Birth Story

Some of you have heard, by now, the “rest of the story.” Some of you have not, so here ‘tis. My last post “Broken BOW” went up at 6:32 pm. Diedra at that point had a nice contraction pattern, which started at 4:40 after they broke her water. By 6:35, she was starting to have more pain, so we called the nurse in to dose her epidural. Since she had not progressed all day, we figured it might be a long night. She was hoping to catch a nap after some pain relief. So, the nurse came in. Since she was nearing the end of her shift (she was with us since 7:00 am), she said she’d like to check Diedra before she went home. She checked her at 6:40 and found her to be complete (10 cm)! It was nuts. We went from, “get me some medicine so I can take a nap” to “time to push”–in about five minutes!

Diedra was a bit frightened–mostly by the shock of the rapid change. But, she quickly assumed the position, and pushed, following the nurse’s instructions. I held her leg with one hand, and tried to get a few pictures off with the other hand. Our doctor entered the room about five contractions later, suited up, and delivered little Andie. Our doctor was great! She’s a great motivator, and has excellent bedside manner. She even let me cut the cord. I’m shocked as I look back at the times. I posted “Broken BOW" at 6:32, and Miranda was born at 7:13! Wow.

The nurses took her to the warmer, and cleaned her up. She was kinda gurgley, so they suctioned her out. She was also a bit lethargic (doc explained the cord was around her neck). Her one-minute APGAR was a seven and her five-minute score, a nine. That’s passing, and we’re praising!

An hour of recovery, and they wheeled us up to post-partum. The staff was awesome. Since, we’ve just been adjusting to a new life. Diedra’s doing great! Learning how to nurse, she went to a class with all the other new moms. Miranda’s eating well and sleeping well. We’re all bonding, and enjoying our time together. It’s amazing how much we miss her when they take her to the nursery. She’s precious, a gift from the Giver of Life. Come see her, she’ll probably let you hold her.