Addison's Birth Story
Anyone who knows me knows that I always like to have a plan and Addison's arrival wasn't an exception. Since Addison was breech we had a scheduled C-section for Monday, February 10th at 7:30am. One of the perks of knowing when you will have your baby is that all of your family can be there. Eric's mom and Bob arrived around 5 on Sunday and my parents, Brian, and Carla arrived shortly after. (Kristen's flight was scheduled to land at 9:30 on Monday morning, just in time to meet her niece.) In order to celebrate Addison's upcoming arrival we all headed out to Aldo's for a nice dinner. I took full advantage of it being my last day pregnant and enjoyed every last bite of my Eggplant Parmesan. It was delicious and I knew that since I wouldn't be able to eat or drink anything after midnight that it was the perfect choice. When Eric and I arrived home we relaxed on the couch for a bit and headed up to bed.
The "plan" was to set our alarms for 4am, so that we could make it to the hospital by 5:30. I would be prepped for the procedure and Dr. Pirkle would help us welcome our daughter into the world between 7:30-8:00 while our family patiently waited outside.
Apparently, our sweet little Addison had her own "plan" about how she would like to enter this world and my plan wasn't exciting enough for her. So here is what actually happened...
Eric and I did enjoy a nice family dinner at Aldo's and relaxed on the couch for a bit when we returned home. We decided to head up to bed around 11 so that we could catch a few hours of sleep before our big day. Eric and I sat in bed for a little and talked about how our lives were about to change and how excited we were to meet our little girl. We finally turned over and I was just about to doze off when my water broke. I quickly sat up in disbelief and Eric bolted out of bed. This was NOT part of my plan. They always say that you will know when it's the real thing and it most certainly was, there was not question about it. Eric ran down to get my mom (who used to be a labor and delivery nurse) so that we could figure out what to do next. I quickly dialed my doctor's number and was very excited when I heard that my doctor (Dr. Pirkle) was on call that night. She told me to head into labor and delivery, but warned me that we couldn't do the C-section until it's been 6-8 hours since my last meal. Eric and I quickly gathered our last couple of items, I took time to straighten my hair (which everyone gave me a hard time about, but I wanted to look presentable for our big day), and off we went. On our way to the hospital, my contractions picked up and were about 3-4 minutes apart. I remained calm and just told Eric to get me to the hospital. Of course the exit that we needed to take was blocked because of construction, which prolonged our trip. Eric had to take a detour, but we arrived at Sentara Leigh shortly after. At this point, the contractions were coming on even stronger and I started to get really nauseous. We checked into the hospital and waited what seemed like forever for them to wheel us upstairs. They took us to the triage room to confirm that I was leaking amniotic fluid and sure enough I was. The next couple hours are kind of a blur! I was in a lot of pain with contractions coming on every 2 minutes and poor Eric was trying everything he could to comfort me. Since Addison was breech I was mentally prepared for my C-section and NOT prepared to have to labor through contractions. At first, I was told that I would still have to wait until 7:30 for my c-section and I thought I was going to cry. The nurse called back my doctor to explain to her how uncomfortable I was and they decided that they would do it at 4 instead. To my surprise, my doctor was an angel and decided to come in even earlier as they were prepping me and said we would get this show on the road as soon as possible. At this point the nerves were nonexistent and I just wanted her out! I was in pain, exhausted, and ready to meet my daughter!
Around 3:30 they wheeled me into the OR and it was show time! Eric waited outside while they gave me my spinal. As soon as my legs went numb I was in heaven! I told the doctors and nurses that the next time I have a baby I want the anesthesiologist to meet me at the door, I have NO IDEA why anyone would try to go through that without the meds! They covered me in warm blankets and I felt like I was in a spa, not an OR, it was amazing! Eric came in and sat by my head and we waited. It only took a few short minutes and I heard that wonderful cry! Addison was here and they took her over to the nurses station to clean her up. Eric brought her over and it was love at first sight! She was absolutely perfect!
Although Addison didn't arrive according to my "plan" I wouldn't change a thing. It was the one of the best days of our lives! Happy Birthday Addison Elizabeth!
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