Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of Coyote Ugly just the ones I make up in the story.
Chapter 31: It's Time
June 11, 2006
7:00pm
It was my due date and I was cleaning like a mad woman. Dr. Racer said it was usual for a pregnant woman to be cleaning like mad. The last three months of my pregnancy were by the book. We attended all the lamaze classes and we're hoping that the baby would come soon.
Kevin came in the door. After tonight he was off for two weeks to help with the baby. He went over to me.
"Violet, would you stop cleaning for a minute and look at me please?" Kevin pleaded with me.
"What? Does my cleaning bother you?" I asked irritated.
" No it doesn't bother me but I think you've cleaned enough for one day. Let's sit down and relax," Kevin said as he took the cleaning cloth out of my hand and led me to the couch and we sat down. We ended up watching a movie before going to bed.
1:00am
June 12, 2012
I woke up after having the worst contractions. I decided to wake Kevin.
"Kevin wake up. I think it's time. My contractions have been in a regular pattern for a few hours now," I said in pain.
"Okay how far apart are they?" He asked me.
"Six minutes apart," I said.
"Let me get your overnight bag, the diaper bag and the car seat in the car then I'll come and get you," Kevin said as he put some clothes on, got the stuff we needed and put the stuff in the car. Meanwhile I got dressed and headed towards the door. Kevin came back and helped me down the steps and to the car. We got in and made the drive to the hospital.
St. Luke's Medical Center
2:00am
This time around we were in room 510 and Sandy and Roni had just gotten me hooked up to the fetal monitor and an IV and gave me the TV remote. Then Dr. Racer came in.
"Hey you two are you all ready to meet your son or daughter?" Dr. Racer asked us.
"We're more than ready," I said.
"Okay, I'm just going to check you to see how dilated you are and we'll go from there, okay?" Dr. Racer said as she checked me.
"Well, you're at 4 centimeters. I'm going to have the nurses start some fluids and pitocin to speed up your labor. If your water doesn't break in a couple of hours I'm going to break it myself okay? I'm also going to recommend that you walk the hallways and alternate that with the labor ball. Just hang in there," Dr. Racer said as she left the room.
The nurses came in and hooked me up to a fluid and pitocin drip and I was all set.
"You up for a walk?" Kevin asked me.
"Sure. You want to wheel the IV pole beside me as I walk?" I asked.
"Sounds good to me," Kevin said as he helped me out of the bed and we started walking the halls. Every 300 yards I had to stop, hang on to the wall railing and breathe through a contraction.
4:00am
I was sitting on the labor ball rocking on it when all of a sudden I felt my water break. It pooled on the floor behind me. Dr. Racer came in then.
"I see that your water broke. Now I don't have to break it. How about you get back in bed and I'll check you again," Dr. Racer said as I laid back down on the bed and she checked me.
"Well, you're at a 7 which means you can have drugs, if you want them, and judging from your face you want them. I'll have the nurse call the drug doctor and he'll be in shortly," Dr. Racer said as she left the room.
After an half an hour I was feeling relief. I loosened my grip on Kevin's hand and he shook the feeling back in his hand.
6:00am
I was reaching the breaking point and couldn't take anymore. I was screaming at Kevin and swearing like a sailor. Then Dr. Racer came in again and checked me. She smiled.
"Looks like this will all be over in less than 15 minutes," she said.
"What is that supposed to mean?" I asked.
"You're at 10 centimeters dilated. You can push as soon as I'm ready," Dr. Racer said as nurses flooded the room. Kevin and I looked at each other both excited and nervous at the same time. After all these years of trying and false hope we were being given another chance at having a family of our own.
I was feeling a lot of pressure and I was trying to be patient as Dr. Racer was getting ready.
"Okay now I'm ready. As soon as you have a contraction I want you to push with all you've got okay?" Dr. Racer said as I nodded, tightening my grip on Kevin's hand as he winced a little.
I felt a contraction and pushed with all I had. I must've pushed at least 13 times when Dr. Racer grew concerned.
"What's happening? Why is nothing happening?" I asked in pain and frustration.
"The baby's head's not coming down through the birth canal," she stuck a couple of fingers inside and suddenly had a frustrated look on her face.
"I hate to tell you both this, but your baby is facing sunny side up which makes it difficult for the head to exit the birth canal. We're going to have to use a vacuum suction to ease the head down and out. You're going to feel like the inside of you is being torn apart and you'll feel a lot of burning but otherwise than that everything's going to be fine," Dr Racer said as a nurse brought the vacuum suction over.
"This cup goes on the baby's head and the nurse will turn on the suction and I'll use it to guide the baby's head down and out. The baby's head will be red and sort of funny shaped where the suction cup was but that should go away in a few hours," Dr. Racer said as she put the suction cup on the baby's head and gave the signal to the nurse as she turned on the suction.
"Okay when you're ready push as hard as you can," Dr. Racer said as I pushed so hard I thought my eyes were going to pop out of my head. I felt the worst burning sensation and pain I ever felt in my entire life. A few more difficult pushes and the baby's head was finally out. I breathed a sigh of relief. The nurse turned off the suction and Dr. Racer removed the suction cup from the baby's head.
"Okay here comes the hardest part, the shoulders. Give it all you've got okay?" Dr. Racer said as I pushed. I was trying not to scream as I looked at the ceiling. After a minute I felt the baby leave my body and I fell back on the bed, totally exhausted. The hardest part was waiting for the baby to cry which it did another minute later, music to my ears.
"Congratulations, it's a beautiful baby girl!" Dr. Racer said as she put the baby on my stomach and the nurses started drying her off. I took one look at her and I started to cry, Kevin started to cry and the nurses even started to tear up.
"Oh my gosh she is so beautiful! She's beautiful and she's ours!" I said to Kevin as he nodded.
The nurse took her from me after a few minutes to weigh, measure her and take her footprints for the birth certificate and baby book.
"Eight pounds nine ounces twenty and a half inches long," the nurse said as she wrapped the baby up and put a pink cap on her head and handed her back to me.
"You did it Vi, you did it and I'm so proud of you," Kevin said.
"No, we did it. I couldn't have done it without you," I said as I kissed him. The baby then started to fuss and I undid my gown and offered her my breast and she started to eat.
"She knows what she wants," Kevin said amazed. I just laughed.
The nurses gave us an hour to bond with her and during that time I took a shower and cleaned up while Kevin held the baby.
It was 7:15 in the morning when Roni came in with a wheelchair.
"Okay we're kicking you out to the post partum floor now which is a floor below us, to room 430 just a few doors down to the nursery. Once you're down there the nurses will want to get the baby checked in and give her a bath, then when they're finished they'll bother you for a name to put on the birth certificate. Just standard procedure," Roni said as I got in the wheelchair as Kevin put the baby in my arms. He grabbed all our stuff and followed Roni and me out of the room, down the hall to the elevator and on to the post partum floor. She wheeled us to room 430 and parked the wheelchair next to the bed and I got out of it carefully so as not to wake the baby who fell asleep on the way down here.
During that time we were left to bond with our daughter, Kevin called our family and friends to let them know we had the baby and that visiting hours began at 10:00am but Grandparents could come after 8:00am. We told my dad this and he said he had the day off and said he would be there at exactly eight in the morning.
A nurse came in then with a breakfast tray and set it down on the bed table.
"Good morning! My name is Carrie and I'll be your nurse for this shift. First of all welcome to the 4th floor. If you have any questions or concerns just push the call button and me or one of the other nurses will come in and answer all of them. So now I hate to do this but may I take your daughter to the nursery to check her in and give her a bath? I promise I'll return her," Carrie said as I nodded and she took the baby from me despite the baby's protests, promising again that she would return her in an hour.
At 7:30 another nurse came in.
"Hey, sorry to bother you but your father is in the waiting room, wanting to see you. I was going to let him in early but I wanted to check in with you first to see if it was okay?" The nurse said.
"Man, he's early but go ahead let him back, it's okay," I said as the nurse nodded and went back to get my dad. A few minutes later he poked his head in the door.
"Sorry I'm early. I just was so excited to meet my new granddaughter that I kind of speeded over here," he said.
"It's okay, Dad. We're excited too," I said as he gave me a hug and shook Kevin's hand.
"So speaking of my new granddaughter where is she?" Dad asked.
"They took her to the nursery to check her in and give her a bath. Want to see her with me?" Kevin asked him as he nodded and followed Kevin to the nursery. When they got there in front of the window they saw a crying, red baby in the second warmer next to the window. A nurse was giving the baby a bath. That was the same nurse that took Kevin's and mine's baby to the nursery. She looked up at them and mouthed, she's right here, daddy, to Kevin who smiled. My dad just stared at her and then gave Kevin a big bear hug and kissed both his cheeks.
"Oh, she's so beautiful! You two did a wonderful job on her. I'm so proud right now I could burst!" My dad said.
"So am I, Dad, so am I," Kevin said as he and my dad stared at the baby then went back to my room.
At 8:15 am Carrie the nurse came back wheeling in a bassinet with the baby in it and and parked it at the side of my bed.
"I told you I would bring her back. I have to go back and get a laptop so I can take her name down for the birth certificate so if you haven't picked a name out yet now's the time to pick one," she said as she left the room.
"Oh man, we have no idea of what to name her," I said to Kevin.
"Maybe your dad has some ideas," Kevin said looking at my dad.
"Well, I have an idea. How about you name her Riley? That was the name your mother and I were going to name you if you were a boy, which we thought you were but you surprised us." Dad said.
"Riley...it has a nice ring to it. But what about her middle name?" I said.
"You know, you would make Paige a happy girl if you gave Riley Paige's name as her middle name," Dad said.
"Yeah, she would be happy. So, Riley Paige O'Donnell? You like it, Kevin?" I asked.
"It's a perfect name for her, look she likes it," Kevin said as Riley smiled a little smile and cooed softly.
My dad was holding Riley when Carrie came in again.
"So, decided on a name yet?" Carrie said as we nodded.
"Okay, I'm ready. Go ahead."
"Our daughter's name is Riley Paige O'Donnell," I said smiling at my Dad, who smiled back.