Introducing....

Yorlee Belle aka "Bunny"

Born on Saturday, December 25, 2010 at 11:16AM.  She weighs 7lbs 1 oz and is 19 3/4 inches long.

To say that I'm in love is an understatement.  I can't stop staring at her, and I STILL can't believe that she's mine!


Birth Story:
Labor was intense, but it was only 8 hours from start to finish.  And I didn't require any stitches or have any major tearing so I guess I really shouldn't complain.  My midwife said that I just have a few "scratches" but they didn't require any attention, and they don't hurt at all.

I had been "crampy" since about 3PM on Friday afternoon.  And I was irritable.  SUPER irritable.  I pretty much hated everyone and I wasn't sure why.  The Braxton Hicks I was experiencing weren't really painful so I didn't think they were the real deal or that I was in labor.

Finally I noticed that they were coming every 5 minutes, still painless.  I took note but still didn't think labor was coming.  My husband and I continued watching episodes of 24 on Netflix and then I decided to take a dose of castor oil to get things moving along.  That was at 8PM.

The castor oil gave me it's usual side effects, frequent trips to the restroom, but I just KNEW it didn't work.  My braxton hicks contractions still didn't hurt although they were still regular.

After another trip to the restroom, I noticed some bloody discharge.  I thought it was just residual discharge from when I had my membranes stripped on Thursday.  But something told me it was different.  I mentioned it to my husband and he said I should call the midwife on duty and ask her about it.  By that time it was around 2:30AM and I just didn't feel like being on the phone.  So I told him that I'd call in the morning and got in the bed.  I had been laying down for maybe 20 minutes when I felt this weird pinching sensation in my belly and literally heard a POP!  I told my husband that I was in pain, and then went to get out the bed to go to the bathroom when I felt a gush.  My water broke!!  My husband was out of the bed putting clothes on in seconds.  I rushed to the bathroom and sat on the toilet, then when the water stopped leaking I grabbed a sanitary napkin to put on and put on a sweatshirt, and we were out the door.  Once in the car, I called the midwife on duty to let her know that we were on our way.  We arrived at the hospital in 20 minutes and I was sent to Triage.  The contractions had really started to pick up and hurt in the car, and I was concerned because I hadn't felt Bunny move since my water broke.  I was really rushing through the questioning in Triage and couldn't wait to be put on the monitors.

Once the monitors were put on, I was able to relax.  Bunny's heart rate was normal.  Thank goodness!!!  They then checked me to see if I was indeed leaking amniotic fluid and performed an internal exam.  I was 3 centimeters dilated and 70% effaced.  The midwife could feel the hair on Bunny's head.  She left out to get the results and came back to say it was negative for amniotic fluid.  I knew I wasn't crazy.  Either way she told me that they were going to admit me because my contractions were regular and I was obviously in pain.  I shifted in bed and felt another gush, and my husband told the midwife so that she could come collect another sample.  By this time I was still having my bloody show so I went to the bathroom to get cleaned up.  When I came back out my husband told me the test was positive, I was really in labor!!

They did a quick ultrasound to ensure Bunny was head down, I got my fluid IV put in, and we were admitted and transferred to a room.

By the time we made it to our room.  I was in agony.  The pain was so intense, and coming so quickly that I didn't know what to do.  I opted to have an epidural.  By the time the team from anesthesia came to the room, I was done.  I was in so much pain that all I could do was grab the bed rails during contractions.  They put the epidural in super fast, and then I started to feel some relief.

My sisters came to the hospital at the point, and I was able to chat with them for a while.  After about 10 minutes, I was in intense pain again.  I asked them to go back to the lobby and wait for awhile so I could figure out what was going on.  Then my back started to hurt.  That pain was like no other!!  The nurse called anesthesia back to top off my epidural again.  They were confused because I hadn't had it in for long.  It was probably about an hour.  The top off didn't do A THING!!  Oh, I was so frustrated.  They thought they should check me again to see if I was progressing.  I was 5 centimeters.  I was turned on my side so Bunny could ease her way down the birth canal and under my pelvic bone.  After that, the pain increased.  It wasn't coming in waves or intervals, it was constant.  I could barely breathe through them.  The back pain was so intense that my husband was applying constant counter pressure.

Finally, I reached a point where the pain was never ending.  One contraction would run into another.  My back was KILLING me, and I was in panic mode.  I was groaning and sweating and feeling like I was going to vomit.  The midwife decided to check me again, and announced that I was completely dilated.  I don't know why, but I burst into tears.  I think I was just scared and overwhelmed.  She had me do some practice pushing, as they gathered the necessary supplies for the birth.

I didn't really feel as though I was pushing effectively.  And I was scared of going to the bathroom.  (Remember, I took castor oil, LOL!)  One of the midwives suggested giving me a mirror.  That was the best thing I could have done.  I was able to push her out because I could see what I was doing.

I pushed for 45 minutes, and then, Bunny was out!  I was able to reach down and pull her out and immediately cuddle with her for a good 30-45 minutes before they clamped and cut the cord.  She pooped on her way out and it was everywhere!  But we didn't care.  It was on the bed, on my gown, on the controls to the TV, LOL!  She had her first blowout on her way out the womb.  All in all, my labor and delivery was 8 hours from start to finish.  Not too bad.  She started latching on immediately and has been a champ ever since.  I can't wait until my milk comes in so I feel like I'm doing something instead of being her pacifier.  But I know she's getting the necessary nutrients from my colostrum.

I'm so in love!  And so happy that she's healthy.  Everything has been going great so far, I can't wait for the soreness to go away, but other than that it's wonderful!  We waited so long for this precious girl, I'm so glad she's mine!