Birth Story

Once again I was surprised by baby's birth story. It never goes the way I think it is going to! We were trying for a VBAC so I was prepared to either have a quick, no-pushing birth or a c-section. I got neither. My doctor came in to check on me, but he was post-call and also had to go get his son so one of his partners was the one who delivered for us. I started to feel the need to push after 8. I told the nurses that Boo came out in just two pushes so they were prepared and had the doctor come in before I even tried. 

Unfortunately once I tried pushing he realized that she was facing up instead of down...at least she was head first, unlike her big sister Peanut! But I didn't realize that it's apparently much harder to push a baby out who is face up. Instead of having her chin tucked down, her head was tipped back trying to look up. I spent the next hour pushing while the doctor tried to turn her. He would get her facing the wall and then she would flip back so he would try the other way. It wasn't working so then they decided that they need to turn ME over! Let me tell you it's really hard to turn over when you are numb from the waist down. :P I spent twenty minutes trying to stay up on my hands and knees before they finally let me flip back over. She hadn't budged. I was exhausted and ready to concede that we needed a c-section, but the doctor said we could try the vacuum. So I pushed some more while the doctor got the vacuum ready. Then with just a couple times of me pushing and him pulling she was out at 9:55PM.

I was really surprised at how many things/procedures have changed in the 3 years since we had a baby. They put her on my chest straight away, and then left her there. With the others they let me have them for a bit, but then took them away to get cleaned up. With Baby E they left her with me for almost two hours before doing anything with her. She was also having a hard time breathing with all the junk in her lungs, but they said to suction it all out was an invasive procedure and they didn't want to do it until it was absolutely necessary. That wasn't the case with Boo...they suctioned her out right away. After about two hours she finally started breathing normally so they never had to do it.

The nurses got the room cleaned up and we let the girls come in to take a peek at their baby sister. They couldn't hold her yet because she was still covered in all sorts of birthing fluids and didn't even have a diaper on yet, but at least they got to look at her before going back to Noni's for bed.  They left the hospital after 11 and still had the 30 minute drive to Noni's...the latest they've ever stayed up!

A little while after they left the nurse finally wiped her down a little and got a diaper on her. I fed her for the first time and we started a loooooong night of tests and checks. They came in every hour to do something. That is always the worst part of hospital stays for me!  I'm pretty sure my longest stretch of sleep was about 35 minutes. Other than that I literally just dozed the whole night. But we made it to morning...although quite exhausted. Then we started a day of more tests and checks.

 

And now...lots of pictures! First picture with Daddy!

 

Not happy to be out of her nice warm home! 

 

Getting measured. 20 1/2 inches long.

She looks like she's ready to punch someone out. Haha :) 

Footprints! 

First bath. She wasn't a fan. :)

  

Nurse Ashley why are you scrubbing my head??

 

Not much hair! The least hair out of all of them...just a light fuzz.

Well that's a little better.

 

 Ahh...nice and warm. She loved the little bed with the warmer.

 

Yeah this isn't so bad.

Hearing test.

Contemplating the world.

She had some definite alert times in the hospital.

 

Mommy and Daddy can't stop taking pictures of me! 

But she mostly slept. :)

It's kind of hard to see but there is a big circle bruise (taking up almost her entire head) where they had to vacuum her out.

 The hospital had a bunch of hats that ladies knit and donate. The one we brought was a little big so the nurse gave her this purple one.

We spent lots of time just holding her and staring at this precious new miracle God gave us!

Pictures of her sisters' first real visit up next!