(heather howard photography)
i woke up at 2am with contractions and i knew they were the real thing. i was scheduled to be induced later that day, but needed the four hours of antibiotics so after timing the contractions for about an hour, we decided to get moving. we arrived at the hospital around 5am and they got me all settled in and when they checked me i was already dilated to a five. before i knew it (around 6:30am) i was receiving an epidural, but for some reason, they gave me a spinal at the same time. maybe they thought i would progress really fast since i was already a five and this was my fifth baby. dave and i had invited sadie to come with us and see her little sister be born. we told her to bring her homework because it might be a long and boring wait. i really wanted her to be there though. i thought she would be interested in the medical side of things and i thought it would be educational for her. when i had my first baby, i had no idea what to expect. most of all, she has been so excited for this baby, and i thought it would bond them together. anyway, it was the strongest epidural i have ever had and i started to feel a little funny, like my face was sweating. they came to put my catheter in and so dave took sadie to get a drink. i remember laying on my back and then the next thing i knew i was laying on my side, kind of like waking up and feeling totally out of it, with an oxygen mask on. there were so many doctors and nurses in my room and i felt so tired. i didn't know where i was and a nurse was in my face saying, "stay with me, stay with me." it happened to be a friend from flagstaff that had moved here. i knew she worked as a nurse, but it still made it all the more confusing. i guess my blood pressure dropped to 50/38 and i passed out. they called a rapid response over the load speaker and when dave heard it, he was confused but rushed to my room and found the room full of doctors and me lying there unresponsive. they were pumping me full of fluid and ephedrine, which brought me back to reality, but still so tired. they took my blood pressure about every four minutes and it wouldn't stay up, so i think i ended up getting about 6 liters of fluid and 8 doses of ephedrine...that, plus the 60 pounds i gained led to one swollen and puffy mama! i wasn't progressing at all. by 11am i was only a six and every time i had a contraction the baby's heart rate would go way down. i could tell the doctor was nervous because she stayed in my room and just watched my monitor. they turned my epidural off in hopes to help my blood pressure. we started discussing a c- section thinking that the baby wouldn't be able to handle stronger contractions, but they checked me and i had jumped up to an eight. i sent sadie to get some lunch and within ten minutes i really felt like i should push. i was ready and only pushed for about fifteen minutes and the baby was here. she was perfect! i felt so grateful that we made it through. dave called sadie back. she missed the delivery but was able to come in right after. the nurses helped sadie give the baby her first bath and measure her and weigh her. sadie was able to do so much and i think she felt an instant bond with her new little sister. we had a list of names we liked, but during the delivery dave had a feeling her name was vivian and right when they gave her to me i looked at her and thought her name should be vivian. it was a much more intense delivery than we expected, but i am grateful for great doctors and nurses and a wonderful husband. we love our vivian sophia....she belongs.
