell.  I feel so blessed that even though she was five weeks early everything turned out just fine.  I'm also so happy to have my two little ladies.  I sometimes think there is no way that I want another kiddo, but then I look at little Kiki and I get so sad to think that I won't ever have a little infant again.  I am definitely enjoying every "baby moment" with her and trying to make every second count, just in case it is my last.  Yes, pregnancy is pretty annoying (although miraculous), but the end product is SO worth it.  Just so worth it.