Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Cambria Mae- Lynn Curry born October 4, 2007

In order to make this long story as concise and interesting as possible, I'm going to do a picture blog. Hopefully this works out. If I can't finish (Cambria might be waking up soon and she will be hungry!), I will add onto it later. Here goes.

October 3, 2007 we woke up prepared to go to Summa Health Center in Akron to hopefully give birth to our little girl. The morning was going well and everything was going as planned until Cody came upstairs just before departure time, to show us that he had a rather large gash in his head.


He was running down the stairs to yell at our dog for barking excessively and he hopped a little too high down the stairs and hit his head on the low ceiling. By the time we found some ointment to put on his head and got over the ordeal, his oatmeal was cold and we had to leave (I still got to eat mine).


Finally, we headed to the car, ready to go to the hospital.


I was so nervous about being induced! I didn't know what to expect and I was tired because, of course, I didn't sleep well the night before. Every step of the way, though, Cody was there with me, just as excited and nervous as me.


After registering, they walked me to the birthing suite and got me settled in and gave me my IV for fluids.



Once I was settled in and they had been monitoring Cambria's heart rate and getting the room set up, the nurses looked at Cody's head and gave him some ice for his injury. We all laughed about it and Cody said it didn't really hurt, it was just annoying that it wouldn't stop bleeding. Once the doctor came in and introduced herself, she looked more closely at Cody's head to be sure he didn't need stitches. She said it looked fine and told him to keep it on ice for awhile and be gentle with it when washing his hair.


Finally, they induced me! They did this by inserting a pill (I can't remember the name) next to my cervix that would soften it and start the contractions.


Obviously I waited for the epidural and we simply watched the screen for contractions. The waiting began...







I was having contractions, but I couldn't feel them. The doctors and nurses (yes, the nurse was pregnant too!) watched my temperature, blood pressure, and other vitals while we continued to wait. In order to get things moving a little more quickly, the nurse suggested that I spend some time on the birthing ball. I still wasn't really feeling the contractions, so I didn't mind sitting on it for awhile.

The birthing ball was nice, but my back started to ache and I decided that the bed was more comfortable. The nurses didn't like the idea of me staying in bed because they knew things wouldn't progress quickly enough, so they suggested that I walk around for awhile. I honestly can't remember if they had given me more of the pill for my cervix or not. Every thing's kind of a blur. During this walk, however, I began to feel my contractions intensely. After thirty minutes I got back in bed and began to breathe through the contractions.




After one very intense and awful contraction, I asked for the epidural. Everyone had to leave the room for the epidural. The doctor gave me some acid neutralizing drink that he claimed would taste like a sweet tart. It did not. After the epidural took effect, I was in heaven! I told everyone that the man who gave me the epidural was my new best friend and I meant it. However, it didn't take long before the toll of labor and the epidural began to take effect. My body temperature shot up and I began to shake very badly. I was shaking involuntarily and it felt like I was having a seizure. I got a bad headache and the doctors decided that because of my temperature, Cambria needed extra oxygen. Despite all that, I slept because the epidural kept the pain away. The sleep was fruitless, though, because as the nurse put it, my body was still essentially running a marathon. I heard my family members coming and going as I drifted in and out of sleep.


The whole experience was exhausting for everyone! Once they gave me the Pitocin, things began to move a little more quickly. My contractions sped up and after about five refills of epidural, the needle came a little loose. They had to remove the epidural line and reinsert it and I had to experience some intense contractions. My nurses were amazing and so supportive! They had some difficulties getting the epidural back in, but once it was in, I was happy again.

For a long time I wasn't dilating, so they finally decided to break my water. When they broke my water, they discovered that Cambria had had a bowel movement in the womb and they explained that a team would be in the room to receive her as soon as she came out so they could suction anything out that had gotten in her lungs. I was sad that I would have to wait to meet my baby, but I knew it was best for her. I was six centimeters when they broke my water and I fell asleep after that. After awhile they woke me up to check my dilation again. To my surprise, the nurse said to the student, "... it's time." I was shocked and she said, "You're at ten, Alicia, can you push?" I was half asleep and I didn't believe that she was serious. It had been about 26 hours since I had first been induced and I couldn't believe it was finally time. My mom woke Cody up and he rushed to my side in excitement. Cody took one leg, the student nurse took the other leg, I hooked my hands behind my knees, put my chin to my chest, and began to push.

And push and push...


After about thirty minutes of pushing, the doctors finally presented us with Cambria Mae- Lynn Curry. I had never seen anything so amazing and beautiful in my whole life. Originally I had said I didn't want a mirror, but when they brought it out I found it helpful while pushing. When they pulled our screaming baby out and showed her to me, my mind was blown and I never felt so happy in all my life.


As they took Cambria away and the doctors worked on me, I told Cody he could go see her. I told him to go look at her and tell me how she was. They were worried that if she came out screaming she would inhale some of the BM. They suctioned her out quickly and found that everything was fine.

Cody glanced back at me and told me over and over that she was beautiful and perfect. My mom came to my side and told me I did a great job and that she was just fine. The doctors dealt with the afterbirth, gave me one stitch, and warned me that my new hemorrhoid was, as they put it, "not even funny." The epidural was still working it's magic, so I didn't feel any pain and I just wanted my baby. I heard the nurses saying how beautiful she was and everyone was laughing and crying all at the same time. My mom, Cody's mom, and Cody were the only people in the room with me. After all I had been through I didn't care who was in the room at that point! The doctors took her weight, gave her eye treatments, measured her, and did all the necessary things and finally brought her to me. As soon as she heard my voice, she seemed to calm down. She looked around for awhile, blinking and frowning, not sure what to make of it all. I was exhausted, but thrilled to meet her.

After we were acquainted a little, Cambria breastfed. I honestly barely remember this first feeding because I was so tired and hungry. I hadn't been able to eat anything during the entire process. I remember feeding her, but the pictures make it seem much different than it actually was.

Cody was a very proud daddy!

Everyone got their chance to hold her. Meanwhile, I was crying out in excruciating pain in recovery because my kidneys were killing me. I was yelling that the pain was too much and I couldn't handle it. Everyone was saying they were surprised that Cambria was sleeping through all of my shouting. I was begging the nurses to ease my pain and they could not figure out what the cause was. One nurse suggested that it may be a kidney stone. Because of the pain, I could not move and they had to do every thing for me, including put me into a new bed. However, this gave everyone else plenty of time to enjoy Cambria! (Not all of these pictures were taken while I was screaming in agonizing pain, don't worry)...


After the pain had been treated with Percocet, they gave me my baby and we slept. I don't even remember this.


The experience was unforgettable and I have hundreds of more pictures of the whole thing. Ryan and Lydia were also there and were very supportive. Cody was a great coach and everyone was very helpful. My dad helped me survive with his "box of smiles" that he claimed UPS delivered directly to the hospital (he actually gave me a box!). The next day, Kendra stopped by to see Cambria as well as my parent's pastor, Bill and his wife, Amy. Cambria was born Oct. 4, 2007 at 1:51 PM. I am still dealing with some pains and I can't wait to get back to my normal self. Breastfeeding has proven to be very difficult, but equally rewarding.
We had our first doctor's appointments today since the birth and I was put on some more antibiotics for my kidneys. Again, he said it might be a kidney stone and he sent the cultures out to be checked. Cambria is in good health and everyone's doing well. I will post more pictures later. Thank you to everyone who offered their prayers and support along the way. I couldn't have done it without all of you! I hope you have all enjoyed this blog and I will continue to use it to update you about Cambria! Thanks again and I can't wait until everyone can meet her.
-Alicia







4 comments:

Dot said...

I'm so impressed that you've already blogged!! Have to admit I've been checking your page religiously to hear your story! Glad everything went well and everyone is happy and healthy. Your pictures are incredible!

Congratulations!!

Dana said...

she is really beacutiful. congrats.

Dana said...

oh, and leave it to me to mis-spel "beautiful".

Anonymous said...

Congrats Alicia And Cody! She is beautiful! We can't wait to meet her. Grandma is soo jealous that I get to see pics of her and she can't lol

~Melissa