Thursday, November 13 started out like a crappy, yet boring day. Gene went to work. I went to my obstetrician. Of course the car died on the way, but a random stranger came to my aid. I made it to the doctor's office. She informed me I was 3 cm dilated, and my cervix was nice and soft. Would Monday morning be a good time to induce? Of course! That would give me one last weekend of freedom.
Well, by 11:00 a.m. the contractions were coming regularly, but they weren't very painful. Gene left work early. By supper time I was hurting a little and the contractions were around 3 minutes apart. We decided it was time to go to the hospital. Good timing! By the time we got there the pain was intense. Luckily my nurse was nice and sped things up as much as she could... I am sure my cries of pain got them hustling, too. I was progressing quickly, it seemed.
Ever try peeing in a cup, then getting an IV, then getting an epidural in the midst of painful contractions? I wouldn't recommend it!
Things seemed to go normally for a few hours... I got to 9 cm dilated... then it went down the toilet. The baby's heartbeat suddenly dropped from the 140s to the 50s and lower. There was a lot of commotion, and even Gene was helping unplug the monitors so they could rush me into surgery. If the doctor hadn't had such a forceful personality, everyone else would've panicked and fallen apart... and I probably wouldn't have delivered a live baby.
So they rushed me in, hauled me on the table, and got to work. I asked the anesthesiologist if it was going to hurt. He said "I'm so sorry." There wasn't time to get me properly numbed. So it was a painful c-section. Very painful. The anesthesiologist was a nice guy, and talked to me the whole time. It was all over in minutes, and I heard my little girl cry! The doctor later said that was the fastest she has ever moved.
She measured a mighty 5 lbs. 12 oz. and 19 inches long.
Go figure my child would make an entrance that gets everyone upset! They brought in Gene so he could see the baby. There hadn't been time to put up curtains, so he saw them sewing me up. Poor guy! But he brought Emeline over, and she was so calm! I'll never forget seeing those blue eyes for the first time. She was so beautiful and serene.
Turns out the umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck once and around her body four times. It was also abnormally thin; about as thick as my pinky. Emeline really is a miracle baby! I still can't believe how healthy and perfect she is.
Perfect ending to a nightmarish night.
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