Emma Claire Ostrenga

Post date: Dec 4, 2013 2:11:58 PM

I guess I had some misconceptions about what it means to induce labor. We were scheduled to come in at 7 am, so not knowing any better, I thought things would just move along quickly and we'd have our baby right away (by noon for sure!). Well, that's not really how it goes. Dana was started on a Pitocin IV, but a low dose. Contractions came and went for most of the day, with nothing else to report. We just had to wait...

Waiting was hard. With every passing hour, the anticipation built up. We got bored - there's not much we could do. Periodically, the nurses came in, checked Dana's vitals, and sometimes increased the amount of Pitocin she was getting. Dr. Goldman came to check on Dana at about 12:15, and helped things along by breaking the water. But there wasn't much dilation, so there was still a long way to go. Eventually, the contractions started getting stronger, so Dana requested the epidural. After the epidural, Dana was able to take a little nap in the afternoon. Things were still moving slowly though, in terms of dilation. Dana was getting discouraged. Dr. Goldman and the nurses told us this was normal though, and that once it hit 4 cm, it'll start moving quicker. Sure enough, that's what happened.

Dr. Goldman had just finished delivering a baby in the next room, and came by to check on Dana. After examining, she said it was time to start! Dr. Goldman and the nurses got everything set up in a couple minutes, and had Dana do a couple "practice pushes." Well, while she was doing that, we saw the top of a head! Dr. Goldman told Dana to hold on, while she put on her "catching gloves." She said that she really thought the next round would have the baby come out. We waited for the next contraction, and sure enough, after just two more pushes, we had our baby girl. Quite the difference from the two hours of pushing Dana did when Charlie was born. Emma Claire Ostrenga came out at 7 lb, 15 ounces and 19.5 inches long. Experiencing the birth of our second child was just as amazing as the first. Dana and I are so happy to have a beautiful baby girl!