Grace Michele Armstrong: The Real {Birth} Story Part Two

Don't miss
{PART ONE of Grace's birth story}

Easter 2014 - sister matchy-matchy Easter dresses

So by 12:30PM on my birthday I was all checked into the hospital,
Isabella was safe with Grandma, my wonderful friends
were going to make sure JT made it from school to Grandma,
and we were ready for the baby party to start.

Except it wasn't going to be much of a party.

Since I was going to have to be induced again, I was worried I was
going to have a repeat of what happened with Isabella.
However, my nurse called my OBGYN and they had a new plan.

(Oh! Along the party lines, I did get popsicles, so that was awesome!
Since my blood sugar was low and I had gestational diabetes,
I got a couple of popsicles with REAL SUGAR to boost it up.)

Instead of just starting pitocin and trying to start labor from nothing,
and it was pretty much nothing -
I was dilated to maybe a 2 and my cervix was high and firm,
they were going to do something I hadn't heard of before.
They decided to insert a Foley balloon catheter into my cervix and inflate

the balloon with saline.

The balloon simulates the pressure of the baby's head and helps make the

cervix dilate.

They told me to it could take anywhere from 3-8 hours for the cervix to

open enough (to about 6cm) for the balloon to fall out

and then my cervix would be at a good point to start pitocin.

Ocenview from my L&D room taken by JJ - March 21, 2014

Fast forward to about 2 hours later and bam, my water breaks,

I take a trip to use the bathroom and the balloon catheter falls out!

Woohoo!

I was so excited, because this means things were rolling along at a great pace.

I was already at 6cm, they were going to start the pitocin, it wasn't even 3 o'clock
 and I was going to have this baby quick and easy.

Ha. Pride cometh before the fall.

Fast forward to about 5:30PM that evening and I'm still at a six.

I was having contractions, but they weren't really organized or at regular

intervals. Blech.

My nurse comes into tell me that if I want an epidural that I need to do it now,

or the anesthesiologist won't be available until about 7:00PM because

he is going in to do a cesarean and we won't be available until after it is done.

I was still trying to be strong and do it au naturale,

so I waved the nurse away and told I would be fine!
I could do it.

I should have taken the epidural.

First pool day - April 15, 2014

Fast forward to about 6:45PM and I was DYING.

The contractions were fast and hard.

I couldn't do it. I was beat and I wanted my epidural!

I kept asking JJ what time it was, hoping it was 7:00PM.

At 7:00PM on the dot I had JJ call the nurse and tell them I was ready.

Of course, it was shift change, so a new nurse rolled on.

When Brittney walked into the room I thought,

"Oh my heck! Are you even 20 years old? 

What can you know about delivering a baby?"

Lucky for me, she knew a lot.

Since it was a shift change, a new anesthesiologist rolled on too

and I was first in line.

HOLLA!

Even though I had been nervous to have an epidural because 

last time it is where everything started to go horribly wrong, I didn't care.

I wanted the drugs and I wanted them NOW!

Bright eyes - April 5, 2014

Fast forward and the quirky and hilarious anesthesiologist gets me all hooked

up with the epidural and I am feeling fine.

And then everything started to go wrong.

Again.

I had to stay on my left side because Grace wasn't tolerating my contractions very well.

My blood pressure was bottoming out and Brittney seriously spent over

an hour getting it stabilized.

The "chills" and chattering teeth from Isabella's labor returned.

And to add insult to injury, I was still hanging out around 6cm. Boo.

Then, I was finally stable, but Gracie wasn't fairing quite as well.

She was already on an internal monitor because the external wasn't cutting it.

Brittney kept having to turn down the pitocin or turn it off completely, 

because she just couldn't handle my contractions.

I started thinking in my head - Ok, time for a cesarean.

Baby in distress - Mama don't play that.

But the amazing doctors and nurses had a plan.

They were going to do a amnioinfusion to replace the amniotic fluid

I lost when my water broke over 6 hours ago.

They thought that maybe she was resting on the umbilical cord

since there wasn't was much amnio fluid inside and that was causing

the problems with her heart rate and my contractions.

Instgramming that baby isn't coming tonight - 10:25PM March 21, 2014

The amnioinfusion worked!
So I was finally stable and she was finally stable,
but I was still only dilated to about 6cm.
They decided to leave the pitocin off because they wanted
to see how Grace responded.
By now it was about 10:30PM and Brittney tells me I'm probably
not going to be having this baby on my birthday.
So I Instagram a picture of all my lovely bags fluids and say:

"Baby Watch Update: No baby yet. We probably won't share the same birthday. 
We're both doing fine. #stubbornlittlegirl #justlikehersister #nowihave4bags #babyfpg"

And then I started feeling uncomfortable.
It wasn't unbearable, but it wasn't as sweet as when I'd first gotten the
epidural about 3 hours ago.
I asked Brittany if she could push my button so I could get some more drugs.
I didn't realize it at the time, but Brittany had taken my button away.
I was supposed to be able to push my button and get just a little bit of happiness.
However, when the problems with my blood pressure happened,
Brittany stealthily took my button away.
She said she would, but she was afraid to give me too much because
she didn't want to start all over with my blood pressure.

I understood, but it sucked.

First Outing - March 26, 2014

She said she was going to leave me for about 20 minutes and then
we could ask the anesthesiologist about more happy meds.
She said to let her know if I started feeling pressure, but that I was still about 6cm.

Brittany left and I was uncomfortable and then about 10 minutes later
 I start to feel REALLY uncomfortable.
It wasn't like with JT, like I need to take a big dump, and I need to take one now.
It was a weird sensation. A painful sensation. A something is happening sensation.

And it was ALL me baby!!!!
The pitocin had been off for almost an hour.
I'm not even sure I was receiving much of the epidural and since
Brittany had taken away my happy button pushing privileges.
Since I had to stay on my left side, I couldn't see the monitors, but I was sure
I was having major contractions, so I say to JJ,

"AM I HAVING A CONTRACTION???!!" - through gritted teeth.

He's like, Oh, yeah. You are.
I told him to push that call button and get Brittany in there.
He pushes the nurse call button and sweetly tells them
I'm feeling some pressure.
I'm ready to shout, "Get that freaking Justin Timberlake lovin' nurse in here!"
But Brittany appears with the baby nurse and they both check me
and I am almost complete.
They both agreed I was like 9.5cm, so the baby nurse
sticks her hand WAY UP THERE, and helps me become a 10.

YOWIE!!!!

First Photo Shoot - April 4, 2014

I am now back curled on my left side, gripping the bed,
and I exclaim,

"I DON'T WANT TO FEEL ANY OF THIS!"

I am feeling the contractions and the pain and I want it to stop.
Brittany stops what she's doing, gets down in my face and says,
"The more you feel, the quicker this baby will be born. Got it?"

So I shut up and get ready to have this baby.

They grab Dr. Flora, who is just about to go home,
because Brittany has just told her that it's going to be hours
before I am ready to deliver, and she isn't on call the next day.

They break that bed down, Dr. Flora walks in and says,
"I'm here. I'm ready. Push whenever you're ready."

And boy do I push.

One push, two pushes, and JJ says,
"You did it! I can see her face!"
I give one more little push and at 11:09PM on my 35th birthday,
 little Grace Michele Armstrong LITERALLY comes shooting out.
(It's funny because we had a whole conversation with the anesthesiologist about how
babies do not just come shooting out.)

Grace Michele Armstrong - March 21, 2014 11:09PM

 They shout at me to stop pushing!!!!!!!
The cord is wrapped pretty tightly around her neck a couple of times.
JJ didn't get to cut the cord, because Dr. Flora acted quickly and cut it to
get it off of her neck.
She later apologized and we both said in unison, WE'RE GLAD YOU DID!

They immediately laid her on my chest and she was purple/blue
and she hadn't cried yet.
I kissed her and then the baby nurse said,
"I'm just going to take her and get her cleaned off
and get her to make some noise."

JJ and I both exclaimed, "PLEASE DO!"

Five seconds later and she was screaming and pink and my
body relaxed and my soul rejoiced.

Grace Michele Armstrong - 7lbs 2oz - 20 inches

She is the best birthday present I could have ever imagined for myself.

In the weeks leading up to her birth, JJ and I were divided on her name.
I wanted her to be Charlotte Grace and JJ wanted her to be Grace Charlotte.
I wanted Charlotte Grace, not because I liked Charlotte better than Grace,
quite the opposite, Grace was actually my favorite of the two.
But I felt like Charlotte Grace flowed easier off the tongue than Grace Charlotte.
I had even told all my friends and family that she would most likely be
Charlotte Grace, because after labor, JJ always let me pick.

But as JJ and I sat in the hospital in the early afternoon waiting
for things to get started, JJ said,
"What about if we give her your middle name since you'll share the same birthday?
She can be Grace Michele."

And in that moment, I knew that was her name.

All ready to go home - March 23, 2014

I am so grateful for amazing doctors, attentive and fantastic nurses,
a super star husband, and a loving Heavenly Father
that made having this little miracle possible.

Thank you for joining me for Grace's birth story.
If you missed {PART ONE} you can find it here.

Grace Michele Armstrong: The Real {Birth} Story Part One

Well, since my little Gracie Loo is now five months old,
I've shared her birth announcement,
and today is Labor Day,

it's about time I get around to sharing her birth story before I forget

it completely and the details runs together with the stories of her brother and sister.

Grace Michele Armstrong - August 31, 2014

It all started on the morning of my 35th birthday - Friday, March 21, 2014 - 

just one day before my due date.

 I had seen my OBGYN on Monday of that week and we both agreed that it

was about time to have that baby.

I had been insistent during this entire pregnancy that I did not want to be

induced, unless it was absolutely necessary, as my elective induction with

Isabella had gone terribly wrong.

Trying to blog - March 16, 2014

My doctor said she would let me get to my next appointment (the next Monday),

but with my blood pressure not behaving itself during the last few appointments,

she said that I wasn't doing myself or the baby any favors being

pregnant any longer that.

I wasn't dilated much at all, and my cervix was still pretty firm and high,

so I didn't have high hopes that I would go into labor before my last appointment.

So, back to my birthday.

JT went to school like usual and Isabella and I headed over to

the Hoag Fetal Diagnostics Center for my 9:30AM fetal monitoring appointment.

I had fetal monitoring off and on during my pregnancy due to high amniotic fluid

numbers and wacky blood pressure.

Fetal Monitoring - March 11, 2014

My doctor had me back going twice a week to make sure everything was staying

status quo. I had never taken Isabella with me before, but I had lunch

plans with a college friend that was in town from Boston that I hadn't seen

in over 5 years, so I decided to take her to avoid having to drive back

and forth to a sitter's house before going lunch about 10 minutes away

from the hospital where my appointment was that day.

I should have known better.

I thought it was going to be a good day at fetal monitoring.

I got a room with a view and not the closet room that gave me a panic attack a month

or so earlier and I had a nurse that I'd had before.

Not my favorite nurse, but still a nice nurse.

My nurse got me hooked up to the fetal monitoring machine and right away

I knew things were not going to go nice a normal like I had imagined.

Grace's heart rate dropped just as she was getting me settled in, like seriously dropped.

The nurse was a little bit worried, but since it popped right back up,

she decided to watch it and see if it was just a fluke (like the monitor was picking me up)

or if something was really going on.

Well, something was really going on.

Little Grace, that had performed beautifully at every other fetal monitoring appointment,

just was not cooperating

From what I've come to understand, they want the baby to move, move, move

at fetal monitoring so they can see how the baby's heart rate responds to movement.

If the baby is moving, her heart rate should accelerate and then settle back down

once she settles down again.

If I have a contraction, her heart rate should accelerate and then settle again.

You get the idea.

Usually Grace was all over the place. Since I had high amniotic fluid levels,

the nurses told me it was like a giant bath tub in there and she could move around

and have a jolly good time.

Her heart rate readings were just like they should be at every other appointment.

Now, my blood pressure was another story . . .

Today, however, she refused to move around. Her heart rate was even steven.

Drinking ice water didn't get her going. The baby shocker thing didn't get her going.

I could tell that this, combined with my high blood pressure, and Grace's

heart deceleration at the beginning had put my nurse on edge.

Fetal Monitoring - March 21, 2014 9:47AM

 Isabella was starting to get antsy too.

 My 20 minute appointment that was supposed to be in and out

so that we could meet Heather for lunch at Cafe Rio and celebrate

my 35th birthday and a reunion of old friends, was now getting close to an hour.

Isabella had drawn in her notebook, played on my phone, and was ready

to get the heck out of there.

But it was not to be.

My nurse announced that it was baby day.

Isabella got a horrified look on her face and when the nurse left

the room she announced,

"You can't just take off your underwear and have the baby here!"

I assured her it would be quite sometime til that happened and she would

be safely at Grandma's house and far away from the situation.

The nurse came back and said she was going to do an ultrasound

to check my fluid levels and see if Grace was using her lungs to practice breathing.

She told me Isabella could stay in the fetal monitoring room while we went to ultrasound.

I was like - You obviously don't know my nervous Nelly 5 year old very well.

So we all trekked down the hall and she started on the ultrasound.

Of course Grace didn't cooperate.

I started to get nervous. 

But I could hear her heartbeat and see her moving around on the monitor,

so I couldn't figure out what was going wrong.

Isabella started to get really nervous. She started pacing and worrying.

She's my little worrier and has anxiety issues, so I knew this dark room with her

mom hooked up to a machine with a nurse that wasn't talking wasn't doing her any favors.

I had her come stand next to me and I held her hand.

Hand holding always calms her down.

What seems like forever later, the nurse told me what she was doing.

She had to get some many seconds of Grace using her lungs and she couldn't get a 

good angle and just when she would, Grace would shift.

I failed to mention this nurse wasn't a talker.

In my experience there are three kinds of nurses:

(1) nurses that like to talk TOO much and you're like - stop telling me things!

(2) nurses that talk just the right amount

(3) nurses that don't talk enough and you're wondering - WHAT'S WRONG!

This was a - SAY SOMETHING! - kind of nurse.

So, she says she's going to have someone come down from L&D and get me

and have me admitted to have the baby that day.

Happy Birthday to me!

So I text JJ and tell him it's baby day and tell him to have his mom

come and pick Isabella up before she has an anxiety attack.

Then I text my friend Heather and tell her that I won't be making lunch.

Then the little girl with the wheelchair shows up and I feel like a weirdo

being wheeled through the hospital up to L&D by a teenager, 

with my Nervous Nelly 5 year old having a panic attack walking next to me.

Hoag L&D Room - March 21, 2014 12:21PM

 So fast forward - 

By 12:30PM I get admitted, JJ arrives, 

Isabella gets picked up by Grandma and we are ready to get this baby party started.

Phew!

{END PART ONE}

Come back on Wednesday for {PART TWO}.