This is US!: May 2014

As I said I would post the birth story, it is a little personal and has medical information so if you are grossed out by this you are welcome to not read this. I am posting it for the story, for Lizzi, and for some of my family members that want to hear it.

Friday April 25, I went in for my 39 week appointment to find out I was dilated to a one my doctor offered to strip my membranes. I agreed, she let us know there was a 50% chance that I would go into labor within 24-48 hours Curtis was hoping that would be the case. She scheduled my induction for May 9th just in case I didn't go into labor before then. I had some cramping which everyone said was a good sign as that is usually what early labor feels like.

Sunday April 27, I lost my mucus plug, this was exciting news to me because I knew it meant progress. So I was on my toes all week waiting for more signs of progress or for labor to start.

Friday May 2, the due date, there was no more progress that was noticeable. So I went to my 40 week appointment, I was 85% effaced which is good but I was still only dilated at a one :( that made me really sad I felt like I should have had more progress than that. So she stripped my membranes again this time it felt like she was more rough so I was hoping it would do something. I didn't feel any different so I didn't have much hope, I had a few contractions or at least what I thought were contractions but they felt different than before. I only had two Friday night so I didn't think anything of it, we got invited by Curtis's sister and her family to go boating with them the next day. I told Curtis that it would depend on how I was feeling but we probably could.

Saturday May 3, we got up and I didn't feel any different or any contractions so I said we could go boating. As we were getting ready to go I had the same contraction feelings as the night before but they were little and I only felt maybe 2 of them before we even got to the dam. We joked the whole time about the boat putting me into labor, but I didn't feel any contractions or cramps while we were boating. Curtis had a great time skiing for the first time in 4 years (The last time he skied was when he had the boating accident in 2010), he kneeboarded too, and between him and our brother-in-law they talked me into getting into the tube

just for a picture to tease my mom. I didn't actually get pulled behind the boat. We sent the picture to my mom as a joke, I'm a day past my due date and I'm tubing. All she responded was "Jealous looks like fun." She's not always the most fun to tease apparently. We were at the dam from 11 am to about 4pm, Curtis and I had some errands to run afterwards. As we were walking through the stores I started to feel the contraction feelings coming back. I started feeling them more frequently so at 4:30 we started to time them, they were coming every half hour. They were consistently coming from that point on, I was getting them on the :30 and :00 of every hour. We got home and showered off the lake and got hot water on our sunburned skin to pull the burn out, put aloe on, went for a four wheeler ride to get the mail, came home and I watched Wreck It Ralph while Curtis slept on the couch because he can't stay awake through a movie. I went over my primary lesson again while I was watching just in case I made it to church the next day. I did text my co-teacher and warn her I possibly would not be there the next day and she should look over the lesson just to be safe. She said she would just plan on teaching and told me not to worry about anything. After the movie was over at about 11, the contractions were still every half hour and not getting stronger so I just told Curtis we should go to bed and we'll see how things go. We went to bed and I felt like it had been a while since I felt any contractions and I had one wake me up. I felt like it was 3 maybe 4 in the morning, I looked at my clock... 1 am people... it was only 1 am. I couldn't believe it, it had only been 2 hours and I was having contractions that stopped me from sleeping.

Sunday May 4, as mentioned contractions woke me up at 1 am (this next part might be a little TMI but you were warned, if it gets to be too much you can skip it), I felt like I needed to go to the bathroom. I figured I'd let Curtis sleep a little longer so I went and sat on the toilet, the contractions were coming about every 10 minutes now. I tried to remember what I had read in the bradley method books that I had been studying to help me through an unmedicated birth. Breathe in and out normally, when a contraction comes relax every muscle in your body to allow the body to work and stretch the way it needed to, don't tense this hinders the process. I had some bloody discharge and lost the rest of my mucus plug along with some diarrhea that was unpleasant. I was able to go through the process for about half and hour when the contractions seemed to be slowing/loosing intensity so I figured I would go back to bed and try to sleep for a little bit. I got back into bed and it woke Curtis up he asked if I was okay I told him the contractions were getting worse, he asked how close they were. He knew the doctor said if the contractions were 3-5 minutes apart to get to the hospital. I told him they were about every 10 minutes, then I felt this horrible feeling of nausea, I gagged and told him I was going to be sick and I leapt from bed and rushed to the toilet barely making it. Curtis got up and rubbed my back while I fought contractions with heaving (let me tell you, one of the most uncomfortable sensations). I needed to sit back on the toilet after that, the position felt the best to be in when the contractions hit. Between contractions I was shaking, almost like I was chilled but I wasn't cold, my jaw was chattering and my legs were shaking. They contractions got closer after that, they were about 6 minutes apart Curtis started to make sure everything was ready to go to the hospital. They were about 5 minutes apart and he was trying to get me to the car but I felt like I was going to throw up again so I made him wait until I did and then we got in the car. We are about half an hour from the hospital so I asked Curtis to drive as careful as possible so that I could be relaxed during contractions. To help me stay focused I was singing I Stand All Amazed in my mind during the contractions, Christ knew my pain and he went through it for me. We checked into the hospital at 3:40am they got me hooked up to the monitors and such, then we got settled for a long day. As they got me hooked up there was a really low variation in Lizzi's heartbeat, the nurse called something over her phone clip thing on her lanyard and instantly there were 5 other nurses and they were all talking and freaking out. I was trying not to let this bother me or be frightened by this, but I had no idea what was happening. She checked me, I was still intact (my water hadn't broken) I was dilated to a 3 and about 85% effaced. They watched the monitors for a little while and every thing was fine so they calmed down and the other nurses left. Finally the nurse said something to me, she explained why they were worried. They were sure if it was just the way she had turned or the way I was laying or if that was something that had been going on for hours and we didn't know. They wanted to be sure but everything looked okay now so they were no longer worried. Curtis brought over the copy of the birth plan we had in the bag, as my doctor was out of town so she wouldn't be delivering the baby and the hospital didn't have a copy on file. Boy, were we glad we had a copy I believe it completely changed our birth experience. The first nurse asked how my pregnancy had gone, I informed her it was great, I didn't have any issues. She said that was good but that meant I would have a terrible labor, you either get an easy pregnancy or easy birth/labor never both. WHAT A TERRIBLE THING TO TELL A WOMAN IN LABOR! ESPECIALLY A FIRST TIME MOTHER!

Look at that sunburnt face haha

At 5am there was a change in nurse staff, hallelujah, the new nurse Joni came in who would be my nurse for the remainder of my labor and delivery. I have to tell you people this Joni woman was an angel! She was such a fantastic nurse, she was exactly what I needed, I put in my birth plan I wanted a nurse that supports natural birth as that was my plan. Curtis and I tried to get some sleep between contractions and the nurses coming in for checks. We got some sleep but not too much, by 7 am I was still at a 3 but 100% effaced. We had to wait for the doctor to come in for them to break my water to help the process move along. The nurse offered the lowest dose of pitocin but I wanted to wait a little longer to see if breaking my water would help. The doctor finally came in about 10:45 and broke my water, that was an odd feeling, it wasn't the huge rush of water like they make it sound but it was a steady trickle for hours! So every time I had a contraction I felt like I was wetting the bed, that was a pleasant experience. Not! I got up and went to labor on the toilet for a while again because for whatever reason sitting and leaning backwards on the toilet was my favorite position to be in. My parents showed up a little later and my nurse brought me another gown to drape across my back so my parents could come in while I labored on a birthing ball for a little bit. My mom just kept saying how great she thought that was and how she wished she had that option when she was in labor.

Excited Grandparents

The monitors had a hard time staying in place where they could get a reading but my wonderful nurse let me stay there for about an hour before they were worried and wanted to make sure the baby was still ok so she made me stop sitting on the birthing ball for a little while and get back into bed. So I did then when they checked me again I was at a 4 and in active labor now it was starting to get more intense I needed to focus all of my energy on contractions.

This was attempt at a smile in between contractions

So my parents left and took Aimee and TJ out to our house so they could do something more exciting that sitting in the waiting room. When I got to about a 5 the contractions were starting to get painful, the nurse suggested that I could have fentanyl to help take the edge off of the contractions. I tried to stick it out but I was starting to loose my focus so I told Joni that I wanted the fentanyl. So I guess it wasn't 100% natural but I didn't have an epidural and I was perfect lucid and aware of what was going on and I could feel my contractions 100%. The fentanyl worked kind of like ibuprofen on menstrual cramps, you can still feel the cramps but they are more pressure than pain. I was even able to sleep in between contractions, I did however start to loose my focus for relaxing through contractions, I couldn't even remember to sing to myself the whole time I only got the chorus out, and I would squeeze Curtis's hand or arm and whisper ow, ow, ow it hurts. Poor hubby he was struggling to see me in so much pain. He later told me that he was glad that I was so adamant my whole pregnancy about not having an epidural otherwise he would have asked the nurse to give me one. I asked to labor in the bathroom one more time, my mom told me that she could tell the nurse was nervous about it but supporting me and my natural birth, she let me. She could tell I was getting close and didn't want me birthing on the toilet haha so this time she stayed by the door and waited for me to get the strength to stand and make it back to the bed. I leaned on Curtis and tried to fight the urge to push I knew I wasn't far enough progressed for pushing to be successful. I was finally able to get up and hobble back to the bed and lie down she checked me and I was at a 7, transition stage and things really kicked up a notch. The contractions were about a minute and a half apart now and hurting worse than ever. Imagine the worse possible period cramps you have ever felt and times that by a broken tailbone not the most pleasant feeling but definitely not traumatic like movies make it seem. Curtis asked Joni if she could give me another dose of fentanyl she said I was too close to delivery she wouldn't recommend it. Curtis was trying to coach me through the contractions reminding me to relax when I responded I can't, Joni said you can and you are. My parents were both telling me how well I was doing and so was Joni, I am telling you people Joni was a godsend I couldn't have hand picked a better nurse! When Joni had announced I was in transition and they were going to get things ready to push my parents went to leave the room, I asked my dad to wait first. Curtis and my dad gave me another blessing before my dad left the room. My mom sat in Curtis's place and I tried not to break her arm and I fought through contractions while trying to listen to Curtis's blessing. But my dear sweet husband was crying so hard I couldn't understand a word he said, but it didn't matter I felt peace and calm and more in control than I had in the previous hour. My parents left the room and Joni got my feet in the foot holder things, and checked me again she said I was nearly there and she was going to check where the doctor was because she was scheduled for a c-section about that time. The doctor was getting things ready for the c-section so I might have to wait, but I informed Joni that I felt like I needed to push, she made me hold off as she checked me again. Some of my cervix was still in the way but Joni told me to practice pushing and she would move my cervix out of the way so I could push. I pushed just like she told me too, and MAN DID THAT FEEL GOOD! After the practice push and before the next one I even kind of laughed and said pushing never felt so good. We did another practice push and another and I crowned her the third time so Joni said hold on don't push anymore the doctor will want to be here for her birthday. So she called for the doctor again and told her we needed her and she'd have to go to the c-section afterwards. Curtis asked my mom back in because I wanted her there and Curtis wanted her to video and get some pictures. The doctor arrived and 15 minutes later she was here! In between contractions the doctor was styling Lizzi's hair because she has so much haha, the final push the doctor said here we go just a little push. I tried to do a little one but apparently it was still a big one because the doctor said I am not sure you know how to do a little push. They had me look down and see her head as I did the final push out and I saw all her hair they were talking about. The umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck twice but she was just fine. Curtis cut her umbilical cord while she was on my stomach, they were drying her off and trying to keep her crying because she was not complaining enough. The doctor removed the placenta which was a great feeling to feel... I guess the best way to describe it is... empty. My stomach now looked like hamburger/jello, we were surprised just how small I looked already. They took Lizzi to get her measurements and the doctor finished stitching me up. They let my dad and mother in law in after they had things mostly cleaned up. We got pictures with everyone, and the nurses just talked about how alert Lizzi was, she was looking all over and just awake and content.

Daddy's first time holding his little girl

Mommy loving the skin to skin

Nan for the 12th time!

Proud first time grandparents!

Proud Parents

Happy family of 3

Proud Grandma Nat!

Everyone left to go upstairs to wait for us and I fed Lizzi for the first time. Then they put me in the wheelchair and wheeled us up to the 3rd floor to get settled in our room. We had quite a few visitors that night, Curtis's brother, wife and kids came, and Joshua and Bailey came also.

Children younger than 14 weren't allowed to come into the room so Aimee had to wait by the nursery window as did cousins Tye and Paisley (Curtis's brothers kids). Curtis later took Lizzi to the window so the kids could see her. My nephew Tye (he's 3 he'll be 4 in September) said as soon as he saw her I'm her favorite! She needs to learn to walk, Paisley will teach her to walk! Aimee was just beaming about how cute she thought she was and a very proud young Aunt. TJ was so cute with her, I didn't get a picture of him holding her but as you can see from his smile he was smitten with her, and can you blame him?

I mean look at those cheeks, and that little mouth! Curtis got to help bathe her for the first time, he was very gentle with her it was very sweet. Nan (Curt's mom) was kind enough to go get us Olive Garden because the hospital cafeteria had just barely closed for the night. Then everyone left and we were alone with our little bundle. I fed her again and asked that she be kept in the nursery at night and brought in to feed. Curtis gave me a good night kiss and said a family prayer then we got some much needed sleep.

Monday May 5, Alise and Jordan didn't make it the night before because visiting hours were over at 8 and they were in Park City so they came up the next day to see her and stayed for about an hour.

Proud Aunt

Jordan refused to hold her but we convinced him to at least get a picture with her. Alise kept saying how good she thought I looked she was expecting me to look like I was half dead. I told her I felt great, rightfully a little sore, but otherwise I felt really good; better than I expected too after giving birth. Curtis got the day off work and we were debating whether or not to go home that night or in the morning, we decided we would like one more night of decent ish sleep before we had to go home and handle her on our own (with Gma Nat's help of course). Curtis took the morning off of work on Tuesday also and went in after he got us settled with Gma. I was lucky enough to have my mom until Saturday afternoon to help, it was great getting to spend the time with her that I did. I love this new dynamic of mother daughter relationship we have now that I am also a mother.

I was blessed with the greatest example of what a mother is and should be, I have learned from her and continue to learn from her everyday. I just hope that I can be the mother to my Lizzi that my mother is for me. Giving birth was such an amazing experience, so spiritual and empowering, definitely different than I ever expected but I am so thankfully for this gift in my life and for the gift and responsibility that God has given me by trusting one of his sweet spirits to be in my care.