Our Little Girl's Arrival - The Birth Story

Yesterday, yes - right on my due date, I started having regular contractions a little before 8am. They were very mild and stayed that way for much of the day, but they also never stopped, no matter what I was doing, so I figured Baby was getting ready, and I'd better get ready too! I took AJ to the library because I had a book due that I had just finished after renewing for the max # of times (it was Big Box Swindle, and make me embarrassed to disclose the next stop on our outing...). Then we went to Target to get the few lingering items on my list of what to bring to the hospital! Some people might think, "You were having contractions and you went shopping!?" but really, it passed the time and got us out of the house.

Around 5:00, the contractions were getting closer together and a little stronger than they had been all day, so I called my Dr. She reassured me that I sounded like I was in early stages of labor but also told me that at the moment I didn't need to rush into the hospital. We decided that it would be good to have some dinner, call my parents to come in, and put AJ to bed before going in, so that was the plan...but things started to speed up over the next couple hours! By the time my dad drove us (quickly!) to Prentice, the contractions were so strong that I could no longer talk or walk during them.

In triage, I measured 4.5cm (that's out of 10, for those not into the childbirth thing yet) so that was encouraging. My plan was to have a natural childbirth this time around, so after I was admitted, Andy was my main support, literally and figuratively, as I got through each contraction. After a couple hrs, I had only progressed .5 cm and was feeling discouraged! But the nurse assured me we were doing great and that Dr. Gale had requested that a resident break my water for me. After that, it was game-time!

The contractions really intensified, almost immediately, and started to come much closer together! Whoa! It was a lot harder to find comfortable positions and those that had been working well - the birthing ball, "7th grade dancing" w/ Andy, etc. - wern't doing it for me anymore. Our nurse was on a break and I had Andy page her. When she didn't come right away, I sent him into the hall to get someone! I was not so calm at this point, but I learned that he was cool and collected when he asked someone to come in to help me. :) What a great husband!


So, they checked me again, and I was already at 9.5cm! No wonder I didn't want to sit on that ball anymore! It was time to push, said my body! So they paged my Dr. and she headed right over. When they had broken my bag of water earlier, I guess there was myconium (baby poop) in the fluid, so a team of nurses arrived to be there to assist the baby if it needed anything. Suddenly I found myself pushing the baby out amongst a room full of excited people cheering me on! And holy smokes, I pushed for dear life! I guess I was doing well, because one of the Pediatric nurses said, "wow! and you've hardly even pushed!". I thought she was saying I was not pushing enough and replied, "What do you mean!? I'm pushing my brains out!!" So Andy told me that she meant I was doing great for not having pushed very long! LOL

So after only 13 min of pushing (Andy, my stat-man, timed it), Elizabeth Marie was born at 1:54am on June 26th. She weighed in at 8 lb 14 oz, and measured 22 in long! What a big girl! She had inhaled a good bit of the amniotic fluid, so the ped team worked on her to get her to cray and cough it all up. Then she was brought over to me...oh my goodness, she is so precious! I remembered how amazing it was when I help AJ for the first time and this time was just as special. What little miracles babies are!! Andy also got to hold her and talk to her. I love watching those moments. After I was cleaned up and good to go, Elizabeth and I had some skin-to-skin time, and she started nursing right away. Dr. Gale, the nurses, Andy and I were all impressed with her quick learning!

All 3 of us got a little rest and then later in the morning were transferred to a postpartum room. Our first visitors were AJ and my mom. Of course my mom loved holding the baby and was so happy she was a girl. AJ was funny. He was wearing his "I'm a big brother" shirt and was very proud to announce that to me. He also told me, "Good job, Mama!" a few times, so I asked him what I did a good job on...he replied, "On the baby!". So cute! He really didn't care to spend much time checking her out unless we were coaxing him, but was very interested in climbing all over the room and touching everything! (Just what I thought would happen!) A little while after they left, my dad stopped by. He brought flowers and a balloon which brightened the room, and got to hold Elizabeth while she was awake for a few minutes. Our last visitor was my sister, who came this evening, bringing us a care package. She got to hold Elizabeth too, and also had the special privilege of changing the second poopy diaper. :)

So, now, as I sit in our hospital room nearing the end of our first day as a family of 4, I am counting my blessings. So much love, 2 healthy kids, a supportive family, and a wonderful marriage. For sure there will be many challenges and hard days ahead, but for now, I can bask in the peace and quiet of my sleeping husband and new baby for at least a few more minutes!