Lila's Birth Story

It’s been nearly five months since our little bean made her grand entrance into the world. It’s hard to believe because we can’t really remember our lives before her. The fact that I've found time to write Lila's birth story is evidence that we have developed something that resembles a routine. Yes, we are still very tired. Sleeping through the night remains a work in progress. Our days include some terrifying yet necessary duties like clipping her miniscule baby fingernails, cleaning up her poo-plosions, or using that huge scary nose sucker on her teeny-weeny nostrils. Still, our little girl mostly smiles. She loves zebras and monkeys. She laughs when you sing to her. She can even roll over from her back to her tummy. We think she’s gifted.

My being pregnant is a distant memory now. Lila’s birth, however, still seems like yesterday. So far the old labor and delivery cliché said by so many mothers (including my own) is only partly true. I absolutely remember everything, but she was worth every minute of it.

My due date was scheduled for January 3, 2007. We were definitely hoping for a New Year’s Eve baby. At 38 weeks pregnant, which happened to be the week of Christmas, I was thinking it definitely possible. My entire pregnancy was a healthy one, but as the due date approached my blood pressure started to rise which is often a symptom of preclampsia. Each pre-natal visit resulted in me being sent to the hospital for some unpleasant testing which I endured by my holding/crushing Eric’s hand and escaping to a happier place where I could devour all the spicy tuna and champagne I wanted.

January 3 came and went while my BP continued to read high. Our doctors very matter-of-factly said the only fix was to have a baby. We should schedule an induction immediately. For some reason, I was very resistant to have my labor induced. I’m sure I read somewhere that pitocin (a labor-inducing drug) often resulted in more "intense" contractions. Plain old ordinary contractions were scary enough for me. I wanted to go into labor naturally but had to accept it likely would not happen. The induction was scheduled for the following morning - Friday, January 5, 2007. I was comforted by the fact that my parents would be flying in that day. We went to bed Thursday night knowing it would be our last night alone – just the two of us. The next time there would be three.

I’ll be the first to admit that I was blessed with an easy pregnancy. Everything just seemed to go my way. So, I wasn’t really surprised when I woke up at 4 a.m. with contractions. I decided to make sure they were real before I woke Eric. I waited a half-hour and timed the distance between each wave. The contractions were eight minutes apart. I knew the hospital wouldn’t want to admit me until they were closer together. There wasn’t a whole lot to do other than wait and watch the clock. Very gently, I nudged my sleeping husband and whispered, "Honey, I just want you to know that I am having contractions. They are eight minutes apart." It took him a few moments to register what I had just said, but he was still prepared for this moment. He calmly got up and phoned the hospital. I could hear him telling the nurse that I was in labor and we wanted to come in – right now. Just as I thought, she told us to wait until my contractions were 3-5 minutes apart. She recommended eating and sleeping which seemed ridiculous. Eric brought the car around so we could make a mad dash when the time came. He reviewed our checklist (many, many times) to ensure we had everything we needed for the hospital. I took a shower, had a bowl of cereal and thanked Buddha that I went into labor on my own.

By 8 a.m., my contractions were roughly 3-4 minutes apart. We called the hospital again. This time they advised us to come within the hour. Eric had us loaded and ready to go within minutes. The trip to the hospital was surreal but uneventful. I had always imagined it would be this fast, bumpy ride. Both of us panicked that we would not make it to the hospital in time. I definitely watched too many Lifetime made-for-tv movies while on maternity leave. We arrived within fifteen minutes and calmly made our way to the Labor & Delivery ward of San Francisco’s Kaiser hospital. I was admitted at 9 a.m.

While pregnant, I’d imagined how the next several hours might play out. I hoped for the best but knew this baby business was unpredictable. It surprised me how peaceful and relaxed everything was. My wonderful day nurse (whose name, I’m ashamed to say, I forgot) went through the process of admitting me which seemed to take forever. I was now having one contraction on top of the other and each one was more unpleasant than the last. I did come to the hospital equipped with several pieces of advise shared with me by a few mothers who were willing to answer my gazillion personal questions. One important piece led me to delegate the job of ‘drug-pusher’ to my husband. I explained to Eric that I didn’t need a coach. His #1 job was to find the anesthesiologist and bring him to me quickly. It made me smile when after only being in the hospital 20 minutes, Eric starting asking for my epidural. The nurse very sweetly explained to us that it would be a while as the drug doc was just called to an emergency C-Section. To say this was disappointing news is an understatement. Fortunately, the nurse was quick to offer me something to make the wait a bit easier – Fentanyl. Originally, Eric and I had wanted to avoid all drugs except the epidural. My how things change when faced with white-hot pain. I pointed to my IV and without any hesitation asked her to hook me up. Eric wisely decided not to question my change of heart.

Hurrah for Fetanyl! I was happy.

Eventually, the anestiegiologist was available to administer my epidural. It was just after 11:30 a.m. Even though I knew I wanted the ‘epi’, I was still pretty terrified of having it inserted. Thanks to the Fetanyl, I couldn’t have been more courageous. Eric was really surprised when the doctor insisted he sit down. Evidently, many people have fainted while watching this procedure. I leaned into my wonderful nurse and tried to remain very still. The whole process took under ten minutes. I instantly felt relief and thanked everyone within earshot.

The rest of the day seemed to fly by. I tried to sleep but it’s pretty difficult with so much going on around you. Eric stayed by my side and fed me ice chips for the better part of the day. The epidural was working great. I was not in terrible pain but could still feel each contraction. My parents eventually showed up around 6 p.m. I was six centimeters dilated at this point. They had time to go get dinner. I was alone for the first time. My room had an amazing view of the San Francisco horizon. The sun was setting. I remember feeling very emotional for the first time that day. I knew I would have Lila in the next few hours.

The nurses had a shift change so my wonderful day nurse had to say good-bye. Enter my wonderful night nurse, Kristen. She definitely had a less gentle demeanor, but it was exactly what I needed at this point. By 8:30 p.m. the doctor and Kristen checked me and decided I was finally a full ten centimeters dilated. It was time to push. Kristen kept reminding me that first time mom’s often push for up to three hours. I felt like she was double-dog daring me to beat that time. I was determined to be the best pusher she had ever seen! After laboring down for thirty minutes (which allows the baby to move farther down the birth canal on her own), I was ready to begin the hardest exercise of my life.

Again, it was remarkable how peaceful things seemed. The room was dark but I could see the city lights through my window. Kristen and Eric each held one of my legs as I pushed as hard as I could with each contraction. Everyone was impressed that I could feel the contractions coming before the monitor registered them. The TV was on which surprisingly didn’t distract me. The same can’t be said about Eric or Kristen. I have this memory of them holding my legs with their heads turned to the television watching the movie "Stripes". At one point I think they high-fived each other but things were a bit foggy then. I had to give Eric a few jabs to remind him where he was.

Things quickly got very busy in my room upon the last few pushes. Two doctors entered just in time to deliver Lila. I was focused on watching Eric’s face. He always said he would be supporting me from the north rather than down below. When the time came for his baby girl to make her appearance, however, he couldn’t help but watch. He told me later that it was the most amazing thing he had ever seen. Lila entered the world at 10:51 p.m. screaming like a healthy baby should. She weighed 7 lbs. 5 oz and was 20 inches tall. They placed her on my chest seconds later. She was perfect.

The next few days in the hospital were a blessing. It was crowded, but still a great place for us to get to know our new daughter. More importantly, we needed baby training. We even stayed an extra day for it. Looking back, my birth experience was a very positive one. I even surprised myself by saying that I would definitely do it again. Afterall the real work doesn’t begin until you get home, but I won’t make a long story even longer.