Makenzie Shae Damata  
Born: Sunday, January 30th, 2000 at 8:01 pm 
Length: 19 inches
Weight: 8lbs, 2oz

And here's how she came to us...

   It all started on the evening of Saturday, January 29th.  My mom, Lamar, and I went to Sears to get a new dishwasher and a new barbeque.  Family from all over the country would be coming, and we needed to be able to throw the dishes into the dishwasher and forget about them!  The salesman asked when I was due, and I told him I was 3 days late, but thankfully I was set to be induced on February 2nd!  He laughed and told us how his wife induced herself with all three of their kids by taking castor oil.  At first, I thought "NO way am I doing that...I can wait until Wednesday!"  But I kept turning it over in my mind, and by the time we were driving home, I told Lamar we better go to the drugstore to pick up some oil!  When we got home, I went on-line and checked out some midwifery sites to find out how much to take, how long to expect it to take, and all those things.  I informed Mom and Lamar that I would be taking it the next morning, so we should all get one last good night of sleep!  I figured that the worst thing that could happen was that I would have to stay near a bathroom all day! 

   At about 9:30 on Sunday morning, I followed the advice of the midwives, and chugged the minimum dosage.  It did what castor oil is supposed to do, but I did not get any contractions.  After 4 hours went by, I decided to tough it out and take another dose...still no contractions.  So, we decided to watch the Super Bowl commercials.  Mom and I popped a bag of popcorn, and sat down in front of the TV at about 4:00.  Then, I started to get some pretty strong pains in my lower back.  I thought that labor might be starting, but I figured I had hours to go, and I wanted a distraction to make the time go by faster.  We thought it would be fun to play Scrabble, but Lamar and I didn't own it.  We had a return to do at Target, and they had forgotten to give us the rebate form for the barbeque at Sears, so I convinced Lamar that we should go right that minute!  

  We hopped into the Prelude and went out to Sears.  By this time, I was feeling pretty uncomfortable, but having never been in labor, I thought it did not hurt bad enough to go to the hospital.  Instead, we went to Target! :)  We returned one item, and went to get Scrabble and some Valentine candy.  We ran into a friend on the way to the check-out and I told her I was pretty sure I was going to have a baby soon.  By the time we left, it was almost 5:30.  I was very uncomfortable, and I realized that the back pain was coming about every 3 minutes.  Lamar raced home, and we timed them for about 25 minutes, and then I called the hospital.  

  I think they must have thought I did not need to come in because it was my first, and they say labor is long for your first.  They wanted me to drink water, or take a warm bath.  I kept having to put the phone down to have a contraction while I was talking to the nurse.  I remember raising my voice a little and saying "Why can't I just come in?!"  They told me that was fine, but that I may have to walk the halls if I was not in true labor yet.  I told her we were on our way!  We all brushed our teeth and fixed our hair, and by the time we left for the hospital, it was after 6:30.   

  We got to the hospital at about 7:00, and I had four contractions before we got to the desk on the 4th floor.  They walked me into the room, and gave me a gown.  It was a few more minutes while they hooked up the fetal monitor, and then they said they would need to run the monitor for a few minutes and then the doctor would come check me.  By this time - about 7:20 - my contractions were about 2 minutes apart, and about a minute long.  I started feeling nauseous, and asked Lamar to find a bucket...quick!  They told me I was just hyperventilating, and gave me some oxygen, and I instantly felt better. I was telling the nurses..."Just so there's no confusion, I want an epidural AS SOON AS I CAN!"  They told me I could not have one until I was at least 4-5 cm, so I told them I wanted whatever they could give me until then.  The doctor came in to check me, and found that I was 6-7cm.  Then I told him that I wanted an epidural.  He said they had to get my IV fluid levels up first, so I willingly put out my arm for the IV!  I got some stadol, and that took the edge off, but . I was so disappointed that I did not have time to get that epidural! My contractions were coming hard and fast, and I told the nurses I thought maybe I wanted to push.  I think they were a little surprised that it happened so fast, but my nurse told me to give a little push, since I was complete by then.  Then she told me to stop pushing because she could see the head, and they wanted to get the doctor in there.  I don't know exactly how many times I had to push, but it was not very many.  Makenzie was born quickly and safely at 8:01 pm.  At about 8:15, the doctor said..."So...you wanna go over that birth plan now?"

  Back to the ladybugs...