Hello, Beautiful – A Birth Story

Don’t worry, I’ll leave out all the scary details but I wanted to share with you all {since some of you asked} how Eliza Jane got here so fast last Saturday!

Boy Girl, was it fast.  Find a comfy chair and put on your imaginary seat-belt…here we go!

It all started Friday when I went to my weekly check up.  Doc said “You’re favorable if you’d like to be induced…we can certainly do that…there are advantages to going into labor naturally.”  Andrew and I looked at each other and easily decided that since no one was overly concerned about Eliza Jane’s weight – I was still only measuring 37 weeks at 39, that we would just wait.  Andrew asked, “do you think she’ll make it to next Friday?”  Doc said, “you can go broke betting on pregnant women.”  Hahaha.  Hmmm, k.

Friday night my contractions got a little more intense, though earlier in the evening they weren’t anything to be concerned about.  Andrew declined a football game invite from his friend Paul, saying “Michelle may have a baby tonight.”  I kept thinking in my mind, five minutes apart…that’s what they said.  Mine certainly weren’t that close together…I was having maybe two an hour but they got more intense as the night went on.  I think I was up every hour and convinced that things were starting to happen.

Around 9pm I had started charting my contractions so I could see how often they were coming.  At the 6am hour Saturday morning is when things started changing a little.

I was up, Reynolds got up around 7am and by then I was a little anxious.  It was clear that I was in pain whenever the contractions came, but I was questioning myself because they were not consistent in timing.  Let me just tell any of you expectant moms out there…consistency means nothing.  Keep reading.

I think it was around 8:45 or so that we sat down to eat breakfast (blueberry waffles) and I looked at Andrew and said, “I think we need to make a call.”  He reminded me that his mom had a sorority function that morning so I said, “Dana Dane!”  Our friends Dana and DJ were back ups to Andrew’s parents for Reynolds.  So he called Dana with a “Looks like we might be having a baby today!” announcement.  She was at our house within minutes.  We threw a last few things in our bag, said “hey!” to DJ who appeared with Krispy Kreme donuts and McDonald’s biscuits in hand, kissed R goodbye and bolted for the door.

Looking back, it’s so strange to me that those last minutes were the last of our family of three.  That nothing would be the same after we walked out that door.

On the way to the hospital I was debating in my mind if we were being ridiculous going when we were…my contractions, though painful, were still not consistent.  7 minutes here, 3 minutes there, 14 here, 21 there.  Not what I’d read or been told of what would happen.  About the time we got off the exit I called my friend Ann – she’s a “retired” L&D nurse and I knew she could tell me if we were being unreasonable about this.  As we pulled into the parking lot she answered “Are you in labor?”  I laughed.  “Well, that’s actually why I’m calling.  I’m having contractions but they’re not consistent…” I told her as one started and I could barely breathe.  I passed the phone to Andrew who happily said “Hey Ann!  Yeah…she’s having one right now so she gave me the phone.  How are you?”  I love my husband and how he is so happy-go-lucky.  Once the contraction was over I got the phone back.  “Yeeaaahhh, if you can’t breathe or talk through the contraction”, she said “you need to go in.”  “Well, great! Because we just got here!”

I had another contraction in the parking lot, to which Andrew made some statement about not having our baby IN the parking lot, and I started laughing, but it hurt so much I couldn’t laugh and then I was mad at him for making me laugh when I couldn’t!

We walked in the doors of the ER and the sweet girl behind the desk popped up and said, “OOOOh, BABY!” and immediately started asking questions to complete her entry card.  She directed me to a wheelchair and within minutes we were being whisked away thru the halls of the medical center.  It was approximately 9:45am.

We got to the first room…and I think I had at least 2 or 3 more contractions before the first nurse came in.  By that point I’d sat down in a chair next to Andrew and had stated, “I feel like I’m at a restaurant waiting for someone to come take my drink order…WHERE.ARE.THEY?!”  One of the thoughts running thru my mind was, what if I don’t get my epidural.  Seriously.  Major concern.

The nurse came in.  She was amazing.  One comment she made was, “let’s make sure you don’t get sent home..” {wait, is that even a possibility?!} “so let me go ahead and get a bag of fluids going because you have to have at least one before you get your epidural.”  By all means woman, push the fluids!!!  I got hooked up to several routine things and was told that we were already half way there.  O.M.G. What!?

How was this one going so much faster and so much more different than Reynolds’ birth?!

I’m not sure what time it was, but the nurse came back in and said that we needed to get over to a L&D room.  Wait, I’m not in one already?!  I was confused, but whatever, keep the ball rolling.

In another wheelchair, and down the hall we go.  In the next room, nurses were feverishly moving around, getting things set up and it made me think, ummm…this is going to happen really soon.  {Where is my epidural?!}

Somewhere between 11:25 and 11:30 either Andrew or I asked about the epidural {I was in a lot of pain and the hubs knew it}.  We were told that I would be next…5-10 minutes.  That was the longest time span ever.  I think I had 8 contractions in the next ten minutes.  I’m positive that my heart rate was up purely at the fear of not being able to get an epidural.

Don’t judge.  After pushing out a 9.5 lb baby last year, this was crucial.

Somewhere around 11:45, in the middle of a contraction I looked at Andrew and was thinking {and thought I said aloud}, “Oh, no.  Something’s happening.  Something’s happening!”

Water, water everywhere.

Andrew’s eyes almost bugged out of his head. “WHATWASTHAT?!” he exclaimed.  “Nurse! NURSE!!” he yelled.  In came the nurse and on her heels was Dr. Anesthesia {Praise Jesus!}.  Also, that’s not his real name, just what I’m calling him…

The nurse seemed a little surprised at what had just happened in our room, but quickly went into action.   “Michelle, dear, let’s get you on the edge of the bed.”  I knew I had to do what she said in order to get the drug I so desperately wanted.  Dr. Anesthesia was working very quickly at the end of the bed, opening sterilized packages and putting things here, moving things there.  Next thing I knew he was at my back, giving me instructions and telling me what he was doing.  I have no idea what he said.  I was listening, but I was also telling myself not to move.  Be still.  Lord help me.

I did hear him say that it would take several minutes to go into effect.  What?  With R, it was like, immediate.  Why do I still feel pain…my legs…oh no.  I know I felt the next 3 contractions but then after that the pain was pretty much gone.  But I could still feel things.  It was strange.  Not long after all this (20 minutes to be exact), my anxiety set in again… “Something’s happening!  I’m not pushing, but she’s coming!  I’m not pushing!”  I needed everyone to know that I wasn’t pushing.  WHAT?!  Well, there was no doctor in the room.  I wasn’t about to push without a doctor in the room.  I think Andrew said something, but I don’t remember what.

Next thing I know, there are 3 other women in the room…no doc.  “Michelle, this is……she’s a midwife.  Dr…..is in another room with another patient….”  I don’t really care, as long as this lady knows what she’s doing. 😀

The bed dropped, the lights came on and I hear, “Push when you’re ready!”  What?!  Huh?! How did we get here so fast!?

Three pushes later and there she was.  This tiny, dark headed, red bodied, bit of perfection.  It was 12:14pm.  I laughed.  “She’s so tiny!”  Andrew and I were totally amazed at her.

She was totally different from her brother who was the size of a toddler the first time we ever saw him.

Everyone was saying how great I’d done.  I really hadn’t done much.  It was easy…relatively speaking.  But really, I’d barely done anything.

The nurse wiped her off, wrapped her up and plopped her on my chest.  A miracle.  She is perfectly whole.  “Fearfully and wonderfully made.”  {Psalm 139:14}  Hello, Beautiful.

I’m not ashamed to say that I will be one of those moms taking a billion pictures of my baby….after all, they change constantly and grow up so fast.