For almost a month, I had contractions that were pretty regular, and sometimes painful, so 4 times, yes 4, Peter and I headed to the hospital to be checked thinking that I was in labor. No luck!! I was never having contractions that were progressing, and I was only 2 cm dilated the whole time. This was getting pretty discouraging, especially the closer I got to my due date!
Finally, at my 40 week, yes I made it to 40 weeks, the doctor decided to set up an induction date. It was kind of a relief to know that I was not going to be pregnant forever, and that there was an end date in sight! The date was set for Feb 10...10 days AFTER my due date.
The night of Feb. 8 I started having regular contractions again. They were coming every 6 minutes, but weren't really painful, so off to bed we went. Around 1 am, I got up because my lower stomach was starting to hurt. I didn't wake Peter up because I had been told that the contractions would start at the top of my stomach and work their way down, and be really painful. So, I sat in the bath, watched Mary Poppins, and tried to do all those crazy exercises I was taught in childbirth class. Nothing was helping, and the contractions kept coming. Around 5:30 am I finally went and got Peter out of bed hoping that he would have some kind of suggestion to keep me comfortable. Nope! He told me to call the doctor. At this point it is Feb 9, and the day before my scheduled induction. I didn't want to call because I knew they would tell me to head up to the hospital, and I did not want to be told again to go home. I finally called, and of course, I was told to go to the hospital.
Usually when we would get to the hospital we would head back to the outpatient labor and delivery. This time was different. I don't know if the doctor felt bad for me, but we were put into a real room and I was given a gown to put on. At this point I told Peter he should probably call our parents. I was checked at 6:30 am and was 3 cm dilated and 80% effaced. The nurse told me to walk around for an hour and then come back to be checked, so around the L&D floor we went.
At 7:30, Dr. Cobb (we love him!) came in and checked me. I had progressed to 4cm!! He decided I was in labor, and broke my water, started me on antibiotics (I tested positive for Group B strep), and started an IV of pitocin. Everything started moving fast at this point. I was having some pretty good contractions by then, was breathing through them, and had asked to have the port put in for an epidural. By the time the anesthesiologist got there, I was ready for the actual medicine, not just the port. The meds worked for a while, but then I started feeling my left side. I was NOT okay with this. Isn't the whole point of an epidural not to be able to feel a thing? So, in came the nice lady again, and gave me more meds. This happened 3 more times. Well, that much medicine made me sick, which when you're numb from the waist down is not fun!! Around 2:30 pm, Dr. Cobb came in and I was at 10 cm and fully dilated!! It didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would. So, around 3 pm I started pushing. Mom and Peter were in the room with me and cheered me on through 3 hours of pushing. About 6 pm, Dr. Cobb was there and trying to help Samantha make her way into the world (she needed a little coaxing because she was face up, not down like she was supposed to be). At one point Dr. Cobb sat back and started looking at the monitors and I could tell something was up. I asked him if I was going to be able to deliver this way, and he said I could push for 3 more hours and she still wasn't going to come. The bones in her head weren't moving through the birth canal like they should have been. I was exhausted at this point, and told him whatever he needed to do to deliver her safely was okay with me. So, we started prepping for a c-section. Dr. Cobb prayed with Peter, my mom, dad, and I and off I was whisked to the OR.
None of the meds they gave me to numb me for surgery worked, so I ended up having to have a spinal done. This also made me sick, which when your numb from the breastbone on down, is really not any fun!! Peter was finally allowed in, and the rest is kind of a blur for me because the docs had to give me Fenegrin(sp?), an anti-nausea medicine, which then put me to sleep. I remember Dr. Cobb telling Peter to stand up and see his daughter, then they pulled a big TV screen over to me to see her, and Dr. Cobb just kept saying my name. Peter was able to go right over to see her and get some pictures. The next thing I remember is waking up in the recovery room with Peter holding our sweet baby Samantha.
Samantha York Kanipe was born February 9, 2010 at 6:48 pm. She weighed 7 lbs. 15 oz. and was 20 1/2 inches long.
I know this is almost a month late, but I will continue to post updates about the newest member of our family when I get a chance.
