On May 4, 2012, Elena Belle Pickett was born. She weighed 9 lbs 9 ounces and she was about 21 inches long.
Her delivery was pretty smooth and without much incident although there were several differences from her birth then that of her sisters. First of all, she was born in Flower Mound Texas, the first of my children to not be born in Birmingham, Alabama. Elena was born at Flower Mound Presbyterian Hospital. I was originally scheduled to be induced on May 2, but my doctor asked to change it to the 4th so she could go to some conference. I was not really thrilled since I was more than ready to have Elena out and my mom was flying in on the 2nd. It turned out okay. I was able to have a day with my mom before Elena came and that was nice. Plus she was already there to watch my other munchkins while I was in the hospital.
Anyhow, I was scheduled to be at the hospital at 7 am to start the induction. I had a fairly restless sleep on the 3rd, and at 5:30am my water broke. I had never had my water break at home before, it's always been broken by the doctor in the hospital. So this was a new experience. I liked it way better breaking on its own. I was able to run to the bathroom and get it all taken care of without causing to much of a mess (unlike at the hospital). I was also able to take it easy for the next hour. I had some hot chocolate and Brett and I got everything gathered together to get to the hospital. I didn't realize it at the time. . .but I started labor and began having contractions. That made everything go faster at the hospital than with my other kids.
When I got to the hospital and got all signed in and hooked up, the nurse told me I was having a contraction and asked if I could feel it. I couldn't. I really didn't start feeling them until the pitocen was going strong--they started the pitocen at about 8ish. For the record, I did pass out when they put my IV in but this nurse wrapped it up so well I was still able to use my left arm a little. She was an awesome, very understanding nurse.
The weirdest part of the labor was that they weren't giving out demerol because of some nationwide shortage. When I asked for something to help "take the edge off" they asked if they could give me something different instead. I don't remember what they gave me, but I remember getting really dizzy. They gave me the drug at about 9:40ish and I had to lay down until after Elena was born at 10:30. It made my thoughts really sluggish. I would try to ask Brett for something and I had to think about it for a long time before I could actually say it. That was really frustrating. (Luckily I didn't need much, just the occasional ice chip or for him to tell me when my contraction was at its peak. For some reason that really helped me breath through it.) Luckily the drug wore off when I started pushing. . .or my adrenaline overpowered it so much that I didn't feel its weird effects anymore. Anyway, the nurse didn't stay with us in the room during this labor (at UAB, a nurse was in the room with us pretty much for the entire time.) and she told Brett to come and get her when I felt like pushing. At about 10:20ish I felt like pushing. Brett went and got the nurse who checked me out and started getting me ready. She called for the doctor and team of L/D nurses. My doctor was involved with a life and death operation of another patient so another doctor was able to come up and help out. After about 5 good pushes, Elena came out and into the world.
I was all ready to go home the next evening. Yes, they let me out the next day. They would have let me stay one more night, but Elena was given the all clear and I was ready to be home. This was something else very different than each of my 3 previous deliveries. Because of blood incompatibility issues, my first 3 daughters each had super high billiruben. Enough that they were in the "danger" zone and had to be placed on light beds and stay in the hospital for a night longer than me. Elena, however, I guess was more compatible with me and she didn't have any problems. It was so nice to not have to worry in the hospital and to be able to take my baby home when I left.
Before we left, the hospital made a special "celebration" dinner for us. They rolled in a table with a tablecloth, served a special menu (chicken cordon bleu, steak, or salmon), and brought lots of cake. It was kinda fun and I think a highlight for the girls.
I was a little scared to try a new hospital but it turned out great and I am so happy to have another healthy, beautiful baby girl in my family.
