~ Rebekah Lynn Cochrane ~ Birth Story

I wanted to take the opportunity to write out Rebekah Lynn's "Birth Story" so I will be able to go back and read it in the future. So, here is her story... Sorry it's taken me so long to write it. (I actually started it 2 months ago on Feb. 18th and had to go in and change the date... better late than never, I guess.)

I went to the doctor last Wed. (February 11th) for my normal weekly checkup not expecting anything different than my previous appointments... 1cm dilated, 50% effaced... blah, blah, blah. They called my name fairly quickly and I left the waiting room so they could check my weight and blood pressure and to leave a "specimen." I had gained another pound (now 18 pounds total), but my blood pressure was a little high. So, the nurse took my blood pressure on my other arm. Still high. Then she used to manual cuff. Still the same. I went back out into the waiting room till they called me to meet with Dr. Garzon.

When she came in, we listened to the baby's heartbeat and it sounded good, but she was a little concerned about my elevated blood pressure. She also checked me and I was still 1cm dilated and about 50-60% effaced. We talked about inducing labor again. I told her I'd rather not if we could avoid it, but that obviously having her here safely was the most important thing. She gave me a "prescription" to take to L&D at Memorial West, the hospital I wanted to deliver at. She said she wanted me to go there and just have a few tests run as a precaution because of my blood pressure, but to be prepared to be admitted if they feel it's best for the baby. Yikes!

I walked out of the office that day in a daze. I just kept thinking about all the things I still wanted to do before she came... and now I was going to the hospital and may or may not be coming home that night to be able to do those things. (Not something an A-type personality likes to hear!) I like being in control of things!

So, I drove home and told Matt about my blood pressure and what Dr. Garzon had said about going to the hospital. I'm pretty sure I caught him off guard because his eyes got as big as saucers and then he started saying "hurry up" a lot. I reminded him I was not in labor and that we didn't have to really rush like it was an emergency. I did know we should go before rush hour though. I got a quick shower and packed some last-minute things in the bag for the hospital (just in case) while Matt called his dad to tell him what was going on so he could come to the house to be with James who was still napping.

After James woke up, Pops walked with him to a neighborhood playground while they waited for Grandmommy to get off work. He's really become great at climbing on different things at the park! He's such a big boy!

When we got to the hospital, we checked into the L&D triage (which seemed to take forever) and they started their round of tests. They hooked me up to the monitor for Rebekah, took my blood pressure, and then took several vials of blood to run different tests on it. We pretty much got to relax and watch Fox News (something we really miss having!). The last test they wanted to do was a sonogram. I was completely excited about that since I'd only had 2 sonograms my whole pregnancy (not counting the initial one to look at the little "bean") and the last one was at 28 weeks. The guy (yes, a male sonographer) took the measurements he needed and then even showed us the baby practicing swallowing which was pretty cool. Couldn't tell too much what things were because of the cramped quarters she was living in. It was still so cool to see her heart beating and to see her moving around a little.

I wasn't sure if he'd tell us anything or not, but then toward the end he did tell us that my fluid was a little lower than they like to see. It was a 6.2 and they like to see it at 8, and anything 5 or under is really serious. As soon as he said that, I was pretty sure Dr. Garzon was going to want me to stay and be induced. We went back up to L&D triage to find out the final verdict. Of course, it was as I suspected. A nurse said that Dr. Garzon was finishing up a delivery and then she would come speak with me but she wanted me to be admitted. Oh my goodness, was this really happening?! I couldn't believe it! I had really convinced myself that they were going to send me home, so when it didn't happen, it caught me off guard. They didn't have any rooms available yet so they stuck us in a really tiny (and very cold) room right outside triage till one became available. I wrapped myself in a blanket and watched "American Idol" while Matt went to make a few phone calls to let people know what was going on.

Dr. Garzon came in and talked to us briefly. She said with the baby being full term at 39 1/2 weeks she would rather just go ahead and admit me and induce labor and get the baby out than have something happen to her if my fluid levels were to drop anymore and cause an emergency situation. She said they'd get my labor going overnight while I slept with some cervadil and then start the petocin in the morning.

It made sense to me, but I was bummed because Dr. Garzon was on call that Wednesday at Memorial West, but would be at Memorial Regional on Thursday (the day I'd be delivering). She said Drs. Abdullah and Tus would be at West on Thursday, so one of them would be delivering our little girl. =o( I still definitely wouldn't trade having a private room after delivery just so Dr. Garzon could deliver our baby. Maybe next time she can do it... (in a few more years)

A room opened up shortly after that so they moved us to L&D where I'd be having the baby. It's kind of a weird feeling walking into a room and knowing that the next time you go out of that room, you'll have another family member with you. They had totally redone the rooms since we'd had James 2 1/2 years before and it was really nice. Wood laminate floors, a huge window with a fold-out couch, table, & two chairs in front of it. And, of course, a flat-screen TV (with cable!) and DVD player for our entertainment needs.

Right after we got to the room, they had me get into one of those comfy hospital gowns and hooked me up to the monitor. The nurse (a really nice but very talkative gal) checked me to see how dilated I was. I literally about scooted myself off the top of the bed because her exam was so painful. She said I was 3cm and about 80% effaced. Now, mind you, I was 1cm just a few hours before this and I'm pretty sure she took me up to 3cm with that exam! However, she also said that since I was 3cm and contracting a little bit, we wouldn't need to start the cervadil overnight which I was happy about. Hopefully I'd be able to get some decent sleep!

My parents came by the hospital to see us on their way home from church. They arrived just after we got to our L&D room and the nurse was going through all the paperwork. Matt had gone downstairs to find some food for us after they put us in the room since it was almost 9:00 and we still hadn't eaten dinner! It would be my last meal for a while... only ice chips after midnight. =oP He came back with a couple different wraps and some clam chowder. My mom also brought some super delicious chocolate chip cookies that were left from those she'd made for the kids at her Wednesday night church group. We visited with them for a bit and then they left so we could get ready to go to sleep. Matt put on "Fireproof" (an awesome movie for any of you who still haven't seen it!) and we watched it "together" (me on the bed and him on the couch).

That night I got some sleep but not much. I'm convinced a hospital has to be one of the hardest places to sleep because of all the noise from the machines, the noise from the nurse's station down the hall, the interruptions from nurses wanting to check things at all hours of the night, the not-so-comfortable bed (even with extra pillows from home). My nurse came in at 5am to get me up so I could get a shower before they started petocin. It was tricky keeping my hand with the IV out of the shower while keeping the rest of my body in the shower and washing myself and my hair with the other hand. Matt had gone home to get a few things, including getting a shower himself. He wanted to try to get home and back before the morning traffic got too bad.

Turns out I could have slept a little longer because my nurse came in and said she wasn't going to start the petocin on me after all because she already had several other patients she was monitoring with the petocin; the nurse on the next shift would start it. Well, thanks a lot. So, I tried to rest a little in the mean time but my adrenaline was already running and the excitement of what was to come kept me wide-eyed. So, I turned on Fox News and relaxed while I waited for my breakfast... no scratch that, no breakfast for me--only ice chips!... and waited for Matt to come back. When Matt came back, he put in another DVD he'd brought back with him... "While You Were Sleeping"... awww, our first date movie!

My new nurse came in and started the petocin around 8:00am. She also introduced me to a girl who was a student at Nova Southeastern University and asked me if it would be okay if she was there throughout the day. I told her it didn't bother me at all because I know they have to learn sometime and for goodness sake any woman who has ever had a baby knows that when it comes to having a baby you know a lot of people are going to be checking and poking and prodding you throughout the 9 or 10 months leading up to "D-day"... so why not have an extra person tagging along with my nurse? Plus, the girl seemed pretty sweet (and she actually ended up taking some great pictures after Rebekah was born, too).

It wasn't too much later that Dr. Tus came in to say hi and break my water to try to get things moving a little more quickly. ...As a side note, before we had any kids, we had cable and I greatly enjoyed watching all kinds of baby shows on TLC and the Discovery Channel where we see a couple's journey of having a child and giving birth. (I could only watch them when Matt wasn't there, though, because I knew he didn't really enjoy watching these kinds of shows.) Well, when the doctor broke my water, the nurse attending to me pointed out to the student that the fluid was clear and asked her if she knew why it was important to note. ("Oooh, I know, I know!" I wanted to say it, but I kept quiet.) If the fluid wasn't clear, that meant there might be meconium in there and that the baby would have to be suctioned right away after she was born. Surprisingly, the student didn't know, but I did from watching all those shows. See, there are things I actually learned from watching those many episodes of "A Baby Story" on TLC.

So, back to my story... I knew the combination of the petocin with the water broken might make the contractions feel stronger... and it did! Around 9:30 I told the nurse I'd like to get the ball rolling on the epidural and by 10:00 the anesthesiologist was there to administer the "magic medicine." I greatly admire women who can give birth without it, but, for me, it's the way to go! I had instant relief from my pain and could really relax and rest up for the delivery. With James, I didn't truly take advantage of that, but this time, I actually did get some sleep in before it came time to push.

Wow, when that epirural takes effect, it's incredible! I couldn't feel any pain. So, of course, they turned up the petocin after that, but I still figured it would be late afternoon before she made her debut. I visited in the morning a little bit with my parents, and James and Pops stopped by to say hi, too. James even picked out a balloon at the gift shop and brought it to me. It was SO sweet! =o) He was a little concerned to see me just lying in a bed like that with all those machines around, but I tried to reassure him that it was okay and give him lots of attention.

After James and Pops left, my mom took her laptop down the hall to the big waiting area with the couches (along with my dad) and checked her email or watched a Netflix movie (her latest craze) while Matt and I tried to sleep a little bit. I actually was able to go to sleep and next thing I know Matt is up and asking me if it's okay if he goes down to the cafeteria with my parents for lunch. I said, "Yeah, sure. I'm just going to try to go back to sleep."

Well, shortly after they left, the nurse came in and checked me and when she said, "Oh, you'll be ready to push soon!" I couldn't believe it! I think I even said to her, "Are you serious?!" Next thing I know, the room was all abuzz with a flurry of activity to prepare for her delivery. Now, I was just hoping they got back from lunch before that time came.

They did make it back and when I told them what the nurse had said they couldn't believe it either. My mom and dad scampered back out to the waiting room to call and give everyone the update and wait for her arrival. Matt called his dad to tell him what was going on, too, so he could contact all family and friends on that side and head back to the hospital. (He'd dropped James off with Matt's cousin, Lisa, after they'd visited me earlier in the morning.)

The nurse had me try to push a couple times to see if I really was ready and it was hard because for some reason I was feeling pain on one side. I guess maybe the epidural was starting to wear off a little bit. There was still a "lip" of cervix so she had me push a little to get rid of it and then had me start pushing more and called the doctor. I literally pushed for 5-10 minutes and she was out! Rebekah Lynn Cochrane had entered this crazy world. I was shocked that it was so easy!Knowing that pain would be gone once she was out sure helped me push her out quickly, too, I think. (I had pushed for 45 minutes with James and was totally exhausted. Of course, I'd had no sleep the night before with him either which makes a difference.)

The cord was wrapped once around her neck and it was a little bit tight, so the doctor quickly cut it. Then, they put her up on my abdomen and started rubbing her with the blanket to try to get her crying. It worked and she showed us that her lungs definitely work. It totally amazes me at that moment they first put her on me that a few seconds before that she was inside me! It's incredible to see such a tiny (but complete) person who was knit together inside me by her Creator now lying on my stomach. She looked so tiny, too! Was James that tiny when he was born?! My answer would come just a few minutes later... Meanwhile, I thought I'd made it through without needing stitches since I hadn't had an episiotomy like I had with James. But then I saw Dr. Tus stitching me up (so glad I couldn't feel anything!) and she said that I tore a little. =o(

They took her over to suction her some more and weigh her and do the various tests; they also let Matt cut the cord. She was only 6 pounds, 2 ounces and 19 inches long! James was 6 pounds, 15 ounces at birth. Also, she had such light hair (and not much of it)! James was born with a decent amount of dark hair. (Then it all fell out when we started bathing him and grew back in a little lighter.)

A short time later, my parents were able to come in and meet their new granddaughter, although she had to hang out under the warmer for a little while. Pops made it to the hospital to come in and see her then, too, but Grandmommy had to wait till after work. James showed up just a couple hours after she was born with Lisa, Michael and Nicole. (He'd been to a Valentine's Party at Nicole's school and he was loaded with sugar... but he had a great time!) We weren't quite sure he would totally understand, but he did seem at least a little bit interested in his baby sister.

The Marriage and Family pastor from Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, Rick Kalehoff, came and spent some time with us that afternoon when Rebekah was just hours old. He prayed over Rebekah and prayed with us, too. It was really special and it meant so much to us!

That night Pops came back with Grandmommy to visit their newest grandchild (who also happens to be their sixth grandchild). My mom caught her up with pictures from earlier by showing them on her laptop. We definitely didn't have as many visitors as we'd had with James' birth, but I guess that's to be expected with a second-born child born in the middle of a weekday afternoon. We most definitely appreciated all the calls and emails and well-wishes and gifts and meals that we had in the days and weeks to follow. So if you fall into any of those categories (which is probably just about anybody reading this blog) a big THANK YOU to you!!!

Now that I'm starting to get my bearings and find some time to get back on the ball with blogging, I'm sure I'll be catching up and writing more on what's been going on these past couple months since our family welcomed Rebekah. I also have a James update that I started in January and just never got to post... like I said, better late than never, right? =o)