3 weeks old

We had some pictures taken today! Ridley is 3 weeks old as of tomorrow. It's both gone by fast and seems like forever. We're still adjusting, but I think we're beginning to really find a rhythm and routine now. Here are a couple of teaser photos:

Birth Story

Experiencing childbirth was definitely a life experience that I won't ever forget. It was everything I expected and then some. It was certainly painful. Mine was long. And it was rewarding.

I started to have regular contractions Wednesday evening (the 6th) and thought I was in early labor. I went to bed that night to conserve energy and hoped to wake up with stronger contractions that would let me know I was really in labor. But I woke up the next morning and the contractions had stopped.

"Another day, still pregnant," is what I thought to myself and I continued on with my normal day by heading into work. I was greeted with the same greetings I'd been getting all week: "Still no baby?!" "When are you going to have that baby?!" and "You're still here?!" But then an hour and a half after getting to work, I started to have contractions again. I timed them for the next three hours (without saying anything to my co-workers) to make sure they weren't false alarms and that they were regular. By 1:30p they were still happening and they were still regular. I decided to tell my boss and co-workers and head home. I was still cautiously optimistic that I was in labor, not totally sure. But if it was going to get worse, I didn't want to be stuck at work!

I called Philip and arrived home. I also called my Aunt Tammi, who had agreed to be backup help for me and Philip when I went into labor. After she arrived it soon become obvious that I was definitely in true labor. My contractions were getting stronger and more intense and they weren't letting up. I spent the next several hours laboring at home: walking up and down our road, sitting, meditating, laying down, and doing what I could to get through contractions and hopefully get closer to the ultimate goal: 10 cm dilation! I kept checking in with my midwife via the phone to let her know my progress.

During this time, I feel that I dealt with labor pretty well. It was definitely painful, but I used pain management techniques I had learned in childbirth classes and rode them out. The contractions were hills and valleys and I rode through them. Towards the early morning hours, as it approached 1:00am, the contractions were getting stronger still, and I even threw up at one point, nauseous from the pain. Around this time, I thought that my water may have broken and decided it was time to head to the hospital. We called my midwife and she said she'd meet us there.

After getting to the hospital and checking in, I was at 6 cm. I got the labor and delivery room I had wanted: the one with the laboring bath tub! It was the first thing I did when we got there: I took a nice warm bath. The water definitely helped with the pain.

This is where things really get foggy for me. I lost all sense of time because of the pain and remembering specific things seems almost as if I dreamed it instead of lived it. I was having double and triple contractions without any breaks in between. Even between contractions, I still felt an enormous amount of pressure because my water had not broken and Ridley was very low already (she was ready to come out!). Basically, I labored for a few more hours until I was at 7 cm and then labored for another 6 hours and didn't progress at all, even after they broke my water for me. It was at that point, at 7 cm and holding, that I was offered a small dose of stadol.

Now, you all know I wanted to have a natural childbirth. And I was still holding strong against getting an epidural. But when I was offered Stadol by my midwife Mary and was told it would simply let my body rest in between contractions for a short while, I took it. I took the smallest dose they gave, but I took it. The big down side was that I also would need a small dose of Pitocin. I was really not happy about that, but in that moment, I wanted and needed the promise of a small break.

The Stadol lasted about an hour. I would wake up for the contractions, but got to rest in between. When the Stadol wore off, the Pitocin didn't waste time kicking in. If my natural contractions were hills and valleys, the Pitocin contractions were freight trains. They were a different beast! At this point they had me on a monitor to measure my contractions and the baby's heartbeat (another concession I had to make in order to take the Stadol--before that I was completely untethered and free to move around). Philip and Tammi said they would watch the monitor and see the contraction go off the chart and not come back down. But it certainly worked, because after only an hour or so of that, I was ready to push.

The pushing was by far the easiest part of labor for me. I was doing something, progressing and feeling like an active member of birthing Ridley into the world instead of simply getting through pain. I pushed for about 30 minutes and Ridley was born. They placed her immediately up on my chest and cleaned her off there. It was an amazing moment. I finally got to meet my daughter! She had a head full of hair and beautiful bright and alert eyes. I didn't think she looked like either Philip or me, but looked gorgeous and perfect.

All in all it was a 29 hour labor. Ridley was born 8 pounds, 6 ounces , 19.5 inches long at 3:27pm. Philip and Tammi were my rocks! I never would have gotten through it without them. They were by my side even when I didn't want anyone to touch me, they supported me when I would completely let go while standing up during a contraction, and they definitely heard some choice words leave my mouth!

It was all worth it! Ridley is adorable, precious and growing every day! She's at 9lbs2oz at her last checkup (2 week check up). My girl!

Happy Birthday, Ridley!

Ridley chose October 8th, 2010 at 3:27pm as her birthday! She weighed 8 pounds 6 ounces and measured 19.5 inches long. We are so happy that she is with us! Tomorrow she'll be 2 weeks old! It's hard to believe it's been 2 weeks already! I've been slack in updating this blog for obvious reasons. But I just wanted to touch base quickly with a quick picture of the new Buehler family addition. I plan to update the blog with our birth story and more pictures later when I find the time (aka in between feedings and while Ridley is sleeping).

Thank you all for keeping up with the blog, and thank you for all welcoming little one into the world!!

Non-Stress Test and Ultrasound

I went to the hospital today in order to have a non-stress test and ultrasound done. The purpose of the ultrasound was to check my fluid and make sure Ridley had plenty. They told me I actually have more than most 41 week pregnant women, but was definitely still in the normal range. So that's good news!
Then they performed the non-stress test. I sat in a bed with a monitor on my tummy for thirty minutes while they measured Ridley's heart rate and my contractions with how Ridley reacted to them. She did wonderfully! The nurse said that when I had a contraction, it was good that Ridley's heart rate increased, showing that the placenta was giving her plenty of nutrients to get excited.
Then my midwife Mary came and checked up on me. She can't tell me when I'll go into labor of course, but she said she was very confident that I would go on my own before needing to be induced by next Wednesday. That lifted a big weight off my chest. The looming "deadline" of getting an induction next week was probably my biggest worry.
Thanks for all the good thoughts and prayers!

The World is My Waiting Room

Day 5 past due date:

Phil has been trying very hard to get my mind off wondering and waiting for Ridley to arrive. I feel fine physically, but mentally I feel like I've been waiting for five months instead of days.

This weekend was about trying all the wives' tales we could think of to encourage little one to come along. On Saturday, we went to Riverfest in downtown Wilmington and walked. And walked. And walked. I came home and danced around my living room (jumping around and acting ridiculous!) for an hour.

Today we had Indian food for lunch (yummy!) in order for the spicy content to take effect. We walked some more around the mall. I even tried sitting on top of the washing machine while it was running because someone at work told me it would help. Well, it didn't hurt! But no labor pains yet...

And the other suggestion that usually comes with a *wink*wink* and *nudge*nudge*? Well, I'm telling you, we've tried everything this weekend short of castor oil!

One of my midwives actually gave me a call today to see how I was doing. I thought that was nice. Of course she told me that I was fine, that it was normal with a first time pregnancy to be overdue and that I'm not even a week late. Relax! Easier said than done. It's the only thing anyone else wants to talk to me about, it's the only thing I can think about, and there's no telling when it will happen!

I was told that if I'm two weeks late, they'll suggest I get induced. I would rather not be induced. So, everyone think happy thoughts and I will try and relax. This is surely a lesson in giving up control.