Eleanor Anne is here!

Born November 23, 2019 at 8:32pm, weighing 7 pounds 14 ounces and 20.5 inches long!

I was due December 7th but this little girl had other plans.

Friday night at 11:30pm I got up to use restroom and got to door and felt a little gush. I had thought I just peed myself. Went back to bed woke up at 4:30 and had pink mucus and some other little gushes. I wasn't having any major contractions, only little ones 15 mins apart, only when I was laying down. Decided to lay back down and get some more sleep.

Around 9am I called the doctor on call and explained what was going on. She said to come in to get checked out, but to eat before I go. So I took my time, had a nice breakfast, was laughing and joking with SO. Then I had some bigger gushes right before leaving, went to bathroom and was dripping bright red blood. It was all fun and games until you throw blood into the mix. We got into the car and made our way to hospital.

In Triage doctor checked me out, confirmed it was my waters and that my cervix was closed. They decided to admit me and start pitocin.

We finally got into a Labor and Delivery room around 5pm and started pitocin.

For the next two hours contractions were coming every 1-2 minutes and lasting about a minute each.. They were so intense, way more intense than natural labor. I decided I was wearing out and needed the epidural.

Doc checked me before epidural was placed and I was 6cm. Epidural was placed around 7:45. I laid down on my side, had a few contractions that felt like pressure and not pain so I was relaxed. Then the next two felt like intense pressure in my bottom and need to push. I called the nurse and told her, she called the doc who had literally just left when I was a 6 and I could tell he didn't really think it was time when he came in. But he checked me and said oh yea, it's time.

Two or three great pushes later and my baby was on my chest at 8:32 pm! Whew! I did it! It was over.... Or was it?

Nope. Earlier in pregnancy it was seen that I had an accessory lobe placenta and baby had two vessel cord. So at birth whoever was in the room needed to remember that the extra lobe would need to be delivered.

So doc has dad cut the cord and then goes to do his thing delivering the placenta... Then the remainder of the cord detached from inside of me! Doc said, he didn't even pull or anything, it just kind of shot off!

He reached up inside a couple times to try and manually detach with no luck.

They upped the epidural and rushed me to an operating room. They gave me oxygen and some other meds through my IV, nitroglycerin, some other stuff, I couldn't feel a darn thing below my chest. There were like 15 people in the room for the next hour and a half trying to get the placenta out of me. They tried reaching in with big hands, small hands, tried to get it with a vaccum and something they called a sharp. They got the big part out eventually but kept seeing more on the ultrasound. Finally, they got it all out! At that point I had the terrible shakes from all of the meds but it was over. I got to go back to my room and see my new daughter. Of course the emotions all hit me and I broke down in tears because it was pretty traumatic and I remained very calm in the OR. Whoa...!

I had thought I would be in severe pain from all of the stuff they were doing inside there, but I'm recovering very well! Not much pain, bleeding is manageable and I didn't need any stitches.

And that's how Miss Eleanor came into the world!