Night and Day-A Birth Story

Shirley, This is the story of how you came to be... Sunday October 28th, I stayed home from Church because Pman was sick and I wasn't feeling well either. So we had a lazy day. Caleb and I stayed up late watching tv. I didn't want to go to bed for some reason (maybe my mind knew something..) I was talking to the hubs about our week, my mom was heading up the next day and I was planning on working Tuesday and Wednesday and was thinking maybe she would come on Thursday. I told Caleb I didn't want to be induced, I REALLY wanted to go into labor on my own. At midnight we went to bed. At 12:30 pman joined us (he is battling some sleep issues as of late) and at 1:30 I woke up with some pretty nasty braxton hicks. I had been tossing and turning for the past hour, switching sides thinking that would make the "fake" contractions stop. Finally I couldn't sleep so I got up and went over to Caleb and told him I thought I was in labor. He said (and I quote) "oh, ok, you should probably go back to sleep now." There was NO way I could keep laying there. Then (get ready for TMI) I had diarrhea. And contractions. And as I sat in the bathroom all I could think was I think I'm in labor. So I got online and read some stuff, and then texted my sisters because I didn't know what to do. And then I started walking, I walked upstairs and then paced the hallway. I can't explain why. Every contraction I had to stop and breathe. I thought I should maybe call the Dr. So I called and she told me to head to the hospital. I was in shock. So I went and took a shower and shaved and brushed my teeth and called my sister in law Claire to let her know we were on our way. I woke Caleb up and told him I was going to get Claire and then we were going to the hospital. He finally woke up enough to realize this was happening and he went and got her and I packed my bag. We drove to the hospital a little after 3:30. The drive over was terrible. I couldn't believe the pain. And of course we got stuck at a light for a few mins (until we finally drove through it) we got to the hospital and were checked right in. The nurse checked me and said I was a three. A THREE! I couldn't believe it. She said if I progressed in an hour they would keep me, if not they would send me home. I told her I really didn't want to go home. She came back in an hour and I was a FOUR! I was having a BABY! She asked if I wanted an epidural and I said without a doubt yes. Caleb reminded me that I had asked him to help me go natural at least for a little bit, I told him I went natural the whole drive over and that was good enough for me. The contractions were really painful and I did not have a coping strategy. I could breathe through them but Caleb couldn't touch me and I just wanted to scream. Good job to all you go naturals out there. So NOT for me. After the epidural I was a 5.5. I could still feel the contractions on my right side pretty intense so they moved me to my right side. Then I relaxed. I watched some "I love Lucy" and that made me happy. When that was over we watched a cooking competition and it was awesome, even our nurse got in on it. By this time I was so thirsty. Actually I was thirsty before we got to the hospital. I wished we would have stopped at a gas station. I had a lot of ice chips. The nurse checked me about 45 mins later and I was a 10 and 100% effaced. She told me to get ready, she was going to call the Dr in. I could not believe it. I labored for 12 hrs with pman and pushed for over 2. This was all happening very fast. The Dr came in and they got everything ready. Nothing quite like laying with your legs spread open, tons of lights shinning and people getting things ready around you. The Dr broke my water (which was huge, the nurse couldn't believe how big my bag of water was and Caleb said it was like a waterfall). I could feel the contractions on my right side (because I was on my left side too long) but it wasn't painful, just aware. They told me to start pushing. I couldn't tell if I was pushing at all. Oh I should mention, when they broke my water they found meconium so they had to call the respiratory team. The second contraction that I pushed, Shirley's heart rate dropped drastically, they put oxygen on me and told me to wait a few contractions before pushing again. When I heard it drop I panicked. It was such a drastic drop. But she perked right up and I pushed again. The Dr said he might have to get the forceps. I also did NOT want to use anything like we had to with pman. The nurse helped me push a different way and suddenly all the nurses and Dr were cheering. I giggled because I didn't know what I did but it sure made them happy. I pushed again and the nurse said to look and there was a little head coming out of my body. Still so weird and not my favorite thing. And then she was born! And suddenly the room was filled with screaming. From Shirley. She came out so ticked off and was going to let everyone know! The respiratory team checked her out and she was fine, thankfully. The weighed her and checked her all out, 7 lbs 14 oz of perfect. !9.5 inches long. She had dark hair. She was beautiful. The nurse gave her to me and let me hold her. She was pecking around for some food and I was able to nurse her. The Dr fixed me up. I felt like I held her for a long time. Then Shirley and Daddy went to get cleaned up and I ordered breakfast and headed down to mother baby. It was such an incredible experience. I couldn't have asked for it to go better. I tore in the same place as last time and lost a lot of blood. I just hope I heal normally this time, and the bleeding let up by the next day, I just had to have an IV for longer than usual. It was a truly beautiful experience. I felt like a rock star. I went into labor and I pushed that baby out on MY OWN! (well, with the dr and nurses) I was really happy with the whole experience. Things have already gone so much better. I was able to stand the next day and even walked myself out of the hospital! I can walk now and am not sitting in a doughnut any more. I know without a doubt this whole experience has been an answer to many prayers. And I am grateful my Heavenly Father answered them. A few people have asked how I have been doing emotionally, because of how bad it was with pman. Thankfully I feel really good emotionally too. I have had a few meltdowns and sometimes I cry for no reason (like when Caleb and I couldn't go vote together...what?really?) but I have been able to identify them and cope with them. I feel happy. I feel lucky. I feel blessed. I do NOT feel like I'm in the clear. I'm worried its going to creep in when all our helpers have gone and I'm by myself next week. And that may happen. But I have a plan if it does. I really just feel like my Heavenly Father's hand has been very present in my life. So little Shirley, that's how you came into this world. You still know how to scream, but if we swaddle you up you calm down, just like you did in the hospital. I love you. I feel like you were meant to come to our family at the time you came. I love your big brother and think I am beyond blessed to have you both. Your birthday was a happy day indeed!