Quintana Family: September 2008

Starting Monday, September 15th I called the Drs office becasue I was not feeling well. I had been battling high blood pressure and that day was the 4th day of migraines and white flashes of light and Elizabeth was not very active. They told me to come in for a non-stress test. Elizabeth reacted just fine and then we went ahead and had my appt since I was already there. My blood pressure was high on all 4 checks and the last one was 140/100 so my Dr called the hospital to see if they had any beds available. They did not have anything until the next morning. She said that I would be OK but told me what to look for. I was having contractions all day and thought that maybe I would go into labor myself. I went to bed...yeah right...laid there while I was having contractions. They were anywhere from 10-30 minutes apart. At 3am is when they were 3 mins apart and I decided to call the hospital because I thought that my water had also broken. They said I could come in but if I was not in labor and they needed the room they would send me home. I was mad because I was going to be induced anyway so, I called my Dr and she said to go in. We got there at 4:45am. They put me in a room at 5am and the contractions had stopped. A nurse finally came in at 5:30am. She got my IV going and called my Dr. They started the pitocin and antibiotics at 6am and my water broke at 6:30am. The labor was going fine. I was able to breathe through the contractions and had breaks between them unlike Victoria's labor. Then at about 7am the contractions were on top of each other and the pain was just like Victoria's. I asked the nurse, who by the way name is Elizabeth too, when it was too later for the epidural. She said the Dr was going into surgery at 8:45am so I needed to do it soon if I wanted it. I wanted to see how it would go and by 7:15am I was telling her to get him in there NOW!!! He arrived at 7:30am got me all hooked up and 1/2hr later the pain was still unbearable and I had already pushed the button twice for more drugs. The nurse had to get the Dr to give me more meds and then I was numb from my chest to my feet. It was scary to be that numb. During all this I am shaking so bad that I looked like I was having seizures. The blood pressure cuff could not get a reading and thought I was dead the whole time. I told the nurse at 7:45am that I felt like I had to push so she checked me and I was a 3-4cm. Once the epidural worked an hour later I felt like I was on cloud nine. Louis and the nurse had to keep turning me so one side would not be more numb than the other. The numbness started to go away and I could feel again which was a happy moment for me. At 10:30am I told the nurse that I had to push and she checked me and I was 10cm. She had to find my Dr who was doing a c-section and then headed to a hysterectomy. She caught her as she was going to the other hospital to do the surgery. I kept having the nurse check to see if the baby was coming out because of all the pressure. She said no, but also not to push becasue she would come out in one push. My Dr arrived at 10:50am. They got everything ready and with my next contraction I pushed 3 times and she was out. Her head came out in two pushes and her body with the last push. Louis and I of course were crying to see our baby girl. Victoria was there and watched me give birth to her sister and that was special for us as a family. She weighed 7lbs 10oz and was 20inches. She was born 9-16-08 at 11:02am. We went home the next day at about noon. It is so good to feel complete with my girls and to have a great husband. He is such an incredible man and I am so thankful to have him by myside through the pregnancy and labor. We are happy to be home and happy that we are all healthy. ELizabeth is a great little nurser and she eats all the time. My milk came in the day after she was born. Victoria is just how I imagined her to be. She is not jealous at all and is totally in LOVE with her sister. She helps get diapers, wipes, bath time and picks out Elizabeth's clothes. She wants to kiss her, touch her and hold her all the time. She wakes up asking for her and goes to bed asking for her. It is so great to have Victoria as a big sister and to behave the way she does. We are very blessed with two beautiful little girls and cannot wait to see what our future has in store for us.

The Quintana Family

My Dr, nurse Elizabeth and our family