Ava's Birth Story

I decided I need to document Ava's birth story since some of you have asked how everything went, and I don't want to forget how it all happened (not that I even think its possible to forget this sort of thing.) So here it is.
Well as some of you may know my due date was changed a couple of times. My first due date was Jan 2oth, then after I had a dating Ultrasound at 8 weeks they changed my due date to Jan 30th. Then my doctor changed it again to Feb 2nd (I'm not 100% sure why he moved it from Friday Jan 30th to the next Monday Feb 2nd, but I think it may have something to do with him being out of town that weekend.)
So all three due dates came and went and there was still no sign of baby Ava. So my doctor said he'd induce me on Feb 9th. So my appointment was set. I went in Monday evening and they started my on Cervidil. It is this thing they place up near my cervix to help dialate and thin me out so the induction would take better. So they placed it in me around 8pm. And then all there was left to do was wait. I was admitted into my hospital room and everything was in place. The cervidil is this thin paper thing kinda like a tampon with a string on the end so they can pull it out of me. It is suppose to say in me for 12 hours then they take it out and start the pitocin. Well Around 11:45pm I started having really intense contractions and really bad cramping. This is pretty much what is suppose to happen. Well they had me hooked up to the IV but all there was in it was saline and the nurse had it turned up high so I was being pumped full of this. Well it make me have to pee, ALOT! So on my 9th trip to the bathroom the cervidil came out. It's not suppose to just come out that easy. So I called the nurse and she acted all surprised and said she has never had this happen before. So since I still had another 6 hours that this was suppose to be in me they had to put another Cervidil in my cervix. Before they did that they checked me and told me I was dialated to a 3 and basically all the way thinned out. I was so miserable. I really didn't want given another Cervidil, I was in so much pain already. But they wouldn't give me the epidural yet. So the nurse offered me Ativan, a sleeping pill. I took it hoping I could just pass out until morning and get some much needed rest. I was so wrong. After taking the pill, not only was I still exhausted and in pain from all the contractions but now I was out of it feeling very disoriented, dizzy and very tired. It was an awful combination. So I still couldn't sleep and I was now moaning from the pain. Russell wasn't sleeping either, he was worried and concerned about me but their was not much he could do about it. He rubbed my lower back which felt so good, and relieved my pain a bit.
As the time passed I was still being pumped full of the IV saline and still having to pee alot. And around 4am the cervidil fell out again on my trip to the bathroom. By this point my contractions were so intense and after having 2 doses of the cervidil I didn't even want to tell the nurse it had fallen out because I couldn't deal with having another dose. But I did want to hurry this along so I let the nurse know. Again she was surprised it had come out. Because according to her this never happens and it happened to me twice in one night. My contractions were ranging at the high end of the monitor and were always peaking. I was in tears due to the pain. The nurse checked me again and now I was dialated to a 4 so she said that instead of giving me another cervidil they could just start me on the pitocin. But first they asked if I wanted to epidural. OF COURSE I DID! So by around 6 am the anesthesiologist came and gave me the epidural. It was the best thing in the whole world. My pain went away and I felt great. Then they starting the induction. I finally was able to drift off to sleep for a few hours.
The nurse woke me up at 9am to check me and I was dialated to a 9. So they told me it wouldn't be long. Around 12 noon I was to a 10 and they had me start pushing. But due to the epidural I thankfully wasn't in any pain but I also couldn't feel the contractions. So based on the monitor they had to tell me when I was having a contraction so I would push. And as far as I could tell I was. But I really couldn't tell. The baby's heart rate would dip low sometimes so they had me on oxygen just in case. Labor wasn't at all what I was expecting. It was so relaxed and low stress. It was just me the nurse and Russell. The lights were off and the only light was from the window. The baby was coming and they could see it in the birth canal but it just wasn't coming fast enough. So that's when my doctor came. He was concerned that I had been pushing for that long and she still wasn't here. So he told me that he was going to try Forceps to get her out and if that didn't work then he'd have to do a c-section. So to get me ready for that they gave me an intense dose of the epidural so I wouldn't feel the pain of what I was going to have to go through. At this point everything started getting alot more dramatic. All these nurses and other hospital people were in my room now to assist with the birth, and all the bright lights were on. Now this is what expected of labor. Well within 5 to 10 minutes of the doctor using the forceps our baby girl was born. I remember seeing the doctor hold her up as she came out telling us we had a healthy baby girl. Then we heard her cry for the first time. It was the best moment of my life! It was real, she was really here, the little miracle that Russell and I had created. I remember looking over at Russ with tears in both of our eyes. We were now parents and finally had our little baby girl. I was overjoyed with happiness but feeling really sick. I was running a fever of 102 F and they were concerned with infection. I was so nauseous and delirious from all the drugs I had been pumped full of and all of a sudden I was freezing. My body started shaking and shivering so intensely. I felt like I was dying. The doctor continued on to deliver the placenta and then started to stitch me up. I remember when Ava first came out the nurses commenting on how big she was, then after weighing her and telling me she was 9 lbs, 6 oz and 21 1/2 inches. I think the doctor was pretty surprised he really wasn't expecting me to have a baby that size. I'm sure he wouldn't have let me go so long if he had. The doctor even said that now that we know I grow such big babies they will make sure to induce me early on my next one. At this point I was so out of it I didn't really know what was going on and Russell was holding and loving Ava. I didn't even hold her for about an hour after she was born. I was just so sick, it was awful. The only good thing was that it gave Russell the chance to really bond with Ava. He was the first person that she got to know after coming into this world. They have a really special bond now because of it. Whenever Russ holds her he can always calm her down when she is upset and he cuddles with her and she just loves him. I'm really glad that they are so close. He really loves her so so much. So there is my story. I am so grateful for my beautiful baby girl. I am so excited to finally be a mommy.