Zara's Birth

At only 36 weeks of pregnancy, Tina’s membranes ruptured at 1:00 am, after Tina rolled over in bed. Margo was asleep and Pedro was gone moving bees. Because she was a little concerned that her due date was still a few weeks away, Tina decided she wanted to go to Labor & Delivery to get checked out, so she called Pedro and asked him to come home and called her parents to come stay with Margo. Tina was settled in her hospital room by 3:00 am. She received an IV, and was waiting for contractions to begin. After eating breakfast, we tried a little acupressure, to see if we could get some contractions going. We also walked around the third floor of the hospital, hoping that it would encourage the baby to move down and get ready for birth. We walked and walked and walked. When Tina’s day nurse arrived, she unhooked the IV from Tina’s arm so that she could walk more freely. Meanwhile, Tina continued to leak more amniotic fluid, whenever she felt a contraction.

By 10:00, Pitocin was started in her IV line, as a regular contraction pattern was not starting on its own. Tina requested an epidural at 11:00 am, and the procedure was completed by noon. Tina was hoping to get some rest (Pedro had done a little napping on the sofa in her room), because she had been up for so long, but the excitement of seeing her baby soon made it difficult for her to fall asleep. She was only able to eat liquids at this point, so she enjoyed a vanilla milkshake and a Diet Pepsi. When she was checked by her doctor at 12:30 pm, Tina’s cervix was dilated to 3cm and was 50% effaced. Another check by the nurse at 3:00 showed that she was still at 3 cm, but her cervix was 100% effaced. Her Pitocin was adjusted and in only an hour, with Tina feeling a lot of pressure, she had dilated to 9 cm. It was nearly time to push!

At 4:45 pm, Tina’s doctor arrived to help deliver the baby. Tina had tried a little pushing earlier, and the nurse commented that she was doing an excellent job. Pedro positioned himself above Tina, while she was pushing so that he was able to support her and see the baby be born. Tina worked so hard and did such a wonderful job pushing her baby out. Within fifteen minutes, a little girl was born to much cheering and happiness. She weighed 5 pounds, 5 ounces and was 18 1/2 inches long. She was a tiny, little thing, but very healthy, and her Apgars were 9 and 9.

After much discussion during the day between Pedro and Tina, they settled on the name Zara Gabriela for their beautiful girl. She is a wonderful addition to their family.