Etta Katherine Zeek
9/26/22
6lb 8oz
20.5"
At my 38 week appointment on Sept 12, I asked about when inductions are typically scheduled. I was not necessarily wanting to be induced, but this was the longest I had been pregnant (the boys both came at 36 weeks) and I kind of hoped that if I scheduled an eviction notice, she might decide to come on her own. My doctor informed me that elective inductions are an option after 39 weeks and gave me the option to be induced just 3 days later. Opting for a couple more days for baby to decide to come on her own (and also not-so-secretly wanting her to be born on an even day & knowing inductions typically happen at night), I chose Sunday, Sept 25 as my induction date. I spent the week going back and forth between wishing baby would come on her own and growing fond of the idea of an induction. I tried to keep praying for God’s will in the situation and push out the worries and fears that crept into my mind.
The weekend came and we started to get ready for me to be induced. It was really odd (but also nice for my type A self) to be able to truly prepare that weekend and make sure everything was set and ready for baby’s arrival. The directions were to call L&D at 4pm on the scheduled induction date, and they would give me a time to come in. I have a friend who is a nurse in OB and she told me the beds had been very full all week and prepared me to be turned away when I called, but I was incredibly grateful that this was not the case, and they told me to come in at 8pm! Nathan and I laughed as we entered the hospital calmly and not in labor, and reflected on how different it was from my first two births. When we got in, it felt like arriving at a hotel—they showed us to our room and we got our stuff situated, then I changed into my hospital gown and got an IV placed. I was in bed and ready by 8:35! A doctor came in and checked me so that an induction plan could be established. I was 1cm dilated and about 80% effaced. They decided the best route would be to place a cook catheter (balloon) & place a Cydotec pill in with it to soften the cervix. Since my cervix was very posterior, they warned me that the placement of the cook catheter would likely be pretty painful and they offered me IV pain meds, but I declined. The process of getting it in started around 10pm and was definitely not pleasant, but it did its job (which was to dilate me to 4-5cm; and then it would fall out)! Contractions started picking up within 15 min and pretty quickly, they were about 2 min apart and lasting 1 min each, so I opted to get an epidural around 11:15 since that was my last chance to do so. Unfortunately, it only took to my right side and contractions were still pretty uncomfortable. The anesthesiologist tried to adjust it and my left leg became slightly numb, but it was still not fully working. The cook catheter fell out around 12:40am and contractions continued. By 2:00 or so, I was 8 or 9cm and they broke my water and told me I should be able to start pushing by 2:30. By the time I was ready to push, I could feel everything; the epidural was only making my right leg numb. I pushed for over an hour (the longest of any of my three births…what about how people told me this one would be the easiest?!) They had me get in lots of different positions and angles to try to get baby to come down. There was a lot of blood and I could hear murmurs of needing the hemorrhage cart, but because the baby’s heart rate was still doing great, they had me keep pushing.
Etta Katherine was born at 3:41am, and everyone was shocked by her full head of dark hair! She wasn’t crying when she came out and they didn’t put her on my chest, so I immediately started to panic. I told Nathan to go over to her and not worry about me as I endured the post-birth stuff (placenta delivery, stitches, etc.). I could hear them suctioning her repeatedly and all I could do was lay there and plead with God for her to be okay. Finally she let out a cry and I started bawling myself. I was just so glad my little girl was alright; it had felt like so long that I couldn’t hear her make any noise! Once they delivered my placenta, they realized that the cause for all the blood was that it had started to separate! Given the state of the blood, they determined that this had happened days ago and they told me it was good I had gotten induced! Another incredible God moment! Etta swallowed a lot of blood on her way out, which was why they had to work on suctioning out her little lungs for so long before finally placing her on my chest. We enjoyed a good long skin-to-skin session once she was good to go, which was especially nice since the anesthesiologist had given me something else through my epidural during the post-birth stuff and it worked—I was now *completely* numb from my belly button down on both sides. It was frustrating that I then couldn’t move for hours afterward (but hadn’t been numb at all during the actual pushing), but I was just so grateful that Etta was here and safe!!!
Nathan and I took the next 24 hours to gush over every detail of our girl and take in every moment alone with her in our hospital room. There is something SO sweet about those first hours—extreme sleep deprivation and all! We FaceTimed the boys to show them their new sister and Ollie kept saying “is that her?? Is that sissy?? Is that Etta??” Karson cried because he wanted us to come home *right now* so he could hold her. We left the hospital with full hearts; thankful for the care Etta & I had received, thankful to have her in our arms, and ready to bring her home to meet her big brothers!
