Anika's Birth Story

April 16th

Mom arrives from Amsterdam to stay for quite a while to help out preparing for the Baby and to enjoy being a grandma once she's here. We haven't decided on a name yet, (I like Anika, Robert prefers Anya) since we still have 3 weeks until she's due. Or so we think...

April 18th

We are out shopping for "the baby" when I notice I seem to be leaking fluid...not much, but I notice. We go home, I lay down and it stops, so I'm not worried. Nothing else happens, I feel fine, Baby is moving normally.

 

April 19th

The next morning, I call my Dr.'s office to get checked out - thinking nothing of it, my due date is not for another 2 1/2 weeks - when the nurse tells me to go to the hospital "right away". Hmm. Well, I get dressed, sit down for breakfast, gather my things, and actually remember to grab my hospital bag I packed the day before...and call Robert to let him know I'm going in, but not to worry. Upon arrival I'm asked to change into a gown so they can check me and test the fluid to see if my waters broke. This sounds like an easy test, but its quite uncomfortable, to say the least, and doesn't seem to be conclusive, one test says yes, the other one doesn't. The test is repeated with the same results. The doctor is called to do the test himself, I just want to know when I can go home....I'M NOT DUE YET!

 

Well, the doctor determines that I've ruptured: "You might as well get comfortable, you are staying, we are going to have us a baby." But since nothing else is happening, no contractions and such, we sit around waiting....Robert arrives, having been sent home from work. The doctor decides to come back later that evening, about 8 pm,  to give me some medication to ripen the cervix, since it's not ready yet. The Plan is then to induce the next day. Robert brings my Mom home and prepares to spend the night with me in the hospital. About 2 hours after I receive the medication, I start having contractions, they are still very mild when Robert arrives...but get more intense as the evening progresses. By 11 pm, I'm quite uncomfortable, by 12 am I'm in serious pain and begging for the epidural. After receiving the required fluids, I get my epidural by 1 am - not a minute too early - and I'm asleep 15 minutes later. So is Robert, he must have worked at least as hard trying to get me through the contractions. I'm at 3 cm.

 

 

 

 

April 20th

We both are woken up by the nurses at 6 am, to see if I've progressed, I'm at 10 cm, " we can get started now". Robert rushed home to collect my Mom. By about 7 am, I start pushing, with the help of the nurses, thanks to the epidural I'm in no pain, but I can also not feel the contractions, or my legs for that matter. According to the machines, my contractions are only about 5 minutes apart or so, so things take quite a while, we are chatting away in between pushes. I keep hearing " almost now, I can see the head". The Doc arrives and decides to add some Petocin, to speed up the contractions a bit, but that doesn't seem to do much. At 10:30 the "almost, just a few more pushes" seem more convincing, and sure enough, at 10:32 am she is born.

9 lbs and 14 oz, slightly bruised purple in the face, but healthy.

Robert leans over the side of the bed and says:

" I guess Anika it is..."

 

 

 

We are elated, a bit out of it, so is Mom, who is now "Omama"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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