Kendall Renee's Birth Story

I can still recall vividly the birth of my first child. I was due on October 20, 2004 with a little girl that we had decided to name Kendall. We chose this name because it is not as comman as Sarah or Amy. You get the drift. My pregnancy was pretty uneventful. Found out we were expecting on Feb 28th at 6 weeks 3 days. Found out we were having a girl on June 2oth at 22 weeks. Poor Jeremy. He was soooooooo sure that we were having a boy...after all, according to him, everyone in his family had boys first...well, if that was the case, we altered the tradition. Broke it. Done. Our baby had a vagina and not a penis. In fact, Jeremy held on to the 20% chance that it wasn't a girl until the delivery...but at 40 weeks, with still no sign of Kendall making her appearance, we had a NST...and there it was, plain as day, a baby vagina. Can you even believe that at this point, he STILL had hope that she would grow a penis before her grand arrival?? Sad, but true. So, finally at my 41 week, yes, 41 FREAKING weeks, we set an induction date for Nov.1...Darn, I wouldn't get my Halloween baby. I was excited, nervous, scared, anxious...probably every emotion in human nature, I was feeling. I was to call the hospital at 5 am to find out what time to come in...by the way, we were both Active Duty at this time, so her delivery was at the Naval Hospital...the one that I worked at. We were instructed to come in at 8am...we got there at 730...we were just SO excited!!! We brought all of our stuff up and we were put into a room. The nurse immediately checked me, which I believe I was 2cm and 50%...which I had been for the past 4 weeks..crazy, I know. So, they decided to do some Cytotec. Now, let me just say that I was NAIVE with Kendall...I didn't research anything. Cytotec is NOT approved by the FDA for labor induction. Ok, so after 8 whole hours of Cytotec and walking, I was still at a 2, but I was "softer". So they decided to do a foley bulb...which is a catheter that they insert into your cervix that helps you dilate, but falls out once you reach 3cm. Well, it wouldn't stay in...that's because miraculously, I was able to be stretched to a 3! WOOT! So they went ahead and gave me an epidural because they were going to start the pitocin. Thank JESUS for technology. Even with my epi, I still felt the contractions and they HURT!!! Well, I guess somewhere down the line, I developed an infection in my uterine lining called chorioamnionitis...my heart rate went up, and so did Kendall's. That was an automatic IV for little Kendall bug to receive antibiotics. They started treating me right then. So, then, they broke my water..a lot of this was a blur because by this time, it was 10pm...14 hours into the induction. My water was stained with meconium..ok, nice. Well, by 2 am I was at an 8...I dilated slooooooooooow. At about 0430, I told my dad, his gf(who is an OB RN) and Jeremy that I had to poo...the nurse came in and told me that I wasn't at a 10 yet, that the pressure is normal. I told her to get the doc NOW. So he came in and sure enough, I was 10, complete and +1 station. I TOLD YOU SO!!! I began pushing then...man...now let me tell you...a lot of women are scared of pooping on the table...I was TRYING to poop...gross, I know, but hey, that is life. So, after about an hour of pushing, I was begging for a C-section. I felt tired, drained and pooped...and no, I still hadn't pooped. Well, then it was time for some oxygen...damn. The nurses kept telling me to breath...I yelled at them "I am f*%c^ing breathing or I would be dead, wouldn't I?" They left me alone after that...so finally, after almost 3 hours of pushing, my little princess arrived in this world...She looked like a damn rainbow. She had NO problems, what-so-ever. She was born on November 2nd, 2004 at 0738 weighing 8lbs 9.5 oz and 20.5 in long...with BLONDER than blonde hair. I had 2nd degree lacerations and got stitched. I lost over a half of liter of blood. But it was all worth it. She is now getting ready to turn 4 and is such a princess and stubborn little girl. She has such a fiery personality, yet she is so loving.