At 12:30, I'd passed the 18 hour mark. My contractions still weren't showing up on the monitor, so they decided that they would check my cervix and then insert an internal monitor. They would also need to start doing blood work on Bug.
Surprise! 9 1/2 centimeters, just like that.
Bug was at a +2 station and they estimated it would only be another hour or so until the pushing began. I momentarily started to regret the epidural, knowing I could have pushed through that much longer, but the lack of pain was wonderful and I decided that would be the last time I felt guilty about it. They held off on the blood work and monitoring device and told me to rest... pushing could take over 3 hours.
At 1:30 a nurse checked me and saw that I was fully dilated. She frantically ran around the room and set up for delivery. She called the doctor and let her know I was getting ready to start pushing. DH went and told my family that the pushing was about to start and that he'd tell them when the baby arrived.
By 2 am, the nurse had finished setting up and told me that we were going to do a practice push. She showed me how to hold my very numb legs and push down... and there she was. The nurse explained that as I was pushing, she'd seen a small part of the head pushing through. There was no more time for practicing. She told me to relax and not to push until the doctor arrived.
At 2:15 am the doctor had arrived and set up shop. I could still feel the pressure of the contractions, without the pain, but they still weren't able to see them. The nurse kept her hand on my abdomen to feel for tightening, and I told them when I felt pressure and then I'd push while they counted. We'd do 3-10 counts of pushing and then rest.
During the first set of pushes, the doctor cried "I see hair, and lots of it! Dark hair!" After the first set she told us that the head had pushed its way back in, but the hair was still out. They offered a mirror, but I declined.
After the next set, they explained that there was a quarter sized piece of head out. A few more sets and I'd be done.
After 16 minutes of pushing, at 2:32 am, the doctor told me to give one big push. Seconds later, there was a pop and an explosion of blood and gross, and then there was Bug.
She did have a beautiful, full head of hair. She was blue, but screaming, and quickly growing pink. She had the most gorgeous long legs and perfect skin. DH squealed like a little girl. "Look at her! Look at her!" I sobbed uncontrollably as they placed her onto my stomach. They offered to let me cut the cord, as I'd requested, but it was short and I didn't want to let go of Bug for one second so that I could do it. They cut the cord and brought her up to my chest and I cuddled her wet screaming body and cried.
They let me hold her for a few minutes before they evaluated her. She scored a 9 on the Apgar scale. She weighed 8 pounds , 11 ounces and was a long 21 and 3/4 inches. And she had huge feet.
She is very obviously DH's child. She has his dark hair, his almond shaped eye and his slightly upturned nose. She has my brow-line, which is very noticeable when she is upset. But these feet?!?!
DH says she got these from his brother. Apparently, when they were kids Bug's uncle used to pinch DH with his long monkey toes. She has already pinched me a few times.
And, where did I get such a long and lean little girl?!?! I am 5'4 and all torso. Seeing these elegant long legs on my daughter is so strange.
I can't stop staring at her. I don't know if I have ever seen anything so beautiful before, and every time I look at her, I find something else to love.
So far, I like this mommy thing.
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