Wednesday, March 2, 2011

The Story

I wanted to share the story of how Taryn arrived!

On Feb. 20th, Sunday, Tyson and I were at his sister's house. She just finished giving me the cutest pedicure and the family was watching a movie. At around 9:30pm, I started to feel very uncomfortable and shifted around to try to ease the pains in my stomach. I had to take deep breaths and Tyson offered to switch me spots on the couch because he could see I was just uncomfortable. These pains continued and I thought nothing much of them except for the fact that they hurt and it was hard for me to pay attention to the movie. My sister in law had been watching me and noticed that I wasn't doing well. She asked if I was having contractions. I didn't even know what to say back. My mind was spinning and I thought that contractions would be unmistakable- that the pain would be so great I would scream. I started to cry (because of pain) and said, "I don't know!" My sister in law suggested we begin timing the contractions- remember- this is the first time for me to be having a child and I had no idea what was going on!

We started timing them and my brother-in-law and Tyson gave me a Priesthood blessing which I was so grateful for. We decided after a bit that we would return home because we knew it would be a long process so we wanted to TRY to rest. Around 12am I was having contractions about 4-5 min. apart. We live 20 minutes from our hospital but I kept telling Tyson- "Just one more contraction and if it's 4-5 min then we will go to the hospital" (Again- first time doing all this and I was scared and confused) Tyson had a dream earlier on that week that he was the one to deliver the baby. Since then he had been worried that it would come true. I think that 1am couldn't have come soon enough for him. I turned to him and said, "Ok- let's go."

We arrived at the hospital and the nicest nurse came to help us figure out what was going on. She monitored my contractions- yes- I was having full on contractions- and the baby's heart rate. I told the nurse that I thought my water had just broken. She ran some lab tests but it came back negative for amniotic fluid. Some of the contractions dropped to 2-3 minutes apart but I was only dilated to 3cm still. We were kept in Triage for 3 1/2 hours to monitor my progress and we even walked the halls to try and make things progress faster.But alas- still at 3 cm. So the nurse told us to get ready to go home. When I got up off the bed the nurse noticed a rather large wet spot on the medical cloth. She asked what it was and I said, " I noticed another trickle feeling about 15 minutes ago." She tested the liquid again for amnotic fluid but she said there were too many fibers from the sheet so it came back negative. So we got ready to go home. The nice nurse told us, "Don't worry- you will be back later today (Monday). I was sad. I also felt dumb. We went to the hospital when the doctor had said to- 4-5 min contractions but we were still turned away. Luckily it was Presidents Weekend so Monday was a holiday for Tyson and we tried to sleep in- and lucky for me they gave me a SLEEPING PILL to help me relax and get rest during contractions- BEST SLEEP I HAVE HAD IN WEEKS!!!!!!!!

Monday- contractions throughout the day- mostly around 5-10min apart. But there was no way I was going back to the hospital until I was screaming in pain- I didn't want to be sent home AGAIN! I took a LONG walk around a park which brought on stronger contractions but they didn't last very long. By the end of the day, Tyson and I were sad that we weren't back at the hospital, like that nice nurse had said.

Tuesday morning my contractions were coming very slowly. I lost hope that I would go into active labor and progress by myself and that I would have to be induced, as scheduled, on Friday. I had a strange burst of energy come on at about 10:30am and my contractions stopped . I was cheerful (to everyone's surprise when they called to check on me) and I got some good cleaning done. (Later it was pointed out to me that I was "Nesting"- remember- First time at this! I didn't know the signs!) My sister in law called me and said she had been talking with her friends about this whole situation and they said those tests they run to check if it's amniotic fluid can be wrong! And they all thought it was crazy that I had been having contractions since Sunday night. My sister in law said I should go back to the hospital because there was a VERY good chance my water had broken! After our phone conversation I stood up and felt another trickle. I saw a brownish/green fluid and I thought- ok, if my water didn't break the first time then it just did for sure!
I got to the hospital and the nurses were so rude! She said I was 4cm (yay! progress!) and that I had a bulging sack and was at a -2 position. She said she would run a test to see if it was amnoitic fluid and I was so relieved when she came back saying IT'S POSITIVE! The baby had passed meconium (which explains the greenish brown color fluid) so I got a little worried. I was admitted and Tyson had time to finish his two big tests at school and drive to the hospital. (The nurse made sure to tell us that the baby wasn't going to fall out of me so Tyson didn't have to rush over- I kinda wanted to punch her.
They started my I.V.'s and pitocin and Tyson arrived. And in walked the nice nurse from the night before! She gave me the biggest hug and said she requested me when she saw my name! So happy to have her on my side again! Contractions grew and the pain was so strong. I asked for my epidural. TOTAL LIFE SAVER! All I could feel was pressure during a contraction- no pain. The down side, my legs were useless. I lost all feeling in them! The nurse had a hold up my legs with her body as she helped me flip over (epidurals work with gravity so you have to rotate every hour). After she flipped me the baby's heart rate dropped. The nurse ran in and flipped me back over and had to give me an oxygen mask to wear to stabilize my breathing and the baby's heart rate. Scary Scary. I was so worried about my baby.

The nurse turned down my pitocin and came back in 30 min. I had jumped from 4cm to 8 cm!!! I was making serious progress now! By 10pm I was ready to push. Not having feeling in my legs made this harder but within 1 hour and 40 min. our baby was born! My Doctor quickly unwrapped the cord around the baby's neck and showed the baby to me and Tys (she had to move quickly so we didn't get a good view). The baby was then taken to the other side of the room where 3 other nurses checked the baby for meconium in the mouth and lungs and took the baby's measurements. One of the nurses asked us, "So did they tell you what you were having?" Tyson said, "Yes- a boy!" The nurses stopped and starred at each other. One spoke up and said, "Um...this is a girl!" Tys and I looked at each other with our jaws dropped! The nurses and doctor started laughing! The doctor said "I was so busy with suctioning her mouth out (mecodium) and unwrapping her cord I didn't even check!" The nice nurse said, "I haven't seen this happen in YEARS!" We were all laughing and shocked!

Taryn had a clear bill of health after her meconium check which was a blessing! I got some stitches but besides that was doing well. Our little girl was healthy and safe and we were so happy! Tys was a great coach and so helpful in the delivery process. I am lucky to have him by my side. When we arrived in our Post Pardom Room we laughed every time there was a shift change and a new nurse came in. The first thing they always said was, "So, you thought you were having a boy huh? What a huge surprise!"

I love that Taryn surprised us! It's amazing to me how quickly the parenting traits kick in. Instantly she was my little girl- every coo and cry she made I was aware of. We had to go to a discharge class and leave her in the nursery (a first for us) for 30 min. Tyson and I were so anxious to pick her up after it was over. We couldn't believe how much we missed her! We both held her immediately and told her how much we loved and missed her. The process of her birth was a long one (DAYS LONG!) but totally worth it. And it just keeps getting better!

2 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing the story! I am so happy you have a healthy beautiful baby girl! Will you post some more pictures of her so we can see how darling she is?

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  2. Wow, that is a cool and crazy story! We had a mean nurse in the hospital too, it changed the whole feeling there! It was in the middle of the night and kept waking me up over and over again. That was fun. I'm so excited for you guys and can't wait to hear more about this new bundle of Smithness!!! Congrats and enjoy every second of the newborn stage!

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