Growing Up Geeky: Aurelia's Birth Story

When I wrote my due date update post on Sunday, September 23rd - little did I know that sharp abdominal pains would begin just a few minutes later. They didn't feel anything like contractions, so I wasn't sure what to make of them. They became more frequent, and then contractions started as well. While they were really painful, there wasn't a pattern and they weren't time-able at all. I just wasn't sure what to do so I called my OB and she suggested I go to L&D to get checked out anyway; the sharp pains concerned her.

We made it to the hospital around 2 PM and the monitors showed that I was having contractions every 4-6 minutes and Aurelia's heart rate was elevated. My OB suspected I might be dehydrated so she gave me IV fluids in the hopes that baby's heart rate would go down. Then just a few minutes later I started throwing up. After about an hour Aurelia's heart rate was still high and I was still having sharp pains and nausea so despite my only being 2 cm dilated at the time, she decided to admit me.

They broke my water shortly thereafter and contractions began to pick up. Soon they were only 2 minutes apart but I was still only 2-3 cm dilated. After a few painful stabs and a half hour of trial and error they finally placed the epidural successfully around 7:30 PM and I was feeling great! I caught some of the Patriots game while waiting to progress ;)

Last picture with the bump!

At 8:30 I was at 5 cm and by 10:30 I was at 9 cm. It was really starting to hurt again, so I had the nurse relieve my bladder in an effort to get things going and immediately afterwards I felt the urge to push. She called the OB back to the room and she checked and said I was ready to go. With Carina, for all 4 hours of pushing I felt no pain. This time? I literally felt like everything was going to bust open. I even asked Mike not to watch at one point because I didn't want to see the look on his face when all of my lady parts tore apart. Luckily, this only lasted for 5 minutes. ONLY 5 MINUTES OF PUSHING. And I didn't tear at all. I feel like I hit the labor and delivery jackpot this time around.

Aurelia emerged at 11:01 PM with her hand up at her face, waving to the world. They put her on my chest and I couldn't believe how much she looked like Carina. She weighed 7 lbs. 3.3 oz. and measured 20 inches long.

Oh hai!

Nursing for the first time

Recovery has been a breeze, relatively speaking. Since the epidural had mostly worn off, I was able to walk and move around just fine afterwards. Bleeding and cramping has been minimal. You know those awesome uterine massages the nurses and OB do? They didn't hurt at all! I couldn't believe this, as they hurt worse than anything else last time. There is barely any pain or soreness down below; I haven't even needed to use Dermoplast. Honestly it is almost as if I didn't just push 7 lbs. out of my vagina - I can't even believe it. Breastfeeding is going great as well. I feel so lucky and blessed to have such a positive experience and a healthy, beautiful baby girl.