Well she finally decided to join us... Ella Pearl made her grand entrance on Friday, July 20, 2012 at 9:21 p.m.
It started out as a normal day. Grampy and Nanny Fillmore had left Fredericton bright and early and were on their way to our house, just in case. We decided to get up and spend the morning walking the mall, hoping to speed things up a little. Our induction was scheduled for today, July 22, and I didn't have much hope that walking - or anything else for that matter - was going to get Ella moving.
I had been having contractions off and on for a few days, but nothing was regular, and they were pretty wimpy feeling. Grampy and Nanny arrived at 11:00, and we went home and had some lunch. My mom and I decided to go grocery shopping once Gracie was down for her afternoon nap, so we headed for Superstore and loaded up on food. It was 1:30. Once I was at Superstore, I realized that my irregular contractions were actually happening about every 10 minutes. We finished shopping and once we were home, I realized that the contractions were actually about every 5 minutes. I called the hospital, and they recommended I come in "shortly," which to me meant get some supper, finish packing and head on in. By the time we got to the hospital, they were 3 minutes apart. They slowed down once they put me on the monitor and they asked me to go for a walk. By the time I got back from the walk, there was no more question that I was having a baby that night. Danny I took bets, we both agreed it would probably be between 1 and 3 am, since it was only 7:30 now. They took me to labour and delivery, and the contractions were one on top of the other. I asked for my epidural and they started prepping me for that (bloodwork, iv, etc.). Sometime between 8:00 and 9:00 (I lost track of time, due to the fact that I STILL didn't have my epidural) my water broke and it turned out that in an hour or so I had gone from 4 cms to fully dilated.
"Sorry," the nurse said, no epidural. "This baby is coming now." I disagreed... I could wait! I wanted those drugs. 3 pushes later however, and Miss Ella Ford arrived. It was 9:21 p.m. We were a little shocked. We never expected it to happen so quickly. It was over just after we realized it was actually happening! I'm not going to lie, I have some friends that always do labour "au natural" but I don't know why anybody would do it drug free on purpose... that freaking hurt! :) But we made it and we were ready to settle in for a nice evening, just the three of us. Except then the shit hit the fan, as the say...
It turned out that my nice easy delivery was about to turn into the most painful, horrible night I had ever experienced. I had a major bleed. It started out with the nurse saying she was "concerned" about the amount of bleeding, to the doctor being rushed back in. I will save you the details, but the doctor did what was called an "evacuation" of the uterus... I knew it was going to hurt when three nurses came to hold me down and the doctor was apologizing before he even began. They were hopeful that the evacuation would stop the bleeding. It did not. I was put on an iv medication, which also didn't work, then given a shot in the thigh. That also didn't work. The doctor was called back again, and it was decided to try one more drug before they took me in for surgery. That drug made me so sick it was unbelievable! The nurse had to stay right by my side, swapping ice cold face cloths, one after another after another. After an hour, we realized that the drug was working, surgery would not be needed and at 4 a.m., I was given an all-clear. The bleeding had officially stopped.
We were able to move over to the maternity ward around 10:00 the next morning, just in time for mom and dad to arrive with Gracie. We hadn't had a chance to fill them in on what had transpired after our "Ella is here" phonecall the night before, but by then I had been up, put on some makeup, and felt a lot better than I expected! Apparently before the make-up went on, I was sheet white, but a little bit of blush can go a long way for photos! :)
I had some visitors, Gracie fell in love with her baby sister, and I got to have a nap that afternoon. I don't know if I felt "good," but compared to 12 hours earlier, I felt fantastic! I actually got some sleep that night, and I was ready to head home on Sunday. We're now back home and settled in... although I have been advised "rest only for the next few weeks."
And of course, in the end... it was all worth it. Cause here she is... Ella Pearl!
"Sorry," the nurse said, no epidural. "This baby is coming now." I disagreed... I could wait! I wanted those drugs. 3 pushes later however, and Miss Ella Ford arrived. It was 9:21 p.m. We were a little shocked. We never expected it to happen so quickly. It was over just after we realized it was actually happening! I'm not going to lie, I have some friends that always do labour "au natural" but I don't know why anybody would do it drug free on purpose... that freaking hurt! :) But we made it and we were ready to settle in for a nice evening, just the three of us. Except then the shit hit the fan, as the say...
It turned out that my nice easy delivery was about to turn into the most painful, horrible night I had ever experienced. I had a major bleed. It started out with the nurse saying she was "concerned" about the amount of bleeding, to the doctor being rushed back in. I will save you the details, but the doctor did what was called an "evacuation" of the uterus... I knew it was going to hurt when three nurses came to hold me down and the doctor was apologizing before he even began. They were hopeful that the evacuation would stop the bleeding. It did not. I was put on an iv medication, which also didn't work, then given a shot in the thigh. That also didn't work. The doctor was called back again, and it was decided to try one more drug before they took me in for surgery. That drug made me so sick it was unbelievable! The nurse had to stay right by my side, swapping ice cold face cloths, one after another after another. After an hour, we realized that the drug was working, surgery would not be needed and at 4 a.m., I was given an all-clear. The bleeding had officially stopped.
We were able to move over to the maternity ward around 10:00 the next morning, just in time for mom and dad to arrive with Gracie. We hadn't had a chance to fill them in on what had transpired after our "Ella is here" phonecall the night before, but by then I had been up, put on some makeup, and felt a lot better than I expected! Apparently before the make-up went on, I was sheet white, but a little bit of blush can go a long way for photos! :)
I had some visitors, Gracie fell in love with her baby sister, and I got to have a nap that afternoon. I don't know if I felt "good," but compared to 12 hours earlier, I felt fantastic! I actually got some sleep that night, and I was ready to head home on Sunday. We're now back home and settled in... although I have been advised "rest only for the next few weeks."
And of course, in the end... it was all worth it. Cause here she is... Ella Pearl!
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| Ella Pearl Ford - 12 hours old |
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| See... just a little blush! :) |
glad you and the kids are ok")
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