Audrey's Birth

Contractions started around dinnertime on Wednesday, September 19 and picked up speed when I went to bed. They kept up all night and got as close as 15 minutes apart. I kept sleeping in between contractions, but boy were they annoying! I figured they would pick up when I got up for the day. My mom skipped work and came over to help with Charlotte. We made German pancakes for breakfast and I realized it had been an hour since my last contraction. We decided the contractions were going away and my mom went to work. Bummer!

I had random contractions throughout the day on Thursday, but they were pretty spaced out. I put my TENS unit on to see if it would help-it did. I used it intermittently throughout the day. (TENS stands for transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation. It is a pain management device that sends electrical stimulation through patches that you place on your skin. Studies also show it being effective for labor pain management too. I already had the unit for my tailbone pain...so I was eager to see if it would help during labor!)

Thursday evening we took Charlotte to St. Phil's fall festival. She had so much fun on the merry-go-round and super slide. We all ate a huge funnel cake with chocolate syrup, chocolate chips, powered sugar and whipped cream. Yum! I had just a few contractions while we were there and had to stop and breathe it out a few times. We got home and put Charlotte to bed. The contractions picked up again when I went to bed.

At 11:45pm I was still trying to fall asleep and I felt a kick and POP! (earlier in the day I randomly googled and read about what happens when your water breaks and I remembered reading about people feeling a pop or snap.) I knew it was my water breaking and I froze, wondering how long I had. Then I jumped out of bed just in time. It seemed like gallons of fluid! Immediately the contractions intensified. I told Willie to call our moms...we had to go to the hospital NOW! Both grandmas showed up within 5-10 minutes. I remember just shouting "GO! GO! GO!" in between contractions. Willie drove about 65mph and I prayed that we wouldn't be pulled over. Luckily there were barely any other cars on the road.

We arrived to the emergency department and they wanted to check me to make sure the baby wasn't hanging out. I was freaking out and just wanted to get up to L&D ASAP (It's about 2 miles away from the ED!). I remember worrying about the nurse who ran me up there. She was huffing and puffing and I was worried she might have a heart attack and then Willie would have to deliver the baby in the elevator!

When we got to L&D they weighed me (I had lost 3 pounds...that's a lot of water!). Then they took me to triage and checked me. The resident was like "Umm....I think she's complete!". They took me to a delivery room and started setting up. I think the entire staff was in my room. I was begging for an epidural, but I knew it was hopeless! They were like "Oh honey it's way to late for that, you are almost there!"

I rattled off a few things I wanted..."I want her on my chest immediately; I want Willie to announce the sex and cut the cord". Then, I remember my mom asking me if I had to push. Just moments later I was pushing. My mom said I only pushed like 5 times. The cord was wrapped around the baby's head and the charge nurse was yelling at me "Your baby does not like this at all...We have to get baby out on the next push". The resident told me she was going to use the vacuum...I was pissed! I said "NO! No vacuum!". Her heart rate kept dropping and they used the vacuum and I tried so hard to push with the next contraction. It was terrifying!

Then, she was out...Willie said "It's another girl!". I saw a blue baby taken over to the warmer. I kept asking if she was okay. I later found out a NICU NNP was there. She told me she didn't even have to do anything. The nurse just dried and stimulated her and she pinked right up. The NNP didn't realize it was me having the baby. She joked about my "drive-by delivery" and said her 2nd baby was a drive-by too!

I asked the resident how long I was in the delivery room. Her eyes got big and she said "Honey, from the moment you stepped foot on Labor and Delivery to the moment you delivered, it was less than 15 minutes!" It was less than one hour after my water broke.

The baby was gone just a few minutes and they brought her back to me pink, swaddled, and perfect! "What are we going to name her?" I asked. Willie really wanted to name her "Layla"or "Daisy" but I never loved either name and once she was here I didn't think they suited her. "Audrey" had been one of our top girl names of the moment, but we had a list of about 10 that we liked. I remember throwing the name list into my bag, but we never did find it. In my postpartum fog, I couldn't even remember the other names. But I thought she looked like an Audrey, so we decided to try it out for awhile and it stuck. We had trouble finding time to discuss her middle name (which delayed the sex and name announcement on Facebook and pissed everyone off!). Elizabeth is my middle name and I thought it sounded pretty with Audrey so we finally set it in stone on Facebook.

Audrey looks a lot like Charlotte when she was born. Her nose is more petite and she has her daddy's large deep dimples. But she has the same thick head of dark brown hair, same eyes, and similar facial features. I can't wait to see what she looks like as she grows and changes!