Patrick and I arrived at the hospital at 5am. I was thrilled to see Pamela, who was my labor and delivery nurse when I had Banks, when I walked in the unit. She admitted me and got me all checked in, and it was so nice and reassuring to have a familiar face to calm my nerves and get me ready for the day. She got my pitocin started before 6, and I immediately started having consistent contractions (5-7 minutes apart). My labor and delivery nurse for the day, Tricia, arrived around 7. She was really sweet, and I felt reassured once again that it was going to be a good day. Dr.Shelley had ordered my epidural for 7:30, but I ended up getting it closer to 8:30. Dr.Austin was the anesthesiologist and he was a character... talked a lot, and said I had a "fascinating spine" because of calcifications from doing gymnastics apparently, and also because of scoliosis. I told him that last time my epidural bled more than usual, and that it took more on my left side than my right. He said that he would do the best he could, but because of the turn in my spine, it may do the same thing again. Finally, he gave me the epidural and it worked great for awhile. Dr.Shelley came in and broke my water around 9. Around 11, I started feeling some pretty intense pressure, mostly on the right side. I called my nurse who said Georgia had dropped down pretty low and that was probably what I was feeling, but I was still only about 4cm dilated. At that point, my left side was completely numb to the point that I couldn't move my left leg at all, and my right side was feeling very little effect from the epidural. They called in anesthesiology who offered a bolus, but said it would probably go mostly to the left also. I opted out of it since my left side was already so numb, but he adjusted the amount of medicine I was getting to increase the amount slightly.
I was in a pretty high amount of pain when Dr. Shelley came back in and checked on me at 12:30. I told her I hoped I was getting close to being ready to deliver because I was uncomfortable. She checked me, said I was about 7cm, and that she would be back around 2 to check me again because she felt like I would be ready at that point. Fifteen minutes later, at 12:45, I told Patrick I couldn't take it anymore because the pain had gotten so intense, particularly in my back. I was ready to call anesthesiology back in for a bolus dose or something (anything!). I called my nurse in, and she said she was just going to check me before calling anesthesiology. When she checked me, her eyes got big, and Patrick said he knew just by looking at her that it was time. She said, "we're ready to have a baby, don't push!" So she called in the assistants and Dr. Shelley got there in just a few minutes and it was "go time." I gave one (and a half, to be technical) really strong push and Ms.Georgia came at 1:16pm! She had an immediate loud cry/scream, and continued screaming while they got her cleaned off and checked her out.We were certainly not worried about her lungs! She weighed 6lbs, 8oz, was 20 inches long, and most importantly was healthy (praise the lord)! Patrick was with her, watching them check her and I asked him if she looked like Banks, and he said, "yes, she does!" Soon, they brought her back to me and we had our hour of skin-to-skin, which is the sweetest time in the world. Those two hours of my life (with Banks when he was born, now Georgia, and Patrick too) are hands-down two of the most cherished moments of my life.
She immediately started nursing like a champ, and I was able to feed her twice before going to the mom, baby unit. The grand parents got to come in to meet her around 3. My parents went and picked up Banks from daycare around 4, and brought him to meet her. He was SO sweet, just wanted to look at her. His eyes got huge when she cried, and he wanted someone to hold him because I think it scared him a little, but he wanted to be able to watch her. We had gotten him a gift from Georgia, which was a pretend tape measurer and level, and we gave him his gift. After that, he was way more excited about his new tools (and having both sets of grandparents all in the same room) and didn't say or do much more regarding Georgia. He asked me at one point if she wanted a french fry (he was eating chick-fil-a), and he asked if she was coming to "his house." Overall, he was just precious and happy.
Once again, I was so blessed with an overall smooth, healthy, normal delivery. Dr.Shelley will forever hold a special place in my heart for delivering both of my babies, and helping it be such a calm and positive experience. Patrick is also the most amazing person to have as my husband, and to have by my side during such an intense process. His presence is so calming for me, and he is the first to dive right in and help with whatever is needed. September 1, 2016 can now go in the books as the best day of my life, right up there with December 12, 2009, and December 19, 2013.
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