Last week I mentioned that baby girl was already a month old. I’ve been trying to write up her birth story for weeks now but I’ve been struggling. I think the uncertainty over whether or not she’s our last baby has me feeling really nostalgic. It’s definitely making this a lot more emotional for me. This birth story post is in collaboration with The Ollie World Swaddle. Although I was gifted product all opinions are completely my own. Newborn photography provided by Shelby Mousley Photography, pictures at the hospital are my own.
a birth story for our 5th baby
If you’ve followed me for a while you might remember me talking on my InstaStories that I always go into labor in the middle of the night. I’m well aware that babies come when they want. However, I feel confident that if I wake up in the morning still pregnant then I won’t be having a baby that day. So, you can imagine my surprise when a little before 9:00 am on January 31–11 days before my due date–my water broke.
Unlike when my water had broken with my son, my first thought wasn’t, “I can’t believe I just peed myself”. My first thought was “I think my water just broke”. Which really, was pretty crazy because it was nothing like when my water had broken the first time. I tried to ignore it at first, which I realize sounds ridiculous but I was a little bit in denial. However, a few minutes later I experienced another small “gush”. Then another one a few minutes after that, so I finally called Mike to let him know what was happening.
waiting for something to happen
I was nervous because contractions hadn’t really started yet. Knowing Mike, I knew he would want me to call the hospital and ask how long I could wait until I came in. I didn’t want to do that because I knew they would say, “right now”. Sure enough, the labor and delivery nurse hesitantly said that they prefer women to come in right away once their water breaks. However, I could wait a couple hours if I wanted to. She suggested I pump for no more than 15 minutes to see if that would start contractions. So, I hung up with a plan.
The rest of the morning consisted of taking the kids for a walk (with my water leaking the whole time), pumping (got a few contractions!), doing laundry (more water leaking), taking a shower (stayed in as long as I could), painting my nails (I had plenty of time to kill while I waited for Mike to get home), and cleaning the kitchen (more water leaking). By the time Mike got home it was early afternoon and contractions were still almost non-existent. We said goodbye to the kids and grandparents, and headed out the door!
going to the hospital
We finally showed up at the hospital, and much like with my last labor, they were definitely in no hurry to admit me. Really, I don’t blame them, I certainly didn’t look like I was in labor. When they took me back into a triage room, they even questioned at first if my water had actually broken. Thankfully, they realized pretty quickly that this wasn’t my first rodeo and I probably knew what I was talking about. It didn’t really hit me that baby girl would be coming soon until they took me back into a labor and delivery room. That moment when I see the baby warmer all ready to go always makes me emotional. It was around 4:30 in the afternoon at this point. As we settled in I asked Mike if he though we’d have a January baby or a February baby–
“February. You still have to have the antibiotics and they have to be spaced out, it’s going to take awhile.”
our birth story: at the hospital
I needed to get two rounds of antibiotics since I had tested positive for Group B Strep. So, I stayed in bed for most of the time until I had finished both rounds. Whenever I got up out of bed my contractions would get more intense and more regular. But as soon as I got back into the bed they basically stopped. They also didn’t want to check my progress until they had to since my water had broken, so I still had no idea how dilated I was.
I talked with the nurses about my different options and was relieved that at this hospital they don’t have a policy regarding your water breaking. There was no hard-and-fast, 24-hour rule once my water had broken, whew. As long as baby and I were both doing well we could avoid Pitocin and a C-Section as long as I wanted. It made such a difference to my mental state while I was in labor knowing that I wasn’t on a ticking clock.
when I finally finished the antibiotics
I finally finished my second round of antibiotics around 10 p.m. and I started getting up and moving around. They also checked me around this time and I was heartbroken to find out I was only at 5 cm. Quickly after my check and with me increasing my movements my contractions picked up in frequency and intensity. It’s true that my labor up until that point hadn’t been too intense, but I was already so tired and I was beginning to have that feeling of I’m so tired and I don’t know if I can do this. I think that’s something that most laboring women experience at some point. I had raised the bed up high and would lean against it every time I felt a contraction come and just try to relax my body.
At this point I was also doing what I had done in the past starting with my third child. I had begun doing small pushes while I was standing during the contractions to help move things along. I’d only been at a five shortly before when they checked me and I was nervous for how long this would go on because I was already so tired. Going into labor in the morning seemed like a totally different experience to me.
this is the point in the birth story where things got real…
Towards the end of labor I need Mike to provide counter-pressure on my hips during contractions, it is so helpful! I was getting to that point when I realized that my body was starting to push on its own during contractions. I thought, that’s crazy, they just checked me and I was only at a 5. Besides, I really did not want to get my hopes up that I had progressed that much in just an hour.
After a few contractions though, I said to Mike, “I think you need to call them back in here, I think I need to push”. To which he echoed what I’d been thinking, “Are you sure? They just checked you an hour ago and you were only at a 5”.
“Mike, I think you need to call them in here, now!”
Mike called them in the room and they got me back on the bed so they could check me again. All the time I’m just thinking–I better be ready to push because if I’m only at 6 or 7 cm I’m going to lose it…
“Okay, you’re about an 8…”
I’m feeling totally defeated at this point. I thought for sure I was ready to push.
“…but if it’s okay with you I’ll try to stretch you during your next contraction and we’ll see what happens.”
Oh sure, that sounds super pleasant.
time to push!
I pushed during the next contraction and the last little bit of cervix moved out of the way. It was go time! My body just wanted to push, push, push, even between contractions. Thankfully, my doctor this time trusted that my body knew what it was doing. Although she did tell me I could rest between contractions if I wanted to, if I wanted to keep pushing that was fine too. Well, my body definitely wanted to keeping pushing and 5 minutes later (literally) baby girl was out! I really think it helped that this time I had a mirror and I was able to watch her coming out. I’ve never been able to see before because they were never able to get a mirror to me fast enough.
she was finally here!
They laid her on my chest right away, all 7 pounds 5 ounces and 20.5 inches of her. Then I asked Mike for the delivery time–11:21 pm.
“Darn, I guess you wanted to be a January baby instead of a February baby, huh?”
Baby girl swallowed a lot of amniotic fluid and spent the first 24 hours spitting up quite a bit and not wanted to eat much. As a result she lost almost a pound in her first 48 hours of life. When you only weigh 7 pounds that’s a large amount. Since then she’s been eating like a champ and gaining a good amount of weight though.
I don’t know if it’s because we had so much skin-to-skin time right away, or if it’s just how she is, but she is super needy. She loves to be held and snuggled so much more than I remember my other ones needing that kind of attention. To help her feel cozy and safe even when I can’t hold her I swaddle her, just like I did with all my other kiddos. I love the simplicity and the soft fabric of the Ollie Swaddle, I also love that I can adjust the size to grow with her, because I swaddle my babies as long as possible!
Newborn photography for this birth story by Shelby Mousley Photography.
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