Jocaya Tomena welcomed on 02.26.2009

[DillyDay]

so.. i just joined but thought i would tell Caya's birth story. as everyone of my friends says i was crazy. me? i was just dedicated to my job.

so on feb 25, while i was working in a portrait studio, taking pictures of children about 3 pm, i had my first contraction, i didn't know what it was, this was my first birth ever. it was a little like a period cramp. i just figured it was another braxton hick. i'd had them on and off that week. but they kept getting more painful as the day went on.

the day was quiet so i figured that if they got closer together it was no biggie, i'd call my boyfriend to come get me. by 5 pm, they were 15 minutes apart.. thought i should call the boyfriend, but an appointment walked in, and i somehow managed to forget i was in labour. i did a portait session like normal, grinning through the pain. by the end, i decided it was defiantely time to call the boy! i stayed at work til 7 pm, closed up shop, phoned my boss telling her i prolly would not be int he next day. had the most delicious burger at mcdonalds and made our way casually tot he hospital.

by this time it was 8 pm, the contraction were about 5 minutes apart, and the nurses had a heck of a time finding my baby's heartbeat. she decided she didn;t like the pressure and did everything she could to not be found. when i was check by the attending doctor. i was 5 cm dialated!

they sent me up to a delivery room as soon as they had one ready. i had the evil IV put in for penicilin and insulin. (yay strep b AND gestational diabetes!) I am NOT a fan of needles.

by this time it was around 10 pm, and we had phoned family to let them know baby was on her way! contractions kept getting stronger, we tried standing up, but i had issues with the IV and my blood backing up in the tubing to the bags. not a fun 1/2 hour let me tell you. we tried the birthing ball, i will kick the next nurse that suggests it. it felt like my hips were being ripped apart by a pair of vice grips. Got a shot of Morphine at this point, the pain from the ball was so bad. finally got onto the bed on my hands and knees.

I slept between contractions at this point. snoring my little nose off between them. 12 pm rolls around the contractions are almost back to back at this point. so i sleep as much as i can between them. my water finally breaks and things start rolling. the nurses tell me not to push till the doctor gets there, this baby will prolly be a fast one. i tried to hold back as much as i could till i finally said the hell with it. the doc walked in right at that point! it was now 1 am and i was getting really tired of trying NOT to push. after maybe an hour of pushing, she finally arrived!

My little girl! born at 1:55 am. she cried for all of 5 seconds before she was placed on my chest. that was the most beautiful moment i think i will ever experience! the second most beautiful is knowing the name we chose fit her exactly. it just felt so right.

Jocaya is a name we liked. pronounced Joe-Kay-Yeah (caya rhymes with Maya) Tomena is after a dear friend of ours that died 2 years ago, he was near and dear to our hearts, and we will never forget her!

so hard to believe just over 7 weeks ago i welcomed her into my life! best change i ever made in my life. and almost drug free. except for the shot of morphine.

[wordmama]

Wonderful story and beautiful name - congratulations!

[DillyDay]

thank you! the nurses all called me a trooper for doing the last 4 hours of my shift in active labour AND doing portrait sessions. XD

[isabel249]

Congrats!! great birth story!

2-26 is my birthday too.