Kaydence's Birth Story

Our beautiful little angel baby, Kaydence Selah, made her debut on March 7, 2009 at 11:18 a.m. She was 6 lbs. and 19 in. long. Our hearts are overwhelmed with love for her -- she is perfect in every way. For those of you who want all the details, here is Kaydence's birth story.

On Friday, March 6, I had a NST, growth ultrasound, and appointment with my midwife due to my high blood pressure and protein in my urine. Since my mom was staying with me, she came with Teirney and I to the appointment and was able to go to the growth ultrasound, which was fun. The NST and ultrasound went fine and everything looked good. Kaydence was estimated to be 6 lbs. 4 oz. However, there were a couple of issues. The midwife said the ultrasound was showing that Kaydence's growth was starting to slow down and my blood pressure was up (180/95), which of course we all knew what that meant. It did go down a little as they monitored it during the NST, but not enough to give me a ticket out of there. The midwife said I had mild Preeclampsia and there was no sense in waiting for things to get worse before they induced me. So she sent me to Labor and Delivery right away.

Fortunately, the night before I had started to mentally prepare myself for the fact that I could be induced when I went in for my appointment on Friday. I made sure my bag was fully packed and did a little cleaning "just in case."

After I settled into my room in Labor and Delivery, they hooked me up to an IV. Because of the Preeclampsia, I had to get an IV with Magnesium Sulfate to lower my blood pressure. The initial affects makes you extremely hot and sick feeling, so the nurses kept cooling me down with ice cold washcloths. After about 20 minutes the feeling subsides, but I sort of felt out of it from there on out.

At 4:30 in the afternoon, they inserted the first dose of Cytotech and I would receive another dose every 4 hours until 5:30 the next morning when they would start the Pitocin. But fortunately for me, the Cytotech did its job and I did not need Pitocin because my water broke on its own and I started getting stronger contractions.

My wonderful husband documented my progress from there, which is listed below.

3:30 a.m. - water broke -- contractions started pretty steady
6:00 a.m. - more than 1 cm dilated
8:00 a.m. – 5.5 cm dilated, contractions strong and frequent -- epidural requested
8:20 a.m. – epidural
8:45 a.m. – 8 cm nurse called the midwife in
9:00 a.m. – Leah’s parents arrive -- midwife arrives
10:00 a.m. – started pushing
11:18 a.m. – birth

I am so grateful I did not need the Pitocin. It was exactly the kind of birth I wanted -- very quiet and peaceful. Teirney had music playing in the background and there was no screaming involved. I have to say, it was definitely not as bad as what I had anticipated. It was a wonderful birth experience. Although, I could do without the Magnesium Sulfate next time -- that stuff really messed with me and there is a lot I don't remember, which is disappointing.

Kaydence came bounding into the world at 11:18 a.m. on March 7, 2009. The umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck, but the midwife was able to easily remove it before she came out and said that just means she likes jewelry because she came out wearing a "necklace." She scored 8, 9 on her apgars.

We came home from the hospital on Monday. I was so glad to leave the hospital because with the Preeclampsia, the nurses don't stop bugging you. They came into my room every hour to collect my urine and take blood. So needless to say, Teirney and I didn't get much sleep in the hospital, but that hasn't really changed a whole lot since being home. Although, I do need to give our sweet baby girl credit for being such a good sleeper (for now at least) because we are able to sleep when she sleeps, which is whenever she's not eating.

I feel like a human cow. I feed Kaydence every 3 or so hours. Breastfeeding has been a challenge because it takes her about an hour to get in 20-25 minutes of actual sucking time. So by the time I'm done, I feel like I have to start all over again. She sleeps like a rock and I have the hardest time waking her up and then keeping her awake during feedings, which has caused many tears to flow from her mommy. It seems we've tried everything and nothing works. We get her naked, change her diaper before and in the middle of feedings to try and wake her up, tickle her, and I've even used a cold washcloth on her during feedings to try and wake her up (poor thing...such a mean mommy I am). I'm not giving up, but it is definitely a struggle right now. She is a fantastic sleeper, which is nice when we want to sleep, but I want to make sure she is getting enough to eat too. I'm hoping it will get better -- its been emotionally draining.

On a positive note, Kaydence had her first appointment with the pediatrician on Wednesday and she gained 3 ounces since leaving the hospital. When she left the hospital on Monday, she weighed 5 lbs. 12 oz. and at her appointment on Wednesday she was 5 lbs. 14 oz. Since I was concerned about Kaydence's eating pattern, the pediatrician asked us to come back on Thursday for another weight check. When they weighed her on Thursday, she weighed 5 lbs. 15 oz. -- she gained an ounce since the day before. So that was very encouraging. I'm hoping it will continue throughout the week. Her next appointment is on Tuesday, March 17 (her original due date and St. Patrick's Day).

We love our little family of three and already can't imagine our lives without her. Teirney and I are loving being a mommy and daddy. I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful, loving husband who has been my sanity. He has done nothing but bend over backward trying to help in any and every way he can. I love him so much! He is such a good little daddy and Kaydence loves him very much too.

Well, signing off for now. I will try to post more soon so you can all watch Kaydence grow.