All The Gory Details

Sonny and I left for the hospital a little after 5:00AM on Wednesday morning. We were scheduled to be induced so I thought they would get us in and get things moving along pretty quickly. That was not the case. I wasn't dilated at all and because of my previous C-section, they had to be very careful. (I know now that "careful" is hospital talk for SLOW.) They started me on a very low dose of Pitocin and bumped it up little by little. By late afternoon on Wednesday I was in labor, but it was a very slow process. I was relieved the next afternoon when I was far enough along to request an epidural. It took the anesthesiologist a few tries, but he finally got my epidural in... and then I blacked out. I'm not sure exactly what happened, but the next thing I knew I was being hit really hard on the back by the man who gave me the epidural and the room was swarming with people. Then I heard him say, "I found a pulse! I found a pulse!" For a brief while there, my poor husband thought he was losing his wife, as did the anesthesiologist- whom I refuse to feel sorry for because he ruined my epidural. After an hour or so, it became painfully clear that my epidural was ineffective. At some point, someone gave me shot of medicine in my IV line that helped for an hour or so, but besides that I was completely on my own. When it was finally time to push, it was discovered that the baby was facing the wrong way so they told me to lay on my side for an hour to see if she would shift on her own. Thankfully, she did, but that is an hour I don't ever want to think about again for the rest of my life. When a doctor came back to check on me, this time they discovered that my pubic bone (sorry to mention such things on a family blog, but I told you the details were gory) was obstructing the baby's exit route. It was determined that I could "push around it." Just one more fun challenge. There was no set doctor who seemed to be in charge of my delivery, but rather an endless stream of residents and interns who came and went as they felt the urge. After pushing for what felt like an eternity, it was my nurse who finally stepped in and delivered Allyson herself. The woman's name was Fran and I swear to you- she will live on in family lore for all of eternity. After 31 hours of labor, Allyson was born.

We really struggled with her name. I mean really. It wasn't until we were about to be discharged from the hospital that we finally filled out her birth certificate- much to the frustration of the hospital staff. :) She is named after her two great-grandmothers, Alice and Ida, both of whom I know were present at her birth.

Even though it's early to say, so far Ally is the perfect baby. Even when she was born, she barely cried. She is easy-going and has a gentle and loving little spirit. What an experience bringing her into this world has been!