On Saturday, September 1st I woke up with a small amount of bleeding, so I called the on call midwife and she reassured me that it was probably ok, but to call if it got worse. We had breakfast and then I had Brendan go to Hobby Lobby with me to finish up an Etsy order that I had received. It was at that point that I noticed my contractions were getting closer together and started timing them around noon. My contractions were staying at about 7-8 minutes apart. They grabbed my attention, but were bearable. Around 4pm I had a larger amount of bleeding so I called the on call midwife again and she told me to go ahead and come into the hospital. I told Brendan and his response..."It's Go Time!"
So at 5 pm we got admitted into our labor and delivery room. They hooked me up to monitor my contractions and the baby's heartbeat. During a few contractions the baby's heartbeat dropped which caused the nurse some concern. It didn't drop during every contraction so they never really said that she was in distress. They wanted to keep me overnight and basically just told us to rest. Which is easier said than done on a hospital bed and a pull out couch.
The next morning on Sunday, September 2nd, they resumed monitoring contractions and baby's heartbeat with the expectation of sending me home. The baby's heartbeat did the same drop during a few contractions. After consulting with the on-call doctor and midwife they recommended that my water be broken and they start me on Pitocin. I was ok with breaking my water, but I did not want Pitocin, I had heard that this medicine made contractions super intense. Because my goal was to deliver without pain meds I wanted to avoid it at all costs. At 11am they broke my water and my nurse agreed to let me go for a while before I started the Pitocin. After a walk around the hallways, my contractions went from 7-8 minutes to 4-5 minutes apart and much more intense. At this point I have no concept of time. My contractions grew closer together and more intense through out the day. I was also experiencing back labor this whole time because baby's chin wasn't tucked and she was posterior. So we tried several different positions in hopes she would turn. My incredible husband was by my side the entire time, helping me breathe, applying pressure to my back, rubbing my neck, getting me water. He was an awesome coach and teammate! I was also blessed with a great nurse who was there with us her entire 12 hour shift. If Brendan was counting breaths for me, she was applying pressure to my back and vice versa.
As I reached transition and was dilated to 7cm, I begged them to let me in the jacuzzi. The midwife agreed and I was able to relax a little better during the contractions. I think I was in there about an hour. This hour helped me prepare mentally for what was ahead. Because the jets were so loud I had to count and breathe on my own. I also began saying a prayer during every contraction, just reminding myself that I had the Lord's strength and what more did I need than that.
After I got out of the jacuzzi I hadn't dilated much and so they wanted to start a small dose of Pitocin. I agreed, but don't think I really needed it, because before I knew it (or at least according to my concept of time) I was dilated to 9cm and then felt the sudden urge to push. I asked Brendan if this part went as fast as I remembered it and he said no. Oh well, I guess I'm glad it felt like it went fast. :) Brendan's worse fear was that I would need to push and no one would be in the room. Sure enough that's what happened. As soon as our nurse walked in, he said very calmly with some slight urgency, "She wants to PUSH!". And thus began the hour and a half pushing session.
On a side note: My nurse's shift was to end at 7:00pm. I told her to come by and visit the next day to see the baby. She said, " Honey I'm not going anywhere until this baby is born." So she clocked out at 7pm and stayed with me until Eliana was born.
Towards the end they told me to reach down and feel my baby's head which gave me much motivation, not to mention the excruciating pain! At 8:05pm on Sunday September 2nd, I heard the words, "Sara reach down and get your baby!" Immediately she was on my chest and I was staring at the most beautiful baby I've ever seen. She didn't even cry, she was so quiet, looking at me wide eyed with those adorable chubby cheeks. Both Brendan and I were overcome with emotion at this tiny blessing. She was FINALLY here!
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| Seeing my daughter for the first time. |
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| Our beautiful blessing, only minutes old |
After a while I finally had the clarity of mind to let Brendan hold her. Oh my goodness, seeing my husband hold our baby for the first time melts me into a puddle and still does!
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| First time to hold his daughter |
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| First day home and already napping together |
After we were home for a few days I began finding out I had some prayer warriors praying for me during the time I was pushing.
A couple days after we were home I noticed a voice mail on my phone and listened to it. It was my neighbor, Heather, calling at 8:17pm on Sunday, September 2nd to tell me she and her husband were praying for us thinking about us and just wanted to let me know that. Little did she know she was praying me through the hardest part!
My youngest sister, Mary, told us that several minutes before she received the text that Eliana was born she felt the sudden need to pray and she was praying hard, like crying/lifting her hands/ come to Jesus moment! Definitely interceding for us! After she was done praying she looked at her phone and saw that Eliana was here and thus more tears!
I know all our family was praying for us as Brendan was updating them throughout the day. What a blessing to know so many were praying us through one of the hardest things we have ever done! I know that there is no way I could have done this without the Lord's strength!
