She is here!!!!

Where does the time go.   Kenna Rae Helland arrived on Monday December 17th  at 2:06 A.M.  She was 6 lbs 1 oz and was 19 inches long

 

The birth story and weeks to follow:
I last posted on Saturday the 15th and felt great.  Then on Sunday morning my water broke.  To say the least, I was shocked. On Saturday night my husband had his buddy over and I ended up not getting any sleep on Saturday night because of those yahoos and woke up to a surprise on Sunday morning.  My water broke while I was in bed and at first it was just a little bit, so I ran to the bathroom,  unsure or in denial that my water just broke.  Sure enough. More kept coming so I woke up my husband.  After that we called the doctor and they told us to come in to make sure my water broke.  So we nervously packed the bags and headed out.  It was odd because I had no contractions before my water broke.  They soon started once I got to the hospital. They confirmed that my water did break and I was 1 cm dilated.  Only 9 cm to go.  I was excited because I thought I would get to watch the packer game and it would keep me distracted.  Well, the dang vikings were on instead and they did not help distract me from my contractions.  My contractions soon started to get worse and worse. At 3 O'clock they checked me and I was only at a 2.  Oh my, this was not good news because my contractions were very intense already.  My cervix sucked and did not want to dilate.  So my nurse recommend I take a bath to help relax.  The bath didn't help and my contractions continued to get worse.  At 4 they checked me and I was at a 3.  Around 4:30- 5:00 I decided to get the epidural.  At the time another lady was getting an epidural so I had to wait.  Then, the doctor finally came and set me up with an epidural.  It did not hurt at all and I did not see the needle, but my contractions were not getting any better.  During my contractions I would get nauseous and shake and I thought for second maybe epidurals do not work on me:(   The nurse informed me that they should work and called the doctor back to give me another one.  Finally around 6:30 I got the second epidural and felt instant relief.  After that I immediately relaxed and felt way better.  

From there my family came to visit and then at 9:00 my doctor was looking at my contractions and suggested that we check before she switched shifts.  She gave Travis and I a weird look and said you are 10 cm dilated.  In 2 hours I went from a 5 to 10.  They said my body was so tense before and my cervix wouldn't dilate.  So we called my family back and told them that we were going to have a baby.  Travis and I were in shock and that i could start pushing.  Pushing wasn't easy and the baby wasn't dropping at all.  Also, when I would push the baby's heart rate would drop.  So after an hour I would stop pushing and let the baby descend on its own.  So we waited an hour and tried to push again. Again I was only able to push for a little bit before I would have to stop to let the baby's heart rate go back to normal.  We stopped and started until about 1:30 in the morning when the doctor said that we need to get this baby out.  They were going to try to use the vacuum or have to have a c-section.  Our baby had pooped in the womb and her heart rate was getting lower.  So 6 pushes later, we got her out with no vacuum or csection. When she came out her cord was wrapped around her neck.  Travis also announced to me that we had a little baby girl:)  I wasn't surprised at all.  I think I would have been more in shock if it was a boy. Right away they put her on me and then took her to make sure everything was okay.  I was in shock and tired out that I had just had a baby and I was now a mom to this tiny little baby.  It was scary and exciting all at once.  I was happy that our little peanut came out okay and that she was healthy.   At 3:00 am my family got to come in and meet the newest addition of our family.   After that, they took her for test and check my vitals.  Every half hour they checked my vitals and would bring her back when she wanted to eat.  To say the least I again got no sleep. 

So there is my birth story. I wanted to try it natural, but ended up with an epidural and couldn't be more happy about it. Next time I am going to just opt for the epidural right away.  More to come on life with a baby.