Happy Birthday Sweet Capri
March 12, 2012
10:39am
7lbs 14 oz
19 inches long
March 10th came and went without a sign of Capri. The tiny clothes in her drawer were folded and rearranged several times the next two days. I was anxious to meet her, but almost glad for the extra time to let the fact that I was about to become a mother sink in. My Doctor convinced that being induced Monday the 12th would be the best thing if she didn’t come on her due date. I was super hesitant about being induced because I wanted her to come when she was ready, I wouldn’t want to be forced into this world if I wasn’t ready either. I felt a little selfish by choosing to be induced. My reasons were that I didn’t want to deliver a huge baby, but mostly I wanted to give myself time to recover before moving the next week.
Landon’s Mom, Steve, Val, and Kiley wanted to be to Capri’s birthday party and drove to Arizona on Saturday and stayed with us . Our one bedroom apartment gets cozy, but it was like a big sleepover. We went swimming in the warm Arizona weather, had yummy dinners, and enjoyed visiting. I was almost embarrassed to go to church on Sunday because I got a substitute for my Relief Society lesson and told everyone the week before that I was planning on having a baby and wouldn’t be there. After church Landon and I went on a walk with Val and Kiley. I wanted to do what I could to make the baby drop. My Mom had “floating babies” and ended up having C-sections because her babies never dropped, even in active labor. Dr. Bass told me the baby was still pretty high at my previous appointment and it made me worry that I would be in the same situation as my Mom. I had so much energy on our walk that I told Landon I felt like running, and next thing you know…. I was jogging down the street. I got some strange looks from the cars passing by, I guess you don’t see a full term pregnant women running everyday with a huge smile on her face.
Landon made a delicious Sunday dinner. We were about to sit down to pot roast, potatoes, and rolls when I got a phone call from the hospital telling me they had a bed ready and asked me to come to the hospital in an hour. I didn’t think they would call me to come in earlier than scheduled. I got so nervous that I’m pretty sure I didn’t tell the nurse on the other end of the phone goodbye. I quickly gathered my things, took a shower (cried a few nervous tears in the shower) and tried to relax enough to enjoy dinner. I had been so composed about having a baby, hosting family, last minute plans to move and find an apartment, that my sudden nervousness surprised myself. I feel like I've been handling the unknown rather well for disliking it so much. All along I wanted someone to tell me “it was time” to have a baby; so what happens when someone tells me “it is time?” I cry. We got to the hospital and checked in, I imagined walking in with intense labor pains about to deliver a baby any second like the movies, but instead I felt like I was checking into a hotel, I was much calmer at this point. Before the nurse showed us to our room, she had me step on the scale to check my weight. For the first time I was pleased with my 31lb weight gain; at least I knew that the weight gain would stop there! Actually, I think I've done pretty well with the weight gain and body changes, though it was overwhelming at first. I gained weight quickly in the beginning and was worried that pace would continue, but once I realized how blessed I was to create life and carry a child, it didn’t matter anymore. I was willing to gain 80lbs just to have a healthy happy baby. Funny enough, once I accepted the body changing process, I enjoyed my pregnant belly much more and the weight gain slowed down.
Landon and I made ourselves as comfortable as we could in our room. We were both kind of quiet, not knowing what to expect. Landon sat by me and held my hand for a little while and then we decided we might as well try and get some sleep.
The hospital where I delivered was a baby factory, I was one of the first of 19 deliveries that day. We later learned that the majority of deliveries at that hospital are induced labors. The nurses call these 9-5 babies, and they are certainly most convenient for the doctors. It’s common to have the patient to come in at midnight, slowly labor through the night, the doctor breaks the patient’s water before he heads into the office at nine the next morning, and hopes to catch a baby before he leaves the office at five. I followed the routine to some extent, but I was told I delivered much quicker than most inductions.
Even though I arrived at the hospital Sunday evening, I wasn’t started on Pitocin until midnight. My doctor stopped in to see me at 2am after attending to an emergency and decided to break my water. I was a little uneasy because I had seen the giant crochet cook they use to do it with and was told by a friend that it was painful. My body was even shaking, but I didn’t feel a thing… except water. My doctor told me that I should consider getting an epidural at that point since my contractions would get much stronger with my water being broken. I was hooked up to a monitor that read the intensity of my contractions; the nurse showed me that my contractions would be reaching between the top two lines when I was in active labor and pushing. My contractions were that strong within an hour. She came in a few times to check on me and see if I wanted an epidural yet because they were so strong. I was talking through the contractions just fine and feeling great. A little while later the anesthesiologist knocked on the door to ask if I wanted my epidural. I thought, “these contractions must be more intense than I think they are, why does everyone else think I need an epidural?” The anesthesiologist has a 24 hour shift and sleeps in the hospital, she was up already giving another patient an epidural so I’m sure she probably just wanted to do mine while she was awake. I agreed, and like having my water broken, I was a little uneasy about the process, but pleasantly surprised that it was nothing like I expected. It felt like a bee sting to say the least. With the epidural I could still feel when I was having a contraction and I was able to move my legs around, which was exactly what I hoped for. I wanted to feel my body, but not the pain. I loved having an epidural, I was relaxed enough to sleep. I was actually asleep when three nurses rushed into my room, turned the lights on, rolled me over, and gave me a shot in the arm before I could ask what was going on. They talked calm, but moved like something was wrong. I guess my laboring so quickly put the baby in stress and her heart rate dropped drastically. The nurses gave me the shot to stop my labor and took me off the Pitocin IV drip. Even though I recognized the seriousness of the situation, I felt calm, like everything would be just fine. I was given oxygen and labored on my own the rest of the night until my doctor came in at about 8:30am. He checked me out and told me I’d have a baby by lunchtime.
Landon and I just waited together. We opened the blinds and watched the most beautiful Arizona sunrise… without saying; we knew we wanted to remember that sunrise as the beginning of a very special day. Four years ago I barely knew Landon. Three years ago I married him knowing he would make a wonderful husband and father. That day he was going to become a father and I couldn’t believe we were at that point; I wanted to freeze time for a second. A love story that only began four years ago, now welcoming a baby and continuing into forever.
My delivery nurses were wonderful, but I think every mom to be says that. It just feels so nice when someone takes care of you before you even know what you need. They do some unpleasant jobs, but I’m sure it’s all worth it when they get to be a part of so many babies entering the world. My nurse checked me about 10am and told me I was ready to have a baby. She called Doctor Bass and it seemed like he took a long time to get there. He came in chatting, sat on the chair to change his shoes, put on his gown, etc. I thought there was supposed to be hustle and bustle all around when delivering a baby, but every one was taking their time and calm as could be. I only pushed through three contractions before Capri entered the world. I was afraid I wouldn’t know what to do, but your body does, it’s amazing. I am not sure if this is the way to describe what I was feeling when it comes to labor, but it was such a sense of accomplishment. I think I would have enjoyed the process even more if I knew it was going to be much easier than I expected.
Capri didn’t make a peep in her first few moments of life. Her eyes were widely looking around and they told me she was fine. I don’t even remember her crying at all, but I’m sure she did eventually. They laid her on my chest and there was no need for introductions. It was like we knew her all along. We just stared at each other. We loved her.
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