Anna's Birth Story

Our day started at fiveish with showers and last minute packing. Then we bundled Rylie up in her blanket and put her in the car. She woke up with a big smile and said, "Thanks for getting my Dora blanket, Dad." We looked at each other and said how thankful we were for such a good girl, that was cheerful even when being taken out of her warm bed and put in the car at six in the morning.

We dropped her off with my Dad and headed to the hospital. We checked in and they led us to our room. We were pleasantly surprised to find that it was the same room I had delivered Rylie in almost three years prior. We were left alone to unpack and get settled. Then our nurse, Sandra came in. We were a little taken aback at first by her because she was way more bubbly and enthusiastic than we felt at the time. She turned out to be the best nurse ever! That is her rubbing my back in the picture. She stayed with us the entire time and was very encouraging and gave great back rubs.

Since I was GBS positive, she started me on an IV of Penicillin and at the same time started the Pitosin. My Doctor was supposed to be there soon, so she started me on a high dose of the Pitosin. As the morning wore on, my contractions grew stronger and stronger. Sandra estimated that I would deliver by noon.

During that time, we had several visitors, including our friend, Scott. He had been admitted to the hospital the day before so he came to visit from his room towing his IV.

Sandra got a phone call from my Doctor saying that he had scheduled a C Section at a different hospital for noon and wanted her to turn my Pitosin down to slow my labor down until he got there. Then he called back and said the C section was delayed and he wouldn't be there for several more hours. This was irritating because I was in pain and I wanted it to be over. I was ready to meet my little Anna.

My labor was slowed down quite a bit, but my pain wasn't. My water had broken around eleven, so my contractions were regular and strong. Sandra had me get on the birthing ball for awhile. This really helped relieve some of my back labor pain.

After about ten hours of labor, I was exhausted and in more pain than I was during my entire labor and delivery with Rylie. I hadn't wanted an epidural, but at that point I gave in and asked for one. It felt like it was taking the Anesthesiologist forever to get there. When she did get there, she kept explaining everything in great detail. At that point I wanted her to stop talking and get me out of pain. It was hard to remain perfectly still while she was giving me the epidural, and I was having contractions, but I did it. She actually gave me a block so I could still feel everything below my waist. I'm not sure why she did that, I had wanted the full epidural, but at least I could walk right away afterwards.

Eventually it was time to push. It was much harder and more painful than Rylie's delivery. After what felt like forever, I heard the Doctor say, "She has hair!" While I finished pushing my Doctor kept trying to style Anna's hair. Then she was out! I heard her little cry and they put her on my chest. Her little lower lip was pouting so pathetically. My sweet girl was finally here! She was absolutely beautiful and healthy! She weighed 7.8 and was 20 1/2 inches long. My Mom had her cell phone on speaker so all the friends and family waiting outside could hear the whole delivery. After they cleaned Anna up we were flooded with visitors and love!

We are so happy to have Anna Sophia here and we are very thankful for her!!!

In Limbo

Well, Anna is still in here

and not in here!

I have been having super intense contractions all weekend, combined with lower back cramping, and some other labor symptoms that not everybody wants to read about! I have been having all of the signs and symptoms of labor other than regular, consistent contractions. Last night I had them five minutes apart for almost an hour, but then it went back to every thirty minutes, then ten, then two, then twenty . . . I can't go to the hospital until they are five minutes apart for over an hour. I thought for sure we were going to be going in last night, but then they subsided. I had over forty hours of contractions and now today, hardly any! I've been having little ones, but nothing worth timing. I know I've been having contractions for months now, but these ones have been different. This whole weekend, my body has felt "different".

I have a doctor's appointment scheduled for Wednesday, but I'm going to call them in the morning and see if I can get in tomorrow. I'm very curious if I'm dilated at all and if my Doctor will know any kind of timeline. I am 34 weeks, so hypothetically I could have 6 more weeks to go!

I'm feeling very confused about it all. Yesterday morning, I was panicking because my house was nowhere near ready for Anna to come, I didn't have any bags packed, and I was worried about her coming too early. My wonderful husband came to the rescue, as did our friends Aaron and Becky! (Thank you so much guys!) Ryan spent almost four hours deep cleaning the bathroom, Becky did all our dishes and sweeping, Aaron took out recycling and fixed Rylie's new car seat (thank you soooo much Dave and Michelle!) and generally let Rylie hang on him! Then they all moved furniture around in the girls' room and set up Anna's crib. I was able to pack our bags, but that was about it. Every time I got up I had big contractions and everyone yelled at me to sit back down! I was hurting so much, I knew if I had to go through that pain every day for six more weeks I would go crazy. I felt much more reassured that things are ready for Anna to come and I was finally feeling ready. But now, my body has calmed down and I'm feeling in limbo. On one hand, I'm ready to be done with it all and hold my precious baby. On the other hand, I want Anna to be able to stay inside as long as possible so she can be as big and as healthy as she needs to be. Hopefully, I'll know more tomorrow! Please pray that Anna is safe and healthy!