kya's birthday week: friday and saturday

We thought of ourselves as very fortunate that for the first 11.5 months of Kya's life she was perfectly healthy. Not even a stuffy nose. Then WHAM. Last week we had the worst stomach bug I can remember (all three of us). I will spare you the details aside from letting you know I did about 10 loads of laundry per day. To top it off, this week Kya has her first cold. With a cough. And boogers. I've learned all about natural remedies and the best snot suckers on the market.

So ... who wants to come to Kya's birthday party?! I am baking a cake!

On Friday, Kya and I celebrated her birthday eve eve with some errands and a mommy/daughter lunch date. Then we tried another cupcake photoshoot, this time with a charged camera battery.

The photos went much like labor: first fun and exciting, then interesting and a bit uncomfortable, and then some tears, and finally ... no fun at all.

See for yourself.
(narrated with my labor story, which I am finally brave enough to share ... can that be called birthday confidence?)

At 12:03 am on Friday, April 2 (just one day after my due date) I found out that I was in the early stages of labor. Contractions woke me up and I started timing them on my iPod. I took a bath and relaxed on the couch for a while. When the contractions got to be about five minutes apart, Corey got excited and started packing for the hospital.

We got to the hospital birth center at about 2 am. A spring blizzard was just starting – as luck would have it, the storm was TERRIBLE! But we were safe and cozy in the hospital room. Corey called my mom and told her that things were starting to get exciting, but that I wasn’t in full labor yet, so my mom and sister slept for another few hours. I was quite uncomfortable, but not in pain. We were so darn excited.

At 6 am my contractions were pretty regular and I was .... ahem ... making some progress (albeit very slowly). I was finally "officially admitted" to the hospital. My mom and sister picked up McDonalds for themselves and Corey, and hurried to join us. I made them eat the food away from me. I thought it stunk.

My mom and sister were very preoccupied with the storm, and I couldn't have cared less. When they would stare out the window and mention how bad the roads were, I was quick to shush them. I think I was even quite rude about it, but I honestly didn't care about the road conditions. Looking back, I find this to be very funny.

My contractions continued ... but not much other progress was happening. During my next check up, the doctor said my water was bulging. She broke my water at 8:30 am to try to get things moving along. We found out that there was a lot of meconium (baby poo) in the water, so the doctor was glad she broke it and things could progress more quickly. Nobody wants to float in poop longer than they have to!

After my water was broken, contractions came and went and we paced the room many times. My sister (who is a physical therapist) and Corey were great at supporting me and swaying through contractions. We did this so many times that Corey's back started cramping, so my sister adjusted it for him. I thought this was pretty funny! We had lots of laughs between contractions and my three helpers rotated shifts to take meal breaks.

The contractions started to become more and more irregular. They actually went from about 3 minutes apart to over 7 minutes apart! Arrg!!! At 4 pm they started me on Pitocin to help the contractions strengthen and come at regular intervals. WOW! the pain started to get very intense but I took comfort knowing that it would speed along the process. I felt much better when I was standing, so they let me stand and sway - with IVs and all. I was quite a tangled mess but I was really in a great groove.

At 5:15 pm I wasn't even at the half-way mark (in dilation). Progress was being made, but I started getting discouraged that we still had so long to go. I was getting tired. The Pitocin continued ... and increased and increased. I became more uncomfortable by the minute. At 6:30 pm Kya finally moved down and I was finally "half way."

At this point, I was encouraged to learn that I was finally dilating but I was in serious pain. Everyone knew that I didn't want to have an epidural and they were great at supporting my decision.

At 7 pm, I was asking for an epidural, or anything. ANYTHING to help me out.

The nurses gave me the option of Stadol – a narcotic that could “take the edge off” – I took it. It didn't help with the pain, but it made me feel drunk, spins and all. I could still feel the contractions, but between them I was in my own little world. I think it really freaked out Corey. I was in serious pain with each contraction, and I was exhausted, but between contractions I was able to doze off a bit. If nothing else, it certainly helped pass the time!



The nurses changed shifts too many times to count. The sun was going down again. We had a waiting room full of people anxious for a birth announcement.

More contractions. more more more ...

At 11 pm, they told me I had made lots of progress and I could finally push! Those were the best words. Many doctors and nurses came in the room with all sorts of gadgets and gear to keep Kya safe and healthy (because of the meconium).

I was sure that her birth day would be Friday, April 2. 

But Kya had other plans.

... I pushed and pushed and pushed and pushed.

No fun. No fun at all.
After over an hour of pushing, we realized that Kya was definitely stuck.
The doctor gave me an episiotomy to help give her head more room to come out. That did the trick!

Kya Rose came into the world at 12:53 am on Saturday, April 3 – the day before Easter. The doctor said she was “sunny side up” which explained why it took so long to get her out (25 hours of labor!) – but it was all worth it.

Since Kya swallowed meconium, she was rushed to the peds table where they went to work getting her airways clean. She also had quite an impressive cone head – but amazingly it was nearly gone by morning. The next day, her doctor said "oh good, the ugly bump is gone" we got a good laugh out of that.

After Kya and I were all cleaned up, Corey and I got to hold her. Our lives changed instantly. She was the most beautiful newborn baby. And such a sweet, sensitive girl. Kya seemed know to more about nursing than I did – we made a great team.

I have to give major compliments to Corey, Caitlyn and my mom - they were wonderful coaches! Each one was able to support me in a different way and I really appreciated having them there.

To say it simply: my recovery was rough. The nurses took amazing care of me, and each day I felt better. In hind sight, I think it is amazing how quickly a body can recover. I highly recommend baths. Lots of baths.



What they say about mommy memory loss is very true. I think back to the hours days of labor and the days months of recovery and now it seems like short seconds. Corey and I laugh about it. He remembers all of it much better than I do. When I say "oh it wasn't that bad" he gives me a look like "where you there?!"

Kya, on her birth day.

Absolutely nothing is too hard/painful/difficult when what follows is cuddling with the sweetest little baby on the planet.

I love you Kya. And I love that you are the most adorable part of our little family of three.
Happy Birthday!

April 10, 2010 - Kya one week old