Annie's Arrival

Well, Annie is 2 weeks old today, so I figure I need to get going on documenting! Below is her birth story. It is long and probably monotonous to most, so feel free to just skip on down to the pictures! I just want to write everything out while it is somewhat fresh on my mind!

At my 39 week appointment on 5/15, I was measuring right and the baby’s heartbeat sounded good. Dr. Light said I was about 3 cm, 50% effaced, and -3 station. He seemed to think I was very ready and that I would not last until the following week’s appointment. I was surprised that he asked if I wanted to be induced on Monday (5/19) if I did not go into on my own before. He then told me that he would not be in town the end of the week or over the weekend, so I think that is why he was offering that. I did not want to be induced, especially prior to my actual due date, so I declined even though I was sad at the thought of him not being the actual one to deliver. It wasn’t worth induction over. I would wait it out.

Well, him saying he thought I would go into labor within the week was kind of a reality check! My to do list was looming, and I began to get antsy over all the things we were not prepared for if baby girl decided to come within the week. I continued to teach every day like normal, and we did what we could at home to knock out our list. I honestly felt very good the whole end of this pregnancy. Besides minor complaints like heartburn and slight swelling and just generally feeling big, I remained active and felt good until the end.

I made it to my 40 week appointment (5/22) which I NEVER thought would happen! Since I was a couple days early with Henry, I thought I’d at least be that with this pregnancy. Baby girl just proved us all wrong! My appointment was with Dr. Takacs whom I had seen once before, and it went well yet again. She said I was a good 3-4 cm dilated and 70% effaced. She said I was the perfect candidate for induction and that it wouldn’t take much Pitocin at all to get me going. Her exact words were, “You’re so !” She didn’t push for me to schedule an induction, but made it very clear that she thought it would go very smoothly for me if I did. She said, “Your baby is RIGHT there!”…I again asked to wait to think about induction until the following week when I would be actually past due. We scheduled a 41 week appointment for the following Thursday, and she said at that point Dr. Light would probably schedule an induction for the following week (ie-the week of Memorial Day) if I had not gone on my own prior to this.

I had been getting inquiries from family and friends for a while about my progress, but I just didn’t have anything to report!! I just kept responding, “No action yet!”, and I wasn’t lying! I did not have a contraction until I actually went into labor. Friday 5/23 was my last day at school, and it did really feel good to be able to wrap the year up with my class and not have to hand it off to someone else. On Saturday, my due date, we went to the Ardmore flea market in the morning (HOT day!!) and used Henry’s baby pool that afternoon. We enjoyed being outside and being together. Sunday we worked in the morning to clean out some cabinets (another task on my to do list!) and then went to the late service at church. We had naps, and Steven worked in the yard while we played. After dinner Steven finished yard work, and Henry and I went on a big walk around the neighborhood. I was hoping it would get something started, and it turns out that it did!

We went to bed at about 10:00. At about 10:45 I thought I might have felt a contraction. About 5 minutes later I had another one. This continued for a few contractions before I woke Steven up. I just told him I thought I might be having contractions and wanted to know what we should do as far as calling someone to be with Henry. I knew that there was no way I could “rest” during this stage of labor without a plan in place for him. The contractions were pretty strong at this point and consistently anywhere from 4-7 mins apart. We decided we’d go ahead and call Steven’s mom, Diana, and have her come stay the night. We warned her that we might end up being at home all day the following day (this is what happened with Henry, so I was assuming some similar timeline would be the case this time). This was about 11:30 pm and she lives 2 hrs away. I continued to lay in bed and time contractions while Steven got up and packed his bag along with any last minute items and loaded the car just in case. He folded some laundry and got the guest bed ready for his mom.

My contractions continued to be pretty strong, and I began to have a little bit of an upset stomach, too. The contractions were in both my lower back and abdomen. They were stronger than regular menstrual cramps right off the bat. There was not nearly the buildup to this that I had with my first labor. I knew I wanted to try to shower to see if that would help me relax and get through the contractions more easily, and also to get clean at my house before heading to the hospital if that were to happen. At about 1:30 am I decided to get up for the first time. As soon as I stood up, my contractions intensified and became closer together. While I showered I timed them at about 2 minutes apart. I was having to lean on the shower wall and breathe through them as best I could. While in there I started to realize that this was serious labor. It was just so different with Henry that I didn’t think it would be THIS fast. I was taken aback. I got out and asked Steven for his mom’s status. I told him I thought we needed to go as soon as she got there. I had to lean on our bed to get through the contractions while getting ready!

Diana pulled in just a few minutes before 2 am. I was wanting to get to the car asap to see if sitting would help, so I basically stepped into Henry’s room for just a second and said my little goodbye, then passed Diana on the stairs. She was coming up and I was going down! I tried to get comfortable in the car, but it just wasn’t happening. I had contractions all the way to the hospital. Steven and I tried to talk, but I was having trouble even communicating. I had wanted to have a natural delivery with this baby like I did with Henry, but this was the first time that it crossed my mind that I might not have it in me like I did before. At this point with Henry, I was still 6 hours away from having him! Six more hours of this kind of contraction pain was not sounding the least bit appealing. 

We pulled into Huntsville Hospital Women and Children’s at exactly 2:30 am. We parked and I walked to the doors with Steven, having to stop periodically to get through a contraction and also to use the restroom before getting on the elevator! We had pre-registered but still had to fill out some stuff and wait a few minutes. Steven did all he could for me, because I was just focused on getting through the contractions which were still strong and frequent. 

Finally a nurse came and got us. Her name was Quita. She got us into a room and began asking that ridiculous battery of questions. I was able to manage talking and contracting simultaneously at this point, but I could not get comfortable on the bed and had to stop frequently to breathe and then answer. I got hooked up on the monitor and everything looked good. A nurse came in to give me a saline lock (so I could walk around without being hooked up to anything). She tried a vein on my right arm even though I showed her the spot on my left where nurses have success. Sigh. Oh well. She had to move over to the left arm to get my vein after trying once on my right. My feet were cold and of course I forgot to pack socks of my own, so Steven dug through his stuff and put a pair of thread bare white Gold Toe ones of his on me!:) There was also a clipboard of paperwork for me to fill out and initial which was ridiculous. I basically could not do it, because I was so uncomfortable. Steven took it from me and filled everything out and then just handed it to me to sign. I wanted to throw it back in their faces. 

Quita finally checked me at I was at 6.5 cm. I was honestly thinking I would be more that this point, but was just glad to know I was in true labor, and they would not be sending me home or anything! I continued to “flail” on the bed (for lack of a better explanation). I could not get in a good position to get through a contraction and get ready for another one. I felt like they were just one right on top of the other with no rest in between. I didn’t have this with Henry until the very end. Steven wanted to help, but it was just so different than before that I didn’t know what to tell him! At this point I was feeling desperate and kind of out of control. I was sweating and tearing up with each contraction. I asked Quita when I needed to decide about an epidural, because I didn’t think I could get through this if it was going to continue with this intensity for a long time. She said there was no cut off point on when I could get an epidural, but she suggested she check me again, because I might be in transition which would explain the intensity of what was going on. I appreciated her clarity of mind at this point! She said she didn’t want me to abandon my plans if I was transitioning to the second stage of labor. She checked and I was between a 7 and 8, so yes, I was at the beginning of transition. Ok, I thought. I will do my best to hang on. I wanted to get up out of that stupid bed, so Steven asked for a birthing ball for me. I thought I wanted to try to walk and use it, too, because I had done that with Henry to get comfortable. I also wanted to go to the restroom first. 

I went by myself and used the restroom. Steven was right outside the door and my contractions continued to be very strong while sitting there, and I felt like I needed to go again (sorry for the details). I pushed and my water broke! It really did feel like a balloon popped and a gush of water came out. It scared me! Not only because I knew it meant that the baby would be here soon but also because I knew in order for that to happen there would be more pain first! I said, “My water broke!” and Steven told the nurse. I heard her say, “Okay, she needs to get back to the bed! We don’t want to have a baby in the toilet!” He rushed in and got me up and walked me to the bed. 

I felt the immediate need to push. It was an intense feeling, and I had never felt it before. I had no feeling like that with Henry. The nurses had called Dr. Acuff, who was on call for my doctor, but at soon as they heard me say I wanted to push they messaged her to high tail it in there. They also told me not to push yet, just try to breathe through the contractions, etc. I said there was no way and that I had to push. I certainly didn’t care if she was there or not! I knew someone would catch the baby! She ran into the room and started looking for the right size gloves and finally got over to me. I pushed immediately, and then breathed. At this point I tried to tell the doctor that I had torn badly with my first delivery, and I really wanted to avoid that if I could (talking to her as best I could with shaky voice, etc). She did her best to help with that during the second push, and with that push the baby’s head was out. They had me stop and suctioned her out, then I pushed again and she was out. Annie Katherine Hough was born at 4:00 am on May 26, 2014!! 

Immediately after her being born, I was so relieved! The intensity of the end of labor made Annie actually being here such a relief! I remember even saying it aloud and the nurses and doctor laughing. "I'm so glad that's over! It's such a relief! I feel so much better!" The nurse, Steven, and I talked about how fast it all happened and she noted that the had my paperwork done at 3:11 am and she was born at 4:00. We had pulled into the parking lot just an hour and a half before Annie was born! I think if I were to have a third baby, I would run to the hospital after my first contraction! My tearing was internal with Henry and external with Annie. This has proven to be a HUGE difference! While I still tore this time, my recovery has been so much easier. I have been very active right away and my pain has been minimal and easily managed with Ibuprophen. I have certainly learned that not all tearing is created equal, folks! Anyway, while Dr. Acuff was stitching me up, Steven and I got to check our Annie all out. She looked so different from Henry to me. Her nose especially at first-I kept wondering where that nose came from! Her hair was plentiful and dark like Henry’s, but she has some blonde undertones that he did not. We were also surprised by her size! I kind of assumed our girl would be smaller than Henry was at 7 pounds 12 ounces, so Annie’s 8 pounds 7 ounces was kind of a shocker! We got a kick out of her “chunky” appearance. She definitely had a layer on her that Henry did not. She also immediately had the need to suck. She had her fingers in her mouth and was sucking right away, and while Steven held her she was craning her neck all around with open mouth looking to nurse! She has proven to be a great eater with a serious latch. The girl likes to eat and she is not kidding around! After a few hours, and especially after a few days, we started seeing much more similarities between brother and sister, though. I think they will certainly look related anyway. I got to hold her and feed her, too. While I was holding her she was looking forward, but when I started talking to her she turned right to me, made eye contact, and just looked and looked. So sweet!  Then we watched her get a bath in the L&D room. She was quiet and calm for this. We had to wait there for an hour, so Steven called all the family and gave the news of our sweet Annie’s arrival. 

There’s one more interesting bit of info related to Annie’s birth. Dr. Acuff was also expecting, and after my delivery I talked to her all about it. We have a mutual friend who had filled me in on Dr. Acuff’s situation of having to deliver early because the baby wasn’t growing on his own. She told us she was hoping to get to mid-week before delivering. The next morning the birth certificate lady came in and was asking me questions. When she saw that Dr. Acuff had delivered Annie, she was surprised and said that Acuff had also delivered yesterday! Evidently she had delivered a baby in the middle of the night prior to Annie, then Annie at 4:00 am, then had an appointment herself mid-morning where they discovered she had preeclampsia, and decided to induce that very day! Not many can say that they share a delivery date with their obstetrician! 

This is in the waiting room. I didn't really know it before, but looking at this picture I can see that my belly is looking LOW! Guess I had dropped!

I had gone in to put on my gown, but came right out again when I realized Steven needed to take my picture! I had forgotten to take a 39 and 40 week shot, so this is 40 weeks and 2 days. A little blurry, but it will have to do! I guess Daddy was a little distraught!:)

Steven must have snapped this one mid-contraction!:) Lovely.

She's here!! Annie getting all cleaned up.

Being weighed. They must round...8 pounds, 7 ounces, 20 inches long.

All snuggled and in my arms. Yay!

Nurse Quita on the left and Dr. Acuff (Dr. Light's other partner) on the right.

Checking out my girl...she didn't look much at all like Henry besides the chin/mouth and all the hair. Hers is lighter than his was, though.There is some blonde under hers already.

That is a look of relief, folks! So glad that delivery is over with!

Annie getting all checked out! She has some lungs!

I love that quiet, calm look babies have right after being born, too. Hello world!

Sucking those fingers right away!

Bath time! She was quiet and calm for her bath.

Steven getting her again.

Checking Annie out!

Here we are-so thankful for an uneventful arrival and healthy girl!