Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Violet's birth story - 4/12/13
Sunday, April 7th, 2013:
Our first nurse was a chatty Irish lady, who was very nice but VERY chatty. She hooked up my IV for the antibiotics and got the drip going. OMG, the antibiotics burned so bad going in! Soon after we met the two doctors supervising my care, Dr. Sarah Obican and Dr. Chia-Ling Nhan-Chang. They were both so friendly and AMAZING. We had the best time talking to them! Just about this time my parents arrived and all of us (including the doctors and nurses) tried to guess the weight of the baby. The doctors even felt my stomach to try to get a leg up. Dr. Nhan-Chang asked me what my guess was and I said, “8 pounds even.” And she said, “I’ll let you in on a secret, Mom is always right.” (Spoiler alert - she was right (and so was I!))
They started the pitocin and soon after the baby’s heart decelerated a bit to 60 – eek! They think she was laying on her umbilical cord for a minute but I sort of think the monitors may have been off. Regardless, they decided to stop the pitocin for an hour just to make sure the baby was tolerating it well. The whole day was such a slow process.
The anesthesiology team came in shortly after and started my epidural. Everything seemed to be going fine until all of a sudden, I started feeling numb in my left arm and in my head. The epidural was going up instead of down – ack! I told them what was happening and the anesthesiologist asked me if I had problems with anxiety or if I was feeling nervous. Um, I wasn’t feeling nervous until my chest, arms and head started going numb! At that point the blood pressure cuff automatically took my BP. It was 80/40. Don’t worry, they said. It’s probably a false reading. So they took my BP again. This time it was 70/40. I said, “I feel weird” and started to pass out and they said, “lay down, lay down!” They turned the epidural all the way down so I could recover and then assured me that once it got close to Go Time!, they would DEFINITELY be able to fix it and direct it down instead of up. Famous last words.
For the next few hours, everything went very slow. I was a little more dilated and my contractions were starting to pick up. We were all starting to get tired. The doctors came in to check me at 9:45PM. At this point the shift changed but Dr. Obican stayed on and was joined by Dr. Anita LaSala and a younger resident. Dr. Obican checked me and I was 8cm dilated and 80% effaced. The baby was at -2 station, so she was still pretty high up. Things were moving along, but very slow.
Just then, I had 4 MONSTER contractions in a row. With the epidural turned down, I could feel everything and sort of screamed that we needed to get anesthesiology back in to see what they could do with the epidural. Just then I had one contraction that was the biggest one yet. I screamed through it and suddenly screamed, “I HAVE TO PUSH!!!!!!!” Vince, my Mom and sister RAN to get the nurses and doctors in. Nurse Julie (the new night nurse) came in and immediately called anesthesiology. It was 10:12PM. (I had Julie look back at the log to see what time she made the call.)
Finally, everything was set up and it was time to push. My sister was up by my head (by choice) and I looked at her and said, “Shit’s about to get real.” She held my hand. My Mom and Vince were down by the main event. Drs. Obican, Dr. LaSala and the resident were all crouched down checking out the baby’s head. It was so funny to see, they were three women from three different generations and I briefly thought that a) it felt like a scene out of a movie and b) how cool was it that the only man in the room was Vince? Yay, 2013!
I pushed once and they said, “reach down and feel your baby’s head!” I was in so much pain that I just sort of patted her wet head and kept pushing. I was ready to get this baby out. Anesthesiology came in at this point and said something to me but the amesthesiologist’s accent was so heavy I couldn’t understand a word she was saying. I just said, “Yes, great!” and hoped that whatever she was asking meant she was trying to give me more drugs for the pain.
So, with one final GIANT push, I pushed baby Violet Alison into the world. First her head came out and then they gently delivered her shoulders. My son was born with the cord wrapped tightly around his neck. He was purple and not crying and it was so frightening. Little Miss Violet was born bright red and SCREAMING. My first glimpse of her she was holding on to her umbilical cord with one hand and had the other hand up in the air like she was a cowgirl at a rodeo, screaming her cute little head off. They put her on my chest and she immediately settled down and held my hand. For the second time in my life, I was truly, truly in love at first sight. My baby girl was 8 pounds even (I was right!) and 20.7 inches long. She was born at 10:25PM (even though her birth certificate says 10:55PM for some reason, I have to get that fixed.) Her APGARs were 9 and 9 – perfect!
I was shaking so badly from the delivery that baby Violet went to stay with Daddy while I was being stitched up. I looked over and saw she had locked eyes with him – he was in love too.
At this point in my pregnancy, I was 38w2d and had been
dealing with high amniotic fluid and almost constant contractions for several
days. Violet was still very high up in my belly and it would feel like she
would start to engage and then float out and the contractions would stop, over
and over again. On the previous Thursday, I had been 2-3cm dilated and 50%
effaced. This Sunday, I just didn’t feel good. I was still having frequent
contractions and so I went to the hospital, accompanied by my amazing friend,
Debbie. I was checked out at the hospital – my fluid was still high (around 24,)
I was now 4 cm dilated and the baby
looked great. The hospital debated keeping me and inducing me because I was so
dilated and because I was 40, but decided to let me go just a few more days. I
called Dr. Gaddipati the next morning to discuss.
Monday, April 8th, 2013:
I called Dr. Gaddipati first thing on Monday morning and
he said that because I was 40, high fluid, 4 cm dilated and group B strep
positive, he wanted to schedule me for induction for Friday, 4/12/13. He was a
little worried that because I was so dilated a) I may not make it to the
hospital in time and b) if I did, I may not have enough time to receive the 4
hours of IV antibiotics they need to get in your system before you have a baby
(if you are GBS+.) So finally, we knew our baby’s birthdate! I called my
husband, Mom, Dad and sister and spread the word. Everyone was set to arrive on
Thursday night which was such a relief because I had been terrified that I
would go into labor on my own and Roman would have to go stay at a friend’s
house (as opposed to being able to stay with my Mom and Dad at our house.) The
plan was set!
Thursday, April 11th, 2013:
I REALLY started having some good contractions on
Thursday and started to question if I was going to make it to Friday. But, as
is the case a lot of time with polyhydramnios, the babies tend to float around
and have trouble engaging. So basically, you just have contractions all the
time until your water breaks. This was my last day at work.
Friday, April 12th, 2013:
Vince and I woke up bright and early on Friday. We had to
be at the hospital by 7AM. We said goodbye to my sweet Roman and hopped in a
cab. We told the cab driver we were going to labor and delivery at Columbia
Presbyterian hospital and I think he saw my giant belly and thought we meant
the baby was coming NOW. He started driving like 100 miles an hour and we
finally had to tell him to slow down, that we had plenty of time!
Once we got to the hospital, we checked in and met my
sister. We went back to the giant labor and delivery room and I got into a
gown. It’s so surreal to me, sitting in the room on the bed and looking around.
They already had the baby bassinet set up and there was a pack of pampers right
there. I think that’s the moment that it hits you – I am not leaving this room
until I meet my daughter. It’s so overwhelming and exciting!
Our first nurse was a chatty Irish lady, who was very nice but VERY chatty. She hooked up my IV for the antibiotics and got the drip going. OMG, the antibiotics burned so bad going in! Soon after we met the two doctors supervising my care, Dr. Sarah Obican and Dr. Chia-Ling Nhan-Chang. They were both so friendly and AMAZING. We had the best time talking to them! Just about this time my parents arrived and all of us (including the doctors and nurses) tried to guess the weight of the baby. The doctors even felt my stomach to try to get a leg up. Dr. Nhan-Chang asked me what my guess was and I said, “8 pounds even.” And she said, “I’ll let you in on a secret, Mom is always right.” (Spoiler alert - she was right (and so was I!))
They started the pitocin and soon after the baby’s heart decelerated a bit to 60 – eek! They think she was laying on her umbilical cord for a minute but I sort of think the monitors may have been off. Regardless, they decided to stop the pitocin for an hour just to make sure the baby was tolerating it well. The whole day was such a slow process.
Finally, at 3:30PM they came in to break my water.
Because I had such high fluid, they had to put a red sign on the door to alert
people of the high chance of slipping and falling if they came in the room,
hahaha. They broke my water and wow, it was a TON. I soaked a nurse from the
chest down and she had to get changed. At this point, they switched the nursing
staff over to a nurse named Bobbi, who we LOVED. She was so wonderful!
The anesthesiology team came in shortly after and started my epidural. Everything seemed to be going fine until all of a sudden, I started feeling numb in my left arm and in my head. The epidural was going up instead of down – ack! I told them what was happening and the anesthesiologist asked me if I had problems with anxiety or if I was feeling nervous. Um, I wasn’t feeling nervous until my chest, arms and head started going numb! At that point the blood pressure cuff automatically took my BP. It was 80/40. Don’t worry, they said. It’s probably a false reading. So they took my BP again. This time it was 70/40. I said, “I feel weird” and started to pass out and they said, “lay down, lay down!” They turned the epidural all the way down so I could recover and then assured me that once it got close to Go Time!, they would DEFINITELY be able to fix it and direct it down instead of up. Famous last words.
For the next few hours, everything went very slow. I was a little more dilated and my contractions were starting to pick up. We were all starting to get tired. The doctors came in to check me at 9:45PM. At this point the shift changed but Dr. Obican stayed on and was joined by Dr. Anita LaSala and a younger resident. Dr. Obican checked me and I was 8cm dilated and 80% effaced. The baby was at -2 station, so she was still pretty high up. Things were moving along, but very slow.
They told me they would come back and check me in an hour
or two and left. Everyone texted updates to tell our family not at the hospital
that it looked like it was going to be a long night. Maybe the baby’s birthdate
would be 4/13/13?
Just then, I had 4 MONSTER contractions in a row. With the epidural turned down, I could feel everything and sort of screamed that we needed to get anesthesiology back in to see what they could do with the epidural. Just then I had one contraction that was the biggest one yet. I screamed through it and suddenly screamed, “I HAVE TO PUSH!!!!!!!” Vince, my Mom and sister RAN to get the nurses and doctors in. Nurse Julie (the new night nurse) came in and immediately called anesthesiology. It was 10:12PM. (I had Julie look back at the log to see what time she made the call.)
The resident ran in and said from literally 25 feet away,
“I see the head!” I was still laying on my side at that point, holding on to
the bed and trying to scream through the contractions. I said, “I think I am pooping on the table!”
(I wasn’t but apparently that’s what it feels like when the baby is coming out
and you don’t have an epidural!) She and the nurse both said, “Don’t push!
Don’t push!” and there was a lot of excitement and running around as they got
Drs. Obican and LaSala in the room for the bed event and converted the bed I
was in into a birthing bed.
Finally, everything was set up and it was time to push. My sister was up by my head (by choice) and I looked at her and said, “Shit’s about to get real.” She held my hand. My Mom and Vince were down by the main event. Drs. Obican, Dr. LaSala and the resident were all crouched down checking out the baby’s head. It was so funny to see, they were three women from three different generations and I briefly thought that a) it felt like a scene out of a movie and b) how cool was it that the only man in the room was Vince? Yay, 2013!
I pushed once and they said, “reach down and feel your baby’s head!” I was in so much pain that I just sort of patted her wet head and kept pushing. I was ready to get this baby out. Anesthesiology came in at this point and said something to me but the amesthesiologist’s accent was so heavy I couldn’t understand a word she was saying. I just said, “Yes, great!” and hoped that whatever she was asking meant she was trying to give me more drugs for the pain.
I had another contraction and another push and it felt
like the baby got stuck. “PULL HER OUT! “ I screamed. They said, “One more push
and she’ll be here!”
So, with one final GIANT push, I pushed baby Violet Alison into the world. First her head came out and then they gently delivered her shoulders. My son was born with the cord wrapped tightly around his neck. He was purple and not crying and it was so frightening. Little Miss Violet was born bright red and SCREAMING. My first glimpse of her she was holding on to her umbilical cord with one hand and had the other hand up in the air like she was a cowgirl at a rodeo, screaming her cute little head off. They put her on my chest and she immediately settled down and held my hand. For the second time in my life, I was truly, truly in love at first sight. My baby girl was 8 pounds even (I was right!) and 20.7 inches long. She was born at 10:25PM (even though her birth certificate says 10:55PM for some reason, I have to get that fixed.) Her APGARs were 9 and 9 – perfect!
I was shaking so badly from the delivery that baby Violet went to stay with Daddy while I was being stitched up. I looked over and saw she had locked eyes with him – he was in love too.
After a few hours, the shaking finally went away and I
was able to have a quiet moment with my baby girl, who was and is absolutely
BEAUTIFUL and perfect in every way!
Roman's birth story - 6/18/09
6/16/09 – On Tuesday night, I started having contractions that hurt a little
bit but they weren't coming in a regular pace – just like every 10-30 minutes. I
told Vince I felt like the baby was coming soon but probably not until the
weekend (but that it was really time for him to pack for the hospital and to
add his email addresses to our baby distribution list!) Around 9PM, I stopped
being able to feel the baby move as well as I had (which was not normal for
him, especially after dinner, when he is normally a little kicking and
squirming machine) so we called my doctor. He called us right back and told us
he was actually at the hospital and to come right in to get checked out. We
arrived at the hospital at 10PM and got checked out by a resident named Dr.
Cort. The baby was moving well at this point (thank God!) and then Dr. Cort did
the internal exam – I was 2-3cm dilated and 80% effaced! Dr. Cort said he felt
like it would still be another week or so but Dr. Gaddipati said he felt like
the baby would come in the next day or two (I guess experience has taught him a
lot – he was exactly right!) So anyway, we left the hospital and came home for
a couple of hours of sleep. Thankfully, earlier in the evening, I felt like we
really needed to take some pictures of me while I was still pregnant and they
turned out to be our last ones!
6/17/09 – On Wednesday, I woke up feeling fine – no contractions and the baby was acting like his normal, happy, squirmy self. By the time I got to work, I started having contractions and I could feel them, but I wouldn't say they really hurt, just a very mild cramping. I started timing them and they were coming every 5 to 20 minutes. I figured it was just false labor and went about my business. I met with my boss to go over some of the work I was passing along to her during my maternity leave and she noticed that I was having contractions so we started timing them. It was so funny – we would do a little work, stop and time a contraction and then go back to the work. At this point, it was about 1PM and then contractions were coming about every 5 minutes but still, they were very tolerable. I kept thinking, “there's no way this could be labor because it just doesn't hurt enough!” Thankfully, my boss Kahane, who has two kids, made me call the doctor after an hour or so. I went into their office to meet with Jeanne (my favorite NP/midwife) and she hooked me up to a monitor. Vince joined me at the doctor's office right after I got there. My contractions were still coming every 5 minutes and so Jeanne did an internal exam – 4 cm dilated and 80% effaced!
I still kept thinking, “There's no way this is labor!” (wow, can you believe the denial happening here?) but Vince and I went home and took showers and packed up for the hospital. We called our parents and my sister and told them all, “it's time!” even though I still kept doubting. By the time we got home to our apartment, the contractions really started to hurt so I think this is when I first started to believe that we were going to have a baby soon. I called and texted all of my friends and family and we headed for the hospital.
Once we got to Columbia Presbyterian, we checked in and were sent to triage. I was checked by a resident who said I was still 4cm dilated, but I didn't even feel him do the check so I am still convinced I was further along at this point. My contractions were really starting to get intense and I was ready for an epidural! I tried my best to breathe through the contractions and we hung out in triage, waiting for a room to open up in labor and delivery. The hours ticked by slowly. We arrived at 5:30 and by 8:30, I was in a good amount of pain but we still didn't have a room in labor and delivery. At about 9PM I was making really loud noises with every contraction just trying to make it through them (they were coming every 3 minutes or so at this point) and Vince went to tell them we really needed to get this show on the road NOW. At 9:30 they finally moved us to labor and delivery. We met Joey, our fabulous labor and delivery nurse and about 15 minutes later, the epidural anesthesiologist showed up. By that point, I had started to have back labor and spasms in my back and my contractions were coming almost on top of each other – one wouldn't end completely before the next would start. When the anesthesiologist walked into the room, I almost cried b/c I was SO HAPPY to see her!!!
After the epidural was started, I was so relieved. I just felt so much better and was so happy. The doctor came in to check me and I was 8cm dilated and in transition – I had almost made it the whole way on my own! I really do think that if I hadn't had back labor and with a bit more preparation, I could have made it the whole way with no epidural.
Once they administered the epidural, my contractions slowed down so they hooked me up to pitocin to keep them going. We could watch them happening on the monitor but thank God, I couldn't feel them! The one thing I did feel, however, was my water breaking right around midnight. I was laying on the bed resting and just suddenly felt this big warm gush of water. Vince went to get nurse Joey and she came back to check me. Sure enough – my water had broken!
Soon after, my sister and parents showed up. I was so happy that everyone had made it, just in the nick of time! Right after everyone got there, they checked me again at about 1:30AM and I was 10 cm – fully dilated. Joey, our wonderful nurse, suggested that I “let the baby do as much work as possible” before I started pushing and just let him keep moving down further and further on his own. Basically, I just hung out and felt a lot of “rectal pressure” which meant that that baby was moving closer and closer to being born.
Finally, after about an hour or so, it was time to push. Vince and my Mom stayed in the room with me and my Dad and sister waited out in the waiting room. Joey, our nurse, was there the whole time. Every time I had a contraction, I pushed for 3 sets of 10 seconds. It was very hard and because of the epidural, it was hard to tell if I was making progress. Sure enough, after about a half an hour, Joey and my Mom and Vince could see the baby's head and told that he had a full head of dark hair! Joey got a mirror so I could see what progress I was making and I have to tell you, that was just the craziest thing to watch his little head come down a little bit and then disappear again when I stopped pushing, just like a little turtle going back into his shell. After a while I stopped watching the mirror and just starting watching the looks on Vince and my Mom's faces. Every time I got closer, I could see their eyes light up and knew I was getting this little baby headed in the right direction!
Joey had told us that the goal was to get the baby's head past the pubic bone so that he wouldn't slip back when I stopped pushing. As soon as we started getting close to that point, she went to get the doctor. The attending physician, Dr. Miller was in a c-section delivery but our baby was ready to come now so our resident doctor, Dr. Cort from the night before, came in to deliver the baby. It only took a couple more pushes after he got into the room before I was crowning and I could see by the tears in my Mom's and Vince's eyes that we were going to have a baby very soon! I had been so convinced that I was going to have a c-section that it wasn't until I was crowning that I thought, “Oh my gosh, I am going to push this baby out!” On one of my last pushes before the baby was out, I look in the mirror and saw most of Roman's head – it was an amazing sight to see!
Dr. Cort asked Vince if he was going to cut the umbilical cord and Vince said yes. I pushed one more time and the baby's head was out. Dr. Cort said he was going to have to cut the cord himself and I asked him if that meant that that cord was wrapped around the baby's neck. It was, but it was just once and Roman's vital signs were great so thank God it wasn't affecting him. After I pushed the head out, Dr. Cort asked me to push nice and slow and I knew he was delivering the shoulders. In just a couple of seconds, at 4:43AM on 6/18/09, Roman Vincent Camillo came into the world! Because the umbilical cord had been wrapped around his neck he came out blue and not breathing, which was scary but I knew they just needed to stimulate him a little to get him going. Sure enough, less than a minute or so after being born, we heard a beautiful cry coming from Roman's little bed in our room. Roman was healthy and here!
The doctor guessed that he felt like a 9lber and he was very close – Roman weighed in at an impressive 8lb 12oz and was 21.5 inches in length. His APGAR scores were 8 and 9. Thank goodness he arrived 10 days early or he would have been over 9.5 pounds at 40 weeks!
After they got the baby cleaned up and handed him to me, I just can't tell you how overwhelmed with emotion I was. I just could not believe, and still can't believe, that I get to be this perfect little baby's mama. He is just the most beautiful, calm, charming, expressive and wonderful little bundle of joy that I have ever laid eyes on and I couldn't be any luckier that he picked me and Vince to be his parents. I am just overjoyed. Every time I look at him I think about this passage I read almost three years ago when Vince and I first realized we were having trouble getting pregnant:
"What do I think God meant when he gave me infertility?
"I think he meant for my husband and I to grow closer, become stronger, love deeper. I think God meant for us to find the fortitude within ourselves to get up every time infertility knocks us down. I think God meant for our medical community to discover medicines, invent medical equipment, create procedures and protocols. I think God meant for us to find a cure for infertility.
"No, God never meant for me not to have children. That's not my destiny; that's just a fork in the road I'm on. I've been placed on the road less traveled, and, like it or not, I'm a better person for it. Clearly, God meant for me to develop more compassion, deeper courage, and greater inner strength on this journey to resolution, and I haven't let him down.
"Frankly, if the truth be known, I think God has singled me out for a
special treatment. I think God meant for me to build a thirst for a
child so strong and so deep that when that baby is finally placed in my
arms, it will be the longest, coolest, most refreshing drink I've ever
known.
"While I would never choose infertility, I can not deny that a fertile woman could never know the joy that awaits me. Yes, one way or another, I will have a baby of my own. And the next time someone wants to offer me unsolicited advice I'll say, "Don't tell me what God meant when he handed me infertility. I already know."
My little beautiful boy Roman is truly the longest, coolest, most refreshing drink I have ever known and I can't wait to drink in every moment of his life as I watch him grow up. I am the luckiest mama on earth!
6/17/09 – On Wednesday, I woke up feeling fine – no contractions and the baby was acting like his normal, happy, squirmy self. By the time I got to work, I started having contractions and I could feel them, but I wouldn't say they really hurt, just a very mild cramping. I started timing them and they were coming every 5 to 20 minutes. I figured it was just false labor and went about my business. I met with my boss to go over some of the work I was passing along to her during my maternity leave and she noticed that I was having contractions so we started timing them. It was so funny – we would do a little work, stop and time a contraction and then go back to the work. At this point, it was about 1PM and then contractions were coming about every 5 minutes but still, they were very tolerable. I kept thinking, “there's no way this could be labor because it just doesn't hurt enough!” Thankfully, my boss Kahane, who has two kids, made me call the doctor after an hour or so. I went into their office to meet with Jeanne (my favorite NP/midwife) and she hooked me up to a monitor. Vince joined me at the doctor's office right after I got there. My contractions were still coming every 5 minutes and so Jeanne did an internal exam – 4 cm dilated and 80% effaced!
I still kept thinking, “There's no way this is labor!” (wow, can you believe the denial happening here?) but Vince and I went home and took showers and packed up for the hospital. We called our parents and my sister and told them all, “it's time!” even though I still kept doubting. By the time we got home to our apartment, the contractions really started to hurt so I think this is when I first started to believe that we were going to have a baby soon. I called and texted all of my friends and family and we headed for the hospital.
Once we got to Columbia Presbyterian, we checked in and were sent to triage. I was checked by a resident who said I was still 4cm dilated, but I didn't even feel him do the check so I am still convinced I was further along at this point. My contractions were really starting to get intense and I was ready for an epidural! I tried my best to breathe through the contractions and we hung out in triage, waiting for a room to open up in labor and delivery. The hours ticked by slowly. We arrived at 5:30 and by 8:30, I was in a good amount of pain but we still didn't have a room in labor and delivery. At about 9PM I was making really loud noises with every contraction just trying to make it through them (they were coming every 3 minutes or so at this point) and Vince went to tell them we really needed to get this show on the road NOW. At 9:30 they finally moved us to labor and delivery. We met Joey, our fabulous labor and delivery nurse and about 15 minutes later, the epidural anesthesiologist showed up. By that point, I had started to have back labor and spasms in my back and my contractions were coming almost on top of each other – one wouldn't end completely before the next would start. When the anesthesiologist walked into the room, I almost cried b/c I was SO HAPPY to see her!!!
After the epidural was started, I was so relieved. I just felt so much better and was so happy. The doctor came in to check me and I was 8cm dilated and in transition – I had almost made it the whole way on my own! I really do think that if I hadn't had back labor and with a bit more preparation, I could have made it the whole way with no epidural.
Once they administered the epidural, my contractions slowed down so they hooked me up to pitocin to keep them going. We could watch them happening on the monitor but thank God, I couldn't feel them! The one thing I did feel, however, was my water breaking right around midnight. I was laying on the bed resting and just suddenly felt this big warm gush of water. Vince went to get nurse Joey and she came back to check me. Sure enough – my water had broken!
Soon after, my sister and parents showed up. I was so happy that everyone had made it, just in the nick of time! Right after everyone got there, they checked me again at about 1:30AM and I was 10 cm – fully dilated. Joey, our wonderful nurse, suggested that I “let the baby do as much work as possible” before I started pushing and just let him keep moving down further and further on his own. Basically, I just hung out and felt a lot of “rectal pressure” which meant that that baby was moving closer and closer to being born.
Finally, after about an hour or so, it was time to push. Vince and my Mom stayed in the room with me and my Dad and sister waited out in the waiting room. Joey, our nurse, was there the whole time. Every time I had a contraction, I pushed for 3 sets of 10 seconds. It was very hard and because of the epidural, it was hard to tell if I was making progress. Sure enough, after about a half an hour, Joey and my Mom and Vince could see the baby's head and told that he had a full head of dark hair! Joey got a mirror so I could see what progress I was making and I have to tell you, that was just the craziest thing to watch his little head come down a little bit and then disappear again when I stopped pushing, just like a little turtle going back into his shell. After a while I stopped watching the mirror and just starting watching the looks on Vince and my Mom's faces. Every time I got closer, I could see their eyes light up and knew I was getting this little baby headed in the right direction!
Joey had told us that the goal was to get the baby's head past the pubic bone so that he wouldn't slip back when I stopped pushing. As soon as we started getting close to that point, she went to get the doctor. The attending physician, Dr. Miller was in a c-section delivery but our baby was ready to come now so our resident doctor, Dr. Cort from the night before, came in to deliver the baby. It only took a couple more pushes after he got into the room before I was crowning and I could see by the tears in my Mom's and Vince's eyes that we were going to have a baby very soon! I had been so convinced that I was going to have a c-section that it wasn't until I was crowning that I thought, “Oh my gosh, I am going to push this baby out!” On one of my last pushes before the baby was out, I look in the mirror and saw most of Roman's head – it was an amazing sight to see!
Dr. Cort asked Vince if he was going to cut the umbilical cord and Vince said yes. I pushed one more time and the baby's head was out. Dr. Cort said he was going to have to cut the cord himself and I asked him if that meant that that cord was wrapped around the baby's neck. It was, but it was just once and Roman's vital signs were great so thank God it wasn't affecting him. After I pushed the head out, Dr. Cort asked me to push nice and slow and I knew he was delivering the shoulders. In just a couple of seconds, at 4:43AM on 6/18/09, Roman Vincent Camillo came into the world! Because the umbilical cord had been wrapped around his neck he came out blue and not breathing, which was scary but I knew they just needed to stimulate him a little to get him going. Sure enough, less than a minute or so after being born, we heard a beautiful cry coming from Roman's little bed in our room. Roman was healthy and here!
The doctor guessed that he felt like a 9lber and he was very close – Roman weighed in at an impressive 8lb 12oz and was 21.5 inches in length. His APGAR scores were 8 and 9. Thank goodness he arrived 10 days early or he would have been over 9.5 pounds at 40 weeks!
After they got the baby cleaned up and handed him to me, I just can't tell you how overwhelmed with emotion I was. I just could not believe, and still can't believe, that I get to be this perfect little baby's mama. He is just the most beautiful, calm, charming, expressive and wonderful little bundle of joy that I have ever laid eyes on and I couldn't be any luckier that he picked me and Vince to be his parents. I am just overjoyed. Every time I look at him I think about this passage I read almost three years ago when Vince and I first realized we were having trouble getting pregnant:
"What do I think God meant when he gave me infertility?
"I think he meant for my husband and I to grow closer, become stronger, love deeper. I think God meant for us to find the fortitude within ourselves to get up every time infertility knocks us down. I think God meant for our medical community to discover medicines, invent medical equipment, create procedures and protocols. I think God meant for us to find a cure for infertility.
"No, God never meant for me not to have children. That's not my destiny; that's just a fork in the road I'm on. I've been placed on the road less traveled, and, like it or not, I'm a better person for it. Clearly, God meant for me to develop more compassion, deeper courage, and greater inner strength on this journey to resolution, and I haven't let him down.
"Frankly, if the truth be known, I think God has singled me out for a
special treatment. I think God meant for me to build a thirst for a
child so strong and so deep that when that baby is finally placed in my
arms, it will be the longest, coolest, most refreshing drink I've ever
known.
"While I would never choose infertility, I can not deny that a fertile woman could never know the joy that awaits me. Yes, one way or another, I will have a baby of my own. And the next time someone wants to offer me unsolicited advice I'll say, "Don't tell me what God meant when he handed me infertility. I already know."
My little beautiful boy Roman is truly the longest, coolest, most refreshing drink I have ever known and I can't wait to drink in every moment of his life as I watch him grow up. I am the luckiest mama on earth!
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