Birth Story!

I was all set up to go in Tuesday morning to be induced...but I guess nobody tells Miss Juliet what to do :). 

Brian and I went out to dinner Sunday night because both our birthdays and our anniversary are during the same week. I put the following picture up on Facebook and called it birthday/anniversary/birthday/"the last supper" which is humorous now because it really was my last supper before I gave birth :)

That night during dinner and after I felt a lot of kicking - more than I ever had and I commented to Brian that she was super active.  The next morning, Monday, I felt a little crampy when I woke up.  Since Monday was my last day of work and I had an OB appointment at 10:30 I went in to work.  The cramps weren't close, strong or timeable so I didn't really think they were contractions - I thought "oh these must be those braxton hicks things people keep talking about."  

I got to work and the contractions picked up a little but nothing concerning.  I went to my OB appointment and they hooked me up to the monitors and things looked good with the baby.  I mentioned to them that I was having light contractions that lasted around 20 seconds long and they asked if I wanted them to check my cervix and I said yes.  On Friday I was 1.5 cm and 30% effaced.  When they checked me at around 11:30 on Monday I was 2-3 cm and 60% effaced.  The nurse practitioner said she wouldn't be surprised if I went in to labor on my own that day.  She asked if I was working and I said yes and she said I might want to wrap things up and go home and put my feet up and time the contractions to see where I was at.  

So I went back to work, got some lunch and wrapped things up and left around 1:30. I was a little uncomfortable driving home so I called Brian and told him to take the next train home just in case anything picked up.  When I got home I told my mom I was having contractions and was going to time them.  I laid down on the bed and took out my phone and used a contraction app to time things.  I first started timing at around 3pm and the contractions seemed to be around 5 minutes apart, but only lasted around 40 seconds each.  My doctor had said to call the office when they were 5 minutes apart for 1 minute long, timing them for an hour.  So I kept timing them and by 4pm they were more like 4 minutes apart and still around 45 seconds long.  I called my OB at 4 and told them what was up and they said I should probably head to the hospital.  So when Brian got home shortly after 4 he packed his bag and we headed in.  The hospital drive was about 30 minutes and it didn't feel super great because by this time my contractions had picked up in intensity and frequency.  By the time we got to the hospital the contractions were about 3:30 apart and I had trouble talking through them when they were registering me (I had to stop when one kicked in).  

When I got up to the labor and delivery room they had me change and checked me - I was 3.5 cm and 90% effaced so they said I would stay - this was about 5:30pm.  The nurse came in and introduced herself and the doctor (not my doctor) came in and introduced herself - they were both really nice.  My contractions really kicked in over the next hour and I tried walking around, bending over the bed and some other things to ease the pain a bit.  By this point I was trying some breathing techniques and really squeezing Brian's hand to make it through the contractions.  It felt like things were really progressing.  My nurse came in and said "I don't want to pressure you either way, but if you want an epidural we can do it now or else you will have to wait an hour".  I had them check my cervix and I was at 5 cm. I told her that I would see how I felt after the next contraction, and so the next contraction came and I said to myself "well I could probably make it through without an epidural, but I would prefer to get some relief and enjoy bringing this baby into the world a lot more" so I told the nurse that I wanted the epidural, also the thought of having to wait another hour to get one totally freaked me out.  

The anesthesiologist came in within 10-15 minutes and they started the process.  I was in much better shape getting it this time around rather than my last labor because last time I was having back labor and that seemed to make the process worse.  Getting the epidural really wasn't bad at all - It was in around 7:30 pm.  I just kept thinking to myself "this is going to make me feel so much better" and when it kicked in it really did make me feel so much better.  They checked me again after the epidural was in and I was at 6 cm and I believe fully effaced.  Over the next 2 hours I was really relaxed and able to joke with Brian and honestly, enjoy myself!  I could sort of feel when contractions were happening but only like 5% of what I was feeling before.  I just kept thinking to myself "wow this is so much better than contractions, I can talk and be present."  

At around 9:20 pm the nurse came in and said that I had been having some pretty intense contractions on the monitor and they wanted to check me again.  She said my water must have broken at some point (I never felt it because I was numb from the waist down) and I was now fully dilated and ready to push!  I honestly couldn't believe I was ready to push. The doctor came in and a few other nurses and they had me do a practice push and said the baby is right there.  So during the next contraction they had me push 2 times and said she was almost out.  During the next contraction they had me do a 50% push then a full push and she was out!  During that last push the doctor said I could reach down and feel the head, but then was like "oh wait the baby's head is already out."  So after about 5 minutes of pushing she came out at 9:37 pm, I again could not believe how quick and easy it was.  I didn't tear at all also which is awesome.  

Once she was out they immediately put her on me and she started to cry.  it was amazing.  They let me keep her on me for quite a while and then eventually took her briefly to clean her a little, weight her and take her footprints, etc.  I was able to nurse her a little about 30 minutes after she came out.  It always amazes me how the little being inside of me, kicking me for several months is now looking me straight in the eyes...it just boggles my mind.  

Sorry if this picture grosses anyone out...I just love it because we are both looking at each other for the first time and she is holding my finger.  

Overall I would say that this birth experience was overwhelmingly different and better than my first labor.  First time around I was induced and it took over 2 days, this time I was only at the hospital 4 hours before she came out.  I feel so lucky that I was able to go into labor before they induced me - I really didn't think I would have the chance to experience what it was like. 

My physical recovery from the birth has been surprisingly easy - since I didn't tear I feel much better "down there" and also not having to stay overnight in the hospital for 2 days before having her has made me feel a lot fresher going in to labor.  Since we had Juliet late on Monday night they wanted us to stay in the hospital until Thursday, but luckily they let us leave on Wednesday since we were both doing so well.  I even let Brian go home the second night to be with Ellie since I was able to get up to get Juliet quite easily.  The one thing I hate about being in the hospital is how they come into your room almost every hour to check the baby or you and it is so disruptive!  Not sure if all hospitals are like this.  

Sorry for the super long post!  I hope to do another post soon about bringing Juliet home and life with 2 under 2!