Piper's Birth

My pregnancy with Piper couldn't have gone any better.  Well, I could have done without some nausea in the beginning but it wasn't bad compared to what some endure.  I enjoyed being pregnant.  I loved feeling her move inside me.  I didn't get really uncomfortable until about the last month.  I think I gained about 25 pounds.  I didn't seem to gain much in my face, which I did with the other two.  This time I didn't have a big appetite.  I actually didn't crave much and didn't really feel like eating a whole lot.  I didn't feel sick.  It was just that nothing sounded good to me.  I did NOT want Subway.  I definitely had more food aversions then cravings.  I ate a lot of salad and baked potatoes, fruit, and yogurt with granola.  For some reason, those things always sounded good to me.  Meat was not appealing to me at all.  I didn't really have back pain either.  My back actually hurt more when I wasn't pregnant.  Probably having better posture and sleeping on my side rather than my stomach helped my back not hurt.  I did have to pee a lot though.  Overall, my pregnancy was great.  I loved being pregnant. 

Piper was 3 months old yesterday.  The past 3 three months have really gone fast despite the crying.  Piper was born on November 5, 2012 at 5:14pm.  (My due date was on the 8th)  My water broke at about 6:15am that morning.  It really surprised me because my water never broke with Grace or Lyla.  I wasn't actually sure if my water broke or not.  I went ahead and got Grace and Lyla up for school and did everything to get them out the door.  I didn't tell them we might be having a baby today!  As I went about my business it became apparent that my water had indeed broken.  My contractions had not started though. 

When the girls left for school I called my doctor and she said it sounded like my water did break and I should just go on into the hospital.  Since my contractions had not started, I went ahead and took a shower, fixed my hair and put on makeup.  After I had done all of that and had my bag ready, I laid down on the couch to see if I could feel any contractions.  I did but they were pretty weak.  We went ahead and left for the hospital around 10am.  By the time we were checked in and in a room it was 11:45am.  Dr. Crowe stopped by around 12:30pm.  Beulah got there and we walked the hallways from 12:50-1:30pm.  This is when the contractions really started to kick in.  By the time we stopped walking the contractions were getting to where I couldn't talk through it.  When we got back to the room I got in the shower.  The shower was great.  It really helped distract from the pain.  I would have stayed in the shower the whole time but they kept making me get out every 45 minutes to monitor me. The last time I got in the shower was at 3pm.  When they made me get out the next time the contractions were really, really strong.  While I was in the shower I was managing it.  But as soon as I hit that bed to be monitored and a contraction hit, I couldn't handle it.  It was intense.  The contractions were coming about a minute and a half apart.  The part that made it even harder was that in between the contractions it still hurt really bad because I could feel her moving inside of me.  Every move she made hurt like crazy.  I started not handling it well and I think I started holding my breath maybe.  At this point things started getting fuzzy.  I couldn't open my eyes during a contraction.  Then they made me put on an oxygen mask and they wouldn't let me get back in the shower.  I wasn't progressing too quickly at this point.  I had been around the 8-9 mark the last two times they checked me.  That was discouraging and I started to feel like I couldn't make it.  I started asking if I could get an epidural.  I know I wasn't thinking very clearly.  I kept saying it needs to be over and can I get an epidural.  I don't think I really wanted an epidural but the pain was so intense I wasn't focusing and breathing like I had practiced.  I couldn't pull it together because there was never a break in pain to regain my composure.  So, as soon as I started asking for an epidural, they got that guy in there immediately.  He was quick.  I got the epidural at 4:05pm.  By 5pm I was as a 10.  I pushed through 4 contractions and out she came at 5:14pm.  It was interesting that this time I could feel her coming underneath my pelvis bone.  The pressure of her moving, without the pain.  I had no trouble pushing and just had one small tear that required one stitch.  Everything went smoothly once she was out. 

Piper weighed 7lbs 3.4oz and was 19.25 inches long.  She had light colored hair like Lyla but looked like both Grace and Lyla.  She wanted to suck as soon as she was born.  She latched on to me very quickly and easily.  She also got her two middle fingers in her mouth to suck on immediately too.  Mom brought Grace and Lyla to meet Piper while we were still in the delivery room.  Everyone thought she was beautiful, of course.  They couldn't believe they had a baby sister.  Joni also came with Reesi and Elye.  Joni said that on the way out of the hospital that night Elye asked her "when is Piper going to grow up so I can have my baby bed back?"

When we were ready to move to our post-partum room I was actually nursing.  I kept nursing the whole way up to our room while riding in a wheel chair.  Piper never came off.  She was a great nurser from the start!  Once we were settled in our room, the nurse came and bathed Piper right in front of us in our room.  Grace and Lyla were taken to the nursery for their first baths.  That was nice to be there for the bath.  She screamed the whole time but I just kept smiling.  She was so adorable.

The hospital now has very soft swaddle blankets (different from when I had Grace and Lyla).  She was so cuddly in that swaddle.  That little head got a million kisses, I know. 

The next day we had a lot of visitors.  The girls had the day off of school, just by chance.  So my mom brought them to the hospital and Julie and Easton came too.  Grace and Lyla figured out that they liked lying skin to skin with Piper.  They would take their shirts off and put her on their chests and cover up with a blanket. 

The other visitors we had were Chris Smith, from church, Stephanie Scott, Shannon Nelson, Darla Gray, Dan and Amy Spann, and Jonathon Mankin.

The doctors figured out that I had tested positive for Group B Strep while I was pregnant but they didn't see it in my chart until after the delivery.  They were supposed to have given me an antibiotic during labor but they didn't.  So, we had to stay in the hospital a full 48 hours from the time of delivery to monitor Piper for any signs of infection in her.  So we didn't get to leave until 5:30pm on Wednesday evening.  She showed any signs of infection.

Looking back on the labor and delivery, I do wish I could have made it the whole way without an epidural.  I wish I could have gotten back in the shower.  I wonder if that would have made a difference.  But, the epidural did make the end more pleasant for sure!  And because she was born pretty soon after getting it, she didn't get too much exposure to the medicine.  She was VERY alert and stayed awake a long time after delivery.  And she nursed right away.  I don't know if her alertness had anything to do with the her not getting too much pain medicine but "they" say babies are more alert and eager to nurse when moms don't get the epidural. 

In the end, we had a healthy baby and a safe delivery.  We couldn't ask for anything better!