kaylee lynn

Friday, September 11 was a rainy day in Dallas. The first cool front of the season was set to push through. I worked a regular day and came home to hang out with Kris. We decided to brave the storms that were about to hit and eat at Applebee’s. As we were eating the rain started. It was raining so hard when we left that the streets were already flooding. We joked that if I went into labor that night we might have to call the rescue boat to come take me to the hospital.

I went to bed around 8:30 or 9 and watched some TV. By the time Kris came to bed at 11:30 I was feeling sort of crampy. I didn’t think too much of it since I had been feeling like that off and on for a few weeks. By 2 a.m. I realized that I was having regular contractions. They weren’t terrible, but they were coming rather steadily. I woke Kris up at 2:30 and told him he probably wasn’t going to work Saturday duty that day. We started timing my contractions using contractionmaster.com and after about an hour realized there was a definite pattern. I got up and double checked my hospital bag and fixed my hair because I wasn’t going to the hospital with crazy bed hair! I was having to stop what I was doing and breath through the contractions when they hit at that point. They were coming anywhere from 2 to 6 minutes apart then.

I called my mom at 4 a.m. and she agreed that I was really in labor and should call the doctor. I think it’s funny now that she told me to take a hot shower and I said, “I can’t mom. I just fixed my hair!” I called the doctor at 4:26 a.m.

Kris packed all of my bags in the car and I wouldn’t leave until we took some pictures. You can tell I was still feeling pretty good at this point.

We drove through the rain and as we went my contractions started becoming less fun and more painful. I had a stress ball that I was squeezing with each one. We got checked in at Labor and Delivery and thought, ok, I’m admitted, right? Wrong. The nurse, a less than friendly lady named Ify, came in and checked me. I was only 3 cm dilated and 90% effaced. She told us they would watch me for a couple of hours and that Dr. Umholtz would be coming in around 8.

I suffered through more and more intense contractions for another hour and finally had to ask for something to take the edge off. I got a shot of something magical that made me a little loopy, but a lot more comfortable.

At 7 a.m. a wonderful nurse named Vickie walked in. It was shift change and she was going to be my nurse for the duration of the delivery. Thank God. But immediately after she walked in Kaylee’s heart rate started to drop with a contraction. Vickie rotated me from my right to my left side and Kaylee’s heart rate picked back up. Vickie told me that I would be admitted for sure now, because they don’t mess around with decelerations in fetal heart rates.

Vickie was really a gift from God. She kept us informed of every single thing that was going on, what drugs I was getting, why things were happening and the possibility that I might have to have a Csection to get Kaylee out fast if her heart rate kept acting up. By that time I was dilated to a 5 and she put in the orders for an epidural.

I know lots of people are scared of the epidural, but my experience was fantastic. The anesthesiologist, Larry, was a friendly, chatty guy. He told me everything he was doing as he did it, but I didn’t care. I was having a contraction and just wanted the pain to stop. And stop it did. Kris and Vickie were having to tell me when I was contracting. The only other way I could tell was by listening to Kaylee’s heart monitor.

Finally Dr. Umholtz came to check on me and I think I was about an 8 at that point. She told Vickie to get me started pushing once I got to 10, but warned me again that I might have to have an emergency Csection if Kaylee didn’t handle the contractions any better.

I was getting pitocin by then, so I dilated fast. Everything is sort of a blur from that point. Before I knew it, I was feeling a little pain with each contraction again and Vickie told me it was time to start pushing. After a few pushes, they called Dr. Umholtz back in to vacuum Kaylee out. I think I only had to push twice once she got there and she didn’t have to use the vacuum.

Kaylee was born at 12:51p.m. on September 12. I was so relieved to have her out safely. It was so scary to hear her heart rate drop with each contraction and watch multiple nurses rush in the room each time.

It turns out that the umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck. I’m so thankful that there were no further complications and she’s here with us now, safe and sound.

Once she was out, I was so excited, relieved, tired and drugged that my first question to Kris was “Does she have a head?!” I think I meant “Is the head out?” or “Does she have hair?” but that’s not what came out of my mouth.

She weighed 5lbs 10ozs and was 20.25″ long. She’s a tiny little peanut and we are head over heels in love. Her personality is priceless. She makes the best faces.