Our baby has finally arrived!!! Little Shingil Taylor Ryals is here in this world - in our lives! We just couldn't be happier!
Let me tell the story of the arrival as I remember it...here goes...
As you all know, my "due date" was the 3rd of March (although I posted on the 2nd because it was the 3rd here in Korea). The date came and went with little progress, although I had been having a few cramps here and there and more frequent "false" contractions. My mom arrived the next day, and again, with no change. The doctor had told us on the 3rd when we went in for our "last" visit prior to delivery that if I hadn't gone into labor on my own before the following Monday (the 10th), he recommended starting induction. Jeff nor I had any objections to this because we didn't want the little one to get too big...
Well, the week passed with no further progress, although my mom and I walked around everywhere trying to kick-start the process. As the 10th slowly approached, my anticipation grew and grew and the night before the induction, I was so nervous and excited I could hardly sleep...but I knew I needed to because I had a hard day's work ahead of me! :)
On the morning of the 10th, Jeff drove my mom and me to the hospital at 7:30 and we checked in to the birth facility by 8am. I went in alone to get prepped and then Jeff and Mom came into the labor room around 9am. They began the Pictocin drip around 9:30 and we proceeded to wait...and wait...the upped the dosage twice before I started feeling anything - the contractions started coming in mildly about every three minutes and then down to every two minutes as they got stronger, and I was no longer able to talk or laugh through them as Jeff made funny faces and tried talking Taylor out of me. Once the contractions were coming on every minute and a half, that's when the pain was most excruciating, but honestly, I don't remember much of how painful it was because I was more exhausted from trying to push her into my pelvis. The doc said that the baby's head was just a bit larger than expected so even though I was completely dialated, she wasn't able to get fully into position because of the size of her cranium...he even said we might go to a C-section to Jeff...
All I recall is thinking how extremely tired I was from pushing so much and for so long (I had absolutely no concept of time during this whole ordeal once the real contractions started happening) - and even the thought that maybe I just simply didn't have the strength to push her out of me on my own crossed my mind. Apparently I shared that feeling with the rest of the room by begging the nurses and Jeff to just let them put me out and cutting the baby out of me. I just simply couldn't push anymore, or so I thought...
The doc must have seen that I was making "some" progress, though, because then he mercifully recommended we break amniotic sac to speed up the process and maybe help Taylor move down easier...after which, the contractions came on even stronger and closer together.
Bless the nurses who then came in and helped me push...I do remember begging them not to leave me...and I remember Jeff standing there by my side always ready to take my hand whenever I reached for him. I don't recall the pain of the baby pushing more into my pelvis, but all I recall is how tired I was - I had reached muscle failure and they were telling me to push just one more time...I simply didn't have the strength!
Then, suddenly, the nurses said let's push once more and we'll move you to the delivery room to have the baby! You're ready! I couldn't believe it!!! They rolled me into a room next door where they put me in a different contraption of a chair that was SO much easier to push from when they told me to push. All I remember from then on is that it really sucked when they cut me (the area is NOT numb when the cut is made simply because the head is crowning), and then shortly there after, feeling her head come out of me...and then the rest of her! I have a vague memory of looking up and seeing Jeff by my head all dressed for surgery...and I remember the extreme relief and immediate excitement that came over me after I heard the first little cry from my little one...and tears...
I think that's enough for details from the whole experience. I don't know if it's in the correct chronological order, but this is how I remember it. Jeff probably has a more orderly version of the day...
Shingil Taylor Ryals was born into this world at 7:28 pm on the 10th of March.
She weighed in at 3.77 kgs (8.3 lbs) and was 52 cm (20.5 in) long.
I still can't believe how every second I look at her, how beautiful she is.
I am recovering ok...my feet and ankles are extremely swollen now, but I'm hoping that will pass soon. I strained so hard during labor that I looked like I went a few rounds with Mike Tyson and lost...to include some burst blood vessels in my eyes. I feel surprisingly better than I thought I would...:)
I'll post some pictures as soon as I can...you have to see our beautiful little girl...:)
Love,
Rosa and Jeff
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