Charlotte Hazel Chance

Wow! What a whirlwind the last week has been. I was never able to post a 39 Week Bumpdate, but somewhere in between Friday night (7/18) and Saturday (7/19) I did take one last bump shot because I had a feeling it would be my last bump pic!

39 Weeks!

I don't know really where to start, but first I would like to thank everyone for all the calls, texts, gifts, flowers, etc. Being away from family and friends in Hawaii has been really hard on me, but there was no shortage of love when Charlotte arrived, that is for sure! 

Ok, so for the birth story.... If you are having a baby soon, you may want to skip this part! :) 

Friday started pretty normally for me! I went to therapy for my back and the office staff was of course surprised to see me... "No baby yet?" so we focused on some exercises to bring Charlotte down (squats, lunges, etc) After that, I went to go get a pedicure. That was one of the last things on my to-do list! You have to have pretty toes while pushing that is for sure! It gives you something to focus on! I came home and cooked a meal to take to friend who also just had a baby. Kyle came home from work at a decent time and we decided to go to Honolulu, drop off the meal and then grab dinner. We went to La Tour Cafe (one of my favorite places) and I had tomato soup, grilled cheese and a salted caramel macaron. Afterwards, we went to Costco to stock up on a few things and then we were headed home! 

We got home and Kyle opened a bottle of wine and we started watching some TV. I started to feel a little crampy and started telling Kyle, "Hmm, I think something is happening". I asked for a little wine because I know it can help you relax in the early stages of labor. Around 9:30pm, we went upstairs to get ready for bed. I watched a little bit of Scandal (I've been re-watching the seasons on my iPad because it's that good of a show) and then tried to go to bed. Around 11:45pm,  I just couldn't sleep. I was having contractions, but they were 10-15 minutes apart and nothing regular, but strong enough to wake me up. I went into the guest bedroom and continued watching Scandal and bouncing on the birthing ball. I told Kyle to try and rest because I thought this was it. He kept checking on me and around 2:15am, he moved into the guest bedroom with me. The contractions were about 5 minutes apart and getting more and more intense. I got in the shower a few times to take some of the pain away. 

Around 4:00am, I told Kyle I was going to text our doula, Miki, that I wanted her to come over. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever plan on having a doula. After lots of research and the fact that we are 4,000 miles away from family, I knew we would be doing this without our family. In order to take some of the stress off of Kyle and because I can be a handful when I am in pain, we decided to hire a doula and it was the best decision. 

Miki arrived around 5:00am and began to do some massage on my lower back and used some oils as well. That worked until about 7:45am when I started begging to go to the hospital so that I could get the epidural. I had planned on getting some type of pain medication, but I wanted to try to labor at home for as long as possible for comfort and also to avoid a c-section and other complications. Both Kyle and Miki were hesitant because they didn't think I had progressed enough to go to the hospital. Finally, I pretty much looked at Kyle and said, "IT'S TIME TO GO...NOW" So, we quickly gathered our things and we were off. 

The ride to the hospital seemed long and I was in lots of pain. I walked into the Birth Center and said I want the epidural ASAP! I knew it was a long process. Getting anesthesiologist, bloodwork, getting IV and fluids and then finally the epidural. I got settled into triage and my pain was building. Before we left the hospital my contractions were 2 minutes apart. She was coming... FAST! 

The nurse checked me and I was 4-5cm. I was so relieved because after all the pain I was in, I hope I had made progress! They admitted me and I was moved to an L&D room. This was 9:00am. I said to the nurse that I would have the epidural by 11:00am, but she assured only 45 minutes. I continued to labor on the birthing ball, bed, anywhere I could get comfortable, but the pain was so bad! 

A nurse came in (mid contraction) to draw more blood, because the blood she previously took coagulated and was no good! UGH, I was so mad! I HATE needles and it set me off. But, I powered through and things started to get a little hazy. I had only received one IV bag of fluid, but the nurse said it was time for the epidural! PRAISE THE LORD! I got setup on the bed and honestly I didn't freak out nearly as much as I thought I would. My back was cleaned and I was told to make my back like an angry cat. I felt a tiny prick and then a little pressure, but I have to say it was not bad at all! I was so relieved and happy. Make this pain go away so I can take a nap, fix my hair and put on some makeup! YEA RIGHT! 

The epidural worked for about 10 minutes. Kyle said I was pretty loopy. They laid me on my back and said that the medicine would begin to spread out and take affect. Fast forward a few minutes and I could feel the pain again. The nurse called the doctor back in and he added more medicine to my IV. This process occurred a few times, but nothing happened, I could still feel the contractions and they were getting worse! The nurse gave me the catheter and I could feel that as well. It was more painful that receiving the epidural! I also received some Fentanyl and I was told that would make me feel like I just had a stiff drink. It did nothing for me! So, at this point, I am starting to realize, I am having this baby without pain meds! After it was all said and done, they think that my body progressed to quickly to react to the medication. They asked me if I wanted to redo the epidural, but at this point I didn't think it would work, nor could I sit still as the contractions were getting worse. 

I turned onto my side and continued to labor. This is where it got really rough and I don't remember much. Breathing had gone out the window and I was practically screaming through every contraction. Kyle would feed me ice chips if I would breathe 3 times for him. I kept having a huge desire to push, so my doctor checked me again and I was 8cm. Ahh! 2 more cm's to go before I could push. I wanted this baby out! It got to a point where I literally fell asleep between contractions because it was too much for my body. I also would throw my arm up every time I had a contraction. Kyle said I was saying things that no one could understand, just a mumbling of words and "I can't do this". My doctor told me it was ok to push if I had the urge and that was one of the only things that helped me get through the contractions. 

Around 2pm she checked me again, and it was time to push! We got situated and Kyle held one leg and Miki held the other. I began to push and my screaming got even louder! My doctor told me to push with my mouth closed, but that was easier said that done! I began pushing and a few minutes later my doctor asked if I wanted to touch her head! I reached down and sure enough, it was there! I pushed a little bit more and she was crowning. I only pushed for 20 minutes! Wow, the most intense pain ever! And yes, the ring of fire does exist! I reached down and was able to pull her out and bring her up onto my chest! Wow, such a relief to have her out! She was so purple and wasn't crying so I was immediately concerned! But, the nurse assured me all was good and a few seconds later she started crying and her color began to change! She stayed on my chest for 3 hours before they did anything to her and it was great to get to know her and she immediately started nursing! 

I am super grateful that we took Lamaze classes, even though the breathing went out the window at a certain point. Kyle was the best coach I could have ever asked for! He deserves a medal for dealing with me through the pregnancy and the labor! I tried to bite his hand one time cause I was in so much pain! He stayed focused on me and it really helped me get through. I know everyone says it, but I can't imagine doing this without him or our doula! It was really a great birth experience despite the pain! 

Long story short... Have a back up plan! The epidural doesn't always work! Thanks to our doula for capturing so many great photos of the labor experience!

Our team- Nurse Marilyn, Dr. Moore and our doula, Miki

Our family!

I could not have asked for a better doctor! She MADE my birthing experience

Snuggles with Daddy! Doesn't she look so in love with him?

Charlotte Hazel Chance
(We loved the name Charlotte and Hazel is Kyle's maternal grandmother)
7lbs 2oz and 21 inches long!

Ok, enough for now I am going back to snuggling my girl!