Induction Day ~~ Birthday !!!!

Well, we could not believe that day the day finally came!!! New Year's Day, January 1, 2010. Tomorrow we were going to meet our daughter Lily AnneMarie. At least I had hoped it would not take more than 24 hours. We needed to be there by 7pm that night and that was the longest day of my life. Boy was I nervous!!! Induction of Cervidil was delayed from starting at 8pm. Yeah, what I thought was just a nervous stomach was actually a little stomach bug and I ended up getting dehydrated. I needed to be pumped with fluids and anti-nausea medicine before we began. They gave me the option to go home and start again the next day, but I wasn't going home . . . I was gonna tough it out. I just could not wait another day for Lily.
January 2, 2010
1:00 am
Dr Sara (resident) came in and asked if I what I thought about getting started. I was so excited to get this going. WHOA!!! Cervidil induction was not my cup of tea, but I knew at this point Lily wasn't coming out without some help. It was freezing outside!! Would you??? Well they gave me a sleep'g pill and it worked. Got rest!!
7:30 am
Woke up to nurse Judy. At first she seemed the "crack the whip" type and I wasn't sure I could work with her. She was very direct. I looked at Scott and just shook my head. However, Judy turned out to be the best thing or person that I could have ever shared my labor experience with. I began to love her sarcastic ways. At one point I asked Judy, "You're not going to go all cheerleader on me during active labor are you?" and she responded with this eyebrow up look, " NO way...I am too old to be a cheerleader." From that moment on I just loved her. I did not want a RAH RAH nurse at all.
12:45 pm
Time for the removal of the Cervidil. Did I mention that Cervidil is not my cup of tea? Then shower time, once Dr Sara said that, it was music to my ears. Took a shower got dressed and hair done and guess what???? Yup . . . water broke. But Judy said that she were still going to check to see if it really broke on its own. I coughed and well you know, enough said. 1 cm dilated
Boy we have a long road ahead of us is all I could kept think'g.
4:00 pm
Labor has now started and I am think'g I can handle this. Contractions were not so bad. Well, after the 40th contraction I was begging Judy to get me my epidural. She looks at me and says "Come on I want to see more labor" with this look on her face. But to my surprise she had already alerted Dr. Sara and she was on her way in to check my dilation. 3cm dilated
I honestly did not think I could go through one more contraction. Besides Judy said that this could take a really long time and I should hang on. I could have leaped out of my bed and lunged at her. But I just loved her so and I couldn't even get out of bed due to exhaustion.
I forgot to mention that my Dad, J, and Angie were also there during my labor. Thanks for visiting!
5:00 pm
I had just received the best news that I was 3rd in line for the epidural. YAHOOOOO!!!!
About 5:20pm the anesthesiologist came in to administer the epidural. I was scared and let Judy know. I asked if I could hold her hand and she responded "Sure but you can only have 2 fingers cuz in case you squeeze it too hard, at least I have 3 fingers left." The epidural was administered and to my surprise it really wasn't that bad. I FELT GREAT !!!! Contractions didn't seem to bother me at all. For any woman giving birth without an epidural is just plain CRAZY!!!!!

3cm dilated
This is definitely going to take forever. But then it dawned on me that Judy wasn't going to be there to help me through active labor. I was bummed.
7:30 pm
New nurse~~ Cheryl. She seemed very nice from the beginning. One of the first things she said to me was this could probably take until the wee hours of the morning . . . like 3 am. Cheryl said that it takes the longest to get to 4cm and once I got there it would be hours. I was ready to take on anything because of the wonderful epidural.
8:30 pm
8 cm dilated Oh yeah we were on our way. Even Dr Sara said that I moved faster than expected.
She gave me some high fives. I couldn't believe it.
9:25 pm
FULLY DILATED~~YAHOOOOOOO!!
Dr Eddib (OB-GYN) was called and they told me she could be here in 12 mins. I honestly could not believe this was it. Lily is ready, I am gonna be a Mom. WOW !!!
Then Cheryl suggested we do some "practice pushing" til the doctor arrived. So that's what we did. She arrived and I could not believe how fast we got here. At one point during pushing she had grabbed Scott's shoulder and said, "Dad look! Can you see the top of her head?"
Scott and Gramma C were the best coaches. Gramma kept the cold wash clothes coming and Scott just kept reassuring me what a great job I was doing and how proud he was of me. I honestly can say that it felt great to hear those words.
Lily began to have variables during contractions. Her heart rate would drop but then recover once the contraction was over. Scott was freaking out, but the Dr. Eddib said the there was probably cord compression. It's common, but it still scared us !
10:45 pm
Still pushing. I was so exhausted !!! I didnt think I had anything left in me.
10:55 pm
Dr. Eddib came back into the room. She asked Cheryl to drop the end of the table, it was time to start an episiotomy. But Cheryl said, "Wait a second. Her head is crowning . . . Let's try one more push." I bared down and pushed. Yep, Lily's head popped out. Scott said that both Dr. Eddib, Sara, and Cheryl all jumped, she came out so quick. Now the end was near. I said, "Can I keep pushing???" They all yelled yes !!
10:57 pm
HAPPY BIRTHDAY LILY !!!!!!!
I couldn't believe it. I did it !!! She's here!!! OMG
They placed her on my belly and I cant even describe what I felt. I was amazed !!!

SHE IS JUST BEAUTIFUL!!!!

Lily AnneMarie Maciejewski ~~ 6lbs. 4oz. 19 inches long.



11:15 pm
Now Scott was holding Lily. Gramma was so happy. She kept telling me how proud she was of me. Then Scott gave Lily to Gramma to hold. She held her for a few moments and then Cheryl walked over and said that she thought Lily looked pale. So she called the nursery. Lily also was filled with mucous and needed to be suctioned. Christine from the nursery came to whisk her off.
She said that she would get Lily cleaned, give her a sponge bath, and then bring her to my room. I could not wait.<>

11:15pm - 2:00am

Scott was in awe. He spent a full 45 minutes with his forehead on the glass of the nursery, watching the nurses work on Lily. I was so jealous. There were some quiet times when Lily would sit still, eyes open, looking around in curiosity. But every 15 minutes or so, a nurse could be seen suctioning her secretions.


January 3, 2010

2:05am
Now it was time to move me to the Mother/ Baby Unit. We stopped in the nursery so I could see Lily and she was still having a hard time clearing her secretions. They said that once they cleared she could come to my room.
3:15 am
Still no Lily. Scott and I were wondering what was taking so long. He walked over to the nursery and Lily was being held by Christine and they gave him the thumbs up. So Scott came back to the room and said she should be right in.
4:00 am
Still no Lily. Scott walked to the nursery to check. When my nurse said that Lily still was having trouble clearing her secretions and was still being worked on, I started to get scared. I suggested that we will try to get rest and the nurse agreed and said they will bring Lily in 1st thing in the morning.
6:00 am
The nurse came in to draw blood and take my vitals and still no Lily. She said that the nursery nurse would be in to talk to us. I got scared . . . really scared. Shortly after, Debbie from the nursery came in to advise that Lily is having trouble clearing her secretions and she feels that Lily needs more 1 on 1 attention, so she is being turned over to the neonatal nurse on sight named Faye.
7:00 am
Faye came into visit us and the first things she said to Scott and I was,"Good Morning, Congrats! Lily is beautiful, but she is also being very uncooperative." At that point my heart dropped and I felt so sick to my stomach. She said that Lily has some issues with her esophagus. She didn't know exactly what may be wrong, but she thought of some possibilities. She said either there is some obstruction, webbing, or maybe swelling from all the suctioning. It was also a possibility that Lily's esophagus has not fully developed. I could not believe my ears. Scott's face went pale. She said that she feels that it would be best for Lily to be transported to Women and Children's hospital to get the best care. She also said that Lily should see specialists and the equipment there was more sophisticated. I still couldn't believe it. I looked at Scott. His face was expressionless. We both agreed that we would give Lily the best care she needed and if she needed to go, how could we resist. She said for me and Scott to come to the nursery to hold her. I didn't want Lily to feel insecure because I was such a sobbing mess, but Faye insisted and reassured us that Lily was not in "any immediate danger." Faye then said that she would start the transport procedures and she left our room. Scott and I held each other and sobbed.
I could not believe that I was reliving exactly what my brother Jeremy and sister in law Angie went through 6 yrs ago. Total disbelief. We immediately called our parents to let them know. We were numb.
8:00 am
We went to the nursery and there was our beautiful baby girl, so peaceful she didn't look like she had any problems. However, we could definitely hear how rattly she was. My heart was broken. I finally got to hold my baby. It was so amazing. She is just gorgeous, she's petite and I still couldn't believe she was ours. Her name definitely fits her. She is as dainty as a Lily. GOD, I LOVE HER SOOOOO MUCH !!!!!
After an hour, Scott and I went back to our room.
9:30 am
My parents came to the hospital and we all just cried. We could not believe this. I asked them if they wanted to go see her in the nursery since she was probably going to be leaving shortly. When we got to the nursery the transport team from Children's were already there. I wanted to go back to my room. I could not watch them put her into the transport box. I needed to prepare or try to prepare for when they brought her to me.
10:15 am
The knock on the door. Yes, it was the transport team with our Lily. She was so calm. I was a complete and utter train wreck disaster. But I knew I had to get it together. The transport team works with Scott's sister Julie at the hospital, so I knew she would be in good hands. Lily started to fuss and I put my hand on her chest and said, "It's OK, don't be scared, Mama is here." She calmed right down and went to sleep. It broke my heart. She is the most beautiful baby.
Then Scott's parents came to the room and just like me 6 yrs ago, got to see Lily for the 1st time in a transport box. That is exactly how I met Ayden. It was awful. The transport team needed to get going so we said our good byes and I told Lily that Daddy would see her with Papa C at Children's later. I asked them to take good care of my Lily and please drive safely since the weather was horrible. They left. Scott and my dad were not too far behind them.
I wanted to be discharged so bad, but wasn't sure if Dr .Eddib would, with me being only being 12 hrs post delivery.
I just laid there in the hospital bed numb and so scared.
My nurse Maureen said that she thought the Dr. would discharge me since I didn't have a c-section. I prayed she would. I know I would not rest and go stir crazy stay'g in Millard know'g Lily was at Children's.
5:00 pm
Dr. Eddib arrived and said she would definitely discharge me but made me promise to take care of myself. I already pretty much had everything packed and ready to go.
I left at 5:20 and headed off to Children's.
6:00pm
We arrived at Children's and could not believe again that this was happening as it did 6 yrs ago.
Walking into the NICU was horrible. Once I got to see Lily it was much better. Even my Mom said this was just too much, and here we are reliving 6 yrs ago.
Then I got to see her and hold her. I love holding her she is so soft and delicate I cant even describe it.


Now I am going to turn this over to Daddy Scott to discuss, as Lily calls it, her "issues"