Rory Eileen - Birth Story

At 6:50am on 2/11/2011 I arrived at the hospital for my 7am induction. After an hour of putting information into the computer I finally got a pelvic exam. I was at 3cm, 80% effaced, -1 station and having 4 minute contractions on my own. At 8am the nurse hooked me up to pitocin and the dosage got upped every 30 minutes until my contractions were both 2 minutes apart and strong. After hours of being on pitocin my dr decided to break my water around 3:30pm as I had only progressed to 4cm. Before breaking my water I had requested the epidural to be put in place after the doc was done. The contraction after he broke my water was much more intense than all the previous I had had and they just kept getting stronger. At 4:13pm the anesthesiologist showed up in my room and by 4:17pm my epidural was in place. Within minutes my contraction pains were almost completely gone - it was amazing. About an hour and a half after receiving my epi the nurse went ahead and checked me and at that point I had progressed from my 4cm to 6cm - almost 7cm. From 6:30pm to 7:30pm my body took another leap and I went from 6/7cm to 9cm. At this time my dr called from the hospital across town and said that he was doing an emergency c-section and wouldn't be over to my hospital for probably an hour so for me to labor down. He said to get her as close to coming out as possible before starting to push and therefore my nurse told me that when I felt a constant pressure like I needed to poop to tell her and she would do another exam. About 40 minutes later I asked the nurse to do the exam and she barely got her fingertip in and said, "Well you're right. Her head is right there." She went on and called my dr who arrived around 8:20pm and the nurse had just had me start pushing. It took about 5 contractions and 20 minutes once my dr sat down to push out Rory. It was the most amazing experience I've ever had - an experience that went so well because I got my epidural I am certain of that. I was really in no pain but could still feel enough to push out our little girl quickly. On top of having a wonderful labor I also didn't need an episiotomy. My dr did an outstanding job stretching me out as she was crowning. I ended up with a small first degree tear on the inside that took about 4 stitches. Rory Eileen was born at 8:45pm, 8.5lbs and 21 inches long. Her chest and head were both 14 inches in diameter. My dr was so proud of me and kept saying, "You did a great job and I'm impressed that a girl your size pushed out a child her size". The entire time I was getting stitched up and everything else pushed out of me Joshua was able to assist the nurses and spend about 45 minutes alone with our daughter. I'm so glad he was able to do that and happy he was in the room to be my support person because he was terrific.

On 2/12//2011 the day after giving birth everyone could tell my body had taken a toll. The nurses were sort of amazed at how swollen I was. I could barely get out of bed and then the pressure I had while walking was a feeling I can't explain. I took my first sitz bath that morning and then proceeded to take two more throughout the day. They are fantastic!

Today - 2/13/2011 has been a complete turn around for me swelling wise and I give complete credit to the sitz baths and witch hazel pads. I can walk around and get out of bed without too much achiness. When the nurse checked me today she said I am still swollen and have pretty bad bruising that will stick around for a while. As long as I can walk I'm okay with that! We got to come home around 11:30am. Rory is doing amazing and I can't imagine life without her now. She is going to bring so much love and joy to our lives.

First feeding right after being born in recovery

Almost 12hrs old

Almost 12 hrs old