WELCOME DANICA CARRIE!
My sweet baby girl was born December 27, 2008 at 6:36 p.m. She weighed 7 pounds and was 20 inches long. She had a head full of dark hair and blue eyes. Although it is hard to tell who she looks more like, she really is a good mix of her mommy and daddy. Labor and delivery lasted 13 hours.
My sweet baby girl was born December 27, 2008 at 6:36 p.m. She weighed 7 pounds and was 20 inches long. She had a head full of dark hair and blue eyes. Although it is hard to tell who she looks more like, she really is a good mix of her mommy and daddy. Labor and delivery lasted 13 hours.
My labor started at 5:30 a.m. I woke up to cramping in my lower belly. I took a warm bath to ease cramping, as I usually do, and then realized the pain was a bit different than what I was used to. I had a contraction and grabbed my cell phone to see what time it was. I continued to try and relax in the tub while I waited for the next one. The second one came in 20 minutes. I got out of the tub, took a shower, and got ready just in case. I still continued having contractions every 18-20 minutes. I wasn't in a lot of pain, especially since contractions were coming every 20 minutes and for only seconds at a time, so I continued with my morning. I was hungry, so I grabbed a chicken salad sandwich and a coke. I went into the living room to get settled, but I didn't turn on the television. I just sat there. I remember wanting peace and quiet so I could concentrate. I think it was about 7:00 am when Joe finally woke up. He told me that my absense startled him and that he knew right away what was going on. He asked me if I was ok and I told him it really wasn't that painful yet. As moments passed, the contractions were coming closer together. Joe and I started recording them on the back of a bill. I wish I had kept it now. We decided to wake up Dad and Hilda. Hilda helped me with my breathing and suggested we go ahead and call the hospital. At this point, my contractions were 6 minutes apart. We called the hospital and they told me to come in so they could determine if I needed to check in yet. We didn't know if I would be sent home, so we told Dad and Hilda to wait for our call. On the way out, Hilda hugged me and said there was probably going to be a baby that day. I could tell how excited she was and I was touched at how much she already loved Danica. We all loved her, and we were ready to finally meet her.
Getting to the hospital was rough. I don't know how close my contractions were, but Joe couldn't get to the hospital fast enough (or so it seemed). Once we were there, they needed us to fill out some paperwork. I can't remember if I had anything to do with them. I only have a visual memory of my leaning over a table and bobbing myself up and down while I was in pain. Joe and I were just laughing about it. They finally took me back to a room for a quick examination of my contractions. My contractions were coming 3 minutes apart, so the nurse started the procedure to get me checked in. She first called Dr. Haskins, who was the doctor on call for Greenville OBGYN. It seemed like it took forever for her to come while the nurse asked me a ton of questions. Once Joe returned from the hall where he was making calls to family, he joined the questioning. He laughed at me when I asked the nurse to repeat herself and when I asked her to wait before asking me a new question so I could get through a contraction. And since they were so strong and so close together, he laughed when I started asking for drugs. When Dr. Haskins arrived, she stated she would give me stadol as soon as she rolled me to my room, but that I had to finish answering questions for the nurse. The nurse told me she was almost done, so I tried to get through them the best I could. I don't even remember any of the questions she asked me except one. And that is only because I remember my answer. When she asked me if I had a dog in my house, I asked her to repeat. Then I explained that while she was asking me all of these questions, the only thing I could hear was "stadol". Everyone laughed... I was in so much pain.
After the questions, the staff rolled me to my room. I received stadol in my IV and started the process of receiving an epidural. I don't really remember much about what was happening before the anasthesiologist arrived. Joe held my hand why the anasthesiologist injected the epidural in my back. The stadol/epidural combo then put me to sleep for a few hours. I remember family coming in and out to check on me. Joe watched as West Virginia beat UNC 31-30 in the Meineke Car Care Bowl. I was in and out and remember very little about the days events. I do remember hearing Joe on the phone ordering Hibachi. I asked him what was going on and he told me Tracy was bringing him something to eat. And when I finally woke up, I was really hungry. I had missed lunch by a few hours and all I had eaten that day was what I ate when I woke up. They told me they couldn't give me food, but offered sprite and crackers. The nurse came in a few times to check for dialation. I was dialating slowly, but once I dialated about 6-7 inches, I started to feel the urge to push. The nurse encouraged me to go with it to speed up the process. She told me what to do and I began pushing on my own with every contraction. I remember the greatest motivation for my early pushing was the notion that my drugs were starting to wear off. The only problem was my back. I felt a pulse of pain in my lower back every time I pushed. When I complained about that, they put something in my IV to help with back labor. I forgot what they used, though. By the time I reached 8-9 inches, my water broke. Joe and I laughed because we heard it over the monitor. It was funny! The nurse called the doctor in- I had been in labor for 12 hours and I was ready to have my baby!
There was only one nurse when the Dr. Haskins began setting up. She asked me about the pushing I had been doing on my own and if I was able to stop so we could wait for the other nurse. I tried to stop, but the urge was too strong. They decided to just go with it and instructed Joe to hold my other leg until the other nurse arrived. I continued to push harder and harder with every contraction. Dr. Haskins soon discovered that Danica was turned upside down and would need to turn her. She used a vacuum extractor. The combination of Danica's head and the extractor was extremely painful when I pushed. Getting her head was the toughest and longest part of it. I asked Joe if he could see her. He told me he could and that I was doing a good job. I later found out he lied! He wanted to make me think he was seeing something so I would feel like I was accomplishing something. I pushed for 30 minutes before Danica was born. It took me another 20 minutes to "birth" the placenta. Then Dr. Haskins stitched me since I tore. All the while, Danica was still in the room being examined by the NICU team. I could hear her crying, but couldn't see her- although I tried as hard as I could to look. It was all Dr. Haskins could do to keep my attention while she was "sewing" me.
During delivery, Dr. Haskins discovered that Danica had a bowel movement in the womb (meconium). She discovered it when my water broke. The NICU team was then called in to check Danica's for meconium aspiration. When Dr. Haskins was finished with me, the nurse told me that Danica was having a difficult time adjusting outside the womb and that they needed to take her to the nursery for a little while. I asked how long she would have to stay there since family was waiting. When they told me she would be there for 2 hours, I became upset. Especially since I hadn't even seen her yet. I requested to see her and hold her before they took her. They wrapped her and brought her to me.
Danica was so beautiful! The first thing I recognized was her nose. She had the same nose I had as a child. I noticed what features looked like me. Her eyes, her nose, and her mouth were all mine. Everyone agreed that she looked more like me at that moment. I remember watching her as she licked her lips. Pictures were being taken of all of us and family came over to get a closer look. She kept sticking her tougue out and all of us just laughed. She was precious!
They took her to the nursery to get a bath. The family watched her at the window. They said she didn't like her first bath. She adjusted quickly and was back in my arms in 30 minutes. In the meantime, Ma brought me food. I requested Hibachi and a Dr. Pepper. When Danica returned, Uncle Allen and Aunt Sandra came in to visit with her first. Then our parents, grandparents, and siblings followed. By Sunday, more family and friends came to see her. It was wonderful. I stayed in the hospital until Monday morning. They were going to let me leave Sunday if I wanted, but I wanted one more night so the nurse could help me breastfeed.
I'm glad I slept all day during my labor, because I stayed up all night with Danica while Joe slept. She wasn't fussy, she was just sleeping. I stayed up all night to look at her. The nurse came in every other hour to help me feed her. She wasn't getting much since my milk didn't come in until Wednesday, but the nurse encouraged me to feed her every other hour so she could bring my milk in. She helped me get Danica latched and showed me a variety of ways to hold Danica while she was feeding. I had a hard time at first and stayed another night so I would feel more comfortable.
When we left the hospital, we put her in a cute reindeer sleeper and a little hat with reindeer antlers. She was adorable. It was raining so Joe had to bring the car to the front of the hospital so we could load the luggage and eventually, sweet Danica. We made a couple of stops before we took her home to Franklinton.
Getting to the hospital was rough. I don't know how close my contractions were, but Joe couldn't get to the hospital fast enough (or so it seemed). Once we were there, they needed us to fill out some paperwork. I can't remember if I had anything to do with them. I only have a visual memory of my leaning over a table and bobbing myself up and down while I was in pain. Joe and I were just laughing about it. They finally took me back to a room for a quick examination of my contractions. My contractions were coming 3 minutes apart, so the nurse started the procedure to get me checked in. She first called Dr. Haskins, who was the doctor on call for Greenville OBGYN. It seemed like it took forever for her to come while the nurse asked me a ton of questions. Once Joe returned from the hall where he was making calls to family, he joined the questioning. He laughed at me when I asked the nurse to repeat herself and when I asked her to wait before asking me a new question so I could get through a contraction. And since they were so strong and so close together, he laughed when I started asking for drugs. When Dr. Haskins arrived, she stated she would give me stadol as soon as she rolled me to my room, but that I had to finish answering questions for the nurse. The nurse told me she was almost done, so I tried to get through them the best I could. I don't even remember any of the questions she asked me except one. And that is only because I remember my answer. When she asked me if I had a dog in my house, I asked her to repeat. Then I explained that while she was asking me all of these questions, the only thing I could hear was "stadol". Everyone laughed... I was in so much pain.
After the questions, the staff rolled me to my room. I received stadol in my IV and started the process of receiving an epidural. I don't really remember much about what was happening before the anasthesiologist arrived. Joe held my hand why the anasthesiologist injected the epidural in my back. The stadol/epidural combo then put me to sleep for a few hours. I remember family coming in and out to check on me. Joe watched as West Virginia beat UNC 31-30 in the Meineke Car Care Bowl. I was in and out and remember very little about the days events. I do remember hearing Joe on the phone ordering Hibachi. I asked him what was going on and he told me Tracy was bringing him something to eat. And when I finally woke up, I was really hungry. I had missed lunch by a few hours and all I had eaten that day was what I ate when I woke up. They told me they couldn't give me food, but offered sprite and crackers. The nurse came in a few times to check for dialation. I was dialating slowly, but once I dialated about 6-7 inches, I started to feel the urge to push. The nurse encouraged me to go with it to speed up the process. She told me what to do and I began pushing on my own with every contraction. I remember the greatest motivation for my early pushing was the notion that my drugs were starting to wear off. The only problem was my back. I felt a pulse of pain in my lower back every time I pushed. When I complained about that, they put something in my IV to help with back labor. I forgot what they used, though. By the time I reached 8-9 inches, my water broke. Joe and I laughed because we heard it over the monitor. It was funny! The nurse called the doctor in- I had been in labor for 12 hours and I was ready to have my baby!
There was only one nurse when the Dr. Haskins began setting up. She asked me about the pushing I had been doing on my own and if I was able to stop so we could wait for the other nurse. I tried to stop, but the urge was too strong. They decided to just go with it and instructed Joe to hold my other leg until the other nurse arrived. I continued to push harder and harder with every contraction. Dr. Haskins soon discovered that Danica was turned upside down and would need to turn her. She used a vacuum extractor. The combination of Danica's head and the extractor was extremely painful when I pushed. Getting her head was the toughest and longest part of it. I asked Joe if he could see her. He told me he could and that I was doing a good job. I later found out he lied! He wanted to make me think he was seeing something so I would feel like I was accomplishing something. I pushed for 30 minutes before Danica was born. It took me another 20 minutes to "birth" the placenta. Then Dr. Haskins stitched me since I tore. All the while, Danica was still in the room being examined by the NICU team. I could hear her crying, but couldn't see her- although I tried as hard as I could to look. It was all Dr. Haskins could do to keep my attention while she was "sewing" me.
During delivery, Dr. Haskins discovered that Danica had a bowel movement in the womb (meconium). She discovered it when my water broke. The NICU team was then called in to check Danica's for meconium aspiration. When Dr. Haskins was finished with me, the nurse told me that Danica was having a difficult time adjusting outside the womb and that they needed to take her to the nursery for a little while. I asked how long she would have to stay there since family was waiting. When they told me she would be there for 2 hours, I became upset. Especially since I hadn't even seen her yet. I requested to see her and hold her before they took her. They wrapped her and brought her to me.
Danica was so beautiful! The first thing I recognized was her nose. She had the same nose I had as a child. I noticed what features looked like me. Her eyes, her nose, and her mouth were all mine. Everyone agreed that she looked more like me at that moment. I remember watching her as she licked her lips. Pictures were being taken of all of us and family came over to get a closer look. She kept sticking her tougue out and all of us just laughed. She was precious!
They took her to the nursery to get a bath. The family watched her at the window. They said she didn't like her first bath. She adjusted quickly and was back in my arms in 30 minutes. In the meantime, Ma brought me food. I requested Hibachi and a Dr. Pepper. When Danica returned, Uncle Allen and Aunt Sandra came in to visit with her first. Then our parents, grandparents, and siblings followed. By Sunday, more family and friends came to see her. It was wonderful. I stayed in the hospital until Monday morning. They were going to let me leave Sunday if I wanted, but I wanted one more night so the nurse could help me breastfeed.
I'm glad I slept all day during my labor, because I stayed up all night with Danica while Joe slept. She wasn't fussy, she was just sleeping. I stayed up all night to look at her. The nurse came in every other hour to help me feed her. She wasn't getting much since my milk didn't come in until Wednesday, but the nurse encouraged me to feed her every other hour so she could bring my milk in. She helped me get Danica latched and showed me a variety of ways to hold Danica while she was feeding. I had a hard time at first and stayed another night so I would feel more comfortable.
When we left the hospital, we put her in a cute reindeer sleeper and a little hat with reindeer antlers. She was adorable. It was raining so Joe had to bring the car to the front of the hospital so we could load the luggage and eventually, sweet Danica. We made a couple of stops before we took her home to Franklinton.
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