Wolfepack Adventures: June 2014

It has been just a little over one week since I gave birth to the most beautiful baby girl imaginable. Lily Grace Wolfe was born on June 2, 2014 at 7:44pm. She weighed 6lbs, 12oz, and was 19.25 inches long. I wanted to record her birth story for future reference just in case I forget any details later.

Her arrival could not have been more perfect! Her expected due date was June 4, 2014. The last day of school for me was May 30th. I was able to finish my final grades, attend the 6th grade field trip, and hand out my awards for the English department! We enjoyed the following weekend and she was born on Monday!

We arrived home around 6:30pm Sunday night from the Garrett's in Makaha and decided to go for a walk around the neighborhood. I was hoping to walk for a long time thinking it might bring on labor. About 15 minutes in, my belly was feeling really tight and we had to stop so I could take some deep breaths. I didn't think I was in labor yet, but I knew it was close. I didn't sleep very well that night. I was having mild contractions, but they still felt like Braxton Hicks, not the real deal. I tossed and turned all night, then finally got up around 1:45am to shower. I was pretty sure we'd be going to the hospital before morning came. Mike woke up after I got out of the shower, but wanted to sleep for a little longer since I wasn't panicky. I went downstairs and started timing the contractions and tried to eat some oatmeal. We tidied up the house and Mike did the dishes. As we did so, I had the realization that this might be the last time we'd be in the house without a child. It was a weird feeling. By 3:30am we were on our way to the hospital. I was glad we didn't have to worry about traffic. At this point, I was only mildly uncomfortable.

We arrived at Kapiolani around 4:00am, and I checked myself in while Mike parked the car. I had to wait about 10 minutes to be seen, but they took me right into Triage and hooked me up to a fetal monitor as well as a belt to monitor the contractions. After they checked my cervix and found I was 4cm dilated, they admitted me and gave me a room.

I called Aunty Tammie, and she came down to the hospital to be with me and Mike. It was so nice having her there since Lily came a few days early and my mom hadn't arrived yet. The contractions stayed mild to moderate for a few hours. I was able to do several laps around the 3rd floor and intermittent fetal monitoring every so often. They checked me again at about 9:00am, and I had already progressed to 6cm. I was feeling confident that I'd have a baby by lunch time. The contractions were getting stronger, but still not regular enough to get excited about. The plan was to check me again in 4 hours. I was able to eat one last meal and power walk the halls again. I tried to walk faster this time to see if I could get things moving, but ended up having to stop every few minutes to breathe through contractions. They were definitely getting more intense.

Four hours finally came and went. The morning was pretty boring and uneventful. Mike, Aunty Tammie and I just shared stories, talked about random things and watch Family Feud on TV. I was wishing we would have brought a deck of cards or dice. When they checked me this time, I was sure I had progressed. I had done at least ten laps of the 3rd floor, some squats and movement on the birthing ball. The contractions were getting very painful and I really had to focus on each one to get through them, but it was still manageable.

Unfortunately, the resident who checked me said I was only 5 and a half cm. What?! How could I have digressed? Her fingers must have been smaller, haha. At that point, they decided to put me on a low dose of Pitocin. I was hesitant to accept because of the negative things I had heard about the drug, but it seemed to work well for me. It definitely made my contractions stronger, longer, and more consistent. Because of the IV, I wasn't able to walk the halls any more. About an hour into the Pitocin drip, the contractions were starting to get pretty gnarly. They were coming just about every 2-3 minutes and lasting anywhere from 30 seconds to a minute. I didn't have much recovery time in between to rest, and I just wanted to know how far along I was. I asked them to check me again around 3pm so I could see if I had progressed. If I was at at least 8cm, the plan was to ride it out without an epidural. If I hadn't progressed, I was going to get the epidural because I knew I couldn't handle the pain for another 4 hours with contractions being so regular.

They came to check me around 3:00pm and I was at 7cm. I knew it could still be another 3 hours before I hit 10cm, and my water bag was still in tact. I couldn't handle the pain any longer, and I knew I still had a long road ahead with laboring and pushing, so I asked for the epidural.

The anesthesiologist came in and I could tell he was in a rush. I didn't like the feeling of knowing that he had other patients to get to. Although he was in a rush, he was still calm and reassuring. One of the nurses stayed with me while he administered the epidural, but they asked Mike and Aunty Tam to leave for a few minutes. I was nervous about having contractions during the time he was sticking the needle in, but it all worked out. I never saw the needle--good thing! I guess he had a hard time finding my "space" as he kept calling it. He said I had small "spaces" between the vertebrae, so that was reassuring. Once the epi was in and my legs went numb I started feeling good! Mitchell came and brought Starbucks for Mike and Aunty Tammie, then Lilia and Angelica came to see how I was progressing. They all hung out for a few hours while we waited for Lily to make her appearance.

My doctor was on vacation, but she was staying on island at a resort. She told me ahead of time that she was planning to come in for my delivery, but probably wouldn't be around much before hand to check in on me. So I was already mentally prepared for that. Apparently she had a scheduled C-section at 7:30pm, so her plan was to come in and check on me around 7:00pm to see my status. We were just waiting and waiting. Kind of boring if you ask me. I just wanted to know the plan. Finally, at around 6:45, several nurses/residents rushed it and said, "Ok, time to break the water bag." That was Mitchell's cue to leave, but I let everyone else stay in the room. So after, it was time to PUSH! Thankfully, I could still feel the contractions when they came (just not the pain). How awesome is that?! I knew when to push and when to rest. Three pushes each contraction. Four on longer ones. Oxygen and deep breaths in between. Mike and Aunty Tammie were each holding a leg. Doctor came in around 7:05 and stayed with me until I delivered. Being a doctor must be so weird. I only had to push for about 40 minutes, maybe 10 rounds of contractions or so... and there she was.

The moment she came out was absolutely surreal. I could barely believe it was happening. In the end, I'm very thankful I got the epidural because I was able to enjoy the last few hours of labor--even the pushing part. They wiped her down with some towels and laid her right on my chest while I got stitched up. She was perfect; truly a gift from God. Mike and I were in tears and utterly elated. She laid there on my chest for a good 30 minutes skin to skin and just stared up at me, wide-eyed, beautiful. I am still in awe of the miracle of life. I can't help but think of my favorite scripture, Psalm 139:13-14.

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful and I know that full well."

I know the rest of Lily's life will be a journey, but I am glad it has commenced successfully. Mike and I could not be happier. Here are some pictures to enjoy.