My friend Jennifer and I came up with a great idea that I absolutely love. As you know, I am expecting my first child. This can be so overwhelming and I know that other first time moms probably feel the same. I have so many questions and would love to hear the opinions of moms who have already been through this a time or two before.Because of this, we are hosting a weekly series for a few weeks to try and get some answers to some of the most common questions.
We divided the series into two mini 4 week series grouped into questions Pre-Baby & Post Baby.
The first mini series will be:
Friday, April 5: Registering (Everything you need to know, Must Haves, Don't Bothers, etc...)Friday, April 12: Nursery Organization & IdeasFriday, April 19: Packing For The Hospital: For you & the babyFriday, April 26: Birth Stories (The good, bad, and ugly) / Birth Plans (yes? no?)
The second mini series will be:
Friday, May 3: Bringing Baby Home / Surviving The First Few WeeksFriday, May 10: Breast Feeding vs. FormulaFriday, May 17: Calming Your Baby & Sleep MethodsFriday, May 24: Losing The Baby Weight
So without further ado, let's get on with Week 2: Nursery Organization & Ideas! Since I do not have any children of my own yet, I will be featuring a blogger each week and their expert advice on the topic at hand (:
Birth Stories (the good, bad, and ugly) & Birth Plans:
Hi! I'm Melissa and I blog over at After We Tied The Knott.You guys, this was my favorite topic. I still think about that day and smile a big cheesy grin because it is such a beautiful memory that I will cherish forever.
You can read all about our Birth Plan here.
Now when you read it, know that that is NOT how the whole delivering a baby thing works... There's a lot more to it that you, as a new mom, could never know. Only one person knows how it'll all go and He typically won't write you a map.I expected to be sane through the whole thing and take our time as I've already heard it is a long, time intensive process (fun, right?). I mean, for my bag I planned to toss in a book, some cards, and some things to keep my family and friends entertained while they waited.
Then I changed my birth plan to include a tub... since I've heard it can help take the edge off. AKA: No family in the room until baby makes her appearance. Wrong.
While I expected to be in labor for hours upon hours, we were done delivering within 5 hours of arriving at the hospital. Needless to say the "plan" went out the window.
Here's how Kylie's birth story went...
Kylie Joy joined us on October 16th 2012 at 1:18pm. She weighed in at 9 pounds and was 21 inches long. Baby girl came roaring into this world and I can't imagine there was even one person in this world that was as happy in that moment as Tyler and I were.
At my doctor's appointment on 10/15, things went as normal. NST, blood pressure, weight (ick), and she stripped my membranes. This didn't work before, so I had no hope now. Just to be safe, we had already scheduled Kylie to be induced on 10/18/12. Kylie had different plans.
Well 3am rolled around and I had some seriously uncomfortable (what felt like) menstrual cramps. I tried to time them, and I got a range of 7-9 minutes apart. Tried going back to bed... fail. Tried sleeping on the couch... fail. So I did laundry and called my sister (which she was ever so thrilled to talk to me at 4:30 am... SORRY BECCA!!).
When the pain got a little more intense, I called the hospital (about 5am) to see if these were the real deal. She told me to keep timing and come in when they were 5 minutes apart. Tyler woke at 6am per usual and at that moment, I had my worst one yet. He said "wouldn't it be crazy if we had her today?"! Careful what you wish for, dad!
He showered his 20 minute shower and asked me after how I felt. I mentioned they were getting closer based on the data from my contraction counter.
**Another side note: DO NOT download a free contraction counter. I had one and it was great... for the first twenty contractions... but then good ol' number 21 rolled around and the damn thing said "please upgrade to continue tracking contractions"! Excuse my language, but SERIOUSLY?! I was frantically hitting "BUY" but it asked for my password which I was too irritated to enter... so Tyler wrote the stats and we cleared the data to start over. Dumb.
Tyler said "What a brilliant selling technique". I have a hard time agreeing.
Tyler had his coat on ready to go to work and we sat at the kitchen table... well, he sat. I paced. When they got to 3-4 minutes apart, I decided it was time to go. Tyler said "Nah... we can wait a while". I won't share my response. I believe I may have said a few words and went out to sit in the car. He followed (smart man).
We got to the hospital at 7:15 and went to the OB floor where there was already someone checking in so a nurse came and took us to a room by 8 (bypassing the admitting room) since I was clearly uncomfortable. She said that if I dilated at all from the 2cm at my appointment the day before, I would be admitted. I was a 4.
Then it got real.
I called my mom who was on her way to work and told her to turn around and my sister and Tyler called the rest of the world.
The nurse asked me if I would like the epidural and I said "let's see how this goes, can I get in the tub?". She said sure and I jumped right in. It really helped take the edge off... until a couple of hours later I was getting mean and nearly (well maybe actually) crying during the contractions which were one on top of the other at this point. I believe on a few occasions, while my sweet husband was telling me "breathe honey, in through your nose, out through your mouth" I snapped "stop breathing on me with coffee breath!!". Fortunately he forgave me.
When the contractions were beginning to get unbearable, I decided to get the epidural. Note to all you women who want babies: If you might want the epidural, start it sooner rather than later... you have to have 1 hour to suck in a whole iv bag. They plugged me in while I was still in the tub... for comfort's sake. Didn't work.
When we were ready for anesthesia, I got out, signed my life away, and sat to get checked. I was a 7. In a matter of an hour/hour and a half, I had dilated 3 cm... average is one per hour. Maybe this is why the pain was so unreal!
I had to sit through 4 contractions while I got the epidural where you cannot move. I had Tyler pinching my feet to try to focus me elsewhere. Ouch. This was the loudest I was during the whole pregnancy... OOHING through each contraction without a break.
An hour later, I was at 9.5 cm. Baby girl wanted out fast.
We started pushing right when I got to 10. I thought it would be like on TV where they walk you through how to do it... nope. You just instinctively know how it's done. I got about 5 pushes per contraction as I felt every single one. I felt them coming. Epidural work? For about an hour.
** Side note/story: On my second round of pushing (2 minutes into pushing), I had my eyes pressed tight and I was holding my breath until something pushed down on me. My eyes snapped open in time to see my giant husband falling to the ground. Fortunately the doctor caught him before he hit the ground. Unfortunately, she caught him with the glove she just checked me with... gross. So he came to (after a little groaning) with a scratch on his face from hitting the IV machine, changed shirts, and we were back at it. While he was passing out/on the floor, I started crying hysterically saying "TYLER, WAKE UP!!! I NEEEEEED YOU!!!" Really guys, it was like a bad drama series. We have spent plenty of time laughing about it already. I love my husband.
He always says "I think that is just when it got real. I mean nothing gross was really happening yet!!". I love him.
So the doctor told him to eat some of the jello or broth I had neglected twice and we were back at it.
After a little under an hour of pushing, our baby came screaming into the world. They laid her on my chest and all I could do is sob. I had known her for not even a minute and she stole my heart. The screams, the naked buns in my hand, and the beautiful eyes of our first baby. Even if there are words to describe this incredible unreal feeling, I can't find them. If I could relive that moment every day for the rest of my life, I would die of too much happiness.
I held my baby for a total of two minutes before they whisked her away to clean her off and Tyler went with (just across the room) while I got stitched up.
Other than holding her for her first few minutes, the moment that still brings me to tears is the moment Tyler walked over to me, holding his baby girl with tears in his eyes and a big, happy daddy smile on his face.
Again, a moment I would pay all of my money to see over and over.
While childbirth really is a beautiful thing, I think it's safe to say that even if you have a plan, that plan will likely change. Just remember to be open minded, and that once it starts, there's a light at the end of the tunnel. You'll soon be holding your new baby. That my friends, is worth all of the pain in the world.
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