The Givens Family!: February 2011

Wow - wow - wow! That is just the only way I know how to start. Charlie and I are in complete amazement and awe over our daughter. We have had quite the eventful last week starting with going in for a regular checkup last Tuesday, the 8th and being told we were going to induce that night! Pretty funny because I was semi-prepared for that news since I had been up the previous two nights having contractions that were anywhere from 20 minutes to 10 minutes apart. At the time, I wasn't for sure if they were contractions because they were all in my lower back, but indeed they were!

So on Tuesday when we went for our checkup, I was supposed to have my breastfeeding class from 5:30-7:30 that night right after the appointment. Charlie and I actually took two cars because of this and he had come straight from work. Of course, I had already packed all of his stuff (just in case) and he was very glad after we got the news! At the checkup, my AFI (amniotic fluid level) had gone back up to 26 cm, I was dilated to between a 1-2 and 75% effaced. My doctor recommended not waiting due to the fact that another week or 2 could put me and the baby at greater risk for other problems, including a c-section which she knew I was trying to avoid. Since I was dilating on my own, she wanted to put me on cervadil through the night with the hope that in the morning, my cervix would be thinned out enough to go ahead and do labor on my own. We checked into the hospital at 5:45 pm and were so anxious! I hadn't eaten very much that day and really wanted a chicken caesar salad so the nurse said after the cervadil was in for an hour, I could eat. At about 6:15, I had my first visitor - Aunt Judi! I was thrilled to see her. About 25 minutes after the cervadil was in, my contractions started getting stronger and stronger. Never having been through this, I had no idea what to expect of "true labor" but I knew that I was hardly getting any time between contractions to breath. When I say no time, I mean my contractions were less than a minute apart. Aunt Judi was helping me breath through them and of course, we thought the baby was going to come WAY sooner! After about an hour and a half of these horrible contractions right on top of one another, the nurse came in and said that I was not reacting well with the medicine and was having hypertonic contractions, so she pulled it. After this very intense experience with the cervadil, it took a while to wear off and Charlie helped me through every one by telling me to breath and running hot water down my back while sitting on the birthing ball in the shower. I finally calmed down and my contractions were under control, but by this time, I was so nauseated that I never got to eat. By midnight, I was on a liquid diet and was only allowed juice and popsicles. They decided to let me labor through the night and said they would check me in the morning to see how I was progressing. My support team was awesome - Charlie, my Mom, Paula, Kristin, Aunt Judi, Dad and Kaleb spent the entire night taking turns walking the halls with me, massaging my back, getting the birthing balls ready...etc. Needless to say, EVERYONE lost their bet that Annie would make her arrival that night. Charlie was absolutely incredible throughout the whole thing. Just him saying "breath" helped me tremendously because I would sometimes try to fight through the contraction. He told me I was his "Hero" several times during labor.

By 6:30 am I was checked and had only dilated to a 3! A 3 - I was very discouraged after all those contractions throughout the night. They decided to break my water at 9:30 am and after this, labor started progressing for me. The contractions were n ow closer together and a LOT stronger. Sitting on the birthing ball in the shower with hot water was the thing that gave me the most relief (thanks Becky!) By 2:30 pm on Wednesday, I had only dilated to a 5 and after being in labor for 19 hours with no progression past a 5, pure exhaustion had set in and we decided to get an epidural. Everyone has different experiences, but the epidural for me, was great. I was still very aware of what was going on and could move my feet and legs as well as pressure, but just couldn't feel the pain of the contractions. After 3 hours, I had progressed and it was time to push! I pushed for 30 minutes and we had our sweet Annie.

There are absolutely no words to describe the feeling of looking at our daughter for the first time. I was in complete shock, awe, amazement and wonder of how God had blessed us with this child. It was absolutely bittersweet and in that moment, not only was I in love with my daughter, but my love for Charlie was taken to another level.

Aunt Judi was there to capture lots of sweet moments the whole time. I am SO glad we have these. Thank you Aunt Judi - we love you. Enjoy!