So..... guess what? I had a baby!
And it's a beautiful, baby.............
GIRL!!!!
Aaah, I love being a mom to boys, butting able to finally type that I have a daughter is so amazing! Our sweet little Baby C came into the world on January 21st, 2018 at 5.27 pm. She was 7 lbs 9 Oz's and 20.5 inches long. She is beautiful and amazing and words cannot describe the feeling when she was placed on my chest and S told me, "she's a girl."
It's been a week now, and I'm ready to get her birth story down before all those amazing little details start to fade away. Because they do fade. All of the discomfort and the impatience and pain and emotion that you go through in the weeks leading up to labor, and then birth itself, slowly gets a little fuzzy in the background of your mind as you settle into your new life with this new little person. And I don't want to forget a minute of. (OK, maybe the ring of fire I could forget, but you know what I mean!)
Last Sunday I woke up at 38 weeks 5 days pregnant feeling frustrated because I kept having contractions that would eventually fade away, and I was starting to feel like I might be pregnant forever. Thankfully I have the most amazing husband in the world and he rolled with all my crazy emotions those last few weeks with the patience of a saint. On Sunday he got up early and made me my requested (and not super easy to make!) breakfast of eggs Benedict. Over breakfast we chatted about whether or not we should go over the the festival in the park for the day and get some walking in to see if something would get started. Well, while he cleaned up I decided to bust out the breast pump for a little bit because nipple stimulation definitely helped get R's labor going. After awhile nothing was happening so I decided to just go get ready for the day and gave myself a pep talk about the fact that I would most likely be pregnant for awhile longer.
Then I stood up and my water broke! I yelled out for S that I needed a towel and suddenly things got very real! (On a funny note, every since I was pregnant with R, S and I have had an inside joke about "squirrel" being our code word if I went into labor. I have no idea where it came from, but it stuck, so I actually called out "squirrel!" when my water broke!) Anyway, there was no mistaking that my water had definitely broke, it was a fair amount. But I quickly realized that even though it had broke, labor hadn't seemed to really start. I had a few mild contraction but nothing super intense so I decided to take a shower and get ready. After I got completely ready I made some phone calls to arrange for the kids carpool the next day, and then called my parents to let them know they should start heading down, and then finished packing all the hospital bags and put them out so we could be ready to go when it was time. I also called my doctor to let her know and she said I could take my time coming in since contractions hadn't started, but to remember that R had come quick once labor started, so not to wait too long. After my parents got there I still wasn't having contractions so S and I decided to take a long walk around the neighborhood to see if that did anything. It didn't do anything in terms of starting my contractions, but it was actually so nice to have some time just the two of us to walk around and talk and prepare ourselves for everything that was coming. (Of course, at the time I didn't realize I would be walking for the next 5 hours!) When we got home S made the boys lunch and himself a sandwich and I signed the boys up for the upcoming t-ball and baseball season, but my parents were starting to get antsy and were urging us to go to the hospital, so we packed up the car and headed up.
We got checked in and they hooked up the monitors to check the baby and ran the test to make sure my water had in fact broken. As we were in the intake earlier I started losing a lot more water and had some mild contractions kicking in. We got admitted and put in a room pretty quickly and I changed into my birthing gown and the nurse put in my IV port and checked me. I was still only a 2-3 and the baby was high, so after talking to my midwife they decided to have me walk the hallways for a few hours and if I still hadn't progressed we would have to talk about starting some pitocon, which I was hoping to avoid. I was still keeping a pretty open mind about an epidural at this point, which was easy because nothing was actually hurting yet! So we walked, and walked, and walked. There was only a few other patients on the floor so the hallways were empty and we literally just walked this 100 yard loop over and over and over again. Around 2 the contractions finally started picking up and were starting to hurt, so they checked me again and I was at a 4-5. They gave me the option to call for the epidural, or to keep walking and keep things progressing, and I opted to keep walking. ( I don't know guys. I don't know. This is where I could have had the epidural!!!) Anyway, we kept walking and I stopped by the nurses desk to do a squat challenge with them. It was nice being able to talk to everyone that was working. We were joking around with them and they were all taking guesses on if baby was a boy or a girl. About an hour and a half later things were really picking up and I was having to stop and hold on to S during the contractions. My nurse checked me again and I was a 6 so they called my midwife to start coming in and gave me one last chance for the epidural. I said no, at that point the pain was very manageable. Instead we kept walking and things started to get really intense. At one point a tour group was going through right as a big contraction hit and the looks on their faces were so terrified! The nurses started to half joke that they were getting worried I was going to give birth in the hallway, but it felt so much better to keep moving so we did until my midwife showed up.
Once she got there I was not able to anything but moan through the contractions and was starting to feel some pressure, so we got settled up into the room and she checked me. I was about a 9 so she wanted m to keep laboring down through the contractions but told me once I felt like I needed to push we could start. Well, of course, at this point I decided I really wanted to the epidural! Spoiler alert..... it was way to late. The pain was incredible. I finally told them I was starting to feel like I needed to push and my incredible nurse and S helped me pull my legs back. It was.... awful. At this point it felt like the contraction were coming on top of each other and I was getting no relief. I was yelling and crying and telling them I needed the epidural and that I couldn't do this. I think I actually only pushed three times, but it felt like an eternity. On the last push I think on some level, subconsciously, I decided I just wasn't doing this anymore because I distinctly remember the doctor and the nurse telling me to open my legs and to stop trying to close them! I felt the worst pain I ever felt in my life, screamed like I was dying, and then felt this release and they were passing her up to me. I couldn't even focus, but S leaned down and said, "It's a girl" and I lost it. I was completely shocked and happy beyond belief. In the background I could here all the nurses at the nurses station cheering and someone later told me that a few of them actually teared up after having spent the whole day with us.
And so, suddenly, I had a daughter. She was so beautiful and we waited for the cord to stop pulsing before S cut it. I asked the nurse to check and make sure she was really a girl, which she did and which she was! I had a small tear so my midwife had to take care of that, and unfortunately the lidocaine didn't take so I felt everything, and my swearing and crying continued for a little longer. Finally I was able to get the baby latched on and nursing and the nurse finally gave me some pain meds and S and I got to take some time and marvel in the fact that the baby was here and the she was... well... a she!
She was born at 5:27pm and we finally got moved up to a post partum room around 7:30pm. I immediately ordered a grilled cheese because I was starving and the adrenaline was pumping big time. That first night is kind of a blur, but I know I only slept about an hour because all I could do was hold her and stare at her and be amazed that she was here.
The next morning my parents came to meet there new granddaughter as soon as they dropped the boys off. Oh, have I mentioned at this point she still didn't have a name? We went into the hospital with a boys list and a girls list, but we still hadn't decided on anything! We had a few visitors throughout the day, and finally it was time for the boys to come and meet their sister. Seriously, one of the best moments. L2 and R had been insistent that the baby was a girl and it was so cool to see their reactions. Actually, R, who had been so excited was a little unsure. He didn't want to sit near her or touch her... I think he was nervous. But L and L2 both held her and loved on her and we got a sweet picture of the four of them.
We stayed in the hospital for two nights and then got discharged on Tuesday. As much as I love the hospital stays (It's like a little vacation!) we were all ready to go home and started getting settled as a family of six.
And so there you have it.... Baby C's birth story! I can't believe she is finally here and I can't believe we have added a sweet little girl to our crazy brood of boys!
