| I had Cassidy on her due date. Sept. 11, I decided I was ready to have this kid already and started using accupressure points that I'd heard will cause contractions. By 7 pm that night, my contractions were coming 7 to 8 minutes apart. I ate very little, and slept even less. I remember falling asleep during either Jay Leno or Conan O'Brian, and waking up at the end of the Conan O'Brian show. I tried to get back to sleep, but couldn't, so I watched tv and timed my contractions. They were 3 to 5 minutes apart for about an hour and a half. I couldn't remember for sure, but I thought I'd been told to go to the hospital when they were 5 minutes apart. I woke up Heather (I was living at her house at the time) and she had me call the hospital, who had me call my doctor, who told me to go to the hospital. I got to the hospital at 5:30 am and was checked in by 6 am. When I checked in, I was at a tight 2 centimeters and 70% effaced. This was a Tuesday-the Friday before, at my OB appointment, I had been a big whopping zero! Ami, my birthing coach, got to the hospital around 6:30 AM. I spent most of the morning in the jacuzzi tub (they couldn't draw my blood because of that! HA HA HA!!!) until the contractions got so bad that the nurse came in and asked if I was ready for an IV with some medication. (yup-I was screaming!) I got an IV with Stadol, and while it still hurt, I didn't really care. I was at 6 centimeters by now. I don't really remember a whole lot until my doctor got to the hospital to check on me. He broke my water-which had meconium in it-and started to leave. (His office was right by the hospital.) Fortunately, he hadn't left the building completely because just after he left, I was ready to have my baby! Because of the meconium, once the head got out I had to stop pushing so they could suction her lungs, which was absolutely no problem for me, thanks to the Stadol! ;) Cassie literally popped out and had to be caught by the doctor. Ami got to cut the cord, and when they put Cassie on the scale, she cried and peed. (Won't she love my immortalizing THAT image when she's older?) Everyone at the hospital said she was the most beautiful baby-which she STILL is! |
