Your dad and I went in to the midwife for a regular check up on
the day before your due date, Feb 12, 2013.
I was hopeful that my cervix was dilated a little, but had a feeling
that it wasn’t because I wasn’t having enough consistent, hard contractions at
all. When she did check, I was right, my
cervix was unreachable and thus not even close.
Bummer. So we made another appointment
a week out but were still hopeful that I would go into labor spontaneously.
Gigi came into town the day after your due date. We debated if she should come a few days later
but flights were way too expensive to change and I thought it might be more fun
to have her here before you were born for a few days anyway. And it was!
I finished with my dermatology rotation the Friday before your
due date and was really nervous that I would be sitting around twiddling my
thumbs just waiting. So when Gigi came, Eddie went skiing up at Solitude and Gigi and I went for a 2 hour snowshoe up
Guardsman’s Pass.
It was gorgeous and I
felt great!
It was Valentine’s Day and I really didn’t want you to have to share the holiday with your birthday but was also ready to get the show on the road and go into labor, especially since everything was in order and Gigi was in town. But nope, not Valentine’s Day. We came home and all made a fancy squash lasagna. The next day, I went swimming at the Sorensen, Gigi worked out at the gym, and Dad did some DIY projects out in the garage. Again, I felt great, too great, and knew that it was not going to be the day of your birth. We decided to try the induction cocktail suggested by Kelley. Castor oil, almond butter, apricot nectar, and champagne.
Dad had a FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) moment and wanted to drink it too.
It went down ok, but I thought my belly would feel better if I could
throw up, which of course I did not. I
laid down for a nap, then Gigi, Willie, and I went for a walk. Supposedly in 4-8 hours, contractions would
start. That night, we went out for spicy
Thai and it helped a little to get me to have some contractions. That night I was up frequently trying to cope
with some painful but irregular contractions and to poop as prescribed by the
cocktail and castor oil. The
contractions petered out by morning. The
next day, Saturday, Gigi and Eddie went for an 8 mile run up City Creek and
Willie and I hiked up Memory Grove. I
ran for about a mile which felt so nice!
Then we went on a hunt for a Chinese foot massage that would do acupressure
to induce labor. The hunt failed and we
settled on pedicures.
We were planning
on going to The Rock Church that evening but we all were too tired and decided
to just go home and Gigi made manicotti-my favorite. I made a lemon meringue pie as required by my
Aunt Charmaine who guaranteed labor would start upon eating the whole
thing. The next day, we went to church
at Missio Dei and Josh spoke about the bigness of God creating space, galaxies,
the sun, stars, and earth, and how, despite his hugeness, he created each one
of us and knows each hair on our head, or in Dad’s case, lack of hair on his
head. I just sat in amazement of how
much he cares for you and how he created you out of two single cells. After church, we decided to try spicy food
again to see if that would initiate labor, or maybe just ‘cause we love The
Killer Mexican, aka Red Iguana. It did
not disappoint, of course. We watched
Juno and decided my mantra during labor would be, “All babies want to get
borned!” We did say this once or twice
during the actual labor, but more in jest.
The next day, Dad went to work, Gigi and I took Willie to Tanner Park
and had delicious chai lattes. I was
having contractions about every 10 minutes but still not strong or consistent
enough. I have to admit that I was losing courage to
do the whole “all natural childbirth” as the days went on and we were getting
closer to having to induce. We met Roxy
at Blue Star Coffee who delivered her baby naturally and she said it was
awesome if I could do it. She really was
encouraging to me. Then Gigi and I went
shopping and bought you the cutest OshGosh overalls and grapefruit. I can hardly wait to put you in those overalls! That evening, Gigi cleaned our bathroom like
crazy which blessed my socks off. We
went for a walk and I had to slow down a couple times during contractions but
it still felt good to get out. Gigi and
I went to a silly play down in Sandy about a wedding chapel in Las Vegas. That night, I again had painful contractions
that kept me up most of the night. I
would get out of bed, sit on the ball during the contraction, then get back in
and sleep for a few minutes to a half hour until the next one.
The next morning I was really anxious about the midwife appointment at 11:40. I sent out an email to our house church and Zville girlfriends requesting BHAP prayers. I was afraid that all those painful contractions the previous nights would have amounted to nothing (no cervix dilation) and that we would have to induce. I knew my dates were accurate and that they probably wouldn’t let me go much further without inducing which would have defeated everything that we hoped for in the delivery except, of course, getting to take home a healthy, happy baby, which Eddie reminded me of and gave me some peace. We went in and saw Claudia, who we really liked, and I was 3 cms, 100% effaced and zero station! I was elated! She stripped my membranes and then I was 4 cms. Even better! Then I knew that if I had any consistent, strong contractions it would truly be active labor! Any minute! But we still needed to do the non stress test and amniotic fluid index at the hospital. We did that, all was ok. Then we headed down to Sandy to get the breast pump but after waiting 30 minutes or what seemed like an eternity, the insurance company would not let us get the pump until after you were born. It was then that my contractions really started and I was miserable sitting there waiting. We were debating if we should go home or go right back to the hospital. Dad decided to go home which was truly best. We labored at home for about 4 more hours, called the midwife who said to eat a snack and take our time, but come on up to the hospital. I would get on the ball during ctxns and then get into bed or walk around to rest in between. Dad and Gigi were awesome as they coached me to relax during each ctxn via the hypnobirthing that we practiced. They did light touch on my back and rubbed my head which was awesome. The excitement that I was anticipating feeling when I knew labor was really starting was not there. I think we were too far into it to be excited. We decided to wait until after shift change to go up to the hospital to avoid the chaos and frustration of the nurses. At seven, we left and headed up to OB emergency services where we would be triaged to see if we could stay or go home.
It was gorgeous and I
felt great!It was Valentine’s Day and I really didn’t want you to have to share the holiday with your birthday but was also ready to get the show on the road and go into labor, especially since everything was in order and Gigi was in town. But nope, not Valentine’s Day. We came home and all made a fancy squash lasagna. The next day, I went swimming at the Sorensen, Gigi worked out at the gym, and Dad did some DIY projects out in the garage. Again, I felt great, too great, and knew that it was not going to be the day of your birth. We decided to try the induction cocktail suggested by Kelley. Castor oil, almond butter, apricot nectar, and champagne.
It went down ok, but I thought my belly would feel better if I could
throw up, which of course I did not. I
laid down for a nap, then Gigi, Willie, and I went for a walk. Supposedly in 4-8 hours, contractions would
start. That night, we went out for spicy
Thai and it helped a little to get me to have some contractions. That night I was up frequently trying to cope
with some painful but irregular contractions and to poop as prescribed by the
cocktail and castor oil. The
contractions petered out by morning. The
next day, Saturday, Gigi and Eddie went for an 8 mile run up City Creek and
Willie and I hiked up Memory Grove. I
ran for about a mile which felt so nice!
Then we went on a hunt for a Chinese foot massage that would do acupressure
to induce labor. The hunt failed and we
settled on pedicures. 
We were planning
on going to The Rock Church that evening but we all were too tired and decided
to just go home and Gigi made manicotti-my favorite. I made a lemon meringue pie as required by my
Aunt Charmaine who guaranteed labor would start upon eating the whole
thing. The next day, we went to church
at Missio Dei and Josh spoke about the bigness of God creating space, galaxies,
the sun, stars, and earth, and how, despite his hugeness, he created each one
of us and knows each hair on our head, or in Dad’s case, lack of hair on his
head. I just sat in amazement of how
much he cares for you and how he created you out of two single cells. After church, we decided to try spicy food
again to see if that would initiate labor, or maybe just ‘cause we love The
Killer Mexican, aka Red Iguana. It did
not disappoint, of course. We watched
Juno and decided my mantra during labor would be, “All babies want to get
borned!” We did say this once or twice
during the actual labor, but more in jest.
The next day, Dad went to work, Gigi and I took Willie to Tanner Park
and had delicious chai lattes. I was
having contractions about every 10 minutes but still not strong or consistent
enough. I have to admit that I was losing courage to
do the whole “all natural childbirth” as the days went on and we were getting
closer to having to induce. We met Roxy
at Blue Star Coffee who delivered her baby naturally and she said it was
awesome if I could do it. She really was
encouraging to me. Then Gigi and I went
shopping and bought you the cutest OshGosh overalls and grapefruit. I can hardly wait to put you in those overalls! That evening, Gigi cleaned our bathroom like
crazy which blessed my socks off. We
went for a walk and I had to slow down a couple times during contractions but
it still felt good to get out. Gigi and
I went to a silly play down in Sandy about a wedding chapel in Las Vegas. That night, I again had painful contractions
that kept me up most of the night. I
would get out of bed, sit on the ball during the contraction, then get back in
and sleep for a few minutes to a half hour until the next one.
The next morning I was really anxious about the midwife appointment at 11:40. I sent out an email to our house church and Zville girlfriends requesting BHAP prayers. I was afraid that all those painful contractions the previous nights would have amounted to nothing (no cervix dilation) and that we would have to induce. I knew my dates were accurate and that they probably wouldn’t let me go much further without inducing which would have defeated everything that we hoped for in the delivery except, of course, getting to take home a healthy, happy baby, which Eddie reminded me of and gave me some peace. We went in and saw Claudia, who we really liked, and I was 3 cms, 100% effaced and zero station! I was elated! She stripped my membranes and then I was 4 cms. Even better! Then I knew that if I had any consistent, strong contractions it would truly be active labor! Any minute! But we still needed to do the non stress test and amniotic fluid index at the hospital. We did that, all was ok. Then we headed down to Sandy to get the breast pump but after waiting 30 minutes or what seemed like an eternity, the insurance company would not let us get the pump until after you were born. It was then that my contractions really started and I was miserable sitting there waiting. We were debating if we should go home or go right back to the hospital. Dad decided to go home which was truly best. We labored at home for about 4 more hours, called the midwife who said to eat a snack and take our time, but come on up to the hospital. I would get on the ball during ctxns and then get into bed or walk around to rest in between. Dad and Gigi were awesome as they coached me to relax during each ctxn via the hypnobirthing that we practiced. They did light touch on my back and rubbed my head which was awesome. The excitement that I was anticipating feeling when I knew labor was really starting was not there. I think we were too far into it to be excited. We decided to wait until after shift change to go up to the hospital to avoid the chaos and frustration of the nurses. At seven, we left and headed up to OB emergency services where we would be triaged to see if we could stay or go home.
We got another NST, which was fine of course. I got a cervical check that said I was
5.5 cms! We were staying and I was truly in labor! You were on your way! We could hardly wait to see your face. A funny side note, Gigi was wearing a Packer
sweatshirt and the midwife said how much she loved Green Bay. Mom asked her if she liked AJ Hawk’s hair
short and the midwife was so confused, she didn’t know who AJ Hawk was.
She said, “Oh, I don’t watch football.”
Whaaa? Anyway, we told them in
triage that we were planning on hypnobirthing and she automatically knew that
we would want a room with a tub. The
triage nurse kept saying how great I was doing and I felt encouraged.
We then moved across the hall to L&D and settled in. Our nurse, Jessica, got the tub running hot
water, the birthing ball ready for me, Dad set up the hypnobirth CDs, I got out
the blue Powerade. And the cot was ready
for Gigi. We were all ready to rock and
roll. During each contraction, EVERY
SINGLE CONTRACTION for the next 7 hours, Eddie coached me to relax
systematically through the body zones. I
listened and obeyed as best I could.
Gigi would step in and give Dad some breaks and she knew exactly what to
do and say perfectly. Eddie’s voice and
light touch were so comforting, soothing and steady-ing throughout the whole
thing. I got into the tub and listened to the Birth Affirmations
CD which was really encouraging and helped me focus.
Then I listened to Kari Jobe and worshipped a
little. The tub was amazing and I was
able to remain relaxed through each contraction while in the warm water. When I got out and walked around, prom danced
with Dad during contractions, or was on the ball, the contractions were much
stronger. After some time, I got back
into the tub and was about to listen to the Rainbow Relaxation CD but Lisa, the
midwife came in. Dad was a little peeved
that it took 2.5 hours for her to even come into our room and introduce herself,
but we were doing well and controlled without her so he relaxed about it. In the end, we really appreciated her “hands
off” approach. I was encouraged when talking with Lisa and was distracted from the contractions as we talked about our
careers and midwifery in general. I got
out of the hot water again and went back to the ball. I was exhausted from not sleeping much the
previous two nights and now that it was my bedtime, 10:30, I was so tired and
just wanted to sleep.
So I did. In between surges, I would fall asleep on the
bed and then jump out onto the ball during the surge. Jessica was amazing and was required to do
intermittent monitoring which means holding the fetal heart and contraction monitors
on my belly just before, during, and just after a contraction every half hour. She was pretty loose about the monitoring,
seeing that everything was going well, and you were tolerating labor just fine. It was pretty cool that she could do the
monitoring under water and on the ball and didn’t require me to be in the bed, which
was the worst position for me. After a
while, I was needing some encouragement and felt a tiny bit of pressure so I
asked if I could be checked. I’m not
really sure if I was feeling pressure or if I just wanted to make sure that I
was progressing. When Lisa did check, I
was at 7.5 cms! Good news. I was
secretly hoping that I’d be a nine but expected to be at a seven. She thought that you were positioned
posteriorly which is a rough spot to be in: usually delays labor, causes severe
back pain which I was having, prolongs pushing and can sometimes lead to a
Cesarean section. Lisa and Jessica
suggested I get into hands and knees position and either get the head of the
bed up and lean over it or hug a smaller ball while on my knees on the
bed. I tried both, but ended up hugging
the ball mostly. Contractions were
definitely stronger and I was becoming out of control with them. I would rest in between on the bed, then jump
onto my knees and demand the ball. It
was not pretty. Dad would still guide me
through relaxation. I was sarcastic back
at one point when he said my abdomen and back were relaxing. Ha!
Right! I would rock back and
forth and side to side on my hands and knees. I think I went to the bathroom to see if
laboring there would be any better. At
one point, I felt you turn, but I wasn’t too sure and didn’t want to get my
hopes up, but it was a big flip. A
contraction after that, I had an uncontrolled urge to push. It was like dry heaving really strongly. Dad put the call light on and said I was
pushing. Jessica came in and said Lisa
would be in shortly to check my cervix.
I was not to push until I was fully dilated to 10 cms. I breathed through my next contraction. Lisa came in and checked while I was still on
hands and knees. I was only 9 cms all
around! But, I could not control the
urge. I think I went to the bathroom to
try to labor there. I lasted one
contraction and went back to the bed where I could be on hands and knees again. I was pushing! Then the torpedo exploded! Gigi jumped up and back 10 feet and Dad
wished he had his goggles on.
I wasn’t
sure what it was, but others were kinda laughing so I knew it couldn’t be too
bad. I asked if my water broke and
indeed it did. Cool! Most of the deliveries I was a part of in my
L&D days, the OB docs broke the water with an amnio hook. This was all natural Baby! And the fluid was clear-another answered
prayer. Then I was in all out pushing
mode. I rolled to my right side and held
my left knee up and pushed so hard. I
was squawking like a dying bird. This
was not the hypnobirthing that we watched videos of! This was classic L&D. Then I asked if I could go to the bathroom
again to see if that would be any better.
We had one contraction where I could just breathe through and not
push. Then one more that was so strong
and I pushed so hard, I thought surely something was happening down there. I reached down and could feel your head! You weren’t crowning yet though. I whispered to Eddie that I could feel your
head. I asked Lisa and Jessica, who were
sitting on the bed, if it was ok that I was still in the bathroom. They thought that I had a long time still of
pushing since this was my first delivery. But, with the next contraction, your head popped out! All the way!
I said it out loud and everyone was frozen in shock for a minute. I waddled over to the bed and flopped onto my
back. Lisa struggled to get a glove on,
but once she did, she maneuvered your shoulders out and I pushed one gentle
push and out you came!!! You had a long,
loose nuchal cord around your neck. You
came straight up to my chest and just laid there for a minute.
Jessica wiped you off and you started crying. It was awesome! Dad was crying, I was in shock. Gigi was photographing and probably crying. I started shaking uncontrollably due to the hormone shift. They called in another resident named Dr. Webber to assess my tear. Lisa rubbed on my belly to make sure my uterus was firm and I wasn’t bleeding too much. That was crazy painful but would only last a few seconds. I ended up needing a shot of pitocin to help stop the bleeding. When the resident was suturing, she asked if I wanted pain meds in my IV. Dad and I looked at each other and knowingly rejoiced at how the delivery went- a truly unmedicated birth! I didn’t have an IV. We tried to breastfeed, but I was still in a bit of shock and shaking terribly. Dad was still crying and photographing. Jessica helped situate you and you latched pretty quickly. An answered prayer!
After what seemed like forever, they finished
suturing, and I could put my legs down and try to relax. I went to the bathroom so that I could help
stop the bleeding and was successful so I didn’t need a catheter! Yay! Then
you got weighed. Jessica asked right
before what each of us thought was your birth weight. I said 7#11, Dad said 7#1, Gigi said 7#4. I was spot on! You were 7#10.8 oz and 21
inches long. Your Apgars were 8/9.
So I did. In between surges, I would fall asleep on the
bed and then jump out onto the ball during the surge. Jessica was amazing and was required to do
intermittent monitoring which means holding the fetal heart and contraction monitors
on my belly just before, during, and just after a contraction every half hour. She was pretty loose about the monitoring,
seeing that everything was going well, and you were tolerating labor just fine. It was pretty cool that she could do the
monitoring under water and on the ball and didn’t require me to be in the bed, which
was the worst position for me. After a
while, I was needing some encouragement and felt a tiny bit of pressure so I
asked if I could be checked. I’m not
really sure if I was feeling pressure or if I just wanted to make sure that I
was progressing. When Lisa did check, I
was at 7.5 cms! Good news. I was
secretly hoping that I’d be a nine but expected to be at a seven. She thought that you were positioned
posteriorly which is a rough spot to be in: usually delays labor, causes severe
back pain which I was having, prolongs pushing and can sometimes lead to a
Cesarean section. Lisa and Jessica
suggested I get into hands and knees position and either get the head of the
bed up and lean over it or hug a smaller ball while on my knees on the
bed. I tried both, but ended up hugging
the ball mostly. Contractions were
definitely stronger and I was becoming out of control with them. I would rest in between on the bed, then jump
onto my knees and demand the ball. It
was not pretty. Dad would still guide me
through relaxation. I was sarcastic back
at one point when he said my abdomen and back were relaxing. Ha!
Right! I would rock back and
forth and side to side on my hands and knees. I think I went to the bathroom to see if
laboring there would be any better. At
one point, I felt you turn, but I wasn’t too sure and didn’t want to get my
hopes up, but it was a big flip. A
contraction after that, I had an uncontrolled urge to push. It was like dry heaving really strongly. Dad put the call light on and said I was
pushing. Jessica came in and said Lisa
would be in shortly to check my cervix.
I was not to push until I was fully dilated to 10 cms. I breathed through my next contraction. Lisa came in and checked while I was still on
hands and knees. I was only 9 cms all
around! But, I could not control the
urge. I think I went to the bathroom to
try to labor there. I lasted one
contraction and went back to the bed where I could be on hands and knees again. I was pushing! Then the torpedo exploded! Gigi jumped up and back 10 feet and Dad
wished he had his goggles on. 
Jessica wiped you off and you started crying. It was awesome! Dad was crying, I was in shock. Gigi was photographing and probably crying. I started shaking uncontrollably due to the hormone shift. They called in another resident named Dr. Webber to assess my tear. Lisa rubbed on my belly to make sure my uterus was firm and I wasn’t bleeding too much. That was crazy painful but would only last a few seconds. I ended up needing a shot of pitocin to help stop the bleeding. When the resident was suturing, she asked if I wanted pain meds in my IV. Dad and I looked at each other and knowingly rejoiced at how the delivery went- a truly unmedicated birth! I didn’t have an IV. We tried to breastfeed, but I was still in a bit of shock and shaking terribly. Dad was still crying and photographing. Jessica helped situate you and you latched pretty quickly. An answered prayer!
We then headed over to postpartum where we “rested” for a day and a half. Employees kept coming in, as their job dictates, but we didn’t get much rest. Our day nurse, Kassie, was wonderful and redeemed my stereotype of old, cranky postpartum nurses for me. The night nurse tucked us in so that you could nurse and I could sleep all night. That was magical. The peds team was reassuring with your birthmark and hip click- both non-concerning, but will be followed closely. The lactation consultant was not necessary since you were latching beautifully. The discharge midwife was so helpful in giving instructions of what to look for with postpartum depression, infection, healing, etc.
Then we went home.
Parents of the year…we didn’t click you in your carseat. We thought we did, but doubled checked the
carseat at the front desk and instead left it unclicked. After we stopped for tres leches at Nachos
Pizza, I realized our mistake. Oops.
