Friday, February 4, 2011

Esther Claire Hughes makes her Grand Entrance



Thursday, February 3, 2011. I go to the doctor for an appointment hoping he will check me and say, "Wow, you're 6 cm. We better get you to the hospital." Sadly that was not the case. I was 3cm, the same as I was the week before... Are you serious?!?! No change??? Not to worry. My doctor stripped my membranes (again) and got rid of all my plug and said, "I would be surprised if you didn't go into labor in the next 72 hours. " We left the clinic and as we were getting onto the elevator at 4:18, I had my first contraction. They kept coming fairly regularly, but were not that strong and 10 minutes apart. We ran some errands and then came home to make some dinner (tacos). While making dinner, the contractions all of a sudden started coming more frequently (4-6 minutes) and stronger so we decided to head to the hospital. By the time we pulled into the parking deck at 7:20, the contractions were every 1-2 minutes and VERY strong.
We made it to L&D and got put in triage where the tech didn't seem to think that a contraction every minute with me screaming and writhing in bed was anything to take seriously. Thankfully one of friends from residency was on call for Neonatology. She took one look at me and ran to get my doctor who just happened to be on call that night. He checked me and I was 8 cm. He tried to hurry everything along... Told them to get me in a room and call Anesthesia for my epidural (Yeah right). The resident came into do an ultrasound to get a weight estimate and got an earful from me... Something about how I didn't care how much the baby weighed. And that she was coming out regardless. Ten minutes after my doctor had checked me, I started feeling lots of pressure. The tech, still not impressed, told the nurse, "She SAYS she's feeling pressure." The nurse rechecks me and responds with, "That's because she is complete." Still in triage at this point.
They rushed me across the hall to the nearest room where I can hear my doctor say,"If we don't get her on the bed now, we are going to have to deliver this baby on the gurney." Awesome. I crawl onto the bed, which turns out to be broken. They can't get it to break down. They wheel the cart in and everything starts falling off of it. My doctor lifts up the sheet on me to check me and lo and behold there is the head... He throws on a pair of gloves (no time for anything else), sits down on the end of my bed and says ever so calmly, "Julia if you feel like you need to push, go ahead." Two pushes, my water breaks. Three pushes, out she comes sans epidural, IV, and monitor at 8:05.
We were in a state of shock. We have another baby?!?! Just 45 minutes ago we were driving to the hospital. An hour ago, we were sitting down to eat tacos. What just happened??? We called our parents to tell them the news and they did not believe us until they heard her crying. She did great, APGARS 9 and 9. She weighed 7lb, 4 oz and was 20 inches long.

The next morning my Mom came over, there was snow and ice and she was worried about driving in the dark, and some friends brought Noah up to the hospital. He was so excited to meet his baby sister.
He wanted to hold her the whole time... and did not want anyone else, other than Brian and I, to have a turn.
Our new family of four...
It was a crazy whirlwind delivery. Probably not how I would have chosen to do it, but it ended up being good. It was painful, but then it was over before we really knew what was going on. Hopefully, if there is a number three, we can get to the hospital with a little more time, and hopefully... The rest of her life will not be quite as dramatic as her beginning. :)

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