Piper's Story

For those who care to hear, and for my own personal record, here is the story of Piper's grand entrance into the world and our family:

About a week before Piper was born I woke up from a dead sleep with the most horrible stomach cramp that lasted for about twenty minutes. Justin woke up to find me on the floor trying not to die...He thought for sure this is it, I thought the same thing. After the mother of all contractions ended I kept having regular contractions for about a half hour. Justin decided to call our friends who live up the street to come stay with the kids while we went in...of course the contractions stopped as soon as that phone call was made. I went in to be checked by my doctor the next day and was still a 3 which I had been for a while, but she had me keep my regular appt for the next day just in case anything decided to start happening. After a full day of braxton hicks, she checked me again and I was a 4. So, for the next week I went to bed with my house spotless, kids clothes laid out, and everything ready in case she came. It was a LONG week. Then a week before her due date it was time to be induced whoo hoo right!?

Wrong. I went to bed Tues night thinking finally, I get to meet her, finally I have made it to the finish line. My doctor had set everything up for the induction at 7 in the morning. She instructed me to call about an hour before that just in case they had a ton of walk in's to make sure they had room. I called and when I did, the nurse informed me,"You are not on our list" and she wasn't sure she could get me in at all that day...WHAT! 

Let the breakdown begin...

Justin was trying to be so supportive, he even promised to take me to gap baby and buy the whole store. Poor guy, with his crazy emotional wife. My mom had flown in the day before was also trying to comfort me.  Then my doctor called and assured me that she had had words with the nursing staff. that she had personally walked the order over and had me out on the list the week before. She felt terrible and was able to get to the bottom of who had made the mistake. She told me I could come in and be checked and if I had progressed any further, she would admit me. I went in to be checked...still a 4. She then told me she had informed the nursing staff that I would be coming in at 7 the next morning and that I would not be calling first, and that she would meet me there at 7am. She also told us she would call if they had room for me before that. 

Justin and I went to lunch and drowned my sorrows with some retail therapy at the mall. My mom watched the kids and we waited for a call. My doctor called later that afternoon to say that we should plan on the next morning like we had discussed because the hospital had had several more walk ins at that point in the afternoon. Stupid pregnant people who actually went into labor on their own! 

So that night I went to bed with the assurance that no matter what I would be headed to the hospital at 7 am to meet my baby...a 6am phone call shattered that. I know what you are thinking...surely they did not do that to an emotional pregnant lady a second time! Oh yes, they did. They told me that they hoped to get me in later in the day but couldn't guarantee me a spot that day either...if you thought the first day's breakdown was bad...poor Justin. I laid awake bawling...cause who can fall back to sleep after that...and at 8:30 they called back asking me to come it at 11. I then held my breath until 11. but this time we were a go. 

We got to the hospital at 11 and we were checked in and on pitocin at 12:30. since it was my third baby and I was already at a 4, and they knew I didn't want to miss my window for drugs, they gave me the epidural as soon as the contractions really got going. After I was good and drugged and a 5, my doctor broke my water and we all expected things to progress pretty quickly after that...wrong...I should have stopped expecting things by that point right? I progressed at a cm an hour pretty much, until I reached an 8. Then when my doctor checked me she was able to make me fully dilated and we were set to push. 

Now, Cole was posterior and 8lbs 15oz after 3 hours of pushing and turning him he was born. Ali was faced the right way and came flying out in 2 pushes. Surely this baby would be a breeze like her. again...I was so wrong. I started pushing and was told she was still up pretty high, but being a third baby she should come down pretty easily with pushing. After pushing for a minute or so, her heart rate dropped dramatically. You could see the look of concern on the nursing staffs faces. Every time I pushed her heart rate dropped dangerously low. My doctor called in another doctor to see if he agreed with her diagnosis, which was that her head was sideways, with a possible cord around the neck. He agreed that her head was sideways. They also explained that she was too far up to get her out with a vacuum in case her heart rate continued to drop. So after turning me to try to get her positioned the right way, the other doctor started telling me the down low on a C-section and all the risks and terrifying facts just in case they needed to whisk me back to get her out. They were afraid her cord was too short and that's why she was up so high at that point. 

WHAT. A C-section? I pushed out a near 9 pounder faced the wrong way...I could do this! They explained that they were sure I could, but that she couldn't take it. She was getting too distressed with the pushing. My doctor stepped in and said, "this is what we will do, as long as she will tolerate contractions lets just wait and see what the contractions can do to move her down to a safe zone. But that if her heart rate kept dropping with just contractions they would have to get her out."

By this time I could still feel the epidural on my stomach but I was starting to feel a ton down below. So for the next hour and a half I sat facing the monitors watching her recover from contractions, holding my breath every time a nurse enter the room, and praying that she would come down so I could push. all the while feeling way more than I wanted to feel, but afraid to tell anyone for fear they would say well, let's just do the C-section. 

Finally after all that time my doctor checked me again. She had come down to a safe zone, one where they could get her out in an emergency. I pushed for not too long after that and the other doctor came in with the vacuum, just in time to see her head and say well I guess you don't need me. I felt WAY more than I did with the other two...like holy crap why do people want to feel this kind of hurt...but it was over quickly and she was out. and she was the EXACT same weight and length as Ali. She scored a 9 on her apgar. and in spite of her heart rate dropping to the 50's when I pushed she was totally healthy. Turns out the cord was around her neck, hence the scary drop. This hospital gives them their first bath and everything right in the room so mom doesn't have to miss it and sit alone while everyone else gets to see that fun stuff. 

She was born at 11:59 and 30 seconds. We had called my parents at 7:30 to tell them it would be soon. Little did we know how crazy things would get. So when we called them after she was born we fully expected them to be at our house soundly nestled in bed. but instead we were surprised to find they had come to the hospital when we had called an had been waiting ever since. The kids had fallen asleep on their laps and they had decided to just wait. So a little after midnight Cole and Ali, with slightly pillow creased faces, came in to meet their new, yet to be named, baby sister. It was tender. After about 20 minutes ali curled up on my lap and said "I want to get out of this place." when I asked why she replied "because it smells bad!" they took that as their cue to leave. We ate some food, rested a bit and then moved into a really nice, large recovery room with a couch that actually fit Justin. (If you have ever delivered at UVMC in Orem, you know that that is a far cry from the closet they put you in with the fold out chair that barely fits a man half Justin's size.) We had visitors, they kids came again, and we enjoyed our celebration dinner that the hospital provides. It was complete with a bottle of martinelli's, fancy desserts, smoothies, salads, and your choice of entree from a nice menu. Justin had steak which he said was really good, and I had salmon which had the best sauce ever on it. (They even give the moms a complimentary massage.)

We loved the entire staff at the hospital...(after we got over being pushed back so many times). All the nurses were fabulous and our Doctor was just as wonderful as we had expected her to be. I had been referred to her by my friend Sarah. She told me how amazing she was and then informed me she was a midwife. My immediate response was a funky look and "um...I want drugs and I am not having a baby in a bathtub!" Sarah assured me she had drugs and loved her experience with her. We had only lived here a month, and I knew Sarah was normal, so I went for it. I am so glad I did. She was great...and I had drugs and no bathtubs were involved...(no offense to any reading this who do that, I am just more of a pansy than you:)

We decided the morning after she was born that she was definitely a Piper. Oh how we love her. She has been such a good baby (knock on wood) and we are enjoying every second of her sweetness. and daddy is wondering how he will handle being this in love with two little ladies. 

Welcome to the world Piper...our family feels so blessed that we get to have you!