Makynzie's Birth Story

Whew, this is going to be difficult to recall and type out. Not only because I have a sleeping newborn in my lap, but also because I am a basket case of emotions today. But I have a lot of people asking for Kynzie's birth story and I know I will want to remember it all someday so I need to type it out while I can still remember the details. So here goes...

Though I'm not completely positive exactly when I went into labor, I want to say it was Monday night. I went to bed experiencing dull contractions. They didn't hurt, but my belly would tighten up and get as hard as a rock. At the time I had no idea they were contractions. I was texting Jennifer Kehoe and Jen Quirk telling them exactly what I was feeling and what I should do about it. I was telling myself over & over again that they weren't the real thing and the true test would be going to sleep and seeing if they kept me up or if I could sleep through them. I totally slept through them. Shane and I were so disappointed the next morning. I went through the next day having contractions anywhere from one minute to thirty minutes apart. They still didn't hurt. When they went away I would get super upset. I was so tired of being pregnant. They continued through the night and then Wednesday they got pretty intense. I was scheduled to be induced that night so Shane took the day off so he could clean and get the apartment ready for the baby and his family. At this point they felt like much more than an intense period cramp. My entire belly would get so hard that it wasn't round when I was contracting, it was a square and I remember joking with Shane about it. They got to be pretty painful and started coming much closer together, though still random. I told Shane I thought we should go to the doctor because I had a feeling it was the real thing though I still wasn't sure. Ya know how they say "Oh you'll know when it's the real thing."? Yea.... I never did. We went to the doctor and she confirmed that I was in "early, early labor" but I was still completely closed. She told us to go home and walk like crazy to get things progressing and come back in at 4:00. We went out to eat at a nearby Mexican restaurant and I remember saying to Shane "Isn't it crazy I'm in labor right now and no one in this room knows??! I wonder how often that happens!" Then we went home, walked, I showered, cleaned, hung out with Shane's sister, etc. We went back in and much to my disappointment, I had made zero progress. They told me we would keep the induction appointment at 6:30. So we went home again and this time got our bags and loaded up the car.

We were so excited on our way to the hospital. I remember Shane being super giddy talking to the nurses and hospital staff as I checked in. We finally got our room and waited about an hour for the nurse to come in. She said that around 9pm we would start a foley bulb. The plan was that I would get the foley bulb and then some Ambien so that I could get a good night's sleep as they were going to start the Pitocin in the morning. They put in the bulb (surprisingly it didn't hurt at all) and they said they would bring me the Ambien whenever I was ready for it. I wanted to make it til at least 10:30 so that I could see the new "16 and Pregnant" episode. :) It got to be about 10:00 and I was having horrible back pain. I asked the nurse for something for the pain. She gave it to me, and let me tell ya, I was high as a kite. It felt like I had just smoked a bowl. Shane and I played Phase 10 and I tried my best to act coherent. I knocked out after a couple hours and the nurse said it was too late to do Ambien because I would be too hungover in the morning. I woke up at about 2am and there was NO going back to sleep. I was having insane back pain and my contractions were really starting to hurt. The nurse came back in at 5am (after not checking on me all night) and said we may as well start the Pitocin if I was awake anyway. So they started me on a really low dose. At this point I was in a looooot of pain. They took me off the Pit because I was making enough progress on my own.

By 8am I was in ridiculous pain. My mom came to lend support. She held one hand while Shane held the other. I am a complete wimp so I'm still surprised how calm I stayed during my contractions. I concentrated hard on my breathing. I need to add that Shane was an amazing coach. My coping mechanism was to breathe in long and slow, and like an owl, say "oooooooo" as I breathed out. I probably sounded ridiculous. I remember looking at Shane and asking him if he thought I should keep going naturally or get the epidural so I could enjoy our daughter's labor. I decided to get the epi. And later thanked GOD I did. I was completely pain-free til about 2pm. Shane and I played Phase 10, watched tv, and joked around during that time. But around 2pm I started having excruciating back pain. I mean the worst pain I could ever imagine. So they started a bolus a few times to help me through the pain. And they helped but the pain was still unbearable. I was holding tightly onto Shane and my mom and crying and screaming through the back pain.

Finally my nurse came in at about 9pm and checked me one last time. I was 7cm but Kynzie still hadn't come down the birth canal and was sunny side up. She was facing my pubic bone instead of my butt and I was spiking a fever. The midwife gave me two options, "You can wait another hour and see if she turns and comes down. And if she doesn't, you'll have an emergency C-section and she will have to be in the NICU for a couple days. Or you can just have a C-section right now." So we decided on the C-section right then. Shane was so terrified of surgery that he started bawling. I had had surgery several times in the past and was just ready to get the baby out and be out of pain. They told me I wouldn't feel anything but pressure during the procedure. They said my surgeon would be the one on call and that he was a big teddy bear and known for how kind and gentle he was. Apparently his other job was artificially inseminating gorillas at the zoo. No joke. So he came in to meet us and we loved him. He was a big black dude with braces and very sweet. :)

They rolled me back to the operating room and during this time Shane got all suited up to come back with me. Poor guy was scared to death and he had to wait for them to prep me for at least 15 minutes. They laid me down stark naked on a super thin operating table. I'm talkin, I felt like if I sneezed, my gigantic pregnant self would roll of the table. It was so awkward laying there in the nude with my arms straight out on each side. Not to mention my legs were still completely numb. They increased the epidural until I could no longer feel the coldness of the alcohol pad on my belly. They finally brought Shane in and he was still super nervous. He kept asking me if I was ok and if I needed anything. I was all smiles because I was just ready to get this baby out of me, and I knew I needed to act strong and completely carefree for Shane. I remember my back pain staying consistent up until the second I felt her pull them out of me. And boy did I feel it. Through the whole surgery I felt pulling, tugging, and horrible pressure on my chest as they pushed her down to pull her out. I can still remember what it felt like when they got her head out. The whole time I had an awesome nurse behind me explaining everything they were doing. I don't know what I would have done without her. I remember her saying "She's out! She's gorgeous." And I kept asking her if Kynzie was ok.

Finally I heard my sweet daughter's cry and started crying myself. Shane said "Katy do you need me to stay here with you or can I go look at her?" and I told him I was fine he could go look at her. My only complaint at that time was the epidural was making my shoulders shake violently and it gave me a horrible knot in my shoulder blade that was throbbing. Shane came back pouring tears with a picture of her on his phone and said "Katy she's beautiful. She's perfect. And she has.....red... hair?" haha. She was blonde, but the blood in her hair made it look strawberry blonde. They brought her over to Shane and he held her cheek against mine. I'll be honest. I was just ready to get off the operating table and get my shoulder to stop throbbing. It took them about 20 minutes to stitch me back up and it was the longest 20 minutes of my life. They wheeled me back to my room and said Kynzie should be bathed and back there by the time we got there. Wrong. We had to wait about an hour and a half. Shane was so impatient, he was asking the nurse if she could go tell them to hurry up. He was mad that it was taking them that long. I really didn't mind at the time because I was still shaking so bad from the meds that I knew I wouldn't be able to hold her for a while. But they eventually brought her in and I forced myself to stop shaking so I could hold her.

At that time I cried over the most beautiful baby I had ever seen. I had been in labor for 38 hours and my sweet Makynzie Jude was finally in my arms. I love her so much it hurts.

Makynzie Jude Wilkinson
8 lbs. 20 1/2 inches.
3/16/11 10:07pm