I went on feeling crummy all day, but at points the nausea and headache would ease up. In the early afternoon, I started to feel feverish, and the thermometer confirmed my suspicions. I was advised to go to labor and delivery just to be evaluated. We went in around 3:45, but after two IV bags of fluid, I was discharged. I still felt pretty nasty but decided it would go away on its own. Around 9 that night, I started to feel MUCH worse, and my fever spiked to 101.1. I was again advised to go to labor and delivery. I was then admitted for the night for observation. The doctor on-call was really great and decided that since I was clearly fighting an infection or virus that it would be safest for me to stay in the hospital until they could conclude I was better or figure out what was actually causing my fevers. We "slept" that night in the hospital and woke up early the next morning. I was feeling much better but still not 100%. The doctor came in and said she would really like to induce me to make sure the infection didn't harm the baby. She also informed me that if my temperature had spiked in the middle of the night that she had decided she would do a C-section right away. Thank the Lord that didn't happen! Around 9:45 AM they started me on Pitocin; I was excited! We did not see this coming at all. Although they were not ideal circumstances, we were elated to know that we would be meeting our little girl shortly! From here on out, my timeline is very sketchy, so just know that the hour could be off big time. I was pretty dazed from being dehydrated the day before and getting caught up in this whirlwind of all of a sudden truly having a baby. At 2:05, my water broke on its own. Around 3 I believe, I was still not dilated past 1 cm but contractions were pretty strong, so I asked for Nubain. I was a tad disappointed in myself for breaking my "no meds" rule, but you just don't know until you know! Around 5, the Nubain had worn off, and I was more than ready for an epidural. The anesthesiologist did an awesome job, and I felt GREAT for the duration of my labor and delivery. The evening was filled with family and friends coming in to enjoy this time with us. It was really really special. I didn't feel anxious or scared. I was genuinely excited about actually giving birth. We were all excited about having a summer solstice baby! Buuut around 11:30 when I still didn't feel the need to push, we gave up hope on that, haha. We decided the 22nd wasn't so bad! ;) I decided to try to nap for as long as I could before the infamous "you gotta poo urge" hit.
So I woke up around 1 AM and felt it! However, it very much felt like a baby... not poo. We called the nurse in and began that process! I'll spare you the details (really it wasn't that gross) but at 1:31 AM, our tiny baby girl made her debut. She came out looking very Asian and very adorable. She was very loud as well. I was thankful for that, but after 30 minutes, I didn't exactly know how to comfort my just minutes old baby, so that got old fast. She calmed down eventually and then got her little tags and all that from the nurses. I don't really know what all they did to her, but she was still pretty upset when she was under the warmer. Eventually they gave her back to us. She weighed a whopping 6 pounds, 0.4 ounces and was 18 and a half inches long. She had a head full of dark hair and beautiful brown eyes. She was perfect. She still is. Everything was going well for both of us. The following evening; however, the pediatrician on-call decided to put her on a round of antibiotics to make sure whatever was plaguing me before hadn't gotten to her at all. Her glucose levels also kept dropping, so she had to stay in the little nursery except for feeding times. That was heartbreaking and gave us a very small taste of the pain parents with sick kids go through. It was awful to see our 24 hour old baby hooked up to an IV and pincushioned feet. I hadn't had an IV until I was in my 20s! But I must say, I am so thankful for the doctors' and nurses' decisions to keep her healthy! I am a firm believer in medicine and medical intervention when necessary. They did what was best, and that meant some tiny pricks and pokes that would heal quickly. Our sweet friends from T.Y. Photography stopped by and captured some of our time in the hospital here!
On Wednesday, the 25th, we were finally released from the hospital! It had been a long 5 days, and we were so excited to take our girl home. If you ever want every little detail about my labor and delivery, just ask! It wasn't so bad, and I think more people should share their stories. Even with some odd circumstances, our delivery story turned out beautifully! I mean look at the little light at the end of the tunnel:
