Elsie Anelaola'akea Kamoe

I finally decided it was time to share what went down a few weeks ago...I became a mother. Wow the responsibility those words bare. I am so incredibly blessed to be able to bring one of Heavenly Fathers beautiful daughters into the world...and I'll tell you how it all happened...

During my 38 week checkup my Dr. said that I was already dilated to a 2 and that the head was really low and said that she could induce me at anytime because the baby was ready and my body was ready.. That took us by surprise! We wanted to wait as long as possible before having to be induced. A week later at my 39 week appointment I was at a 3 and 50% effaced, stage 0. Things were getting exciting and my Dr. told us that it could literally be any day now!! My mom was freaking out of course because she wasn't flying it till the night of my due date (September 12th). So she decided to play it safe and change her ticket to the 10th. Well, the 10th came and still no baby although I had been having cramps on and off for the last 2 weeks witch turns out to be minor contractions. When my mom arrived we started pulling out all the self-inducing tricks: walking the beach, bouncing on the stability ball, eating spicy food, eating pineapple, cater oil (bleh) and I even started full on running! I wanted this baby out! Nothing worked.

So my due date came and went with no luck. I spent the next few days spending quality time with my mom, Jessy and Abbey who flew out too!

Angels Shaved Ice

 Pedicures

 Sisters being sisters ;)

Pics on the beach

 It was a blast and all but lets be honest, it was time to meet my baby girl. So we scheduled for me to go in to be induced friday afternoon. We showed up and the hospital wasn't ready for us which was a let down (they had too many ladies in labor for me to be induced). So they told us to go grab a bite to eat and come back in a few hours. We went to CPK where I pounded down some pasta then anxiously returned.

Now i'll give you a play by play :)

Friday 9/14/12
6:00pm- Arrived at Castles Medical Center
9:00pm- Started dripping pitocin in me (I was already cramping so I was contracting by myself, this just sped things up)

Saturday 9/15/12

7:00am- Still not a lot of pain, just minor cramping. Still dilated to a 3
9:00am- Took me off pitocin to let my body try to take over and to let me eat something
11:00am- Back on pitocin
2:00pm- A fore-water bag broke
2:30pm- Dr. came in and decided to break my water...and thats where it got intense!

2:30pm-6:00pm- WORST PAIN OF MY LIFE. Ka'i worked me through a lot of it and then my mom came in and helped too. Most of it I was able to work through but I got horrible back labor pains so Ka'i had to constantly put pressure on my hips. Poor guy. I eventually decided to take a bath to relieve some pressure. This worked for a good 15 minutes and then I couldn't take it anymore. I wished they would have just took me off the pitocin after they broke my water bag. Cause my body did NOT need that extra help anymore, thats for sure! Anyways, in the bath tub Ka'i was being really sweet and started singing my favorite church hymn. I felt terrible but kept shhing him and finally just put my had over his mouth. I feel so bad but apparently I just needed to focus. Thats when I told him "blessing or epidural! I need one or the other NOW!". He gave me a quick blessing which calmed me for a bit and then I decided that I wanted to get out and get checked and that if I wasn't progressing that I wanted the epidural. He helped me out of the tub, right then I had a terrible contraction and just fell into Ka'i's arms (I guess he thought I passed out). I was making my way back to my bed and they said I kept saying "I'm in a BAD BAD place" and "I'm so sorry I'm naked". I guess the doctor and nurses were laughing at me. She checked me and I was only at a 4 and I knew I could not continue laboring this long without the epidural. They told me that I would have to wait 30 minutes! Yeah right! I needed that NOW!!! I was hysterical lol. My mom kept trying to stroke my head and I would slap her hand away and I started throwing up. All the while Ka'i was pushing down with all his strength on my back. I know, pretty intense! FINALLY the anesthesiologist came in and explained to me that I could not move while she was giving me the epidural. I had been trashing around so much that both my mom and Ka'i didn't think I could do this haha. Ka'i said a prayer with me and I was able to calm down and sit completely still. The epidural was awesome and allowed my body to rest up.
6:00-8:00pm- I slept like a baby
8:00pm- Woke up to some pains even with the epidural so I asked to be checked. I was at a full 10! And ready to push!!! They couldn't believe I went from a 4 to a 10 in 2 hours! I told Ka'i to run get my mom who was just told to expect a long night with little progress.
8:15pm-9:37pm- Intense pushing haha I turned so red that blood vessels popped on my face :-/. I was happy that the epi had started to wear off so I could actually feel the pushing which was important to me. Ka'i and my mom were helping me and I let Jessy and Abbey stand behind a curtain and watch. Poor baby was stuck in the birth canal for a good (bad) 20 minutes and at one point the doctor mentioned using the vacuum...NO WAY! I got really focused, I did not want them to vacuum my baby out! They kept telling me one more push, just one more...and when she didn't come out I yelled "Are you serious?! Come on Elsie!!". Ka'i, my mom and the doctor were so encouraging. I don't know what I would have done without them.
9:37pm- Elsie was finally born! The cord was wrapped around her neck and body so it took a little while for her to cry which made me cry. They laid her on me and the skin to skin worked wonders. She  weighed 7.08lbs and was 20 inches long. The most beautiful baby I had ever seen with a ton of hair. We named her Elsie Anela o La'akea which in Hawaiian means "Angel of Sacred Light". It already suits her well. We have been calling her "Nela" every now and then as a nickname and we'll see if it sticks. Our little angel.

I am so thankful to have this precious daughter of God in my life:). She has brought such a sweet spirit into our home. She already has both daddy and I wrapped around her little finger.