Enter The Princess

I'd been told by many that your second birth is supposed to be faster and easier than your first. This was not the case for me.

On April 13, 2008, I was feeling some mild contractions, but nothing major. Seeing as how it was the first nice, semi-warm day in awhile, we decided to take a walk around town. We walked up hills, down hills, to the hardware store and to Ethan's school. I'd say, all in all, it was a little more than a mile all together that we walked. I was so happy when we finally came back to our house. My contractions were starting to pick up. I decided to time them for a couple of hours. I sat on my aerobics ball. I rocked through each contraction, and tried to chat with my friend Jamie when she called. After 2 hours, the contractions were 8 minutes apart, and since we had an hour long drive to the hospital ahead of us, I called Maternity and told them I was in labor. They told me to come right in. David was skeptical, saying I was probably having false labor. We loaded up my labor bag and Ethan into the car, and headed to my Sister In Law's house to drop Ethan off with his aunt and uncle. We then headed to the hospital. The whole way, my contractions were between 6 and 8 minutes apart, and painful. I was trying hard not to tense my body, but I'd never felt my contractions like this with Ethan.

We arrived at the hospital at 5:30PM. We checked in the the L&D Nurses, and they gave me a room and a gown and checked me. I was at 3 1/2 CM. They asked if I'd like to try a walk around the hospital for a half hour to see if anything changed. David and I agreed, and started our walk. We chatted about the arrival, and when a contraction came, I would stop and breath through it while David talked to me. After our walk, we went back to my room, where I was checked again, and was told I'd made it to 4 CM, and I was contracting every 5 to 6 minutes. They called my doctor, and told me I was having a baby. David was shocked! He still thought I was going to be sent home! I was given an IV and about an hour after that, I was given an epidural to help me sleep through the night. Though, this epidural was unlike the one I'd had with Ethan. I could feel my legs move, and I was barely numb at all. After the epidural, my contractions started to slow, so they gave me pitocin to help them along. At about 9PM, I started trying to get some rest, but was anxious and nervous about the birth. I slept on and off. I caught a little under 5 hours of sleep all night. I could still feel my contractions. The nurse kept having to come in and move the heart monitor around because the baby would move when they found her. At 7AM, David and I were up for the day. My doctor came in at 8AM and checked me. I was 5CM. She broke my water, and announced that today was indeed the day! I was nervous and excited. I couldn't wait to meet my daughter!

At 11Am, I noticed I was starting to feel my contractions. I was nervous, because I'd never felt that before. I called my nurse, and she checked my epidural and told me that it was still on. I relaxed a little. At 11:30AM, the pain was unberable, and I was feeling the urge to push. My body just kept doing it on it's own. I called the nurse again, and she came in and said I was at 9 1/2. She called my doctor. At noon, I was ready to push. So began the pain. My epidural had worn off. I started pushing. I pushed..And pushed..And pushed, but really felt I wasn't making any progress. They turned me on my right side, my left side, my back. I was crying, screaming and pushing. The pain was terrible. I tried my hardest not to scream and use my energy just for pushing, but it was so hard. Sometimes, my body just wouldn't remain silent. An hour after I started pushing, they brought in an ultrasound machine to see if they could see how the she was positioned in the birth canal. She was face up. Everyone tried to encourage me, telling my I could do this. David put cold cloths on my forehead and told me I was doing a great job. Another hour later, they started turning me from side to side again. I was exhausted. My energy was drained. They asked if I'd like to use a vacuum, and I said I would. I just didn't have the strength to do it on my own anymore. After a few pushes, she crowned enough for the vacuum to be placed on her head. A half hour later, she was in my arms. At 2:37PM, April 14, 2008, Claire was born perfectly. She cried, and I cried right along with her. I held her close to my chest and thanked her for making her arrival. Ethan visited and was proud to hold his baby sister for the first time.