Thursday, January 29, 2009

Ally Adele Taynton

It all started on January 6th at 9:40 am... at least that was the time of my doctor’s appointment. I didn’t think I was going to make it to that appointment because I was due January 1st and never expected to still be pregnant six days later. As with all previous appointments, this one started with a urine dip. I should have known something was up because the nurse had to look at the bottle to compare the color in order to rate it. I was ushered into the exam room, or whatever it's called, to wait for the doctor. As the minutes passed I was becoming more and more anxious. She finally came in and checked the baby's heart beat, measured my tummy, and asked if I had been feeling any contractions or anything. I had yet to feel anything close to a cramp let alone a contraction. She then let me know that I had a really high amount of protein in my urine and because I was already overdue she was going to send me to do some blood work then I was to check myself into Labor and Delivery.

As I walked to get the blood tests done I called Petey who was at work an hour away and told him what was up. As I walked to the Labor and Delivery I called my mom and she was by my side in less than 20 minutes. It took Petey closer to 50 minutes to get to my side. The doctor decided to induce me at noon and due to the baby's heartbeat dropping; I had to stay lying on my side. Petey, my mom, and I passed the time by watching the office episodes on DVD.

The real fun didn't start until midnight when the doctor broke my water. The following three hours were the first taste of labor that I had felt. Ouch. I then received my long overdue epidural. Although the pain didn’t disappear completely, I felt a whole lot better. At 5:00 am the nurse checked me and I was at 6 cm dilated. She came back 15 minutes later and checked again and I was at 9 cm dilated. I tried to catch some sleep but instead I watched my husband and my mom sleep. At 6:00am the nurse came back in and said “alright, it’s time for you to push”… so I did. Then on January 7th at 7:17am Ally Adele emerged into the world weighing 7 lbs 4 oz, measuring 20 inches long, and a full head of hair on a huge cone head.

I can’t believe I survived. My husband and my mom were what got me through. I can’t imagine how hard it would have been without them supporting me the whole way through.