Elizabeth was born at 1:58 am on June 12, 2001, and weighed in at 6 pounds, 13 ounces. It was a mostly quick and easy labor and delivery, with (obviously!) a wonderful outcome! And now here's the full story... To start off, I really have to backtrack to the Friday before Elizabeth was born, June 8th. I went to the hospital that afternoon for an ultrasound, biophysical profile, and non-stress test, because the doctor wanted a good look at how Lizzie was doing, since I'd been diagnosed with gestational diabetes at 20 weeks into my pregnancy. The ultrasound and BPP showed a perfectly formed, healthy baby, and she was estimated to be 8 pounds, 5 ounces. From there, I went for the non-stress test, and it only took about 30 minutes, rather than the usual hour at the office!*L* The nurse proclaimed it to be reactive, and told me that I was having contractions about six to seven minutes apart, so she wanted to call the doctor to see if I should be checked for dialation. The doctor said to go ahead and check me, and I was dialated to between 1 and 2. Since the hospital was really busy that day with lots of babies on the way, I was sent home. The nurse joked that she wouldn't be surprised to see me later on that night, but I kind of blew that off...it would be nice, but I'd been having contractions off and on for more than a week, so I figured that it wasn't quite time yet. The contractions always quit eventually anyway...but this time, they didn't! They kept coming, but never got intense or any closer together...in fact, they moved further apart and got less intense than they'd been. It went on like that all weekend long, too...every time I thought to myself, "Okay, this has to be it!" the contractions would slow down and ease off. By Monday morning, I was miserable and exhausted, because the contractions were just enough to wake me up when I was lying down, and by Monday afternoon, they were still coming, and I was having more cramping and pressure between them. I finally called the doctor's office, and they told me to go on to the hospital to be checked out, just in case. That was about 3 pm on Monday, June 11th. I called Mark at work and told him not to stay too late, because when he got home, we were heading to the hospital. I hopped into the shower and threw a last couple of things into my bag, just in case, and when Mark got home, we kissed Kasey good-bye and told her that we'd call soon to let her know if her baby sister really was almost ready to be born, and headed out. When we got to the hospital, we had to check in through the ER, and that was a mess!! We waited there for more than an hour, so it was about 6:30 before we finally got up to the L&D ward. When we got there, we were taken straight into a birthing room, because the hospital was still busy, and the observation ward was full. That was really nice, actually, because it was quiet, cool, and private...between the times that the nurses were checking on me, Mark and I were alone, and we were able to relax a bit. After about an hour on the monitors, the nurse came in and told me that I couldn't possibly be in labor, because there were no contractions being picked up, but that I was dehydrated and was passing ketones into my urine, so they wanted me to drink a bunch of water and see if the ketones went down. I couldn't figure out how it was possible that I was dehydrated, since I'd been drinking LOTS of water all day long, but I obediently started gulping down water. I stayed on the monitors as well, and started griping to Mark that my back was killing me...I just KNEW that they were going to tell me that they were finally picking up contractions soon...I was having back labor! After about an hour of that, the nurse came back in to check my urine again, and told me that they still weren't getting any contractions on the monitor, but my blood pressure was going up, and she'd called the midwife again. Nancy, the midwife, had told her to check me for any further dialation, and she'd be there soon. So the nurse checked me, and I was STILL at 1-2 centimeters, after an entire weekend of contractions! I just wanted to cry, or at the very least, beg for something to help my back. The nurse told me that Nancy was on her way to the hospital, and that after she got there to see me, we'd probably be sent home, since the ketones were dropping. She also suggested that we get something to eat to help ward off the ketones, so that I could definitely be released...I really didn't want to stay in the hospital if I didn't have to! So we called my mom and asked her if she could possibly bring us something, because by then it was 9:30 pm, and Mark was exhausted, plus I didn't feel like being left alone...my back was still killing me, and I was starting to feel really edgy. Mom brought us some hamburgers, and she and Kasey visited for a few minutes. We reassured Kasey that we'd be home later on that night, and then they left and we had our dinner. As I was finishing my hamburger, I started feeling sick, as if I was going to throw up. My back was still killing me, and I was having contractions, no matter what the crazy monitors were telling the nursing staff, every 3 1/2 to 4 minutes. I finally laid back and tried to relax...I was truly exhausted, and still felt mildly sick to my stomach, so all I really wanted was some rest. Nancy came into my room around 10:30 and told me that she'd looked over my results, and the ketones were gone. But then she told me that my blood pressure was still spiking, and she was really concerned about that, so she wanted to keep me overnight for observation. I still wasn't feeling quite right, and I think I snapped at her that my blood pressure would probably be fine if I could either quit having contractions, or if someone would believe me about them! I apologized, and then asked her to check me again for dialation, because I KNEW that the back pain I was having was contractions. She said that she was just about to offer to do that, but she didn't expect to see much change, since I'd just been checked recently. The internal was uncomfortable, but when Nancy was done, she was smiling. In the hour between then and when the nurse had checked me, I'd dialated to 5. The blood pressure spikes were explainable now...I was in labor, and we were having a baby...TONIGHT!!! Nancy told us that she'd be back in a bit, and the nurse would hook me up for the IV antibiotics for the group B strep, but that it looked like things would go pretty fast. Mark decided to go home, because we didn't bring the cameras with us, and I waited and watched TV by myself for awhile. The nurse came in to put in the IV, and I warned her that I'm a hard stick (I have deep, hard to find veins), so that she'd know to be careful. Fortunately, she found the vein on the first stick. Unfortunately, I had a contraction just after she put the needle in...I've never in my life had such a hard time keeping still for ANYthing, but I knew that if she'd found the vein, I didn't want to go through the pain of having to do it again! I managed, and the antibiotics were started. I was supposed to get two doses, but at this point, we were just hoping for time for one. Just after Mark got back (it took him about 30 minutes), Nancy came back in to check on me. By that time, I was dialated to 7, and she told me that as much as she hated to do it, she was going to break my water. (Normally, with a GBS positive patient, the waters are left intact until they break on their own, due to risk of infection.) The external monitors just weren't picking up my contractions, and they weren't picking up the baby's heartbeat as well as she'd like either, so she wanted to be able to do internal monitoring. I agreed, and she went to work. It didn't take anything to break my water...it was ready to go anyway. I was starting to get a little crazy with the pain, and Nancy asked me what I'd had for pain when Kasey was born. I managed a laugh, and told her, "Inner strength!" She told me that this time was going to be different if I wanted, and I told her yes, I wanted, please, thank you! I'd thought about another unmedicated birth, but I'd also learned my lesson about back labor when I had Kasey...I didn't know if I could handle the pain on top of the exhaustion I was feeling! (Remember, it had been 3 days since I'd had more than an hour's sleep at a time by this point!) She told me that she could order an epidural, but that the person who'd administer it probably wouldn't be able to get there in time, so she suggested a dose of Stadol through the IV. I'd heard horror stories about Stadol, but at that point, I was desperate for a little relief, so I agreed. I'm glad I did...the nurse put it in during a contraction, and I immediately felt some of the edge come off. Between contractions, I was able to nap, and even though that was only minutes at a time, it really helped. Plus, Mark was able to lie down on the couch next to the birthing bed and sleep a bit himself, rather than having to stay with me and try to help me through the contractions...it was almost 1 in the morning, and he'd been up since 5 the morning before! About a half hour after that, I told Nancy that I was feeling a lot more pressure between contractions, and I thought it might be about time to push. She checked me one last time, and told me that I was fully dialated with only a "lip" of cervix left, and she felt like I could push through it if I wanted. Time for our baby girl to be born!! On the next contraction, I started to push. The Stadol had worn off by then, and I was feeling exhausted and in so much pain that I told Mark I thought I was dying, rather than giving birth. I kept pushing with each contraction, but kept telling Nancy that I just couldn't do it, I was too tired and it hurt too much. I also remember getting a bit incoherent...saying that I just wanted it to stop, while what I was actually thinking was that I wanted it to stop just long enough for me to pull myself together again (I'd have taken an extra 30 seconds between contractions...*L*). Nancy was wonderful through that...she was really encouraging, and told me that even though I thought I couldn't do it, I was doing great, she could see our baby girl's head and some brown hair, all I had to do was keep it up. Finally, she called in two nurses to hold my legs up, and I pushed with all my might. I finally understood the "ring of fire" stories that I've heard people tell...it burned SO bad as her head was being delivered!! But once her head was out, I could hear her squalling, and Nancy told me to hang on, blow through the next contraction so she could suction her nasal passages. I did, and on the contraction after that, I barely pushed and the rest of her body just slid out. Nancy and the nurse were both talking to her, calling her by name and telling us how beautiful she was. I could see her feet kicking while they cleaned her off, but I couldn't see anything else, and all of a sudden, I was completely awake and demanding to see my baby girl! A couple of minutes later, they handed her to me and I just marvelled at her...she really was SO beautiful, and SO tiny, and SO perfect! Nancy told us that her birth Apgar was 9, and I was more than happy with that. A few minutes later, the placenta delivered as we tried nursing for the first time, and then they took Elizabeth to be weighed and measured. She was 6 pounds, 13 ounces (much smaller than the ultrasound had estimated!), and 18 1/4 inches long. They handed her back a couple of minutes later, and Nancy and Amy, the nurse, were both laughing and smiling, and told us that her 5 minute Apgar was 10, and they never give a 10, but there just wasn't anything at all that they could take off for. What a relief, after the months of worrying about the effects of gestational diabetes, and then the group B strep at the end! We were totally thrilled about our beautiful, healthy baby girl! We were released from the hospital on Thursday afternoon, after Elizabeth passed the 48 hour mark. We only had to stay that long because I'd only received one dose of the antibiotics for group B strep, and the pediatrician was being cautious about that. Since we've been home, everything has continued going well, and we feel so blessed to have Lizzie as the newest member of our family!!