It's almost been 6 weeks since Remi came flying into our lives and I thought I'd better jot down my memories of her birth before they fade away. I say Remi flew into our lives because that was precisely what happened. Throughout my whole pregnancy there was never a moment when I thought "man this is taking forever" it literally flew by and then when the time came to have her, she came very quickly...and flew out of me (quite unlike her older sister).
Here is Remi's birth story...
On Friday the 10th of October I had my last scheduled prenatal appointment at 11am. My doctor was measuring me and taking my vitals when she told me that she was worried cause I was measuring at 35 weeks when really I was 39 weeks and 5 days. She told Ka'i and I that she was worried about the baby's fluid levels and thinks it would be safest for me and baby to be induced that day. We were NOT expecting that. And I was very opposed to being induced especially after my experience last time. She told us that she'd give us a few minutes to think it over and left the room. We went back and forth for a little while and finally decided we should listen to our docs advise and play it safe. When the doctor came back in we told her our decision and she said "good cause if you told me 'no' then I would have twisted your arm till you said yes" and then proceeded to tell us that we needed to be checked into the hospital by 2pm to get things going and that we would be holding our baby by 10:10 tonight (haha on 10/10). I didn't believe her.
We grabbed a bite to eat on the way home, arranged care for Elsie, called my mom and sisters to head up from Logan and Rexburg, grabbed our mostly packed bags and headed to the hospital.
We got into our room which we were told was the biggest room with the best view of those beautiful Wasatch mountains. Ka'i immediately offered to give me a blessing which I am so grateful for and hold close to my heart. By 3:30 they had my IV in and the Pitocin dripping. I was already dilated to a 3 and I was having regular contractions but not painful. I was EXTREMELY happy and grateful I didn't have back labor this time. So was Ka'i:). My mom and Abbey showed up followed by Jessy a bit later...we all sat around chatting, with the nurses coming in periodically to check for changes. I slowly was feeling a little more pain. But still had a smile on my face (Ka'i was watching Newsies--that should tell you how much pain I was in). I was told my doctor would be in at 6ish to break my water so I decided to try to take a nap before that happened.
My nurse came in around 6:30 saying my doctor would soon be in to break my water. She told me that I should choose whether or not to get the epidural before that happened because things tend to speed up a lot after your water breaks and that I might not have time to get one if I wait till after. I was feeling bad pain by then and asked her to check me and I still was at a 3+... So I said a little prayer and decided that the epidural was what I needed (especially with that darn pitocin) so the anesthesiologist came in and hooked me up with the minimum dosage in hopes I could feel pushing. Then my doc came in and broke my water and told me that she could see meconium (baby pooped in utero) and that we would need the NICU nurses there when I delivered just incase. Then she told me she had to dash over to another hospital real fast. I was feeling GOOD after that. Real good, super happy, giggling a lot at the excitement of getting to meet my new baby soon. I was like that for about half an hour. Then I started feeling pain, weird, cause I had just had my epidural. I told my nurse and she said she'd be back in 20 minutes to check me. I was shaking uncontrollably and my blood pressure dropped ridiculously low. She came back, checked me, and I remember her saying "so here's the story...you are at a full 10". My body was shaking so bad because I went from a 3 to a 10 in about an hour. P.S. My doctor was NOT in the building! She was still at the other hospital! So my nurse called her and told me to hold on and the doctor would be there in 10 minutes. HA! Hold on?! I had to push so bad! Not pushing was the hardest thing ever. While we waited, the NICU nurses arrived and got things ready. I somehow kept Remi in till the doc arrived, Ka'i kept me sane and helped me through it. I pushed 3 times and she was out in 4 minutes. At 10:04pm, there was NO way I could have waited till 10:10!!! They got all the meconium cleaned up and made sure she was okay, the whole while Ka'i was right by her side. I was in tears of happiness at the beautiful miracle that just took place, then they brought her to me and I got to hold my baby girl for the first time. It's truly amazing, this is my second time giving birth and it was a completely different experience than the time before but the same overwhelming feeling of completeness. Joy. Love. Gratitude. Every happy feeling possible. I wasn't sure if I had room to love another child and then my heart grew and made room. I had no idea that was possible. I am the luckiest mama in the world to have two beautiful, healthy daughters. And a husband who adores them and takes care of us all.
