i was calm. i knew labor was going to start soon, but since i wasn't having contractions, i wasn't really freaked out. and i tried to remain as calm as possible when waking jarratt from a dead sleep. unfortunately, there's no easy way to wake someone up by saying "honey, my water broke, we have to go to the hospital." he FLEW out of bed and looked all frazzled. i calmly put some sweats and flip flops on while he rushed around like you see in the movies. he kept asking why i was so calm and i couldn't find an answer. i just was. i was ready for pregnancy to be over with and i felt a sense of calmness over my entire body. plus, i wasn't in any kind of pain so it was easy to stay calm.
we got to the hospital and got checked in and hooked up to monitors (that i know SO well) around 3:30am. i wasn't really having any kind of contractions. dr. lutz came in and examined me and said that yes, my water did break so i had to stay at the hospital and wait until i started contracting. they got me settled into a room and around 5:30am, i started having stronger, somewhat consistant contractions. i needed to start antibiotics through the IV for testing GBS (group B strep) positive. the nurse tried to put the IV in and she did something that caused a sering pain down my arm. i started bawling so she said her shift was over in about 10 minutes and my next nurse would be coming in and she'd ask her to do it. (i'm really bad at remembering names and i don't remember names of any of my nurses except one!) that nurse came in and found a vein but the iv catheter wouldn't stay in because i was getting so dehydrated and i refused to drink anything because i didn't want to throw up. they called the head nurse to come in and she had to poke me two times before she got the iv to stay in place.
at some point, my dad and my sister and jarratt's grandma showed up. megan was going to be in the room with me and jarratt while i delivered.
my nurse came back in and asked if i wanted to labor in the huge tub for a while. sure, sounded like a good plan. i was only 3 cm dialted at this point and she said that a couple hours in the tub and i'd probably be 5 cm and they'd have the epidural placed (i stressed right from the beginning to make sure i had that as soon as possible.) she hooked me up to some wireless monitor things and i hopped in the tub. my dad and jarratt went down to get some breakfast and i was left alone in the tub. i'm not sure how long i was in the tub because time seemed to stand still but all of the sudden, i felt really sweaty and itchy. my feet were turning red too. i knew something was not right. i pulled the nurse button thing next to the tub and within seconds two nurses (not my own) were in my room and my nurse was close behind. i said something was wrong and i was itchy and sweaty and i thought i was having a reaction to the antibiotics (i'm allergic to minocycline and the same thing happened, only on a much lower scale.) the nurse got me out of the tub, dried off, and put my monitors and a gown back on. jarratt came back in and got a very concerned look on his face. later, he told me that i was completely swollen and red. my lips, my cheeks, my eyes, like my face blew up. i'm really glad the only mirror in the room was a tiny one over the sink, i had no idea it looked that bad. at the point, the contractions were coming every couple of minutes and were getting more and more painful. the nurse checked and i was 5cm dialated.
someone came in and put benedryl into my iv and within minutes, the itching stopped. the anesthesiologist came in and talked to me about the risks of the epidural while getting everything ready. he seemed to take forever and i kept asking questions about how much it will hurt to get it placed and then i kept saying i didn't want it because it would hurt. everyone kept assuring me what i was feeling hurt a lot more then getting an epidural placed. i sat on the edge of the bed facing jarratt (he was suppose to help hold me still) while topical and novicane was placed around the area that the epidural would be placed. honestly, it didn't hurt as much as everyone says. it was uncomfortable. the novicane shots hurt more. two contractions after it was placed, i was a much happier person and i allowed my dad, sister, and jarratt's grandma into the room while i finished laboring. at this point, i was 8cm dialated (it had only been about 45 minutes since i was last checked.)
we all chatted and it helped me take my mind off what was happening. i started shivering and shaking really bad, i thought it was a reaction to the pain meds. when i take vicodin and the like for migraines, i'll get shakey so i didn't think anything of it. the nurse took my temperature and it was 102! they started freaking out only no one would really tell me anything. i don't know if the baby's heart rate was okay or not at this point. they were trying to get me another dose of antibiotics (different ones, obviously) so i could get two doses in before i had the baby but at this point, it was too late, i was 9.5cm.
i never got that urge to push like women say they get when it's time. maybe a little, but i don't remember it being intense. around 12:20, my dad and joanne cleared the room and i was told to start pushing. my regular OB, dr. martin showed up just in time too. i was happy that she would be delivering my baby. she was in her office seeing patients that day but since her office is right next to the hospital, she cancelled her patients so she could come over.
i'll spare the gory details but i pushed for an hour. i was exhausted and kept asking if they could just reach in and grab her. and it hurt. a lot. i'm assuming it would have been worse had i not had the epidural. i give any woman who gives birth without any form of pain medication mad props because there is no way i could have done that without it.
during that hour, things were a blur. i remember hearing that they called in a specialist from children's hospital to come look at the baby and he showed up in the middle of me pushing. then they started saying that she'll probably have to be in the hospital for 10 days because we weren't able to get me all the antibiotics i needed for GBS and the fever i had indicated that there was an infection in my placenta because my water broke early and i didn't go into labor right away. the baby was born with a temperature of 101 but once she was free of the placenta and it was expelled from me, both of our fevers went down. hearing that your baby will have to be in the hospital for 10 days while you're giving birth is the last thing you want to hear because you're too out of it to ask questions.
mischa jade vandyke entered the world at 1:19pm pacific standard time, weighing 7 pounds 15 ounces and 20 inches long. they didn't put her on my chest after she came out, instead they rushed her over to the mini exam table and started checking her out. she didn't cry right away either and i couldn't see anything. i felt numb from the pain medication and completely exhausted. it felt like i had no emotions because things happened so fast (in fact, i felt the same way on my wedding day, no matter how happy and excited i was, i never cried.) my sister was snapping pictures of mischa while i was delivering the placenta and getting a few stitches. as gross as it sounds, i asked the doctor if i could see the placenta. i knew what they lookedl ike basically (i'd seen cats give birth) but i was curious about the bilobed placenta. plus, i wanted to see this thing that caused me so much stress for most of my pregnancy. it was then sealed up in a bag and sent to the lab for testing (on what, i'm not sure, i'm going to ask at my appointment in a month.)
mischa got put on my chest for a few minutes before they whisked her away to the nursery to get an iv for antibiotics. she was so alert at only minutes old. she stared into my eyes as if to say "god, i'm finally here!" i looked at jarratt and announced her name. we'd still been up in the air about what to call her. i was pretty sure it was going to be mischa, but madelyn and ella were still on the table. but both of those names were too innocent. this was a dramatic pregnancy and an even more dramatic labor and birth. she needed the name of a drama queen. the name jade came to me just a few days prior. i was watching tv and there was a little girl named jayden on. i'd been trying to think of a middle name that was just as unique as the first name of mischa. jade came to me. it reminded me of the color green (der, obviously, right?) green is a march color and jarratt liked it so we didn't hem and haw over it, we just went with it (we don't agree on many names.)
after everything was all cleaned up and the doctors and nurses cleared out of my room, i ordered a cheeseburger and a ginger ale and watched the people's court. i joked that she came out just in time so i didn't miss it! i dozed in and out of an epidural high.
a few hours later, mischa was finally brought to me. she had her left arm in a splint like thing with a tiny iv attached to her arm. her shirt only went on one arm and the other arm was left hanging. it made me sad and she hated having her arm all bound up. she'd chew on the splint and pull the cotton that was padding it out.
during the next 2 days, we were poked or prodded at every couple of hours making getting any kind of rest impossible. they took mischa every 12 hours to get antibiotics through her iv. we were finally released at 5pm on saturday after the results from her 48 hour blood culture came back clear. they were wrong about her needing to stay 10 days. they said it's really rare to go through such a traumatic birth and then be so healthy and be able to leave after 48 hours.
jarratt and me after getting the allergic reaction under control and an epidural.
mischa jade announces to the world that she's here.
put some clothes on me! 
getting weighed. 
our first moments. 
after people's court and a cheeseburger. 
in the nursery getting antibiotics. 
making sure she fit in the carseat. 
sort of a bad picture, but there's the iv and splint on her left arm. 
amber welcomes baby mischa home.
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