DISCLAIMER: Be prepared for a very long post... you win if you read it all. If you get through the beginning... there are even pictures :)
Our little Piper was born on January 29th, 2013 at
3:01 in the afternoon. She was 7lbs 10 oz, 20.5 inches long. I’m afraid that I’ve forgotten things already
even though it’s only been a few days since she came in to the world so here I
am trying to write down every little thing I can remember. Things really “started” the day before. I woke up Monday morning (39weeks) and let my
boss know that I wouldn’t be in to work until later. I wasn’t feeling so great. To be honest, the last week or so before
giving birth I hadn’t been feeling great.
I’d hit “that” stage of pregnancy where you resemble more of a whale
than a human being. I had a very happy
healthy pregnancy. I think I stressed as
much as the next pregnant lady about my body and complained about the aches and
pains but throughout I was healthy and so was baby and I was grateful for
that.
Back to Monday… I finally rolled out of bed at 11:00 and knew something was different. I was spotting a little bit and my lower back was hurting. I got ready and planned to go in to work but Colton barricaded the stairs so I couldn’t go. I was emotional and worried and very pregnant - so I moved my appointment from Tuesday to Monday afternoon to make sure everything was okay and hoping that things were progressing to a point where we could meet our little girl. I worked for a few hours from home and Colton stayed with me because I was being worried and he’s sweet like that. We finished packing our bags and picked up around the house a little. We didn’t put the bags in the car because we didn’t want to have to take them out of the car – but I felt sure they were going to say something good. We went to the doctor’s at 4:00 and he did an ultrasound and checked me and everything looked good and there wasn’t much change from the week before. I was dilated to a 3, 80% effaced – I was a 2+, 70% effaced the week before. To be safe, he sent us over to the hospital to do a NST (stress test on mama and baby). We went to the hospital and did the stress test and I had zero contractions and baby was as happy as a clam according to her heart rate. We went home feeling a little dejected. I felt different and I was sad that my body didn’t seem any different.
I took a bath when we came home and tried to cheer up. Colton made us dinner and then went to school. I worked some more while he was gone and puttered around the house. When he got home, we went up to my parent’s house to get a power strip. By this point, my back was really hurting. I was in enough pain that I couldn’t hide it and I cried when you asked how I was. We left after a little bit and my mom asked us to give her updates – she later told me that she’d told Dad that the baby would be here soon and started getting her things together so she was ready when it happened. At this point, I was having contractions that made me stop walking and wait for them to pass. They weren’t consistent enough to time them. It was weird to me because I was only feeling pain in my back. We got in bed a little early and I told Colton I was afraid that potentially the next two weeks could be like this and scared that I wasn’t going to handle it. I had a heating pad on my back that felt good and then when a contraction came, I’d take it off and kick off all the covers and squirm until they were over. Around 1 in the morning, I got out of bed and took a bath to see if that would help and it didn’t. Colton was awake at this point. I got back in bed and cried when the contractions would come. Colton wanted to do something to help and offered to go and get a back massager to see if more pressure on my back would help. As he was leaving, he said “the fact that you’re letting me do this means you’re really hurting.” He left and I spent an hour sort of timing the contractions but mostly just crying through them. He messaged me and said that the PG Walgreens was closed, Walmart didn’t have any, and he went to the Provo Walgreens and was on his way back – he asked if I was hungry and I wasn’t and he stopped and got tacos. When he got back he opened up the massager and we tried it during one contraction and it just hurt. I asked him to call labor and delivery within five minutes of being home. I told him that my contractions were five minutes apart but I wasn’t feeling them for one whole minute. He talked to labor and delivery and they told us to come in – I was most likely only feeling the peaks of the contractions. I got dressed, put my contacts in and stopped whenever the contractions came. Colton loaded all of our stuff. Something I learned: I wasn’t any help at this point with picking out what to bring. Before Monday night, I told Colton that I’d be able to help and wasn’t worried about having my bags all packed but when it came down to it anything that wasn’t packed didn’t get brought. I’m so glad we had the day to finish packing up everything and be ready to go in the middle of the night. We left the house within five minutes of getting off the phone with labor and delivery. We luckily live five minutes away from the hospital.
When we got there, they were waiting for us. They had me put on a hospital gown and hooked me up to the same machine in the same room from earlier in the day. Our nurse, Kimmy, was wonderful. She got us all checked in and let us know how everything worked. I was dilated to a 3+, 90% effaced. They would monitor me for an hour and if I was in real labor, they’d admit me. I was having contractions 2-3 minutes apart lasting 60-70 seconds when they hooked me up. She taught Colton some tricks to try and relieve the pain in my back and made me feel like I wasn’t such a baby. Colton ate his tacos and tried to keep me happy. I would squirm as I felt the contraction coming on and then ask Colton to help even though there really wasn’t anything he could do. It was nice having him hold my legs or my hand. After an hour, I was a definite 4 and Kimmy called the Doctor to see what he wanted to do. He wanted us to wait another hour and see if I would progress more. Colton texted my mom at this point and told her what was going on. I didn’t think there was any way they would send me home and felt okay waking her up. The next hour is surreal to remember now. I was in so much pain and so tired. Kimmy tried to get me up to walk around but I couldn’t. We tried different ways to relieve the pain. Colton and her would rub my back and push my hips together as I was on my hands and knees during the contractions. I kept telling Colton that I didn’t want to do this… that I couldn’t do this… (Colton was thinking, we’ll you’re already in this – there’s only one way out of it) and then after the contraction would pass, I would say I was sorry for being such a baby. It was such a weird experience being in so much pain one minute and then completely okay the next. When it was finally time to be checked again (around 5:00 in the morning), I was dilated to a 5 and in so much pain. I was throwing up as they told Colton that they were going to admit us and we would be having her today. We walked slowly to labor and delivery room 8 and stopped to breathe through the contractions.
Back to Monday… I finally rolled out of bed at 11:00 and knew something was different. I was spotting a little bit and my lower back was hurting. I got ready and planned to go in to work but Colton barricaded the stairs so I couldn’t go. I was emotional and worried and very pregnant - so I moved my appointment from Tuesday to Monday afternoon to make sure everything was okay and hoping that things were progressing to a point where we could meet our little girl. I worked for a few hours from home and Colton stayed with me because I was being worried and he’s sweet like that. We finished packing our bags and picked up around the house a little. We didn’t put the bags in the car because we didn’t want to have to take them out of the car – but I felt sure they were going to say something good. We went to the doctor’s at 4:00 and he did an ultrasound and checked me and everything looked good and there wasn’t much change from the week before. I was dilated to a 3, 80% effaced – I was a 2+, 70% effaced the week before. To be safe, he sent us over to the hospital to do a NST (stress test on mama and baby). We went to the hospital and did the stress test and I had zero contractions and baby was as happy as a clam according to her heart rate. We went home feeling a little dejected. I felt different and I was sad that my body didn’t seem any different.
I took a bath when we came home and tried to cheer up. Colton made us dinner and then went to school. I worked some more while he was gone and puttered around the house. When he got home, we went up to my parent’s house to get a power strip. By this point, my back was really hurting. I was in enough pain that I couldn’t hide it and I cried when you asked how I was. We left after a little bit and my mom asked us to give her updates – she later told me that she’d told Dad that the baby would be here soon and started getting her things together so she was ready when it happened. At this point, I was having contractions that made me stop walking and wait for them to pass. They weren’t consistent enough to time them. It was weird to me because I was only feeling pain in my back. We got in bed a little early and I told Colton I was afraid that potentially the next two weeks could be like this and scared that I wasn’t going to handle it. I had a heating pad on my back that felt good and then when a contraction came, I’d take it off and kick off all the covers and squirm until they were over. Around 1 in the morning, I got out of bed and took a bath to see if that would help and it didn’t. Colton was awake at this point. I got back in bed and cried when the contractions would come. Colton wanted to do something to help and offered to go and get a back massager to see if more pressure on my back would help. As he was leaving, he said “the fact that you’re letting me do this means you’re really hurting.” He left and I spent an hour sort of timing the contractions but mostly just crying through them. He messaged me and said that the PG Walgreens was closed, Walmart didn’t have any, and he went to the Provo Walgreens and was on his way back – he asked if I was hungry and I wasn’t and he stopped and got tacos. When he got back he opened up the massager and we tried it during one contraction and it just hurt. I asked him to call labor and delivery within five minutes of being home. I told him that my contractions were five minutes apart but I wasn’t feeling them for one whole minute. He talked to labor and delivery and they told us to come in – I was most likely only feeling the peaks of the contractions. I got dressed, put my contacts in and stopped whenever the contractions came. Colton loaded all of our stuff. Something I learned: I wasn’t any help at this point with picking out what to bring. Before Monday night, I told Colton that I’d be able to help and wasn’t worried about having my bags all packed but when it came down to it anything that wasn’t packed didn’t get brought. I’m so glad we had the day to finish packing up everything and be ready to go in the middle of the night. We left the house within five minutes of getting off the phone with labor and delivery. We luckily live five minutes away from the hospital.
When we got there, they were waiting for us. They had me put on a hospital gown and hooked me up to the same machine in the same room from earlier in the day. Our nurse, Kimmy, was wonderful. She got us all checked in and let us know how everything worked. I was dilated to a 3+, 90% effaced. They would monitor me for an hour and if I was in real labor, they’d admit me. I was having contractions 2-3 minutes apart lasting 60-70 seconds when they hooked me up. She taught Colton some tricks to try and relieve the pain in my back and made me feel like I wasn’t such a baby. Colton ate his tacos and tried to keep me happy. I would squirm as I felt the contraction coming on and then ask Colton to help even though there really wasn’t anything he could do. It was nice having him hold my legs or my hand. After an hour, I was a definite 4 and Kimmy called the Doctor to see what he wanted to do. He wanted us to wait another hour and see if I would progress more. Colton texted my mom at this point and told her what was going on. I didn’t think there was any way they would send me home and felt okay waking her up. The next hour is surreal to remember now. I was in so much pain and so tired. Kimmy tried to get me up to walk around but I couldn’t. We tried different ways to relieve the pain. Colton and her would rub my back and push my hips together as I was on my hands and knees during the contractions. I kept telling Colton that I didn’t want to do this… that I couldn’t do this… (Colton was thinking, we’ll you’re already in this – there’s only one way out of it) and then after the contraction would pass, I would say I was sorry for being such a baby. It was such a weird experience being in so much pain one minute and then completely okay the next. When it was finally time to be checked again (around 5:00 in the morning), I was dilated to a 5 and in so much pain. I was throwing up as they told Colton that they were going to admit us and we would be having her today. We walked slowly to labor and delivery room 8 and stopped to breathe through the contractions.
They put my IV in and let us know
that the anesthesiologist was leaving his house and would be there around 6:00
and the doctor would be there around 6:30 to break my water. We texted my mom and let her know to come
around then. Everyone was commenting
about how crazy the snow storm was outside and we worried it would make people
late. Colton helped me breathe through
the contractions until the anesthesiologist arrived. I was really nervous for the epidural and
scared as he went through what to do and what it would feel like. But the epidural was AMAZING. It didn’t hurt – at all. I felt the burn that he described and then
the pressure but it was nothing. Before
he even left the room, the pain in my back during contractions had disappeared. I could’ve kissed him. My mom got there around 6:30 and I was one
happy smiley girl.
The doctor got there
shortly after and broke my water. Dr.
Allerton was the doctor who saw me the day before and was still on his shift. I was the last stop of the day, I think. I was dilated to a 6. Our new nurse, Becky
was also fantastic. I told Colton that
everyone who saw me after the epidural was going to think I was so happy… they
had no idea what I was like before. He kept telling people that he wished he
would’ve videoed earlier. My mom texted
my sister Julie to tell her to hurry down and be safe in the snow storm. Julie, her husband Matthew, and Lisa all
arrived in the next few hours.
By 9am,
I was dilated to a 9 and was told that in an hour we’d push unless I felt like
I needed to sooner. In an hour, I was
dilated to a 9++ and the nurse had me roll to my side and started a little Pitocin
to get rid of the last little bit. In
another hour, I was still dilated to a 9 and they upped my Pitocin.
In another hour, I still had made no progress
and Becky and Dr. Aagard came in and explained that it was abnormal for my body
to stop progressing so late in to the process.
The monitor showed that I was still having regular contractions but they
weren’t as strong as before. They said
that they wanted to make sure the contractions were real so they put in an
internal monitor (which was attached to the babies’ head). They monitored some score that measured contraction
strength – we needed to be above 230 or they would have to start talking about
other options. Our little one had a very
good heart-rate and showed no sign of distress but they didn’t want to wait for
that to change to do something. We were
a little worried. They said no matter
what we’d be having the baby today. The
monitor showed my score as 248 – above the minimum but not by much – so they
felt safe upping the Pitocin again and would check my in two hours.
 |
| This picture makes me laugh so much. This is my view of where Matthew, Julie, and Lisa were sitting. I bet their view was better (yes, they moved when I was uncovered). |
So we continued to wait... Colton took a nap. I took a few tiny naps and mostly tried to relax. I had been up for over 24 hours and Colton
had only a few hours of sleep in him.
 |
| It's kind of hard to see but she started to poke out so much on my right side. |
It
was neat to watch the monitor as my contractions started to
change again. They got stronger and
lasted longer and baby’s heart rate reacted more. My body was ready and we all knew it. The next time Becky checked, I was fully
dilated!
At 2:40, I started to push. I was nervous for this part too but it ended
up being really amazing too. I was able
to feel the contractions and I knew when I needed to push before the monitor showed
the contraction.
After the first or
second push, the nurse said she has a lot of dark hair! And we all smiled. It was so amazing. Colton and my mom and
sisters would all hold their breath as I would hold mine to push. A few more contractions and pushes later, the
nurse called the doctor. Dr. Aagard
arrived and they had me breathe through two contractions because she was
ready. Dr. Aagard said there was a
bucket at the end of the bed that would catch her but you should probably wait
to push until we’re there. I pushed for
such a short amount of time while Dr. Aagard was there – Once her head and
shoulder were out, I didn’t have to wait for another contraction… they just let
me push and she was here at 3:01pm!
They
laid her on my chest and it was so surreal.
We’d spent so long waiting and then at the end, it all happened so
quickly. The world sort of stopped. Everything was still happening and my stomach was getting pushed on and everyone was talking but I was with her and that was all that mattered.
For me, everything after the
epidural has been so much easier than expected.
She is amazing and everything we ever wanted times a million. Colton was so sweet and I've really never loved him more than I did when he sweetly got me through my contractions, axiously waited as I delivered her, and then loved our daughter so perfectly. We are so smitten.
During the pregnancy, I told Colton he better
really love her because she was the only he was ever getting. Now, I’d like to have a dozen. J
And i'll throw in a few more pictures from our hospital stay because I can't leave them out...
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| Day 2 in the hospital. |
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| Our room - packing to leave. |
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| Going home! |
 |
| All buckled up. |
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| Evidence of the snowstorm that everyone talked about. - and HOME! |
Congratulations you guys. So how long was your whole labor process? Quite awhile it seemed! I had Dr. Aagard deliver me as well and I loved him. Your little girl is so cute. Enjoy it it goes too fast!
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