Alexis' Arrival

The arrival of our sweet Alexis was something that had been highly anticipated for a long time, especially by me. During my previous pregnancies, I hadn't really had many physical complaints, aside from the constant nausea, so I had fully expected this pregnancy to be the same. I was so wrong! During the last couple months of my pregnancy, I had been experiencing extreme back and hip pain. I wasn't sleeping well at all, and then the last few weeks I had started having nerve pain like I had experienced a few years ago. Unfortunately, the medication I had taken for this problem in the past isn't safe to take while pregnant, so there was little anyone could do.

Luckily for me, I had one of the best midwives in the world, and she took some mercy on me. We had an induction scheduled for April 14th at 38 weeks, pending good results from an amniocentesis on the 13th. I figured that even shaving 2 weeks off of my pregnancy sounded like heaven to me at that point. I had my sights set on the 14th and was all prepared for that day, but then after my appointment on the 12th, I started having regular contractions. I was already dilated between 4 & 5 centimeters, so I knew that after a couple hours of these regular contractions that it was probably time to head to the hospital.

The rest of the experience went like this:

1:30 pm: Debra (Zuke's mom) arrives to watch the kids so that Zuke and I can head for the hospital.

2:45 pm: Arrive at American Fork Hospital and get set up in a triage room to be monitored.

3:00 pm: My midwife comes to check me. I am dilated to a 5, and contracting regularly.

4:00 pm: I am dilated to almost a 6, so they decide to admit me.

6:00 pm: Still in the triage room. Apparently a lot of women were in labor that day. The contractions are really starting to hurt.

6:45 pm: Finally admitted and moved to a labor and delivery room. The room is HUGE, and we had a lovely view of Mt. Timpanogos as the sun started setting.

7:30 pm: My IV is in, the pitocin is flowing, and my epidural is in. I'm prepped to start dilating fast and not feel anything.

9:00 pm: My mom and Zuke's mom arrive. The nurse checks me, and I'm still at a 6. She ups the pitocin dosage. I also notice that the epidural doesn't seem to be working at all on my left side, which is strange since that is the side I'm laying on.

10:00 pm: Still at a 6. I start getting a little worried because I can feel the contractions and the epidural seems to be wearing off. The anesthesiologist comes in and readjusts the epidural in my back, and seems confident that his adjustment should fix things.

11:15 pm: The nurse comes in to check me again. She seems a little bewildered, and tells me that she can't feel the baby's head anymore. She goes to get an ultrasound machine.

11:20 pm: The ultrasound reveals that my baby has done a sudden 180, and is now feet first. Not good. They call for the doctor, and tell me that the two options I have are 1. Try and manually turn the baby, which might not work; or 2. Opt for a c-section to get her out.

11:30 pm: Dr. Young arrives and asks me if I've thought about my options. I calmly tell him that I'd rather just opt for the c-section than trying to turn the baby, and the doctor actually agreed with me. At this point, I become really nervous because my epidural is seriously not working. The anesthesiologist gives me a "surgical dose" of medication, convinced that will work. I cross my fingers.

11:45 pm: They are prepping me for surgery. The head of housekeeping comes up and helps Zuke give me a blessing. Honestly, I think it calmed everyone else down more than me. I was surprisingly calm, but my mom was a bit of a nervous wreck.

11:50 pm: Zuke gets all dressed for the c-section, and they wheel me down to the operating room.

Isn't he so cute? LOL

11:55 pm: I am lying on the operating table, freezing to death,and the anesthesiologist keeps giving me dose after dose of epidural medicine. While he waits for it to kick in, he starts making jokes with the nurse, which gets me laughing, too. The doctor then does a "pinch test", first on the right side and then on the left. I practically jump off the table both times. It hurt! It was then that I asked the anesthesiologist if I can just opt for the general anesthetic. He replied, "There is no opting at this point. You're getting the general."

12:00 am: Right before the mask is put on me to knock me out, I tell Kimmy, my nurse, to just take care of my baby. She assures me that she will, the mask gets put on, and a few seconds later I'm out.

12:05 am: Zuke is surprisingly allowed to be in the operating room, which is usually not allowed.

12:10 am: Alexis makes her arrival!

Most of the rest of the story has just been told to me, so hopefully I'll get the details right! Alexis didn't cry, breathe or move for a couple minutes after her birth, due to the general anesthetic. That totally freaked Zuke out! She pinked up very quickly, though, and started crying. He followed her down to the nursery and watched her get cleaned up and bathed, and then sat and talked to her for a while. To this day, I'm not sure why they didn't let him hold her, and I'm honestly a little bugged by that still.

Zuke came back upstairs just as I was being wheeled back into my room. I have been described as "death warmed over". Apparently, I was in a lot of pain, and let everyone know it! I remember just trying to remind myself to breathe, knowing that would help me wake up quicker, and that meant I could see my baby. Around 2:30 am, I was finally moved down to my room on the Mother/Baby floor. I got settled in, and kept asking to see Alexis. I was determined to see her before I went to sleep, so that I could see for myself that she was really here. They finally brought her into me around 3:30 am. I was really tired and out of it, but it was still magical to hold her in my arms for the first time!