Birth Story (from Blake's notes)

One of my jobs during Tiffanie's labor with Emery (in addition to being both comforting and handsome) was to keep notes on everything so we could remember it later. Now one month after the birthday party, I'm going to review my notes and write an account of the day.

February 27, 2012
2:36am - first contractions
5:30am - wakeup, three hours of contractions
6:40am - call to doctor
7:45am - in with registration (after having gone up the pink elevators)
Breakfast: Honey Nut Cheerios and orange juice (we shared a bowl)

wearing my striped/plaid shirt (I was later told I looked like a lumberjack or someone bailing hay)
TT is wearing a North Central long sleeve shirt (Go Rams!)
Cool but clear weather; had to scrape the windows off and defrost

We went to bed around 11:15pm, planning to go to work in the morning. At 5:30am, I was wakened when Tiffanie put two hands on my shoulders and said, "Sweetie, I'm contracting." I affectionately said, "Can you come back in a couple hours?" I got up and got myself ready to go, not knowing how quickly things would progress, or if this was a false alarm. I put away laundry and tried to straighten a little.

TT varied between moments where she seemed perfectly normal and others where she was clearly laboring. Her breathing became much more focused and her stomach grew tight in pain.

Triage Room #4 - changed into gown, put on baby monitors, ask questions about health, pregnancy

Looked over and winked at me. She looked beautiful in her pre-departure photos.

8:18am - 5cm dilated, 100% effaced
She's here to stay today. Sent notifications to parents, Cindy, Sarah
They had difficulty putting an IV in her arm.
Dr. Maddox said everything looked good. Transitioning things over to Dr. Emery. Isn't it ironic that Dr. Emery will deliver our baby?

8:35 - contractions appear to be growing in duration, frequency, and possibly intensity. Difficulty to lean back, but nurse asked her to so they could continue monitoring baby's heart.
9:10am -  7-8cm dilated, fully effaced.
Dr. Emery decided to stay at hospital instead of going to office for a few hours. Was in office clothes but went to get changed.

Called L/P Klud and then Alan at work to tell them things were progressing nicely. Cindy and Sarah wrote back by saying, "Aacckkk!"
Tiffanie is going to get an epidural. We may have this baby before lunch time.

9:35am - epidural is in. Anesthesiologist mixed several drugs into a container, then administered 3-4 shots. The first two appeared to be pretty painful.
Now they've laid TT back so the medicine doesn't all go to her feet. They're giving her 20 minutes before they're going to rupture membranes. She still can feel her contractions, but they said those should grow less and less intense (in terms of feeling) as the drugs kick in.

9:40am - Renee (our nurse) is checking TTs blood pressure and the baby's heart rate. Renee said getting comfortable is like getting into a warm hot tub. Told TT to relax and try to rest. TT has been up since 2:30am. The lights are turned down and the contractions are getting just a little shorter and less intense.

10:10am - Leon and Pat arrive.

The doctor broke Tiffanie's membranes earlier. There are large pad underneath her to catch everything, and they will change them as needed.

10:25am - A beeping alarm went off and said there was an error in the line, so TT called the desk and asked them to come in. Renee came in and corrected the system. We're all reading right now. TT is reading Parents magazine from 2007. Leon is reading an Express. Pat is reading what looks like a Guideposts.

11:05 - The epidural has slowed down the progression somewhat, at least by my untrained eye. They gave her a small dose of Pitocin to help things move along. She's still able to feel the peaks of the harder contractions, and her breathing is labored.

On a completely unrelated note, we sold our Corolla yesterday. Today I got a call from someone who also wanted to buy our Highlander. I remarked, "We're going to leave the hospital with a baby and no car!"

My dad called to see how we are doing. I told him we were reading magazines. He laughed and said, "Been there." Almost an hour ago, we heard a baby crying next door. Someone else had delivered. When I went to pay our Baby program fee, I saw what looked like four other label/names on the list. When I was out the hall recently, I heard another woman in registration say she was 7cm in the doctor's office. Our baby is going to have lots of birthday buddies. I hope she makes friends in the nursery.

11:15am - Tiffanie said her pain level was the same as it had been before the epidural. Renee came in and asked the doctor if she could increase the meds. T looked at us and said, "Anyone want to change places with me?"

11:20 - Doctor came in to see how things were progressing. Said T will be able soon to start pushing with contractions. The head is moving down and that's why the pain has increased.
Another alarm went off. This time it was a low battery. The nurse coming in to check said, "Congratulations!" She thought we already had the baby. I said, "It was next door." The woman said, "Okay, what's the problem here, low battery?" Then she looked at Tiffanie and said, "I can't change your battery."
11:27 - Anesthesiologist came in and asked how she was doing. Said she could give more pain medication once this dose kicked in. T said her legs were somewhat numb, but the rest of her midsection was still in a lot of pain. She has her hand on her head, eyes closed, somewhat concentrating, somewhat trying to relax. It looks as though the contractions are very regular, coming every minute or so. The peaks aren't as high as they were earlier.

11:35 - Leon retreated to the lobby about 30 minutes ago. I asked Pat, "Are you okay staying here?" I know what's coming, and I want to give her an out. She said she's fine staying. I have a feeling she's going to cry, but that's okay.
11:52am - Renee came back in and asked about pain. T said things are tingly, but the pain is down at a zero.
12:05pm - Doctor came in and checked dilation. We should be ready to start pushing soon. They're emptying T's bladder to make everything easier. She can't stand now, so they're using a catheter.

12:13pm - Renee is leaving to go get supplies, then we're going to start the pushing process. Here we go.

12:30-12:45pm - First rounds of pushing. Rotating to different sides to try to loosen things up.

12:45-1:00pm - table down to encourage pushing

Born 1:01pm
7lbs. 8 oz., 21 inches long
APGAR 8 (1 min) and 9 (5 min)

Baby looks great, little crying here and there. Mom is getting stitched up. Cord draw people took placenta.

E's head is a little cone-like from the suction cup. They said it will go away in a couple days.
Baby has short, reddish/brown hair.

3:00pm - Well we've had a chance to catch our breath. We've posted to Facebook and seen an incredible response. I called my mom, brother, and left a message for my dad. I also texted our church and Cindy. Everyone loves us. Now we're ready to move over to a new room on the same floor. We've been in room 312 and we're moving to 332.
3:06pm - The transport is here now and we're moving.

5:50pm - Spoke with my dad. He's super excited for us. He wondered if he could get a bike helmet for E or if he could fit a carseat on his motorcycle. I told him it would be a hard sell. Bill and Mary Frasnelli came by to say hello. They prayed for little E and encouraged us. Mary took a turn holding, as did Leon.

We are here for the night. Leon and Pat left and only Cindy is scheduled to visit.

6:05pm - We're continuing to try to feed and keep E clean. We've changed her diaper twice.
6:15pm - Tiffanie had a wrap, fries, and apple juice for lunch, and now I'm putting in an order for dinner. Southwest salad, fruit/cheese, cheesecake (!), cranberry juice, milk. I'm gonna go eat after Baby's bath.

6:25pm - Tiffanie rested while E and I went to take a bath. The nurse sponged her all over, which E wasn't too thrilled about. But afterward, they bundled her tight like a burrito, including a shirt and pants. She spit upon the shirt but quickly got a replacement. E also got a Hep B vaccine. And she got her little feeties on the inkpad.
7:00pm - I brought her back to the room and said goodnight to our nurse Alicia. E is bundled tight and quietly gazing up at me. We're friends.
She's developed a case of the hiccups, which is similar to what she had in the womb.
TT's dinner arrived, but now she's trying to feed again.
E loves to put her fist up to her face. She loves the contact of her own fingers.