Athena Rose Barefoot is here!

Athena Rose Barefoot was born on Friday August 21st at 6:50 am. She weighed 7lbs 6oz and was 20 inches long. She was almost 2 weeks late. She is healthy and we are so thankful to finally have her here.

The labor and delivery were long and it did not go according to how I had planned, but having her here and healthy makes it all ok.

We went into the hospital on Wednesday August 19th to start the induction process. Our midwife did not feel comfortable having us go too much longer, and I was afraid that the longer we waited, I would be at risk of more aggressive interventions. We got to the hospital at noon on Wednesday and they did not have a labor room, so they put us in one of the recovery/post partum rooms. The labor and delivery rooms are bigger than the other rooms. Luckily, we were assured that no one was in a rush for the baby to be born and they were happy to take things slowly. We probably waited about 2 hours before anyone came in to check me out and start the process. First, they hooked me to the fetal monitor and it turned out that I had been having contractions. It felt to me like Athena was just stretching out, so I wasn't interpreting those feelings as contractions. They checked me out and I was effaced, but not dilated at all. We talked about the options to start the induction process and because I was already having some contractions, they did not want to start with the prostaglandin gel. The gel is applied to the cervix to help "ripen" it and can cause contractions. So, we decided to start at the lowest level and work our way up.

We decided to start with the foley bulb. This is a catheter that is placed up past the cervix and is inflated with saline to help the cervix dilate. The bulb falls out when the cervix is 3 centimeters dilated. Joe and I had brought Scrabble with us, so once the bulb was inserted, we started a game. Joe also went out and got us some food and we just hung out and waited. The bulb took several hours until it was finally ready to come out. The next step was to start the Pitocin.

When we first got to the hospital, the anesthesiologists came into talk to me about medication options. I knew what my options were and really wanted to do it unmedicated. We talked and I told them that I was committed to doing this as natural and unmedicated as possible. After the foley bulb came out, they started the Pitocin. I told them I wanted to start at the lowest amount, which was 1 miliunit. They started with that and increased it by 1 every 30-60 minutes. Once they started the Pitocin, the contractions started pretty much right away. After they had increased it a bit, the contractions got stronger and were coming closer together. This was already the middle of the night Wednesday/Thursdsay. It got to the point where the contractions were coming one on top of another and there was not much of a break between them. On top of that, Athena was facing the wrong way and the back of her head was pressing against the base of my spine, so I was having really bad back labor. Once the Pitocin was up to 6, I was in a lot of pain and we talked to the doctors about stopping the Pitocin so I could get some rest. They cut the Pitocin in half and Joe and I made it through the night. At about 9am, we called our doula to have her come to the hospital. By that time too my mom and Elana had driven up from LA and were at our house.

By the time Judith, our doula got there, they had started increasing the Pitcocin again and the contractions were strong and coming one right after the other. My mom and Elana got to the hospital by the early afternoon. By later that afternoon, I had not dilated anymore and was in a lot of pain because of the back labor. At that point, the doula and the midwife both suggested that I get an epidural because I was not able to relax enough to open up. After about 15 hours of labor, I agreed to the epidural. They came to administer the epidural in the late afternoon/early evening on Thursday. I was nervous about the epidural because I didn't like the idea of something going into my spinal area or of my lower half being numb. They did a great job and while I couldn't feel any of the contractions, I could still wiggle my toes and my lower legs were kind of tingly. Once the epidural kicked in, they started to increased the Pitocin more rapidly.

By about 2:30-ish that morning, I could feel the pressure of her coming down. I couldn't feel the pain of the contractions, but I could feel the pressure. At that point, I started to push. I pushed for about 2 1/2 hours and the baby could not make it past the pubic bone beause she was facing the wrong way. Somewhere in the 5am hour, the OB came in to talk about assisted delivery using either forceps or the vacuum extractor. We weren't too happy about either, but knew she needed some help getting out. We talked about all of the risks and benefits of each and decided to start with the forceps. They also wanted to do it in the operating room just in case they had to do an emergency c-section. I told them that more than anything, I did not want a c-section and they assured me they did not want to do one, but had to keep all options open and wanted to be safe. So, Joe got suited up and we went into the OR. There were no less than about 12 people in there. There was also a lot of meconium in the fluid, so they told us when she came out, she needed to go straight to the pediatricians for them to suction her lungs to make sure she did not inhale any of the meconium. So, in the OR, the group of pediatricians were in the corner at the warming table waiting for her.

They tried to place the forceps, but couldn't get around the pubic bone, so had to go for the vacuum. The placed the vacuum and in two pushes she popped right out, thankfully. Joe got to cut the cord and they handed her over to the pediatricians. It took them about 5 minutes with her until I finally got to hold her and see her face. Joe was over there with her.

There is truly no way to express how it feels to see and hold your baby for the first time. It was definitely one of the most powerful moments in our lives and we just marvel at her everyday.

She'll be here soon

I am now 10 days overdue and we have been going in for antenatal testing every two days for the past week. We have our induction scheduled for Wednesday, August 19th. It could take a few days until she's born, but at least we know she's coming soon.

I'll start posting more regularly once we're settled in at the hospital and then after she's born.

Anyday now

Well, the 8th came and went and now we are just waiting for her to come. As you can see I am pretty big - it doesn't seem like I can get much bigger. It's really just been in the last few days that I have started to feel very large and uncomfortable. I am thankful that I had such a smooth pregnancy and felt good throughout, but now I am ready for her to get here. I am trying to enjoy the last few days because I know she'll be here soon and I will miss feeling her move around. But, at the same time, I just want to see her and hold her and am looking forward to having my body back. It's really an odd thing to be sharing your body with someone else.

Joe is also very excited for her to get here. The 9 months went by really fast, but we both feel like these last days are moving alot more slowly. Joe is probably going to work from home for the rest of the week so he's close by when the action starts. We both think it will be sometime next week. I can't imagine that we would go through another whole week without anything. I have another appointment this Wednesday, so we'll see what happens.

Joe and I will inform everyone when I'm in labor and when the baby's born. Don't worry, we won't forget to tell anyone. I know everyone is excited.

So close

I had a prenatal appointment on Wednesday. The CenteringPregnancy groups are over, so now I am just seeing the midwife individually. She checked me out on Wednesday and listened to the baby's heartbeat. Everything looked and sounded good, but there was nothing to indicate that labor was imminent, meaning I wasn't effaced or dilated at all. I have another appointment scheduled for Wednesday, so if I haven't gone into labor before then, they will start antenatal testing. They will hook me up to the fetal monitor to make sure the baby is doing ok. They will also do an ultrasound to check the level of amniotic fluid to make sure that its ok for the baby.

I feel like the baby will come sometime next week, though it may not necessarily be before the Wednesday appointment. I don't think anything will happen this weekend. I have had some revisions to do on my dissertation and those were just approved which means I can officialy file my dissertation with the school which is the final step. I feel like once that happens, I will be totally ready for her to come, so I think she's just been waiting for the signal.

I am feeling pretty good, and the baby seems to be doing well. She moves a lot, and now that she's bigger I can tell that she's cramped in there. The movements I feel are her shifting around and turning from side to side, which often means I get poked by what I think is her elbow, which is a pretty odd feeling. I know I'll miss feeling her movements, but I am so excited to actually hold her and look into her eyes.

Joe and I are ready to meet her and we have everything ready. Joe and I will notify everyone when I am in labor and of course when she's born. I know everyone is excited to meet her too and to learn what her name is. It won't be long now.

1 week to go

The baby is due one week from today. It would be great if she actually came on her due date. Coming next weekend would be really convenient.

In the last few days I have definitely started to feel pretty large. I am still mobile and walking a lot with Marley, though I am moving slower. Sleeping is still challenging and its hard to stay comfortable. I don't think that will change until she's born.

I had another prenatal appointment on Thursday and it was our last Centering group. All of us are due in the next week or two, so it just made sense to start making individual appointments with the nurse midwife. It is still pretty shocking that we are so close to the due date and to finally meeting our daughter. Everything was good at the appointment and I have another appointment on Wednesday.

This weekend, Joe is going to install the car seat. He put the stroller together last weekend, so getting the car seat in is really the last thing left to do. I have the baby's stuff ready for the hospital. I have most of my stuff ready and it won't be hard to get Joe's stuff ready.