The One About the Baby...

And without further ado, I am pleased to introduce you to our newest blessing,

ELIZABETH GRACE KA'IULANI HOLLOWAY

She was born on June 26, 2011 at 11:50PM. I don't know why folks are interested in birth weights or lengths, but if that's your thing, she was 6lbs, 5 ounces and 19 1/2 inches long.

(She is also the reason that I haven't blogged in almost 2 months.) (But she's totally worth it.)

So now I'm going to share Elizabeth's birth story with you. (Don't worry, I'll spare you the really gross parts...) Here goes:

I'd been having Braxton-Hicks contractions for quite a few weeks before she was born, and so I called my mother and told her that she'd better drive down to Alabama soon so she wouldn't miss the birth. Wouldn't you know it, as soon as my mom arrived, the contractions stopped completely. I didn't have another until she'd been here almost a week.

In the meantime, we'd had our new floors installed in our kitchen, hallway, living and dining rooms, bought new furniture (and had it delivered!), and even threw The Hubster his surprise 30th birthday party! And... still no baby.

That changed on Saturday, June 26. The day started just like any other day; I got up, made the twins their breakfast, cleaned up the house a little. I met with a friend, showed some Craigslist buyers some items and even took a nap.

At about 2:00PM, I started having real contractions (not the BH kind). They were spaced really far apart, about 15 minutes or so, and were low in my back. They kept coming at irregular intervals, so I called the hospital close to our home (not the one I was scheduled to deliver at), to see when they suggested I come in. I didn't want to drive all the way to Columbus (where I was supposed to deliver the baby-- about a 45 minute drive) only to be told that I hadn't dilated and then subsequently be sent all the way back home.

(Side Note: When I went to the doctor 4 days earlier, the midwife checked my cervix and said that she couldn't even feel it; that I was not dilated at all, and that my cervix hadn't even moved down into position. This is the reason why I stayed at home for as long as I did...)

Anyway.

Eventually, the contractions got down to about 6 minute intervals, and it was pure back labor. I tried every position I could think of to get comfortable, but it just didn't work. I tried sitting on the couch, I tried sitting on the floor. I tried getting on all fours (not advised if you have hardwood floors), I tried sitting backwards on the toilet chair and leaning over it. I tried pretty much every position I could find on the internet to help ease the pain. There was no denying it though... I was having the dreaded Back Labor.

At about 6PM, I called the midwife. There was a very bad storm rolling in (thunder, lightning, hail, you-name-it), and I didn't think I was going to make it to Columbus. She encouraged me to try because now my contractions were dead-on 6 minutes apart. I was scared. Because of the storm, I knew it would take us much longer than the usual 45 minutes, and I didn't think I would make it all that way. I certainly didn't want to have the baby in the car!

I told the Hubster that I definitely wanted to go to the hospital right by our home, but I didn't want to leave the house just yet because it was raining sideways and the thunder/lightning/hail was pretty bad. We waited it out for about another hour and a half and then I couldn't take it anymore. (The vomiting was a good indication that it was time to go.) (And I think so was my screaming, "MY BACK IS BREAKING!" at every contraction...)

When we arrived at the hospital, the Hubster dumped me at the entrance to the Emergency Room and went to park the car. I hobbled into the ER and the woman at the front desk was already on the telephone with the maternity ward telling them that I was on my way up. They had a wheelchair waiting on me, and I had two contractions on my way up. One in the elevator, the other in the hallway. The one in the elevator was pure torture.

When the nurses got me into the delivery room, they checked my cervix and found I was already dilated at 7+ centimeters, and 100% effaced! I was so surprised that I got that far on my own! (The Hubster always tells me how low my pain tolerance is, so you can imagine my surprise when they told me that, considering most women get epidurals at 4 centimeters.) I told them that I was supposed to deliver my baby at a hospital in Columbus, and the nurse said, "Honey, you ain't going nowhere. Otherwise, you'll end up having your baby in your vehicle!" That was enough to convince me to stay put. That, and the fact that I felt like my back would break at any moment.

Speaking of the pain, I can honestly say that unmedicated childbirth is the WORST pain I have ever felt in my life. I literally felt like my back was going to shatter, my vagina was being ripped open, and my body was going to split in half. I'm not exaggerating or being overly dramatic-- this is truly what I thought was happening. The nurse (a sweet woman named Beth) told me that because I was already 8 centimeters along, I wouldn't be able to have an epidural or any other medication to dull the pain. I couldn't believe it. I burst into tears because the pain was so overwhelming. I really didn't know how I was going to do this all on my own.

But I did.

Beth told me to push because it was time for us to meet our child. I told Beth I couldn't, because my back would break. She assured me that my back would not break and to push anyway.

Two pushes, and our precious Elizabeth was born into this world.

And then there were 5. :)