Lauren Elizabeth was born Tuesday June 23, 2009 at 5:13 pm at Gulf Coast Medical Center in Panama City, Florida. She weighed 8 lb 10 oz and was 20 1/2 inches long. Eric and I checked in to the hospital at 6am that morning because our delivery was to be induced. We had all of our luggage packed and ready for our hospital stay: pink polo shirt for the new daddy, gowns for the new mama, soft little white button shirts and socks for the new baby (sizes NB and 3 months, since I didn't know how big she would be) and a going home dress/shoes/bracelet/bonnett for Lauren. We also had two cameras plus the camcorder ready to capture tons of "moments". Our nurse for the day was Charlie (she was great the entire day) and Dr. Ramie came by our room soon after we got there. He said that I could get the epidural anytime I wanted (this made me very happy to know that it would be available at any time). My water was broken at around 7:30am and I was 2cm dilated and over 80% effaced. Pitocin was started and contractions started soon thereafter. I, unfortunately, was not the only one being induced that day (there were 6 others) and everyone wanted an epidural. I would be at the bottom of the list and therefore experienced contractions for about an hour and a half. A back-up anesthesiologist was called to come and "help me out" per Charlie, RN and I was most grateful! Epidurals are great!! I soon became very comfortable and took a nap, visited with family that came in and out of our room and watched Wimbeldon on TV. Around 3:30pm, I was 10cm and 100% effaced and ready to meet our baby girl. My blood pressure and the baby's heart rate were starting to drop a little, so Dr. Ramie stayed with us and waited for the OR to be open just in case we needed a fast C-section. Eric and my mom were with me for the rest of the labor and special moment. Everything went really well, and we met Lauren a hour and a half later. Dr. Ramie and staff were awesome and very attentive. I had been nervous about moving from Orlando half way through our pregnancy to be under the care of another doctor, but was very glad that Dr. Ramie was my doctor. We were ALL shocked that Lauren weighed in at 8 lb 10 oz! I really didn't think that my belly held a baby of that size! She was considered "large for gestational age" and needed to have her blood sugar checked frequently, but otherwise she was very healthy with no problems at all!
The rest of the afternoon and night were a bit of a blur to me and a scare for Eric. My blood pressure and heart rate began to drop again (40/20's and 50's) and I felt light-headed and had blurred vision. After fluid boluses and blood draws, it happened again and the rapid response team was called. I spent the next two days in the ICU. I was very scared that first night and didn't sleep much because of all of the scans, testing, etc. Lauren was placed in my maternity floor room and my mom, sister and brother stayed overnight the first night to care for her and feed her formula by syringe. Eric was back and forth from the ICU to check on me and the maternity floor to check on our new little baby. He was completely exhausted. I should take time to document how great Eric was. He was extremely caring and compassionate to me while in the hospital (and after we came home); I could not ask for a more loving husband.
I thought that I would be able to be transferred back to the maternity floor during the second day, but this was delayed because of continued lowering of hemoglobin. I was so sad that we had worked so hard and waited so long to have a baby and now that she was here, I couldn't see her or hold her. Eric took pictures and video of her and and let me look at her through the pictures and video. Late the second night, an OB nurse brought Lauren to me so that I could meet her again (I had not held her long before being transferred to the ICU after her birth). I can't tell you how much the next 90 minutes meant to me. The nurse helped me try to breast feed her and let me take my time to "look her over". Eric's mom stayed with Lauren the second night and took care of her. The next afternoon, I was transferred back to the maternity floor to be reunited with Lauren and Eric...our new family of three. The nursing staff and physicians were very nice and concerned about our well-being and it felt nice to be on my way to recovery. The three of us spent the night together as we learned how to breast feed and supplement with formula by syringe, change diapers and baby clothes, and practice walking down the hallway. On Friday June 26, we were discharged from the hospital to go home. Lauren wore a white and pink smocked dress, bonnet, and white satin slippers. She couldn't wear the little bracelet because it kept falling off. Gigi (my mom) followed us home to be our videographer and start to help us adjust to being at home. Our cousin, Valerie, made a pink boa wreath to announce her arrival at our house. It was so adorable!
The rest of Week One was great. Lauren continued to eat like a pro, had good wet diapers, started having poopie diapers after 48 hours (this made daddy a little nervous), and was the perfect little baby. Gigi kept saying "everything is agreeing with her...you are very lucky new parents!" And yes, we are. We are so blessed to finally have this little girl in our lives. There were days when I thought we would never have a baby, now those days are just memories. I am the happiest new mama!
