After having the cervix softner in for 12 hours, I was contracting and only dilated to a 2. My doctor came in at 8:30 am and broke my water and started pitocin to get it going. An hour later I got an epidural and it felt great. Now it was just time to wait for Kinley to make her appearance.
A couple hours later, I started to feel really weak and like I was going to faint. At the same time, the nurse came in because she noticed Kinley's heart rate start to drop. All of a sudden, my blood pressure dropped to 70/30 and Kinley's heart rate to 70! Not good at all. I have high blood pressure and with medication it's normally in the high 130's over high 80's, so to have it drop to 70/30 was not good. First we needed to get Kinley's heart rate up or they were going to have to do a c-section. The nurse had me lay on my side which seemed to help and soon her heart rate was back up. Now, it was time to deal with my blood pressure. I literally felt like I was going to pass out so they stopped pitocin which essentially stopped my contractions and labor. That also helped Kinley's heart rate go back up. Apparently, her heart rate dropped because I had five contractions in a row with out a break and she didn't like all that pressure.
An hour later the nurse started the pitocin again and the waiting started again. By 2:00 pm the nurse checked me again and I had dilated to a 6. She talked to my doctor and he would be by in a couple of hours and I would start pushing. I asked the nurse if my son could come visit with my dad and step mom. She said that would be fine and I called my dad and asked him to come see us. Right after they came, my nurse came in and looked at the monitor. She said that she needed to check me and everyone left. She checked me and I had dilated to a 10 without even knowing it! I could feel a little bit a pressure but had no idea! She told me to push for about 8 seconds. I could feel Kinley come right down the birth canal and was right there ready to make her debut. The nurse said that I couldn't push anymore because we had to wait for my doctor to get there due to the complications from earlier in the day. Unfortunately I had to wait 20 minutes while on my side and with my legs crossed :). My doctor arrived, put on gloves and turned me on my back. I asked if I should push and he said no and out slid Kinley at 4:45 pm.
The Gant family of three about to become four.
Kinley Marsha Gant, 7 lbs, 6 oz, 20 inches long
Holding her for the first time.
Big yawn....
Daddy's little girl
Colton meeting his little sister for the first time.
Grandma Ruby holding Kinley.
Colton enjoyed sitting on Mommy's bed watching Mickey Mouse.
Sleeping on daddy.
All dressed up and in Grandma Marsha's blanket.
So peaceful...
The first night with Kinley she started choking and actually stopped breathing. By the time the nurse got there she was breathing but her lips were still blue. The nurse took her to get a deep suction done on her because there was still mucus in her system. They also did a blood culture on her to make sure that she didn't have an infection. Unfortunately, we wouldn't know for 12-24 hours on the results which meant that we were spending another night in the hospital. Within 12 hours her white blood count came back higher than normal so they re-ran it. The second night I told Eric to go home and spend some time with Colton, who was having a hard time without Mom or Dad. Kinley was having rough night, not sleeping very much and choking a little. The nurse came in a 2 am and asked if I had gotten any sleep. When I said no she said that she would take Kinley and watch her for a little while so I could get some sleep. Two hours later, she woke me up and said that I had a phone call from a doctor that I needed to take. She told me that they were taking Kinley to the NICU because of the choking, her white blood count was high and she was jaundice. I remember how scared I felt, especially because Eric wasn't there with me to take in all the news. I was exhausted and couldn't stop the emotions and crying was all I could do. I called Eric and he came right over and we went to the NICU with Kinley.
This is how she looked for three days that she was in the NICU. It's very scary as a parent to see your helpless child like this. It was also very hard to be released the next day and not be able to take her home with us. 
This is the first time that I got to hold her after she went to the NICU. I think that was the hardest thing for me...seeing her and not being able to just pick her up and hold her. 
After being monitored and poked and prodded for 3 1/2 days her jaundice was better, her blood count came back better and she wasn't choking anymore and we got to take her home! What a happy day for all of us!
