The Story of Ella

WARNING: This is one long entry. I need to document it before I forget cuz I have a terrible memory...

On Tuesday, May 19th, I was feeling pretty good. I took a "mental health" day and slept in. Later, I took the dogs to the dog park. That night we went to bed and Buzz complained that he couldn't fall asleep. I had no trouble sleeping but every time I got up to pee, Buzz would say, "I can't sleep." At around 3:30 am I woke up feeling a pinch in my cervix. I got up to pee and had my bloody show. I thought to myself, okay stay calm, you've got a few days still once your bloody show comes. I went back to bed and purposely did not wake Buzz because I knew he was having trouble sleeping. As soon as I got into bed, I started leaking. I got up, went to the bathroom and was pretty positive my water had broke. Buzz got up in a panic and I called the doctor. He advised that I go in. We started getting ready...of course I had to finish packing my bag. We were on our way by 4:30ish.

We called our parents on the way and I was in the delivery room and hooked up by 5:00ish. My water had definitely broken but I wasn't dilated at all. Dr. Gladdin showed up around 7 am and checked my cervix again - no dilation. Also infrequent contractions. That's when I heard the dreaded words - "let's start her on some pitocin." Pitocin is a drug that starts or speeds up labor. They always use it on TLC's "A Baby Story." The problem is it makes for worse contractions and can have bad side effects. I was already hooked up to an IV (which is a huge hassle when you have to pee every 10 minutes), so they just added it. Shortly after that, I started feeling contractions on a regular basis. My parents showed up at some point to check in and to get our house key from Buzz (they were picking up the dogs).

Around 9 am ish my nurse told us that it would be a long time until I delivered - maybe after midnight. My parents left to get the dogs and Buzz went to the cafeteria to eat some breakfast. About twenty minutes later Dr. Gladdin shows up again and looks kind of frazzled. He tells me that he has a suspicion that he'd like to check out. He pulls up the ultrasound machine and voila - she's a breech baby. This was a surprise because at my last two visits he said that her head was down in position. Also, I carried low during the whole pregnancy. He told me that we had to do a C-section. I said, "Oh, okay, when? Like this afternoon?" He said within 1/2 an hour. Yikes stripes. Poor Buzz. I had to call him in the cafeteria and he ran up looking nervous. He was shocked about the C-section and that it was happening in 15 minutes or so. I, on the other hand, was thrilled - no pushing, no waiting, no stretching my lady parts...

I laughed nervously as the nurses inserted a catheter. They told that was the first time anyone laughed while getting a catheter put in. Next thing I know, I'm being wheeled away. Buzz had to stay back while they prepped me for surgery. As soon as I sat on the surgical table I felt another gush of fluid come out of me. It's funny that you don't even care at that point. Next came the spinal block and then I was laid out like Jesus on the cross. They started shaving and scrubbing and who knows what else. After about 5 minutes they brought Buzz in. He still looked quite nervous and even scolded me for making jokes and not taking it seriously. While lying there I heard the docs say, "boy is she a big baby" and "she's really lodged in there tight." There were three songs I remember hearing during surgery and the aftermath.

• Maroon 5's, Wake up Call
• The Fray's, How to Save a Life
• Kelly Clarkson's, My Life Would Suck Without You

I thought that was pretty cool that I had an automatic soundtrack for Ella's birth. The doctor also asked me about Ella's name. He asked if it was after Ella Fitzgerald and I told him it was and how did he know. He said that when he was examining me earlier he heard her on my ipod. Weird.

At 10:05 am they pulled little Ella out of me. They showed her to me for a second and I thought, "Oh my god, I've given birth to Buzz!" Buzz shed a few tears and was by her side instantly snapping pictures and looking awestruck. They wrapped her up like a burrito and let me see her for a minute and we snapped a few quick pics. Then they were gone...

As I laid on the table being put back together I wondered if all of that had really happened. Buzz and Ella were gone and I traced the ceiling tiles with my eyes. All of a sudden I realized it was hard to breathe. My chest felt numb.

I asked the anesthesiologist - "Is it normal to not be able to breathe?"

"Yeah, that's normal."

"Okay good." I started feeling really nervous and sick and next thing you know, I'm puking bile out the side of my mouth. So I ask again, "Is it normal to be throwing up?" Hello, you jerk, please wipe my face and make me feel better. Why can't I breathe and why am I throwing up???

"Yeah, that's normal." He sticks a suction tube in my mouth as I continue to vomit. Finally, the feelings subside and I feel better - no thanks to him.

When the docs finish up I am wheeled into my room and Buzz comes to give me an update. My parents and his mom are watching Ella in the nursery. It would be 2.5 long hours before I see her again. It was the longest wait...

It's funny looking back at. When I was at the dog park I was telling some people that I was nervous that I wouldn't know when I was in labor. This guy said, "Won't the huge pile of water be a pretty good sign?" I told him that a woman's water breaks only 30% of the time. When I got home I saw my neighbor who's a nurse. She told me that I don't look ready and she predicts at least another week. Buzz wanted me to go after Tuesday (due to a golf game) and my parents wanted me to go after Tuesday (they got home from Austin Tuesday).

Right now I type this with Ella sleeping by my side on the couch. Buzz and I are the happiest we've been. I feel like I've been waiting for her my whole life. Buzz is so in love with her and it's a pleasure to watch. There is this great song called Lullaby that has the line, "Life began when I saw your face." That pretty much sums it up.