This is Millie's birth story. It might be long and detailed but I really wanted to remember every part of it as it was such an amazing experience. I wish everyone could have such a wonderful experience!
We arrived a little late to the hospital on September 4th.
We went into the ER at 12:10am and went to check in for our scheduled
induction. The lady in the ER did not have record of us coming in and called
Labor and Delivery. They again had no record of us coming in and decided to
call around to other hospitals to make sure we were at the right place. How
frustrating! We sat in the waiting room while they did their research. The ER
lady came back to us and said we were not scheduled and to just go home and
call the doctor in the morning. I said um no way we are not going home this is
ridiculous! We went outside and I called the DR’s office and told the answering
service to have a Dr call me so that I would NOT have to go back home. While
waiting for them to call back a nurse from Labor and Delivery called me at
12:30am and told me to come back that they found the information they needed.
We went back in the ER and checked in and headed over to Labor and Delivery. We
were greeted at L & D with apologies as they had wrote down my induction on
my due date instead of the day we were supposed to be there. They checked us
into the biggest delivery room at 12:45 and started to get things started. I
was asked 100 different medical questions most of which all the answers were
no, and was just frustrated that we were taking so long to get this started! I
guess all the stress of the situation caused me to have contractions so they
were monitoring them to see how they would progress. The IV was started after a
vein was blown and some fluids were given to me to see if that would slow down
the ‘braxton hicks’ contractions. Instead of them slowing down they were
actually staying pretty consistent. My amazing nurse Kristy came in around 3 am
and checked me and I was 2cm. She then
went to call the Dr to see if we should skip the cytotec and go straight with
the pitocen. We got our answer around 4:30am and pitocen was started. Nurse
Kristy was amazing in helping us with many different positions for labor. She
gave us a birth ball and some essential oils to help calm me down. She was so
helpful and encouraging to me to help me have a natural delivery. She
encouraged Andrew to sleep so that he could be the best help possible to me. Dr
Emberson came in for the morning around 7:30 and woke me up to break my water.
At this point the contractions were coming semi-regularly but not very strong
yet. They increased the pitocen over the
morning and at 12:30pm I asked to be checked to make sure some progress was
being made. During the morning I sat on the birth ball and in the rocking
chair. Daddy was right there with me encouraging me and helping me through each
contraction. Dr Emberson came in to see
how things were going as he hoped she would arrive around lunch time. I was 5
cm which was some progress but not as much as we would have liked. The
contractions were coming stronger now and around 2pm I was starting to feel
pressure like pushing would be coming soon. I had a nurse come in and check me
and I was 7cm. I asked if any pain medication could be given at this time as I
was thinking it took all this time to get this far and I still have 3 more cm
to go! She said that it wasn’t advised
now as the baby was too close to coming. I instead leaned over the raised bed and
focused on breathing through the contractions. Andrew was amazing and was right
there with me helping me get through the contractions. Mom would talk to me and
try to get my focus off the pressure. At 2:30 I was really feeling the pressure
to push like NOW and the nurse came back and I was 9 cm. She immediately called
for Dr Emberson to come to the hospital. All the nurses were rushing around to
get the bassinet warmed for Millie and the table of instruments ready for the
delivery. The urge to push was too strong and even though the nurses kept
warning me to stop pushing as the Dr. wasn’t there I couldn’t help but push! I
was trying to breathe through the contractions and was hyperventilating a
little bit too. My fingers and toes got a little tingly like they were falling
asleep. I tried to slow down my breathing but it was hard to focus on breathing
and pushing and keep everything together! Dr. Emberson arrived quickly and I had already
been pushing a few times. He got washed up and I continued pushing. It was
painful but pushing helped to ease some of the pain. Her head came out and the
Dr. cleaned out her mouth and nose and then I pushed her shoulders out. Millie
was born at 2:58pm! She was perfect! Started crying right away! She scored 9 on
both her 1 and 5 min APGAR tests. I had a minor tear but Dr. Emberson said it
was probably from my previous delivery with Aaron. I easily delivered the
placenta with no problems. I was surprised at the pain of the nurse checking my
fundus after the birth. Mom said I was louder when she pushed on my stomach
than I was while pushing! Haha oh well it hurt!
It was such an amazing experience to not have the pain
medication. I don’t think that the contractions were painful, just a pressure
and you had to breathe through it. I know it helped to stay relaxed and calm,
knowing that stress would only make pain and that would not help my baby get
here any quicker. As long as I stayed focused on being calm and knowing that as
soon as my baby was here I wouldn’t have this pressure anymore was enough to
keep me going! One song I sang in my head a lot is “Nothing is impossible”. God
gave me the strength and determination to make it through this delivery.
One week later and I feel great. I am not in much pain and
am soo happy with my baby girl. I am so proud that we were able to achieve this
delivery. Andrew and my Mom were so helpful and understanding of my wishes and
really helped me have the greatest birth experience.
Millie is slightly jaundiced, but is nursing often and
sitting in the sun to help reduce this. Hopefully it clears up quickly and no
further treatment is necessary.
Right after she was born, seeing Mommy, Daddy and Nana!
Meeting Aaron for the first time! It is love!!
