Pumpkin Pie's Birth Story

Since we're going to have another one soon, I want to get these details written down before I forget them or get the two kids confused. I know that there are a few details I have forgotten, but I'll fill them in as I remember. Thank goodness for the edit feature!

Pumpkin Pie was due to be born on May 15, but being a first-time mom there were a few times before her due date that I had thought I was in labor for one reason or another. With what few complications I had (measuring small, not enough amniotic fluid, my inability to gain weight, etc.) I was certain that I would have her at least 2 weeks early. So when I'm still pregnant 3 days before my due date, I was shocked (and so were my parents)! On May 12, my hubby, my parents (who came to town early so that they would be there when the baby was born and could stay to help), and I went to town grocery shopping. We had a nice dinner ending around 6:30 or so. I wasn't especially hungry so it was a fairly light meal. We did some other shopping and then went to get groceries. I was having backaches throughout the grocery shopping, but nothing too bad. I didn't really notice that they were coming and going. We checked out around 8:45, and I went to the bathroom before we left. I had a little bit of bloody show. Coupled with the backaches which I was now realized were coming and going, maybe this was it. We got the groceries loaded in the car, and at some point, I realized I was having contractions. We timed them for about a half an hour and they were about 5 minutes apart! We'd been there done that with the regular contractions before, but we called the doctor anyway. Because we were in town, we were only 5 minutes from the hospital instead of over an hour. The doctor called back and said to go to L&D where they monitored me for awhile. Around midnight (I think), they decided to admit me and started an IV. I had a dose of Nubain before going to sleep. I woke up around 7AM when the doctor checked me, broke my water, and started pitocin. There was meconium in Pumpkin Pie's amniotic fluid. I labored with pitocin for 5 hours or so. There was another dose of Nubain in there somewhere, but it didn't help very much so I asked for an epidural. Finally, the anesthesiologist got there and prepped me for my epidural. The first time he inserted the catheter (I think that's what did it) I felt some strong pains in my right leg. After some adjustment, it was all in place and made the rest of the afternoon much easier. I dozed off and on for a few hours. About 4:45 my doctor came in to check me, but I hadn't progressed any since my epidural so he wanted us to think about a c-section. He gave hubby and I some time to discuss it. Hubby and I agreed that although it wasn't our ideal situation, we wanted a healthy baby girl by whatever means necessary. About 30 minutes later, my doctor came back and we said we would consent to the c-section, but he wanted to check me one more time. During that 30 minutes, I had started to labor and progress again. I was in transition! I spent the next hour and a half laboring until I got to 10 centimeters and started pushing around 7PM. I pushed for one hour and 19 minutes (throwing up every 15 minutes while in transition!) before my beautiful baby girl was born. She had aspirated some meconium so after a brief cuddle with me, they took her to the NICU for a long 4 hours for oxygen, an x-ray, and some observation. Shortly after midnight, they brought her back to me and she stayed in my room the rest of the time except for a follow-up x-ray on May 14 and a brief hearing test before she could be discharged. We struggled with nursing in the hospital (too much pressure, I think) but did well once we got home. Two years later, she's a beautiful, smart little girl. She may be petite, but she's about as healthy as can be!