I realize a lot of you probably don't care about all these details, but I also know enough of you do that it would be easiest to share them this way, rather than on an individual basis. As I've said, too, this is a way for me to preserve our family's memories, so even if no one reads this particular post, it's at least been documented for posterity's sake. So, all that said, here is Lydia's birth story:
At my ~39 week appt., I was dilated 3 cm and 50% effaced, which was no progress since my last week's appt. Baby and I were both fine, and I still felt good, but we were reaching the end and time for her to be on the outside. So, for several reasons, I decided to be induced, and based on everyone's schedules and a few logistics, we ended up scheduling the induction for the very next morning.
(This isn't necessarily actual-birth-related, but I want to remember the mixed feelings I had about scheduling this birth. First of all, I felt like a little bit of a failure after having done everything in the book to make things happen naturally, only to find out my body hadn't made any progress. Secondly, I love surprises, so I think part of my disappointment stemmed from the fact that we knew, generally, when she would arrive. I was also feeling a little guilty that we'd had several (generously helpful) people on "standby" which meant putting their lives on hold, a bit, and we didn't end up needing to call on them. That said, I was glad to have the time to truly plan and get things squared away (though we'd been doing that for weeks) before leaving for the hospital. It was also valuable to be able to prepare Jacob and for my parents to have plenty of lead time to come stay with him. Knowing it was our last night as a family of three made me a little emotional, but it was a relief to know she'd be here and we'd be able to move onto the next season.)
We arrived at the hospital, as instructed, at 6:00 a.m. - right when the shift was changing. After checking in and being shown to our room, the nurses got me all charted, situated, and hooked up to start the lowest possible dosage of Pitocin around 7:20 a.m. Shortly thereafter, we asked if I could take a COVID-19 test, so I could take my mask off, and the nurses said, "Of course!" The (rapid) test was a self-administered 15-second swab of each nostril - "far enough up to the point that you feel like you're going to sneeze." I swabbed and sneezed and sat back to wait for things to start moving. My doctor arrived, as planned, to break my water at 8:30 a.m.
As the day progressed, and my body didn't, the Pitocin dosage was increased. Lunchtime came and went, and the contractions became stronger and stronger. At some point, I threw up all the clear liquid "food" I'd had throughout the morning - something that had happened when I was in labor the previous time. We tried several different labor positions/techniques, so when the nurse told me around 2:00 p.m. that I was only dilated to 6 cm at the rate of 1 cm per hour, I was disappointed and so conflicted. I was on Pitocin for my last delivery, so I knew what I was in for as far as pain goes, and at that point, I didn't know whether or not I could mentally or physically make it another four hours. With that in mind, I made the decision to get an epidural (something I didn't do the last time). The hour it took for the orders to be made, anesthesiologist to arrive, explanations to be given, and epidural to finally be administered was excruciating - physically and mentally. For whatever reason, the contractions really ramped up in severity during that time, and it felt like the relief was never going to come.
It did, though, and I felt like a different person (and it showed, according to my husband). Shortly thereafter, my blood pressure dropped, which meant the baby's heartrate did, too. The nurses were having a hard time keeping track of her with the external monitor, so they made a plan to put in an internal one at the same time they put in a catheter (standard procedure after an epidural). As the nurse prepared me for this, however, she discovered I was 10 cm dilated and 100% effaced. They were all shocked, because just an hour earlier I was at 6 cm and maybe 75%. So, they scratched the monitor/catheter plan, called the doctor, and prepared for delivery. Once the doctor got there, I pushed three times and was done! Bryant barely had time to get gloves on to help with the delivery.
And then she was here! We waited in our room for quite a while (the nurses were busy that night) before being transferred to a room (with a "view" in the form of mountain view window clings of sorts to block the actual view of rooftops/HVAC systems). We spent the night and most of the next day, and after passing all the usual check-ups and tests, we were discharged the next evening! We absolutely could have stayed at the hospital longer, but there was really no reason to, as far as we were concerned. My recovery was and has been easy and quick (for which I am very thankful), and Lydia has been doing all the right newborn things.
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| Hospital billboard on our way there - it says, "Ready for you." Thought it was funny/appropriate/ironic. ☺ |
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| Here we go! |
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| He got to catch another baby! |
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| ♥ |
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| I'd totally forgotten they made hospital hats with bows! |
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| Aunt Jami made all our matchy-matchy-red-and-white-polka-dot dreams come true! |
Thanks for reading! Thank you, also, for those of you who supported, prayed, and encouraged us through the journey. Happy to talk through any of this in more detail (yes, there are actually more details - haha) with anyone who'd like to do so.
Sleeping as much as I can,
Kensy
Favorites of the day:
Ethiopian food
dark chocolate
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| Lydia's bow collection. I'm not even going to try to justify it...but if you know me well, you know this is what dreams are made of. ♥ |
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