My Due date with Ella was October 12th 2016. Her pregnancy was long and hard. I spent 28 weeks on bedrest with a subchorionic hematoma that caused me to bleed with any activity. Every time I saw bleeding I feared we would lose her. We made it through a car accident at 34 weeks, a fall in the shower at 36 weeks, and a bit too hard of a hit to the belly from pushing brother on the swing at 38 weeks. Carlton, Myself, our family and our sweet sweet church family prayed for her safety and health on a daily basis. She was hard fought for and truly a miracle. After finally making it to full term i was more than anxious to have her in my arms. I was due on a wednesday. A wednesday that came, and went, with no baby.
Even though Ella is our second, this was the most pregnant i had ever been. See, Ethan was induced at 39 weeks, so when 40 weeks rolled around with Ella i knew two things, 1. i couldn't definitively say that i hadn't been pregnant for years on end at this point and 2. I was destined to remain huge and pregnant forever. At my 39 week appointment i was 3cm dilated and 75% effaced. My doctor said labor could happen at any point but due to my desperate begging that she get this child out of me, she agreed to schedule an induction for Friday October 14th at 40 weeks and 2 days.
We decided to try just about anything to get this girl on her way in the meantime. I ate tons of pineapple, Spicy foods, I saw a chiropractor, I took LONG walks, Carlton and i spent some quality time together, NOTHING WORKED. I also cant promise that I didn't at one near breaking point go sit and do my bible study in my car in the parking lot of the hospital in hopes that my child would find that a convenient time to be born 😬.
After a week of trying everything with zero luck we found ourselves on Thursday evening looking forward to our induction the next day. I had really wanted to go into labor naturally this time and that is what we had all been praying for, but at this point i was so over it i didnt care lol. We packed our bags and lined up childcare for Ethan. We were supposed to be at the hospital to start induction at 6AM. Friday morning at 5:30AM i got a phone call that our induction was being bumped because they had too many patients in labor. cue ALL THE TEARS. I. was. done. I was huge and tired and anxious and i just wanted to hold my baby. My sister Jamie (and my grandmother) had come into town that day to be here for the birth. We had very much been praying Ella would arrive on Friday morning, because Jamie had to leave friday night for a job transfer to Wisconsin.
After getting the call that i was bumped i was perfectly content to sit at home and wallow in self pity, However, my mom, Jamie, and my grandmother wouldnt allow it. Thankfully the weather was incredible so we loaded Ethan up and took him to a pumpkin patch to pick out "punkins" and then to eat gelato. That Evening i had carlton take us on a super long walk. During the walk i could feel some slightly painful tightenings. I knew they were contractions, but not regular enough to time. That night when we got home i decided to see if i could get the contractions to do anything. So I decided to pump while i bounced on the birthing ball for 2 hours. I continued to have the tightenings but nothing big happened. So i went to bed.
The next morning i woke up and started to get ready. I noticed the tightenings were still there and maybe 7 minutes apart or so, but not overly painful. That morning i sent Carlton and Ethan to the fire station where they were having a demonstration for kids. I thought it would be fun for Ethan to get to sit in the fire trucks. Carlton was nervous to go and kept asking if i was in labor. I kept brushing him off saying "no, no, im sure im not. and even if i was she probably wont come til tomorrow".
I convinced him to go.
After they left around 9:30am i used the restroom and noticed blood. I wasnt sure what to think. I knew this late in the game that "bloody show" could be normal, but because of my history with bleeding and the SCH this pregnancy i decided to call my doctor. The doctor agreed that with my history i should come in to be checked out. I called Carlton (who im sure was thrilled with me saying i was headed to the hospital 😂) and he had my mom come over to watch Ethan and was going to meet me at the hospital.
I actually left my bags at home because i was CERTAIN they would send me back home! I drove myself (which about gave my poor grandmother a heart attack) the 5 minutes down the road to the hospital. I remember thinking in the car "these tightenings are happening a lot..." and i noticed that by the time i got to the check in desk that they were closer together. The nurse at the front desk asked me if i was in labor and i believe i stammered "oh! that would make sense but im not really sure!" at which point she and a few other nurses laughed at me 😅.
It wasnt until i was walking down the hallway with the nurse that i really thought, "this might be labor!". They got me into a room and had me put on one of their ever so lovely gowns that open in the back 😣, and hooked me up to the monitor. Right away we saw my contractions were 2 minutes apart! Carlton arrived right about this point as did the doctor. He checked me and determined i was dilated to 4cm and the blood was likely coming from my changing cervix. Because of the contractions they decided at 10am to keep me for an hour to see if i made any progress. I believe carlton and i spent that hour praying they wouldnt send me home 😂. An hour later they checked me again and i was 5cm. At 11AM They offically admitted me and said "we're having a baby today! My response was "Good! because these contractions are starting to get uncomfortable and i might cry if you send me home!".
FINALLY! i was in fact NOT going to be pregnant forever!! They decided to go ahead and break my water to see if my contractions would get stronger since they werent all that painful at this point. I made sure our fantastic nurse Carol had my epidural all lined up as soon as they broke my water. My birth plan was very simple and the only two things i really wanted was 1. that she be put directly on my chest and 2. that we delay cord clamping. Unfortunately when they broke my water there was meconium in it. This was slightly ironic in the fact that, even though i had tried everything else, i had SPECIFICALLY avoided using castor oil because it can cause the baby to pass meconium in utero. So they warned me that because of the meconium, if baby didnt look great they would have to cut the cord immediately.
After breaking my water the anestisiologist came in to give me the epidural. He was FANTASTIC, and not just because he had the drugs 😂. This sweet old man stayed with us for awhile after he placed the epi to make certain that it worked exactly right and to chat football with Carlton. Knowing my history with anxiety he continued to come back to check on me to see if i had any questions or concerns. He was great, and he got on fabulously with our favorite nurse Carol. They were a hoot to watch together lol. At this point its about 12:45pm and im feeling all comfy with my epi.
At about 3:00pm they checked me again and i was still at 5cm. I was so sad because i was sure id have been an 8 or something. Carol said Ella was stuck behind my pelvic bone and it was keeping her from coming down. They said they might need to start pitocin but Carol said "give me 30 minutes. im really good at getting these babies to move". When she came back in she had a peanut ball with her. She got me situated on my side with the peanut ball and had me hang out there for awhile, it was a gorgeous day outside and we had a beautiful balcony in our room so Carlton spent some time out there enjoying the sun. My mom came up and was keeping me company while i sat with my peanut ball. at 4:00pm they checked me again and i was 7cm! Ella finally dropped and things were moving! At this point my epidural is starting to wear off and im starting to feel
At 5:30pm, they check me again and i am 10cm and I was
She was limp, not crying, and a little pale so they cut her cord immediately and take her over to a bed to suction. She gets a little oxygen and pinks right up. In a direct answer to prayer, she did not aspirate any meconium. She still didnt cry, however, neither did Ethan so that seems to just be the norm for our babies. As soon as she got some color they brought her right over to me and put her on my chest. She nursed immediately and I fell in LOVE. She was gorgeous. 8lbs 12oz 19.5in long and a head FULL of dark hair, just like her daddy. Ironically She was a pound and a half bigger than Ethan, with a 90th percentile head, but i didnt tear near as badly with her as i did with him (praise the Lord😳).
I love to look back on her pregnancy and birth because you can truly see the Lords hand over the entire process. We (I) tried to control timing by scheduling an induction and He made it very clear that my timing was not his timing. In his timing i was able to have a 7 hour labor without medical induction. It was 1000X easier on my body for delivery and recovery. I was not exhausted or sleep deprived or hungry and i was able to be fully mentally present. I had prayed my whole pregnancy that i would get to truly enjoy her birth process and i very much did. Praise be to God for his wonderful provision and this incredible little girl. I cant wait to see what he does next time around. 💕💕
our favorite nurse Carol!^^
First bath ^^
Dad analyzing moms contractions ^^
first outfit^^
going home!
