I got to the hospital a little after 3 pm. Because of the high BP I was put on mag sulfate and it was TERRIBLE. I was hot and sweaty and nauseated but it lowered my BP pretty well. They also did another biophysical profile on Salem. She wasn�t breech and she was bigger than they had originally anticipated. At 6 pm Dr. T came to see me. The goal was to start pitocin and try to break my water but my cervix was WAY too high to get to it. So we started pitocin. It wasn't that bad. I had a lot of contractions but nothing horrid. I did get some stadol later in the night. The worst part of the mag sulfate as well as the other side effects was the catheter. They have to check for urine output. Well it HURT. I kept telling the nurse how bad it hurt and she basically blew me off cause a catheter isn't supposed to hurt blah blah blah. No really? Well it did. But I will be back to that subject later.

So anyway - I ended up sleeping a lot with the stadol. Off and on really when they weren't checking my vitals every hour. The catheter (which I was only vaguely supposed to feel) hurt this entire time. The contractions didn�t really bother me much. They hurt but weren�t unbearable.

Well Dr. T came in at 8 ish. And after 14 hours of pitocin my cervix hadn't changed much and my BP was back up so we decided to go ahead and do a csection. I asked if I could have the catheter out for a short time (it had to go back in when it became time to do an epi) and he said yes. :) The nurse rolled her eyes at me. Well shift had recently changed so a new nurse came in to remove it. She tried to talk me out of it to reduce the chance of infection and I said no. So she removed it - I managed to stay sitting up for 2 hours without it and even with contractions things felt SO much better. I even slept.

At 10:30 the Dr. came to do my epi. It was a cinch really. It didn't hurt at all. Brian and I laughed thinking that the nurses probably thought I was nuts cause I could handle receiving an epi and not a catheter. :) Then they added the catheter back and of course I couldn't feel it so it wasn't a big deal at all and then they shaved me. :) Then they wheeled us back to the OR. I lost track of the exact time. Dr. T and another OB and their teams were there and the neonatologist was there with a team there as well. My BP went down and they gave me epinephrine (I think that's what it�s called), which made me sick, and I ended up throwing up all over Brian and the anesthiologist. My crowning moment. LOL.

I don�t remember a lot of details from the section. I couldn�t feel pain but I felt the pulling and tugging. She was born at 11:31 and as soon as I heard her cry I started crying. The intense love I felt was overwhelming and I hadn�t even seen her yet. I simply cannot imagine how I ever lived without her before now.

Dr. T showed her to me and then the neonatologist and Brian took her to NICU. She had some minor breathing problems at first but that can be common in csections so they told me not to worry. (I didn�t know about the breathing problems til later).

I had a ton of water and Brian told me later that the Dr.�s were joking about standing in Lake Salem. J That made me smile. I don�t remember any of that. I do remember the country and western music though! LOL. My sister thought that was funny as I don�t like C&W. LOL.

Dr. T showed me the angel baby. I am so glad I saw them. Brian didn't see the baby as he was with Salem and later decided not to. We had pictures taken by the hospital and should have them next week or so. The poor thing was so tiny it was swallowed in the size of my Dr.'s hand. I touched them. The sex was unrecognizable but it was a baby. We got the memorial stone inscribed with the name Baby Holamon and made arrangements at the hospital for the baby. It was bittersweet and honestly I am surprised I handled it as well as I did. But as sad as I was - all I could think of was my sweet Salem and how completely thankful I was that she was ok. I will always miss the babies I lost but I just simply cannot express the hope and peace I feel knowing Salem is ok. She is more than ok. She is perfect. Thank you Jesus. Later after I have recouped from the csection we will plan a private memorial service. Brian�s boss paid for the beautiful memorial stone. It was a blessing cause his boss just happened by the quarry we bought it at and saw it and told them he was paying for it.

Brian brought Salem to me in recovery after I had been back there a short while. We nursed right then. We are having some minor nursing issues but I am confident they will be resolved.

Dr. T did say with the incision he used and barring any future problems I should be able to have a vaginal birth if we have another child. I am thankful for that. I don�t resent the csection considering all the complications I had. But I would never electively choose this. The recovery has been very painful. But I would do it all over again. Salem is SO worth it. Worth every minute of it. Worth the pain of infertility, IVF and all the problems. Of course I would rather have done it without it all but I can hardly resent it when I look at Salem. All I feel is joy.

Oh I stayed on mag sulfate for another day. I did let them take Salem for a couple of hours that night but I missed her so much that Brian went and got her. The next morning I was off the mag sulfate and moved to a birthing suite (my hospital has labor/delivery suites and what they call birthing suites where they move you after birth). They are basically identical except the first have the whirlpool baths. But they are on separate wards. They were VERY nice and it was wonderful not to share a room with someone. Salem basically roomed in with us. At first I wanted some rest and the next morning she went to the nursery for 2 hours while Brian went to class but like the night before I just missed her SO much. When they took out the catheter this time the nurse (from the day before) admitted that it looked like my urethra had been traumatized. So I don�t know what that other nurse did but she must have been rough or made the balloon (I think that�s what they use) to big or something. It still hurts to urinate but it should pass soon.

My iron level dipped REALLY low the day after surgery so I am taking extra iron to help with that. My incision is healing well. The main goal with the incision has been keeping it dry due to the edema. I am still somewhat swollen and Dr. T said it could take 2 weeks for the rest of the swelling to go down. I got to go home after almost 3 days as I was doing everything the Dr. ordered. Walking around the floor, using the bathroom on my own etc. It�s SO good to be home with our baby. Our dream come true.