after the alter tessa

Welcome back for part 2! Now the real stuff begins. I was so angry about how the night went that it was hard for me to keep a positive attitude about the rest of the birth. There are always those people out there they say they had a good birth experience and I just couldn’t see how that was possible. I mean no matter what you had to push a baby out of your lady parts, and in my mind there was no way that could be pleasant. But I entered that hospital anyway. It was time to meet the little girl I had been praying for for so long. I just kept telling myself that no matter what should arrive at least with in the next 24 hours (or at least I had hoped), and I could handle anything for that long (or at least I had hoped). I had to keep the focus on the prize at the end…my baby girl.

Captain Awesome and I went back up to labor and delivery and since my OB already gave everyone the heads up I was brought into the Labor and Delivery room right away. I am always amazed at how much can happen in that one room. I met the nurse that would stay with me through out the journey and she couldn’t have been nicer. At that point I was checked on by a ton of people. It’s a teaching hospital so not only were there med students and residents but also nursing students as well. Luckily, when it comes to having a baby there is no room for shame…so I didn’t even flinch when everyone got all up in my business. Hey why not right!?

Soon enough my OB came in and had her turn at checking me out. I was at 3-4 cm and things were moving along. She was confident that it wouldn’t be long now, and her positivity was contagious. I had my doubts though. Could it really go that smoothly? I wasn’t in much pain and the contractions were 5 minutes apart, so she called in the wonderful epidural man. My best friend. I was nervous because the last time I got an epidural I was in a TON of pain with contractions so I didn’t have time to focus on the fact that a huge needle was being sent into my spine but this time that wasn’t the case. All I could do was focus on that needle. But I have to tell you….it wasn’t so bad!! The best part being that after it was all over I felt no pain at all. None. It truly is a beautiful thing.

After that time just went along. I watched TV and rested comfortably. To give you a time frame all of the previous events happened between about 9 and 12pm. At noon my doctor returned to check on me before she had a procedure and said that she was thinking about 2:00. That was her best guess. I wasn’t dilating as much as she liked so they gave me pitocin. I was numb and happy so I wasn’t worried about the more intense contractions that were about to come my way. So again I relaxed. Could it really all be this simple?? I was waiting for the other shoe to drop….

At around 1:30 my OB returned and told me I was about 9 cm and I was to wait till I felt a TON of pressure…then after that we would wait another 15 minutes and she claimed the baby would just “slide out”. Based on my previous delivery I was skeptical. That one took an hour and a half of pushing so I wasn’t looking forward to what was ahead. The good news was that my epidural was strong enough for no pain, but I was still able to feel the pressure of the contractions and soon enough I started to feel the need to push.

I told my nurse who got the OB. She checked on me and said it was go time. All smiles, she told me that she believes that I will only have to push twice for the baby to come out. I looked at her in disbelief. Soon, the room that I was resting in so comfortably became the place that I would deliver my baby. The sterile tools came out, and four women stood at my lower end. The OB, my nurse, a nursing student and a resident. Captain Awesome looked squeemish and stayed near my head. They didn’t seem to mind. The women were laughing and chatting away. Some may find this disconcerting, but for me it kept me calm. They casually told me to tell them when I felt a contraction come along and when I did they told me to push. So I did. Each time they told me how great I was doing and how much they could see the baby coming out. They weren’t lying. It only took about 15 minutes and with one final push and all smiles for the women at the bottom my little girl came into the world. She came out with as little stress or pressure than I ever could’ve imagined.

The moment she came out she was placed on my chest and I couldn’t believe it. She was there. I was finally holding the little being that grew from a small cell. The little being that was created by The Captain and I. I grew her in my belly for over nine months and here she finally was. Ten fingers and ten toes and healthy. I was in awe of her.

The mood in the room stayed light. I didn’t love that my OB was having a teaching moment with the resident while I was in such a compromising position, and it was kind of funny that the nursing student just witnessed her first birth. It didn’t matter though…I was holding my daughter. Everyone was still chatting and I just couldn’t believe how easily it all played out. Was I really that lucky? It seemed so! I thanked everyone involved profusely for making my delivery such a great experience (well…as great as giving birth could be). I cried. It couldn’t have gone any better.

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I was happy with the hospital policy that was different than when I had my son. The baby would stay with me the whole time. They did all her measurements while I was with her in the room. They cleaned her up and I got to hold her, and soon nurse her. She latched right away! Soon after we welcomed family in and my son got to meet his baby sister. I was so happy he got to come see us that day. He was so excited and if we missed a full day of seeing him on such a special day I would’ve been sad.

Other than labor my other biggest fear was how my son would handle welcoming his baby sister. He is my buddy and used to full attention so I wasn’t sure, but he did amazing. He was a bit confused with why mommy had wires stuck in her and that I was kind of immobile in bed, but other than that he showed a lot of interest. My heart melted….I was so happy.

North Shore Manhasset Hospital exceeded my expectations this time around. This time I got moved into my private room. All rooms are private now which wasn’t the case with my son. It was almost hotel like! If you’ve had a baby you know how gross you feel after and it’s much better to have your own space. Especially the bathroom!

We had done it! Our family went from three to four and I am feeling complete. It’s everything I have ever wanted in life…I was made a mommy for a second time and I am so excited to be on the adventure again. I have so much more to share, but we will end here with the birth story. The moral of the story is that it all went as smoothly as it could. Minimal pain, and minimal stress. All concluding with a healthy baby girl. What more can you ask for? Nothing…that’s what!