I wrote this post when Zetta was 10 weeks old. I figured this was a post I would want to look back on even if I posted it a year after it was written. :)
Disclaimer: This is going to be long and more information than some people really want to read, so don't say I didn't warn you! ;)
I went in for my 40 week doctor appointment on Tuesday, November 13th at 8:00am. Since it was my due date, it is procedure to have an ultrasound to check fluid levels, size, etc. Just to make sure that the baby isn't too big. Pete and I both guessed she was around the 7 pound mark, but boy we were wrong! The ultrasound tech goes well, my guess is 10.4! I was in shock! We went and met the doctor and before she got all the way in the door she said "girl, you have a big, big baby!" ha! Told me I had to go to the hospital to get induced in case they were a pound off in the other direction, making her 11.4. Since she was measuring so big she told me that I could go try to have her vaginally or could choose a c-section and have her right away. I was totally against being induced until they told me I had no choice, so I really wanted to try to have her vaginally. I am not someone who just gives up before I even try something. Therefore, we headed to the hospital, got checked in and pitocin going by 11am. Around 1pm they came in and checked me, I was at 5cm (I was 4cm and 80%-90% effaced for weeks), I told them to go ahead and break my water. After that I could start to feel the contractions. My mom, sister, and her kids were all in the room hanging out. I decided after about 30 minutes, they needed to get out. I could really start to feel the contractions and I HATED the feeling of my water continuously breaking. Hated. I think that is what frustrated me the most. Around 4pm I decided that I wanted to get my epidural. Side note: I was really going to try to go without
unless I had to be induced, then I knew the long, drawn out pain wasn't going to be something I could handle. The epidural was easy and nothing like I was expecting. I could still lift my legs, move around in bed, etc. I had heard so many horror stories I was nervous, but it was nothing but a good experience for me. I was so hungry I was mad, but they wouldn't let me eat anything. So once I got comfortable I took a nap for a few hours. Around 8pm they came in and checked me and I was 10cm and fully effaced but I just didn't feel an extreme pressure to push. Don't get me wrong, I could feel "the pressure" every contraction, but no where close to the point where I thought I could get her out. We hung out until about midnight and then the nurses came in and said okay, we're doing this..let's go. I was like alrighty then...
So I started pushing 3x every contraction (2 minutes apart). The nurses were so great. I am not kidding, they were go encouraging and really excited because they thought they were going to deliver the biggest baby ever! By the time I started to push I was the talk of the floor and my baby according to them, was going to be over 11 pounds! They warned me that I probably wasn't going to be able to get her past my pelvis because she was so big, but I was determined NOT to have a section!!! I continued to push like it was nobodies business every 2 minutes. Pete was right there and so encouraging the whole time. Pushing wasn't a super hard thing for me. I mean it wasn't the easiest thing I have ever done, but it wasn't the hardest either. I mean, I apologized to Pete halfway through because he wasn't involved enough and I felt bad that there wasn't more that he could do. Between every contraction we (nurses included) were watching TV and just talking about different things. I could feel every contraction coming, and I knew when it was time for me to push. They called doctor Cugini around 1:45am and I had our sweet girl at 2:06am. It was so surreal, I could not believe I had just had a baby!!! They threw her up on my chest and I seriously think I was in shock. I was so tired, and SOO incredibly hungry I was delirious, yet so happy that I did it and I proved to myself and everyone else that big baby or not, it was possible. They took her over to the little table in the room and cleaned her off, weighed her, etc. She was 9 pounds, 2 ounces and 20 1/2 inches long!! She scored a 9 and a 10 on her APGAR and ate like a champ. She instantly latched on and nursed like a queen. Then the nurses reminded us that she didn't have a name! Ha. I looked at Pete and told him to choose. :) He said " I mean, I think it has to be Zetta Mae." I could not be happier with the choice! He had his mom and Wes come in first, since it was their first grand baby and my family came in shortly after! Everyone got to quickly meet her and then they all went home! It was almost 4am by this point! Pete went with Zetta while she got her bath and I tried to eat my amazing Caesar salad that my awesome MIL went to get for me. I was literally falling asleep while I was eating it, so I just went to sleep. Pete and Zetta came back shortly after and the nurses had to come in at 6am and wake us all up because it was time to feed. She latched on like a champ again! After that, I got up took a shower and had a full day of guest!
I could not be happier with the way things turned out! It was NOTHING like how I wanted the birth to go, but I knew that was going to happen. :) Doesn't it to everyone?! The main thing is we had a beautiful, healthly baby girl and that's all I can ask for!
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