Birth Day!
Our day began early (5:00 am) with my water breaking at home. We called the nurse line on our way to the hospital so she could let the hospital know we were coming. We arrived around 6:30 am and checked in at triage - after passing the temperature screening at the door. I put on a gown and the nurse completed a vaginal swab to send to the lab to be tested for amniotic fluid. While the sample was being tested, the nurse checked my cervix and said I was 3 cm dilated, but my cervix was "firm and posterior." After 30 minutes, she came back to tell us that the fluid test was negative. Eric and I were shocked. The only explanation was that it was vaginal discharge, but that just didn't seem possible based on the amount of fluid and the continual leaking. The nurse came back to check on me when more fluid came out and agreed that it certainly looked like amniotic fluid. So then the midwife came in to do a second test. She used a speculum to take a sample and looked at it under a microscope. She said it had "ferns" all over the place and was definitely amniotic fluid. So the nurses started an IV, drew blood for labs, and administered the Covid-19 test (which was negative - hooray!). Then we were taken upstairs to a room (Room 610) on the labor and delivery floor! We arrived at our room at 9:00 am.
Since I was only 3 cm, my cervix was not ready for labor, my water had broken, and I wasn't having any contractions, we started Pitocin right away. We started at a low dose and increased the dosage by 2 mL every 30 minutes (to a maximum of 20 mL), while monitoring contractions. My contractions were non-existent at first and gradually began to appear. However, they were very inconsistent and not strong enough to even warrant checking to see if I was progressing. So we continued increasing Pitocin until 2:15, when we reached 20 mL and the nurse did another cervix check. I was only 4 cm dilated, but 60% effaced, which was an improvement. The doctor (Dr. Gable) and nurse agreed that we should add an internal monitor to allow us to measure the strength of the contractions in addition to the timing of the contractions. With the addition of the internal monitor, we could increase the dosage of Pitocin to 30 mL. As we approached 24 mL and 26mL, I began to have strong contractions and was uncomfortable. At 5:15, I got an epidural and was soon much more comfortable! For the next several hours, we tried a few different positions to help progress things (Texas roll, using the peanut ball, and switching sides). At 8:05, I was still only 5 cm dilated but 100% effaced. The doctor (now Dr. Mintzer) agreed that we should be patient, stay the course, and as long as I continued to dilate slowly and become more effaced we would try to avoid a c-section.
When my nurse - who turned out to be Shelby Davick, a Valley swimmer and classmate of Haley's - checked me at 8:50, I had gone from 5 cm to 6 cm and we were thrilled! When I was in labor with Gavin, I got stuck at 5-6 cm for several hours and then quickly dilated to 10 cm. So we were hopeful that this labor would progress similarly. And it did! So at this point, Shelby began to gather the table of supplies we would need for the birth. By 9:45 I was 8-9cm and at 10:32 I was 10 cm dilated and the baby was at -2 station. We were ready to push!
Shelby had me do a couple of "practice pushes" before we really started pushing seriously. With each contraction, I would push for 10 seconds, take a breath, and repeat two more 10-second pushes. Then breathe, try to relax, and wait for the next contraction. When we were just a few pushes away from having the baby out, Shelby called for the doctor and other nurses. After just 11 contractions and 34 minutes of pushing, Muffin was born! Dr. Mintzer had me reach down to help pull her up onto my chest as soon as she was out. I could tell right away that this baby was smaller than Gavin had been when he came up onto my chest. And Muffin had dark hair! Eric looked over my shoulder and proudly said, "It's a girl!"
We were elated to finally meet Muffin and to learn that we had a daughter. But the excitement ramped up a bit when the nurses struggled to get her to cry or make any noise. They suctioned her nose and mouth, but that didn't help. So they took her off my chest and moved her to the warmer in the corner of the room. Eric went with her and I stayed behind to be stitched up (just a tiny first degree tear) and deliver the placenta (which wasn't coming on its own). After some pestering, Muffin finally began to cry and we all breathed a little easier. The nurse took her to the scale and announced that she was 6 pounds, 15 ounces, and 19.5 inches. We were so surprised to hear her weight since she measured 7 pounds 14 ounces on the ultrasound one week prior. I guess the margin of error worked in our favor this time.
When the nurses brought her back to me, Eric and I agreed that her name would be Elsie Kate. We had two possible names in mind, but Elsie seemed to suit this tiny, dark-haired babe. We sent messages to our parents and siblings with her birth statistics, but did not share the name as we wanted to tell Gavin first (in the morning). And after I had tried to nurse Elsie, gone to the bathroom, and the commotion had died down, we slept for a few minutes at a time until 6:00.
The morning of May 28, we ordered breakfast - a huge priority since room service is only available 6:30 am-7:00 pm and we hadn't been able to have dinner - and called Gavin to tell him he had a baby sister. He was very happy to hear that Muffin was here and Muffin is a girl. But he quickly lost interest in talking about her and wanted to tell us all about the first day of his "vacation" at Nana and Papa's house. It was cute.
Throughout the morning, we called our immediate families to share Elsie's name and send photos. We spent the afternoon filling out social security paperwork, emailing close friends, and filing paperwork with our human resources departments to formally take leave from work. Eric also purchased elsiekthorsen.com and added her to our family iCloud account.
For the rest of the evening, we continued to nurse as often as Elsie seemed hungry (which was a lot) and ended up sending her to the nursery overnight so that we could get some sleep. Friday morning, I joined my staff's "KA Koffee Chat" Zoom meeting and introduced everyone to Elsie. The OB midwife came in and discharged me, and the pediatrician came in and discharged Elsie. I also got my Rubella vaccine. And before we knew it, we were on our way home (after stopping to pick up our to-go lunch order from South Union, of course)!
