I've been thinking about making this post for a week and a half now. Every time I sit down to type it up, I get side tracked by other things. Whether it be baby, cleaning something, the boys, laundry, a holiday, you name it, I've been distracted by it. ; ) So needless to say, things have been busy around our house. Now that I have a moment, here is the birth story of Baby Gwen.
Thursday, December 13th, I hit 36 weeks. My 36 week appointment was that day too at 4:10. At about 9:30 that morning, I started having contractions. They weren't hard or painful but they were consistent. They ranged anywhere from 7 minutes apart to 15 minutes apart. I wasn't overly concerned. I told Joe about them but then they stopped. Then they picked up again around noon. They would be really consistent and then they would stop. I was going to pick Enoch up from school at 3:15 but decided against it because the contractions kept coming at a consistent rate. So a friend picked Enoch up and dropped him off at home. Then Joe came home from work so we all hopped in the car and headed to my appointment. They ended up checking me, while Joe walked the boys around in the hall, and I was at 2 cms but not effaced at all. Then the boys came back in and they did an ultrasound to make sure baby was still head down and she was. Then I asked if the doc could check the sex just one last time to be certain and sure enough, she was still a girl! So then my doctor told me if my contractions were 7 minutes apart for an hour, then I needed to head to the hospital.
So we went home after that and I packed my hospital bag, finished washing and folding laundry and cleaned all of our bed sheets. I also cleaned our rooms and the bathroom. And I did a load of newborn clothes for baby just in case. We went to bed around midnight and I just thought, I need some sleep before anything happens and I'm pretty sure if my contractions get worse, they'll wake me up. I woke up around 3:30 to go to the bathroom and I was feeling pretty uncomfortable and I couldn't go back to sleep so I woke Joe up and told him it was time. My contractions were 5-7 minutes apart and I was uncomfortable but they were not like Trav's labor contractions at all. With him, I wanted to die! We took the boys downstairs to sleep with Bonnie, Joe and Lawry gave me a blessing and then we were out the door and on the way to St Joe's! And traffic at 4:30 am is a beautiful thing! We got to the hospital and were checked into our pre-labor room. They checked me and I was still at a 2 but I was now 70% effaced. They monitored me for about two hours before they put us in a room. Contractions were about every 2-5 minutes by then and were pretty hard. They wheeled me to my room and it was seriously, gorgeous! It was this huge room and a huge bathroom with a ginormous jacuzzi tub. Joe and I could have gone swimming in that tub and there were so many buttons and jets! Fancy!
By 9:30 am, I was signing forms for my epidural. Once the epidural was in place, things were much more relaxed. My mom, my dad, Alana, Bonnie and Travis all showed up around that time. We hung out, laughed, joked, had fun conversations, got some online Christmas shopping done and listened to Bob & Stephen Marley the whole time. I remember at one point during my labor, we all sat and watched "Business Time" by Flight of the Conchords and laughed until we had tears! It was so much fun!
The doctor would come in and check me every few hours and I was progressing slowly but I was still progressing. Gwen just wasn't in a huge rush to join us. Around 2 pm, Bonnie left to go pick Enoch up from school and bring him to the hospital. Right after she left, the doctor came in and suggested breaking my water to get things moving a little quicker. I agreed but we decided to wait for Bonnie and Enoch to arrive first. I honestly never thought it would be a good idea to have my kids there for the whole labor but it was really fun and I'm glad they had been there in the end. It was a great experience for all of us. So at 3:30, Bonnie and Enoch showed up and my dad took Enoch & Travis for a walk while they broke my water. Then the docs left again.
Funny side note. The doctor was a resident and she also had a student with her. Every time the doc would come in to check me, she'd ask if it was okay for the student to check me as well. I really didn't mind this because the epidural had made me entirely numb from the waist down and I couldn't even feel my legs to move them! The doc would check and then the student would check and the student would offer her opinion of where I was and then the doc would give her opinion. This may not seem funny to you but it gave me a good giggle every time. By the third or fourth time they checked I asked, "So what's your best guess?!". It was fun. And they were good sports and didn't mind my joking around at all. : )
By 5:30 I was at a 7, by 6:30 pm I was a 10 and 100% effaced. That's when they asked if I wanted to do a test push. My dad took my boys for a walk at this point. I freaked out a little because I couldn't feel my legs so the anesthesiologist came in and turned my epidural off but gave me the button so I could push it if I needed it. While he was fixing my epidural, the resident came in and set up the table with all of the tools and instruments and bags and gloves, etc. By 7 pm, I was feeling my contractions from about my belly button down to the top of my pelvic bone. Still couldn't feel my legs or move them. At 7:15, we started pushing. (When I say WE, I mean, myself, Joe, Alana, My Mom and Bonnie. All of us working together to get little Gwen here! The absolute best labor and delivery team I know! My labors are like a big family party, we have so much fun!) We pushed through two contractions at less than 2 minutes apart and then they called the doctor. She came in and we pushed through three more contractions. On the last contraction, I remember looking down and seeing her head and hearing the doctor say, "okay, now slowly push, slow down.." and I just thought, "Oh heck no! I'm not slowing down! I can see her and I want to hold her SO badly!!". I gave that one last and final push and there she was, Baby Gwen had entered the world!!!
Gwenevere Ines Kaleipua'auli'i Doxey
December 14th, 2012, 7:29 pm
6 lbs, 13 oz, 19 1/2 inches
As soon as she came out, they placed her right on my chest. They even cleaned her there and put her bracelets on and checked her temp and everything. I held her there for about an hour. Honestly one of the best hours of my life. She cried at first but as soon as I touched her and spoke to her, she was so quiet and beautiful! A picture of perfection. She was perfect.
After they finished cleaning me and baby up, the boys got to come in and meet their sister. It was so sweet! Dad said once Enoch heard Gwen cry from the hall, he said, "oh she sounds so beautiful!". It was so neat for them to meet her so soon after birth. They fell in love with her almost instantly. It was just special. And when the boys walked in and met her, we heard Christmas Carolers in the hall! It was just really neat.
Everyone ooh'd and awe'd over Miss Gwen for a while and then went home. The boys even got to see the nurse give Gwen her first bath. So neat!
They then moved us over to the Mom & Baby rooms across the hall and it was the coolest thing, the room had a double bed! So Joe was able to sleep with me comfortably instead of on a tiny pull out couch. It was great.
Gwen passed all her tests with flying colors. Her APGARS were both 9's. We had some wonderful visitors and then we were discharged and headed home on Sunday the 16th.
Going Home!
Gwen’s cousion Gaius came and met her when she was a few hours old. We took a comparison photo since they’re two weeks apart. SO cute!!
