Introducing: McCauley Tejada Feldmeyer

McCauley (my maiden name) Tejada (Ehren's mom's maiden name)

April 2, 2014

I had been having contractions all day, not my usual Braxton-Hicks contractions where I could go on about my day, but the kind where I had to stop what I was doing, moan/cuss/close my eyes/breathe.  They weren't very close together or that regular.  I was scheduled to be induced the next day as I would be 40 weeks and 5 days pregnant.  The day felt weird, I was in a bad mood, just sad and restless.  Ehren stayed home from work and I just kind of moped around the house.  My stomach was kind of bothering me and I just overall felt "off".

10:23 pm

That night, we were lying in bed, Ehren, Cozy, and I, getting ready to go to sleep.  While petting Cozy, I said aloud, "this could be our last full night of sleep in a long time".  We had come to terms with the fact I would be induced the next day even though I hoped and prayed through the entire pregnancy that I would go on my own.  However, I spoke too soon.

10:25 pm

Me: "Ummm... I... I think I'm leaking"

I shot out of bed, stood up and felt the gush.

Me: "OMG, my water just broke!"

I ran into the bathroom to try and contain the fluid, freaking out, while Ehren started getting dressed and gathering things.  I had been group texting my friends Joanna and Beth the whole night; they had been making predictions on when I would go into labor or when she would be born.  I had to take a screen shot of the conversation later that night because it was classic.

Cozy was very confused as to why we were packing to leave the house right as we were getting ready to go bed.  We said, "okay, Cozy, go to bed, love you!" as we left the house around 10:45 pm.

Little did I know the long labor I was about to endure.  After they confirmed that I was leaking amniotic fluid (as opposed to...?) I started walking laps.  I had to stop every once in a while when I was having a contraction, breathe through it, and then keep going.  I was glad it was the middle of the night so I wasn't running into all my lovely co-workers while looking a hot, pregnant mess.  (Love you all!)

Of course, after all the contracting I had done during the day and my water breaking, I was only dilated to 1 - 1 1/2 cm.  Ugh.  A long ways to go that's for sure.  I suffered through the contractions all night until 8:00 a.m. when I got my epidural.  The only way to describe real contractions is the most painful, panicky, uncontrollable pain you've ever had.  You become so paralyzed by them you don't know what to do, nothing relieves the pain, pain meds don't even touch it.

Honestly, getting the epidural was less painful than getting an IV.  While the anesthesiologist administered the epidural, we talked about Cozy and the dogs my nurse and anesthesiologist owned.  The doctor told me it would be about 15-20 minutes for it to take effect.  They got me positioned back in bed, with the monitor slightly behind my head, and the anesthesiologist asked, "how does this one feel?"

I replied, in all honesty, "I don't even know what you're talking about".

Epidural for the win.

All smiles after the epidural - just ignore the sunburned, stoned look I'm sporting here:

The rest of the day was a daze and kind of scary.  Her heart rate dropped drastically with contractions, then her heart rate was really high, indicating distress.  Then I developed a fever, which is always concerning.  My awesome doctor (who came in on her day off and spent most of the day watching my tracings) was very cautiously optimistic that I could still deliver vaginally.  She was concerned about the heart rate, the fever, the distress, the slow progression.  However, after an amniofusion, an IUPC, and the "magical peanut ball" while in the sidelying position, and many hours later, things started looking better.  I started dilating more, the tracing looked much better, and it seemed that things were turning around.  There was a point where I stopped worrying and started praying.  I focused on God.  I focused on changing my attitude.  I believe it was at that point that things started looking up.

Labor dragged on until 9:00 pm (yes, 22 1/2 hours after my water broke) when I could finally start pushing.  I pushed and pushed for almost an hour and a half before McCauley Tejada Feldmeyer finally came into the world.  Exactly 24 hours, to the minute, after my water broke.  She was born at 10:25 pm. 

She was MUCH bigger than my doctor and I anticipated.  A whopping 8 pounds, 8 ounces.  I now agree with what most people said while I was pregnant, I was "all baby".

Ehren was such a trooper, such a positive force in that room.  After my doctor would give report on my progress, he would repeat it back to me, emphasizing the positive points she made, encouraging me the whole way.  After McCauley was here, my doctor admitted that she wrote "probable C-section" on my chart.  I'm so glad she was wrong (not that a C-section is a failure at all) but because I was so motivated to push.  I'm so thankful for a patient doctor. 

It was a crazy night at the hospital - 3 babies born within an hour of each other.  My doctor running between my room and another.  My nurse asking me to stop pushing and to wait for the doctor to come back.  The nurses attributed the influx of patients to the stormy weather.  And after being awake 40 hours and going 30 hours without food, I was exhausted, hungry, sore, in shock, amazed, humbled, thankful, did I mentioned exhausted?

First mother/daughter selfie.

Some of the happy grandparents:

Hey!  Why are you guys sleeping?  I'm the one who did all the work!

Ehren has no idea how lucky he is that he can fall dead asleep anywhere, anytime.  The funniest moment, but not funny at the time, was when I was in the hospital bed, Mac was getting fussy in the crib, and Ehren was asleep on the "daddy bed".  I was so incredibly sore (like I got kicked with a steel-toed boot in the crotch) and could not fathom getting out of bed to get her.  I was trying to get Ehren's attention so he could bring her to me.

"Ehren....... Ehren..... Ehren!.......Ehren!!!!......EHREN........EHREN FELDMEYER........EHREN!!!!!"

He still didn't hear me, despite me nearly screaming at him (at 3:00 am, mind you).  He didn't budge.  Didn't stir.

Wanna know how I finally got him to notice me?  I called him.  On his cell phone.   Apparently the gentle ring tone and the soothing vibration is what can wake him up.  Not his screaming, new mom wife lying 5 feet away from him.  It's pretty funny looking back on it and makes for a good story to tell.

Mac and her Aunt Katie:

And here I am, lying in exactly the same place I was when my water broke, with Cozy in the same spot and Mac in almost the same position.  

And now I'm no longer pregnant.  No giant belly.  I can actually get out of bed.  I can go hours without having to pee.  I can sit comfortably.  I feel like a new woman.  And not just because of what I just mentioned but because I am now a mother, a mom, a mommy.  There is a little life that depends solely on me and her dad.  It's a lot of responsibility.  And pressure.  But I know I can do it and I know it will be worth it.