Avery's grand entrance

I was SURE Avery was going to come early. Every time I stood up, I swear she was going to fall out, so when she still hadn’t come on her due date (March 15th) I was quick to schedule an induction. Kate was on time and was 8 lbs. 12oz. so I knew that if I went over, both Avery and I were going to be a little too uncomfortable. So on March 19th, we arrived at the hospital at around 7:30am, and I was hooked up to the Pitocin at around 9:00am (I was dilated to about a 2-3 when I came in). Contractions came on pretty quick. I always go into the hospital with the mentality that I will go as long as I can without an epidural and once they start to get unbearable, I ask for the epidural. I’ve done this with all three of my girls and every time I question the logic. Usually by the time I’ve gotten the epidural, the worst part is over…so I thought. When the contractions started to get really bad, our anesthesiologist set me up first with an intrathecal while the epidural usually takes quite a while longer. The intrathecal supposedly lasts about 45 minutes while giving the epidural time to work. Once the intrathecal wears out, the epidural is SUPPOSED to kick in.
With the intrathecal, I could still totally feel my legs but it took the edge off the contractions. Mike and I passed our time by watching the monitor because our good friends Jill and Jeremy were having their baby at almost the same time we were and we could see how her contractions were going. About 30-40 minutes after the intrathecal, I started to feel contractions again. “Uh…where’s the epidural?” I ask myself. Five minutes later I felt every inch of my legs, uterus, and whatever else the heck I was feeling. Contractions came on quick and excruciatingly intense. Needless to say, the anesthesiologist came in and tried to give me another dose. Not more than 3 minutes after he left, I started telling the nurse that I needed to push, and in her quiet little polite manner, she replied, “no you don’t sweetie.” “Wanna bet!” I asked her to check me and lo and behold I was a ten and Avery was wasting no time. The intensity of the contractions felt unmanageable because I went from very little pain to instant “transition” pain. All I could do was squeeze Mike’s hand and say, “this is insane!” over and over again. My wonderful OB, Dr. Cragun was of course, still at his office so the sweet nurses were all fighting over who was not going to deliver Avery (I know, it makes you feel great when they’re fighting over who doesn’t want to deliver your baby). They just kept telling me over and over that Dr. Cragun would be there soon and not to push. I felt like I had no control over my body because they still had me hooked up to the Pitocin at that point. Once someone finally figured out to turn off the Pitocin off, the contractions seemed more manageable. I started pushing right when Dr. Cragun arrived and Avery was born a few minutes later at 1:03 weighing 8lbs. 6oz. She was absolutely perfect. We brought her home the next day. For some strange reason, I'm glad that I felt so much pain bringing her into this world. She suffered much in her short life, and I am glad that in some way, I suffered for her.