Anyway, Daniel thought I was crazy for wanting to go to Ikea on a Saturday, and he was right, it was a little overwhelming especially since I walked through every showroom and wanted to look at everything. Did i mention that Daniel stayed in the car since all three kids fell asleep??? So, it was me and 1000+ of my closest friends roaming Ikea. I knew what I was in search of but of course would get side tracked in the picture frame and organizing sections.
After about 90 minutes, I was loaded upend in the check-out line when Daniel calls and says that Hank needs to use the potty. So i leave my cart praying that no one takes it, I walk outside and as you can imagine Daniel is parked in the furthest spot away from the door where no other cars will come close to scratching our car (this is one thing I love and dislike at the same time about my honey). So, I grab Hank and take him inside to use the facilities (of course, I have to go as well - and did I mention that I lost my mucous plug that morning??? Is that not the grossest word ever???) Hank then helps me check-out and by this time, it has been 2 hours that Daniel has been in the car, so he is eager to leave Ikea and get to my grandparents house to eat and then go home, watch some football and fall asleep.
So, we get to my grandparents house and sit down and eat, then I start to not feel so good. I feel a little nauseous. Then I feel like I have to go to the bathroom. I come back to the table and I just feel like something is off. I then feel the need to run to the bathroom and I get sick...I feel like the baby is coming out. So, we quickly gather the kids (luckily my parents are also at my grandparents house as well and they help get everyone in our car.) Mom takes dad home, switches cars, and meets us at the hospital. Michael and Katie get a phone call and they also meet us at the hospital to take our car and kids home, Katie then brings our little car back to us, so Daniel has a way to get home later on that night (after we have Emma).
I call the doctor on the way to the hospital and I'm not having regular contractions, but my water might have broken or I might have peed myself (which is not an uncommon thing in pregnancy). I have the on-call schedule for my doctor's office and I know that Dr. Penn is on call on the 14th, and he is one of my favorite doctor's at my practice. He delivered Jake. So, we get to the labor and delivery floor and I get checked into the Triage. Dr. Penn checks me and I am only 3.5cm, water not broken and I am not contracting regularly. They are going to let me walk around for about an hour to see if there is any cervical change to indicate that I am in labor. I have never been into labor without pitocin before, so this is all new to me. So, instead of walk...I am doing squats, I am skipping, I am doing jumping jacks, anything to make my cervix CHANGE!!! The deep squats seem to be the most effective. I was literally sweating...I hadn't worked out this hard in 9 months. So, around 9pm, Dr. Penn checks me again, and I am only at 4cm, but still not contracting AT ALL! So, I ask him to strip my membranes. This is the worst pain ever. It feels like he is jamming his hand up there so far and then trying to stretch everything out. It was horrible...but it WORKED! I started having all kinds of contractions...and they were strong and regular. Oh, also, during my walking around, Daniel went down to the lobby to find a TV and watch the end of the 49ers/Saints game and the Patriots/Broncos game. So, my mom got to the hospital and she kept me company until the football games were over. There was no TV in the triage room...so Daniel wanted to be admitted so he could watch the games...nice, right??? Anyway, when the contractions started, they were painful so I would make some noises and my mom would tell me to breathe...I know she was trying to help, but I just wanted them to go away...all I kept thinking was, can I be admitted so I can get my epidural, please??? So, around 10pm, Dr. Penn came in and said I was at 5cm, we were getting admitted and we were gonna have a baby! Woo hoo!
At 10:30, I was wheeled into a L&D room, I had the nicest nurse, she was awesome. She called for the anesthesiologist who was amazing. I have both of their names written down somewhere, I just need to find it. The anesthesiologist sort of messed up my epidural. He said that my back didn't have very much fat on it (which he kept saying was a good thing) but that it did make it a little tougher for him to get the catheter in to my back. He had to do the epidural twice and said I may get a spinal headache a day or two after giving birth. My good friend Dana had one of these before so I knew it would be awful if I did get a headache. Anyway, he hooked me up. The nurse told me that by getting the epidural, it might slow my contractions down (which it did.)
At around 2:30am, the nurse checked my cervix and said I was still at 4cm. The next time I saw Dr. Penn he came in and broke my water (at 3am). My nurse came back in around 3:45 and I told her that I didn't think the epidural was working, because I kept pressing the button and nothing was happening. I was feeling ALL the contractions. She checked me, said I was at 9cm and she quickly started getting things together. She called Dr. Penn. I had to wake Daniel up...I had to yell at him 3 times to get him out of bed. Then he wanted to brush his teeth and I almost kicked him out of the room. I said (probably screamed at him) "There is no time to brush your teeth!!!" Dr. Penn and the nurse got everything together VERY quickly and at 4am, I was crying due to the pain, and I said to Dr. Penn - this baby is coming out NOW! They got my legs in the stirrups or whatever they are called. Daniel and the nurse pulled my legs back toward me and I pushed once to get her head out, and then one more time for her body. At 4:10am, Emma was here!!! They gave her right to me and Dr. Penn had to run to deliver another baby, but he came back shortly thereafter! It was quite the experience.
Emma was so pink and had the darkest hair and A LOT of it! She was 7 pounds, 6.8oz. She was 19.25" long. She was gorgeous! They gave her to me right away and she started eating! Then she went to sleep for a while.
Teresa took her kids down to NC on Friday for the long weekend. We called them Saturday and told them we were on our way to the hospital. We weren't sure if we were going to be admitted, so we called them when she was born and my in-laws came to the hospital the next day.
It was Sunday, and I had the spinal headache already...I was so exhausted because I didn't get any sleep the night before. Michael was GREAT! When Daniel got home in the morning, Michael took the three kids to his house, so Daniel could get some sleep. Then, Michael and Daniel came to the hospital with the kids so they could meet their new baby sister. This was the best part...the kids (Elli and Hank) were OVER THE MOON! They wanted to hold her and pass her back and forth to each other, it was so sweet. Elli ended up spending the day in the hospital room with me. She took a shower with me and everything...I can never get a shower by myself. I felt a little better in the afternoon and my friend Siobhan came to visit - she brought the yummiest brownies - so good! My in-laws came, my grandparents, my dad. It was great to see everyone.
On Monday, I was ready to go home. I just wanted to get home and sleep in my own bed without being poked or prodded. So, after they did all Emma's checks, I lied about not having a headache (so I could get out of there) and we were discharged! Thank goodness my mom stayed over to help me the next few days. I really did not feel great. And, Teresa helped out with Elli, Hank and Jake taking them overnight on Tuesday night. It was weird just having the baby to watch on Tuesday night.
My 91 and 94 year old grandparents
4 generations
Proud siblings
Taking Emma Home
All the Oxendine Cousins
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