Tiffany Jubilee, You Are A Miracle

I had Tiffany Jubilee early this morning (6 lbs 2 oz and at 1204 but that is all I know) :)
Yesterday I went in to be induced in Rochester. So we get there at 7 and at 845 I got cytotec to dialate my cervix. At 12 they came in to check me and all I had done was eface a little. That is when it happened, they said that the surgical team was unaware that I was scheduled for a Friday. The surgeon does surgeries on Wednesdays so they would have said to induce me on Monday. So they were going to send me home, we didn't have a vehicle at the hospital, it was at Jim's aunt and uncle's house so we didn't have to pay parking and they lived on the other side of Rochester. They both work, he works late and Joann worked until 3. So we were stranded in very cold weather to walk around in so we could kill a couple of hours when they released me at 1. I was having contractions, I want to say before 945. The cytotec was doing that for me, I guess. I just chalked it up to the typical "cramping" that occurs. So we were walking around for a while, I had lunch, and then we went back to the hospital to wait another 20 minutes or so for Jim's aunt. The contractions were a little stronger but I figured the cytotec was going to wear off soon. Jim and I are just about out of Rochester when the contractions were getting worse, at around 4. They were not letting up at all so I went straight to bed when I got home and about 10 minutes later I was feeling well enough to go lay on the couch to say good-bye to my grandmother and aunt then let my kids see me and verbally interact with them. Now I was still having contractions at this time but they were pretty subtle. I was laying down for some time and the contractions returned full force so I went back to the bedroom. They just kept getting worse and worse so I called Rochester and they said if I felt like it was happening to come back in or go to the hospital in town. Before we left I asked what to do in this exact situation and the WONDERFUL nurse let me know that if need be they do have a wonderful transport team for Tiffany if we delivered in Albert Lea. I love that nurse, her name is Pam. She, according to Jim (I wasn't looking at her) had a more disgusted face then we did when they told us that they were not ready for us to deliver. So I called Albert Lea and they said I could come in, get checked, and see if I could make it back to Rochester. At 7, we finally decided to go to the hospital to at least get checked. I got there around 730, I can't remember some details from here on out. I was dialated 3 cm and my body was not stopping. I got some IV drugs and they did take some edge off. They were starting to get me ready to go in the ambulance to Rochester when the doctor said that she didn't feel comfortable letting me go with how fast my contractions were and it was too cold to fly. Plus, I would not have been able to get a spinal block before it was too late. Shortly after that I did get the spinal block, which is the most they do here. The spinal block lasted for a short time. The itching outweighed the contractions so I opted to just use a little more IV pain meds and a Benedryl. I don't know how much time passed but I spent a lot of time on the birthing ball and then got in bed to be checked, the last time I had asked to be checked, and I was 8 cm. I think I got on the ball for a couple more minutes then back to bed. I began pushing at around 1154 and at 1204 Tiffany arrived. Her heart was having a hard time so I really had to get her out, they said. It took me some time to mentally get myself to continuously push the correct way, it was like I kept forgetting how in the middle of a push.
I never got to hold Tiffany, her lesion was open, and from what I can see in a photo it was open a lot. I think plastics will have to get involved. I don't know any details of anything because I really was not functional after her birth.
She has a beautiful face and I can't wait to hold her. We baptized her and I did touch her hand, foot, cheek, and nose a lot when she was in the transport set-up. I am feeling okay as of right now but I think I need to hold her soon so I stay feeling okay. They may release me today so I can go see her. I am feeling great as far as just delivering a baby so I think it might just happen.

Hello Maggie, I am your Mommy

I had an appointment at 11:45 am for a stress test on Wednesday (December 16th). I was hooked up for a while but Maggie did not want to move so the nurse gave me some orange juice but she still did not want to move. Finally the nurse took out the pulse thingy to send vibrations into the womb, you know annoy her to move. Well, she decided she would move a couple times and then go right back to sleep. The nurse then unhooked me and I waited ---- minutes to talk to the doctor. When Dr. Larson came we talked about how I was contracting but not making a lot of progress. I was checked, 2 1/2 to 3 cm and 75% efaced. I told him that I didn't want to really be induced but my doula, Joni, was going to be gone over the weekend and then it would be getting too close to Christmas. So then he told me that if I wanted to be induced (and he suggested to do so since I had the issues I did) and wanted him to deliver her then I would have to do it Thursday (tomorrow) or Monday. He also gave me the option of Friday but Joni was going to be gone and I wasn't sure if I would deliver fast enough for her to be able to leave when she needed to. By that point I was sick of the contractions and not sleeping that I said I would go home to talk to Jim and Joni. I called Jim as I was walking to the van and he told me yes and to go talk to Joni since I was across the street from her place. I couldn't get a hold of Joni so I went home to wait for her to call me back. To pass some time I went on Facebook and noticed that Joni had left me a message. I said she was sorry but she didn't think she could doula for me anymore. And since everyone knows her little secret I can say why she couldn't doula for me. She said she was pregnant and didn't feel well enough to be in the delivery room. I was so excited and sad at the same time. It was perfectly understandable since I probably wouldn't have been able to do it myself with morning sickness. And at that point Jim and I decided to go ahead with the induction. So I quickly checked to see who was on chat and found Rachel to ask if she had Rae's phone number. She didn't have it so I called Carrie but she wasn't home. I knew Carrie would know how to get a hold of Rae so I called her at work. Hehe. She gave me Rae's cell phone and home number. I called and HURRAY I got a hold of Rae. I told her I was going to the hospital to be induced and Joni was ill and had a family thing going on so she couldn't make it. That was around 1:00 pm. Rae was very willing to stand in for Joni. I went to the hospital, called Rae to let her know I was hooked up and that she could start heading over. I was hooked up at 2:55 pm and Rae came at about 3:30 pm. We talked for a while about my birth plan, television, and other little things. I was feeling great! I don't remember what time I started to feel the active laboring contractions, but at about 5:55 I went into intense labor. I was checked and was dialated 3 cm. So I went to the bathroom and then walked the hall, it probably took me 20 minutes just to walk down and back one hall. I got back to my room and asked for Nubain at about 6:30 pm just to take the edge off, I knew it wasn't going to be a long labor. I was checked before I received the Nubain and was dialated 5 cm, 80% efaced, and my sac had a lot of pressure to it. The Nubain really did NOTHING for me! I got into bed around 7:00 pm and my water broke shortly thereafter. I was dialated only about 1 cm more at that point, not too depressing to me. I was in a lot of pain though so I asked for an Epidural. I was pretty crazy with pain and the Epi wasn't coming fast enough. I have NEVER been so nasty in my life, so no more natural for me. I don't like myself like that. I am so sorry you had to put up with me, Rae. I honestly have no idea how long I was waiting, but at about 7:42 pm I kind of had the pushing urge. The urge came SO quickly that I couldn't even speak when Rae asked me if I felt the need to push. Actually, when she asked me all I could do is say, "YES, YES, YES!" in my head. I seriously could not get the words out. I was checked at 7:43 pm and was dialated 10 cm. Good thing everyone, except the doctor though, was in the room all ready for me to push because the nurse barely got her hand out and Maggie's head popped out. I still have no idea where all those nurses came from, but *poof* they were there! I was told not to push just yet and I wasn't, Rae and I even tried to do the 'pah-pah' breathing. She literally forced her way out. And then Jennifer, a nurse, told me to push, push, push. I pushed one, maybe two good pushes and she was out! Maggie was born at 7:45 pm. It was 2 minutes of "pushing" if you didn't catch that. I only pushed for 10 minutes with Japheth and was in labor maybe for about 6 hours at most. Next time I will tell them to have the doctor stand at the end of the bed to catch because there is no way I will be in labor for more than 3 hours at this rate.

I can safely say I did do it without drugs, because the Nubain doesn't count since it did NOTHING! I remember saying to Rae that I didn't think I could do it without drugs and she told me I already did. It makes me laugh because I was trying to say that I don't think I could do it again . I also remember saying that the Epidural guy must have been having ladies aid because he was taking so long. He actually started walking in the door and was pushed right back out because Maggie was pretty much out already.

I had no tears, obviously no stiches, not one thing! Such a perfect delivery, except the made-me-into-a-nasty-person pain. I still can't get over how horrible I was, not pretty at all.

Margret May Kassera
8 lbs
20 inches in length
APGARs 9 and 9

Pregnant with Japheth

I woke up one morning to go to my new job, which I had just started two weeks before, not feeling well and had vomitted. I had a feeling I was pregnant so as soon as I walked out of the bathroom I walked over to Jim and said, "Happy Father's Day!" The funniest part was it actually was father's day. So I called work and told them that I was not feeling well and that if I am feeling better I will call to say I was coming in later. Two days later, on my birthday, I went to the doctor and it was confirmed that I was indeed pregnant. Then four days after my birthday we went home to celebrate our one year anniversary and told everyone that we were expecting. I called my Grandmother who was in New York at the time to tell her. I said, "I have good news and I think you should sit down." She immediately said, "Your pregnant." She sounded like she was not happy and then I heard my Aunt Neva in the background say, "Well, congratulate her." I was so hurt that the moment I got off the phone I started to bawl. My Grandmother has accepted it and loves Japheth so much.
That was one of the best weeks of my life.