Every story has a beginning, and this is Quinn's. On August 14, 2012, you came in to this world and our lives were forever changed...
Your due date was August 16, but all throughout the weeks leading up to your due date, your dad and I were getting so excited to meet you! On the morning of Monday, August 13, I had a doctor's appointment and they let me know that it probably wouldn't be long before you made your appearance. On that day, I was 4 cm dilated, 70% effaced and you were in a -1 station. We scheduled to have labor induced on Thursday, August 23 (when I would be 41 weeks pregnant with you) if you didn't arrive before then. I was so nervous because I really didn't want to have your labor induced... I wanted you to be able to come when you were ready, so I prayed that you would decide to come before the induction date arrived. After my doctor's appointment, I had lots of cramps the rest of the day. Daddy and I went to Thompson Park so that I could walk a few miles to help encourage labor to start, but once we got home and I laid down in bed, the cramps stopped.
The next morning, I woke up feeling wonderful, but a little tired. I did some cleaning around the apartment and had breakfast before lying down to a 2-hour nap (something I found myself doing a LOT in the last few weeks of pregnancy!). After my nap, I decided to go shopping at Marshall's & Home Goods. While I was at the store, I starting having severe cramping. I thought that they might be contractions, but I wasn't sure if that was what they were supposed to feel like! I decided to use an app on my phone to start timing them when I noticed that they kept coming. Once I starting timing them, I noticed that they were all less than 5 minutes apart and lasting between 30-45 seconds. I think I was still in denial that I was actually in labor because I still kept shopping! :o) After an hour had passed and the contractions kept coming, I decided that I should grab some lunch and head home to rest and get some energy built up in case if you were really going to come that day. I went through the McDonald's drive thru and headed home to spend some time on the exercise/birthing ball to see if the contractions were going to continue. While I bounced on the exercise ball, I spent the afternoon timing contractions and talking on the phone with some of my best friends. All the while, the contractions got a little bit stronger and longer, never being more than 5 minutes apart. Daddy emailed me early in the afternoon to see how I was feeling, but I still wasn't sure if I was in labor, so I sent him on a few errands before coming home. After listening to my friend LeeAnn's advice, I was pretty sure that I was in labor around the same time when Daddy got home from work. I knew that I wasn't going to be able to eat dinner because I was so nervous, so he made himself some stuffing to eat. I tried to take a nap on the couch to see if the contractions would stop, but when they continued, I called my doctor to see if I needed to go to the hospital. After describing the contractions to her, she said it was definitely time for us to go!
We arrived at the hospital at 8:30 p.m. and they immediately took us to triage to see how far along the labor had progressed. At that point I was 5 c.m. dilated and 85% effaced and you were in a 0 station. They called my doctor to see if she wanted me to stay at the hospital or go home to wait. Once they reached my doctor, she said that I would be staying and that the next time I would leave the hospital, it would be with my baby girl in my arms! I started crying because I was so excited to meet you and so nervous to give birth... I couldn't believe the time was finally here!
By 9, they had checked us in to the room I would deliver you in. They had a resident doctor come in at 9:30 to break my water, since it hadn't broken on its own. Once they broke my water, they realized there was meconium in it and that you would have to be monitored more closely to make sure that you weren't in distress. It was at this point that I started to get really nervous, but the doctors assured me that it was common and that we would do everything possible to make sure you arrived safely. Just 15 minutes after they broke my water the contractions became MUCH more intense and closer together as I entered "transition". I remember that they said I was only getting a 15 second break at the most between contractions and that nothing was helping. I tried laying, standing, walking around the room, bouncing on a ball- it all hurt and I just wanted to yell! The sensors that were on my belly to monitor your and my heart rates kept falling off, so they had to put an internal monitor that attached to the top of your head. It was surreal when our nurse, Leeann, told me that when she put the monitor on you, she could tell that you had a full head of hair! I was so excited that we were finally so close to getting to meet you. The transition stage lasted about 1 1/2 hours, when Leeann checked your progress and saw that I was 10 c.m. dilated and it was time for us to push! I was completely exhausted at this point and felt like I could barely keep my eyes open, but our nurse explained that a lot of mommas feel like this right before it's time to push because our bodies are saving energy for the pushing. She told me to let her know when I felt the urge to push and I didn't know how I would know what that feeling was supposed to feel like... I soon found out that it feels just like you really have to go #2! At that point, Dr. Somani was on her way to the hospital, so I got back in to the bed and did a few practice pushes until she arrived.
Once Dr. Somani arrived, it was 'go time'! There were 3 nurses and Dr. Somani who helped me while I pushed during contractions. My contractions were getting further apart and they were concerned it might take me a while to push you out, so they had me do 3 ten second pushes on each contraction. It actually felt really good to push against the pain of the contractions. They moved the ceiling mirror so that I could see you as you were coming out. Daddy said that once I could see you was when I started working extra hard because I could see just how close you were to coming out. After 30 minutes of pushing, you came out screaming at 11:55 p.m. Daddy and I were immediately overcome with emotion- they brought you to me so I could hold you for the first time before weighing and measuring you and making sure that you were healthy. Daddy took LOTS of pictures! Once they were done and I had been stitched up, they brought you back to me and I was able to nurse you for the first time. It was amazing to me just how naturally you knew exactly what to do. You were such an amazing baby and Daddy and I were so happy that we got to be your parents!
