Our Miracle

Ava Elizabeth
Born: June 1st at 8:34 a.m.
7 lbs, 14 oz and 21 inches long





Ava definitely had a quick entry in to the world! I went into the hospital on the evening of the 31st in preparation for being induced the next morning. Once I got settled in for the night the nurses gave me a pill to soften my cervix, which was not dilated at all. 4 hours later they checked me and I was only dilated to a 1/2 cm. Needless to say, it wasn't the progression they wanted. I was given another pill and four hours later I was dilated to a 3 which was right on track to get my petosin and deliver in the afternoon. However, I started having severe cramping which I soon learned was contractions. I'd never had one before! I demanded my epidural because let's be honest, I was quite digging the pain and my dr promised I could get it the second I wanted it. It took a while for the doctor to get my epidural in because I wasn't hydrated but we finally got it in and I relaxed and was ready for a nap. The next big step was the catheter and to check my dilation. Once the nurse check how dilated I was she got a very confused expression and checked again. She actually called in the head nurse to also check. Somehow I had dilated to a plus 3 (yes, over 10! in an hour!) They had me push but baby wasn't ready. It was just moments later that her heart beat dropped and then started completely falling off the monitor. My doctor was on a different floor so they grabbed the doctor that was in the hallway. He came in and immediately knew this was a situation that had no time. They threw oxygen on my face, let me know the baby would need to be brought into the world via forceps, and had me start pushing. I pushed about 15 times and the doctor used the forceps (which are crazy!). The scene in the hospital room was tense as it was stacked with nurses, respiratory specialists, back-up nurses, and my hubby. Infact, Mike actually got pulled into helping instead of just holding my hand. The doctor gave me one last push and then they would have had to go C-section and hope there was a enough time, I pushed as hard as I could and our little miracle arrived! She was cleaned off, placed in my arms for one moment and then rushed to NICU because she had fluid in her lungs. Shortly after she returned to us and now she's home and doing well.