Awaiting Baby's Arrival

On Sunday, February 28th, I arrived at Clovis Community Hospital, not really knowing what was going to happen. Kevin was hoping that all that was going to happen was that the nurses were going to check to see how the baby and I were doing and then be sent home. We didn't really expect to stay. Little did I know, Dr. Swanson had something else in mind for us.

When I checked into the hospital, I was taken to a room and told to put on the standard issue hospital gown, put into bed and hooked up to the fetal monitor machine. A nurse came in and explained to Kevin and I what all was going to happen. Apparently, Dr. Swanson was planning on inducing me the next day as a precaution because of the gestational diabetes.

Despite Kevin's hopes, we were spending the night at the hospital. Well, once I was given the medication that was going to help soften my cervix and was all settled into my room, Kevin went home to grab some things and to also get us something to east as we hadn't eaten since lunch time and I was not on a diet restriction just yet.

First thing the next morning, Dr. Swanson came to check on me. He told me the procedures od induction that was going to happen over the next few hours, which included breaking my water and administering the pitocin and then checking my cervix every couple of hours to see how far I had dilated. While we waited for the mediation to run its course, my mom and Melissa, Kevin's sister, arrived to spend the day with us as we waited for the baby's arrival.

I did pretty well for the first couple of hours after the pitocin took affect and the contractions started. From day one, I told everyone that I did not want to have an epidural done, so I opted for alternative pain medication that was administered through an IV in my hand. By mid-afternoon, the pain from the contractions became to bad for me to endure any longer (to the extent that I was told that at one point I flipped Kevin off for taking pictures of me in pain), so I eventually gave in and had the epidural done.

At around two or three in the afternoon, the nurse came in and checked on me and told us that I was dilated to about a six and that we should have the arrival of a baby sometime before 8 p.m. or so. At around 4:30 or so, Kevin decided that he needed to go home real quick and grab a bote to eat, take a shower as he had been with me all night the night before and bring me some things I wanted from home, and I was fine with that.

A couple of hours later, Dr. Swanson came into check on me and told me that I was still dilated at a five or six and I had not dilated any further since the nurse had come in and checked on me a few hours before. While Kevin was still at home, Dr. Swanson informed me that he was not happy with the progress that I had made and was going to have to deliver the baby by c-section. I had to ask home if could wait until Kevin got back and Melissa had to call her brother and tell him that he needed to get back to the hospital as soon as possible as the doctor wanted to take me in soon.

As soon as Kevin arrived, the nurses quickly prepared me for surgery and rolled me out of my room and into the operating room. At 7:21 p.m., Faith Catherine Westbrook arrived into this world by c-section, weighing in at 6 pounds, 13 ounces and was 19.5 inches in length.