First off, I was SO impatient the last week of pregnancy. My due date was March 14th (I was only 3 days late, but it felt like an eternity!) and I had gone into the doctors on the 11th. I had a doctor and then I also had a midwife. I preferred my mid-wife hands down. She was so nice, so patient, and answered all of my questions so perfectly! My doctor wasn't terrible but she just wasn't as personable and a little insensitive. I just wasn't as fond of her. So, on the 11th I had my appointment with the doctor. She came in and said she would check to see if I was dilated but I hadn't felt any contractions (just a few times I would feel pressure down low, but nothing like a contraction) so I wasn't really expecting good news. And that's exactly what happened. I wasn't dilated AT ALL. She asked before hand if I wanted to strip my membranes because that could help speed up the process and so I obviously said yes, but I literally had no idea what it even meant. So, she goes to check me, says that I am not dilated and then proceeds to try to strip my membranes. It was the WORST PAIN OF MY LIFE. Honestly, worse pain than a contraction. I yelled out, which I never ever do, and was on the bridge of screaming, it was terrible! Come to find out later, most doctors will not strip your membranes until you are at least 2cm dilated. You basically need at least that amount of room in your cervix for the doctors fingers to fit and reach in and strip the membrane that is between your cervix and the baby's head (gross, I know) and so I have NO IDEA why she still tried to strip mine when I wasn't dilated AT ALL. She wasn't able to strip them in the end, so I went through all of that pain for nothing. I was so upset and literally felt traumatized it was so painful, so Sam took me to lunch after hahaha
ANYWAYS, fast forward to 5 days later. I was past my due date 2 days. I was feeling super disappointed that I was late. We just had a normal day and that night we had dinner and played games with my parents. We had pineapple with our dinner and my mom had kept the left over juice and I had read that pineapple juice can help induce labor, and so I figured it was already there I might as well drink it! I didn't want to try a ton of different things to induce labor because I didn't want to push my body too hard or exhaust myself trying to do all different types of things. So, my extent was going for some walks and drinking one big glass of pineapple juice! I guess it worked!
We went to bed around 11 o'clock that night and literally as SOON as I laid down, I felt a contraction almost immediately. My doctor had told me that if I had contractions that were 5 minutes apart, lasting 60 seconds, for at least an hour, then to come into the hospital. So Sam and I timed them and sure enough they were all around 45-60 seconds and about 5-6 minutes apart. They weren't terribly painful at first, just felt like cramps and so we just watched an episode of Big Bang Theory and kept an eye on the clock. At 11:30 they were still coming in strong and lasting for around a minute. So, I decided we better tell my parents and get the last minute things we needed packed up just in case.
Around 12 o'clock we woke up my mom and dad to let them know what was happening and Sam grabbed everything we needed. I had packed like 2 weeks before hand and I am so glad I did because it made it so stress free! I had a list of the last minute additions ready for Sam and he honestly just grabbed everything on that list and I think it helped us stay calm and not stress! We left the house around 12:30 am, and got to the hospital at 1:00 am. They put me in a nice big room, hooked the monitors up to my belly, got me some apple juice and then basically left me alone to labor. The first hour at the hospital was pretty good, I just watched some Netflix (definitely watched an episode of Gilmore Girls. hint hint) and we just relaxed and tried to get some sleep. Around 3:00 a.m. the nurse came in and checked me. She said my cervix was high and so she couldn't get a good feel but guessed that I was about 1-1.5cm dilated. It was a little discouraging since I was having constant and consistent contractions for 4 hours at that point, but I was just glad that I at least made SOME progress. She left me to keep laboring and told me the mid wife on call would come in soon to check on me. Well, this is when things got cray. The contractions started to get really, really painful and I had to really hold on tight to my bed side or Sam's hand and couldn't keep down some moans and groans haha and around 3:20 I had had about 6 really bad contractions all in a row and so the mid wife finally came in and she told me that this part of labor could last hours and hours and so if I wasn't dilated to around a FIVE that she would have to send me home with pain medication and labor at home. I was so sad, so discouraged, and so confused because I was in SO much pain that I couldn't imagine going home! She checked me and I was at a 4! Hallelujah! I was in shock because the nurse literally checked me like 20 minutes before and I was only at a 1! She was super surprised too and I thought I could kiss her because she said "Ok! Let's get you admitted and get your epidural started!" Oh thank the Lord above.
Within 15 minutes the nurse came in a started me on my IV and then the drug lady came in and gave me my epidural. This was the part I was most afraid of, but it was seriously not bad at all! I'm completely fine with needles and all of that, so that didn't scare me, I was just afraid of the pain and of moving! Sam on the other hand isn't so great with needles and blood and all things medical really and so we talked before hand and we agreed that during the epidural he could just turn around or go in the corner or something and not watch. I 100% would prefer him to do this than to come and be right up where that HUGE needle is and pass out or something. So, the nurse was hilarious because she was just acting so sassy towards Sam because he was turned away from us on the little couch and she kept asking if he could help her but I kept saying "No, no it's fine I'm ok if you just do it!" and she literally said to him "Oh, so can I expect you to not help at all then?" Hahahaha! If I wasn't so happy i was getting the drugs I probably would have been annoyed, but nothing could bring me down! Haha so finally I just told her we had talked about it before and I was completely fine without his help for that part. So, the epidural went smoothly and just the numbing shot was a little pinch but that was it! Then the nurse put the catheter in and that was the worst part of it all!
So by 5 am I was all set up and it was just time to relax. We called my parents and let them know what was happening and sent texts to the rest of our family and close friends and then we got some much needed sleep! The rest is sort of a blur. I remember them coming in around 7 and checking me and I was at a 6 and then my Mom and Dad came around 8:30 am and at that point I was at 9 cm and we all just hung out and chatted and I slept a little more! I had a new nurse come in named Feli and she was hilarious and just the best nurse I could have asked for. She was tough but loving, and pushed me when I needed it! Around 9:30 they came in and checked me again and it was my mid wife that was on call! I was so happy to see her and it looked like she would deliver me because I was 10 cm dilated! YAY! My mid wife suggested I labor down for about an hour and just let the baby make her way down without pushes because her head was still pretty high. We had about an hour before they said I was going to push and so we waited for an hour and then an hour went by and they came back in (around 10:15) and her head was still high and so my nurse said just one more hour and then we will push! It was sort of a bummer but the time was seriously just passing by so quickly so I didn't mind. We had time to FaceTime my siblings and talk to my grandparents and so it was good to have a little break before pushing started. My parents ran to go get breakfast for themselves and for Sam since he hadn't eaten just right around the corner.
During those 2 hours of laboring down, they had me in ALL sorts of positions. Her head was down but turned to the side and so they were needing her head to turn down as much as possible. They put my left leg in the ride leg stirrup, and then my right leg in the left hand stirrup hahaha it was so uncomfortable just because I was so numb (I pressed that button a few too many times probably) and they had me do some practice pushes in each position too. It was a little weird but I was just in a daze and did whatever Feli told me to!
Anyways, my parents left thinking they had an hour before I would start pushing, and then Feli came in 20 minutes before she said she would and said that my mid wife wanted me to start pushing! Thankfully my mom came in 5 minutes later and was able to help me through the pushes! Sam sat at my head and fed my ice chips and held my hand (again, it was best if he stay seated! haha) and my mom helped hold me legs and count with me. Pushing started around 11:15 am and I pushed for an hour! It sounds like a long time but it really didn't feel long at all! Right around 12:15 pm, a ton of people in scrubs came in! Honestly there was about 15 people in there!
**TMI: But Rory had actually pooped inside of me and so they were concerned she would inhale it through the amniotic fluid and so the NICU team had to come in as well to clear out her lungs right away!
So I thought my mid wife was going to deliver me but when they went to call the her in around noon, she had JUST been pulled into another delivery and so last minute a random mid wife came in and seriously sprinted to go get all of her gear on and then came back to me and I pushed through 1 or 2 contractions and she said "Hanna look!" and I looked down and out came Rory!!
It was the most insanely wonderful moment of my life. I couldn't believe it! This was my BABY! I had tried to envision her in my mind for months and months and as soon as I saw her it was like she was familiar to me already. They had to take her away right away to clear out her lungs, (poor girl) and so Sam went over to be with her and it actually was a good thing because I needed to still have some things done and needed to be stitched up and so I just watched from my bed while the doctor did her thing and I did my best to try to ignore what was happening hahaha
Finally they were done with her lungs and they weighed her and measured her and then I was able to sit up and get a little more comfortable and do skin to skin right away with my sweet girl. I was crying and crying but when they gave her to me I just felt so much peace and love. It really was the best moment in the world. I remember getting a little upset because they put her head so close to mine and so I couldn't really even see her but it was hard to move my arms because of all of the needles and tubes and so finally Feli put her a little down on me and I was able to just stare at my sweet baby girl! Sam, Mom, and Dad all held her and we called, texted and/or FaceTimed our family and friends! She even nursed right away with no problems for 30 minutes straight! Such a perfect little angel, I swear!
It was a 13 hour labor, but it felt like 5! It all flew by! I am so grateful to have had such a great labor and delivery experience with my first baby! I was terrified of birth, and I couldn't have asked for a better experience!
She was unnamed for the first 28 hours of her life (that's a whole other story!) but she was always our sweet Rory Lee!
We are so so happy and we just have had the best 6 weeks with her! She's our dream come true.
PS. Congrats to you if you made it all the way through this long post, you're a champ ;)
Rory Lee Christian
March 17, 2016
12:27 p.m.
6 lbs 12 oz
19" long
Things I want to remember:
- I had the shakes with the epidural
- I had a fever with you during labor
- I tore.. probably won't forget that one
