Stella's Birth Story

On June 14, 2010 (my due date) I had a doctor appointment.  My mother in law came into town on June 10th, so she was here for when I went into labor.  She tagged along with me and Olivia to my appointment.  When Matt left for work he suggested I ask if I could be induced the next day.  So....when Dr. Draznik walked into my exam room he chuckled.  I was sooooo big!  He checked me and I was 1 cm dialated.  He mentioned that nothing was really happening and it was up to me on what I wanted to do.  I asked if he would indice me the next day.  He said he would call the hospital and get back to me in a few minutes.  He was gone for about 5 minutes and before he came into my exam room I overheard him ask his office staff if they had a time for me.  I got very excited hearing these words!!  He came in and told me to arrive at the hospital at 6 am on June 15th....he said that time was for the birds, but I didn't care!  I was excited to meet my baby.

After my appointment we met my sister at Applebee's in West Chester (it was close to her work).  Matt left work early and when he got home we went to Kohl's to do a little shopping and we went to dinner.  I didn't eat much because I wanted to keep my stomach as empty as I could...I was so worried I was going to poop when it came time for me to push!   That evening we had really bad thunderstorms.  It was bad enough that I had to take Olivia downstairs for awhile.  On the 11pm news I saw that "Touchdown Jesus" had been struck by lightening.  It was a huge statue of Jesus in front of a church on 75 North (going towards Dayton).  I didn't sleep much that night, but I think my adrenaline kept me going.

I woke up around 5 am.  I got dressed, brushed my teeth, fixed my hair and make up.  There was no way I was going to be getting my picture taken without wearing any make up!  That's just me....We arrived at The Christ Hospital a little after 6 am.  I checked into L&D and the nurse asked me a thousand questions and I had to sign a few papers.  As we were checking in, a woman was being wheeled from triage to a l&d room.  She wheeled past us screaming in agony.  Matt tried not to laugh///I had empathy for her because I knew that pain is where I was headed!

The nurse walked us into our L&D room....room #9070.  I was handed a gown to change into and a bag to put my cothes in.  After I changed I laid down in the bed and the nurse started my iv.  Her name was Alice.  She went thru a list of questions and finally started the pitocin right around 7 am. I called my parents around 7:30 am to let them know I was on my way.  My mom said they were getting dressed and would come to the hospital in a little bit.  Soon after the pitocin was administered I started having fairly strong contractions around 2-3 minutes apart.  My doctor came in around 9 am and broke my water.  The fluid was clear and my contractions started getting even stronger.  I had to pee A LOT!  The nurse showed me how to disconnect all of the wires, so I was able to walk back and forth from the bed to the bathroom.  Each time I had to use the bathroom I would leak all over the hardwood floors since my water was broken.  I was so embarassed, but the nurse told me not to worry about it.

My parents arrived at the hospital around 10 am.  By this time my contractions were even stronger and more intense.  The FIFA World Cup was on during this time, so we had that on.  I didn't watch it, but it was a nice distraction.  My mom had just got back from a trip to Colorado with my grandma, aunt, and cousin Maggie the night before and she was trying to show me pictures of her trip.  I was in too much pain to look at her pictures!  Around 12:30 pm I was 4 cm dialated and I was ready for my epidural.  By the time I received my epidural Dr. Draznik came in to check on me.  Just before he came to check on me Alice, my nurse, checked me and I was 7 cm dialated.  My doctor told me since she had just checked me he was going back to his office for a little while and come back to check on me in about an hour.  He literally walked out of the room and I felt the sudden urge to push!  I told my mom and she told me to press the nurse call button.  However, I was so numb from the epidural I couldn't move my body to press the button!  My mom pressed the button for me and I told the nurse.  Dr. Draznik overheard me and came into the room.  Luckily he didnt leave and was just outside my door!  He checked me and I was complete...ready to push!!!  He went out into the hallway (where my mom and dad were at this point) and told them I was ready to push.  He also called his office and told them he wouldn't be back until after he delivered me.  He came back into the room and sat and talked to Matt and I as the nurses prepared the room for delivery.

They got my legs into stirrups, Matt was at my head encouraging me.  Several nurses came into the room telling me to push like I had to poop!  I started pushing around 1:25 pm and I pushed thru 3 contractions and she was out!  Born at 1:40 pm.  I had an episiotomy because her heart rate dropped and he wanted her out quickly.  They laid her on my chest and the first thing I noticed were her beautiful eyelashes.  Matt did not want to cut the umbilical cord, so Dr. Draznik asked if I wanted to, and I did!  It was very neat.  As I was pushing we took bets on how big she would be.  Dr. Draznik said 8lbs 5 oz, I said 8 lbs and Matt said 8 lbs 2 oz....we were all wrong!  She weighed 8 lbs 15 oz and was 20.75 inches long!  Our little star bright...Stella Claire...........