After nine long months of carrying Morgan, I was so ready to finally deliver…or was I? My pregnancy was somewhat eventful. I had your typical morning/evening sickness in the first trimester but in my second trimester I had to finish work early due to a rapid heart rate. Then, in the third trimester, I had very painful muscle spasms in my hips and back that made it difficult to walk. As ready as I was to no longer be “with child”, I have always had a tremendous fear of childbirth due mainly to my tendency to be extremely squeamish.
Although I was nervous, Morgan was very ready to make her grand entrance! At week 36, I was already 3 centimeters and 75% effaced. Dr. Jansky set an induction date for November 29th instead of my original due date of Dec. 3rd. With my rapid heart rate, she wanted to have a “nice planned delivery.” So, that evening before, I wasn’t allowed to eat or drink anything after midnight. Of course I laid in bed nervous and hungry awaiting the big day. I got a couple hours sleep and was surprisingly in a good mood and ready to see my little girl. We got to the hospital and met my nurse Pam. She was great. I changed into my gown and she got the iv in. Then my nerves started to kick in. I started to immediately get nauseous and was getting sick. I didn’t feel like I was nervous but maybe my body was uneasy about this miraculous event ahead. It was that or the fact that the nurse informed me that the doctor would be in soon to break my water. It turns out that I was already 4 centimeters and 90% effaced. I remember thinking to myself “things usually don’t progress this fast in Baby Story.” I was allowed some medication in my IV for nausea and it didn’t really seem to help any.
Dr. Jansky came in and broke my water. The action had begun! The pitocin started and so did the contractions. They started coming hard and fast. They weren’t so bad at first but after a while I told the Pam I was ready for the epidural. I knew I was going to get one so I wasn’t concerned about waiting long. The anesthesiologist took about an hour to get to the room. Normally this wouldn’t be a big deal but I was already at six centimeters and more than a little uncomfortable. As the anesthesiologist was prepping for the epidural I made the mistake of asking her if it would make me tired. She came around the bed and gave me a 15 minute explanation. I wanted to tell her to get back to work on the epidural but I didn’t want to tick off someone that was about to stick a needle through my spine.
The epidural is an amazing invention. Not only does it take away all the pain but apparently the drugs have a very nice calming effect which was just what I needed. The next several hours consisted of family coming in to say hello, nurses checking on me and the opportunity to bask in the state of painless contractions. At about 1pm, Pam checked me and informed me that I was already at nine centimeters. At about this time, I told myself that maybe I should stop watching Seinfeld and mentally prepare myself to become a mommy.
Pam came back in a little over an hour and I was at 10 centimeters. The plan was for her to coach me in pushing for a while until Dr. Jansky came. So, the time had finally arrived. My mom and of course Jeremy were in the room. With Pam’s instructions, I started to push with all my might although I couldn’t feel a thing. Things were going well or so I thought until Pam suddenly told me to stop pushing. She walked over to the phone and called Dr. Jansky. Dr. Jansky was there in less than a minute. There was lots of whispering towards the other end of the bed and I kept asking if Morgan was alright. Apparently Morgan’s head was stuck in my right hip and wasn’t budging. This was the cause of the spasms in my hips in my pregnancy. The pushing only forced her further into my hip and had just caused tearing. Unfortunately, every time I pushed her heart rate would drop. At that point, Dr. Jansky knew she needed to work fast and continued to instruct me in pushing. She did an episiotomy and got out the vacuum. Jeremy said he couldn’t believe how hard she was pulling. With one last push, Dr. Jansky was holding up Morgan for me to see. Her cry was music to my ears. It was amazing to see the very face that all those ultrasound pictures could never adequately convey. They started cleaning her up and everyone kept saying how big she was. Dr. Jansky and Pam guessed her weight and they both thought she was over 9 pounds. My engineer husband said she was “dense.” My mom helped the nurses hold her while they cleaned her up and Jeremy took pictures. I will never forget the tears in Jeremy’s eyes when he came over to show me a picture of my baby girl. The doctor took about 45 minutes to sew me up so it seemed like an eternity before I finally got to hold her. I asked the nurse if she was ok and she assured me Morgan was fine.
Our Morgan was so perfect in every way. I felt exceedingly blessed and I knew I would be starring in her little eyes for the rest of my life. Morgan Kathryn Peters was born at 2:40p.m. on November 29, 2010 and was 8 lbs and 1.1 oz and 20.5 inches long. She had a head of brown hair and pretty blue eyes. After getting to nurse her for the first time, our families got to meet her. I am continually amazed at how God has blessed us with Morgan. It is still very surreal as I can’t believe she is ours. I am honored to be the mother of such a special little baby and I have never been happier.
Pam came back in a little over an hour and I was at 10 centimeters. The plan was for her to coach me in pushing for a while until Dr. Jansky came. So, the time had finally arrived. My mom and of course Jeremy were in the room. With Pam’s instructions, I started to push with all my might although I couldn’t feel a thing. Things were going well or so I thought until Pam suddenly told me to stop pushing. She walked over to the phone and called Dr. Jansky. Dr. Jansky was there in less than a minute. There was lots of whispering towards the other end of the bed and I kept asking if Morgan was alright. Apparently Morgan’s head was stuck in my right hip and wasn’t budging. This was the cause of the spasms in my hips in my pregnancy. The pushing only forced her further into my hip and had just caused tearing. Unfortunately, every time I pushed her heart rate would drop. At that point, Dr. Jansky knew she needed to work fast and continued to instruct me in pushing. She did an episiotomy and got out the vacuum. Jeremy said he couldn’t believe how hard she was pulling. With one last push, Dr. Jansky was holding up Morgan for me to see. Her cry was music to my ears. It was amazing to see the very face that all those ultrasound pictures could never adequately convey. They started cleaning her up and everyone kept saying how big she was. Dr. Jansky and Pam guessed her weight and they both thought she was over 9 pounds. My engineer husband said she was “dense.” My mom helped the nurses hold her while they cleaned her up and Jeremy took pictures. I will never forget the tears in Jeremy’s eyes when he came over to show me a picture of my baby girl. The doctor took about 45 minutes to sew me up so it seemed like an eternity before I finally got to hold her. I asked the nurse if she was ok and she assured me Morgan was fine.
Our Morgan was so perfect in every way. I felt exceedingly blessed and I knew I would be starring in her little eyes for the rest of my life. Morgan Kathryn Peters was born at 2:40p.m. on November 29, 2010 and was 8 lbs and 1.1 oz and 20.5 inches long. She had a head of brown hair and pretty blue eyes. After getting to nurse her for the first time, our families got to meet her. I am continually amazed at how God has blessed us with Morgan. It is still very surreal as I can’t believe she is ours. I am honored to be the mother of such a special little baby and I have never been happier.
