Birth Story

We were so very ready for our little Jane Elizabeth to get here. Having my due date come and go was no fun. I was worried I was going to have to get induced but to our great excitement I woke up about 4:00 a.m. on May 3rd and was having labor pains. We started cleaning up the house and packing and getting all the last minute things together. At about 9:00 a.m. I called the doctor and told her what was going on, fully expecting her to tell us to go to the hospital. She told me she didn’t think that I was in active labor yet because my contractions weren’t that intense. I ended up laboring at home for about 12 hours before I felt my contractions starting to get worse. 

Tyler kept checking my cervix throughout the day (one of the many perks of having a medical husband).  At about 5:00 p.m. he said he thought I was at about 4 centimeters so we called the doctor and decided to head to the hospital. When the nurse checked me she confirmed that I was indeed at 4 centimeters and they admitted me. It was a pretty proud moment for Tyler that he had been right :). 

Once I was admitted I asked them to start doing what they needed to do to get me an epidural. I wasn't in crazy pain yet, but I was really tired from dealing with contractions all day and I knew they were only getting worse. Oh, how I love drugs! The epidural was instant relief and allowed me to be able to rest a little throughout the night.

The OB broke my water and there was meconium (baby poop) in the fluid. This meant that Jane was potentially ingesting poop which can cause infection. So instead of handing her directly to me after birth and having Tyler cut the cord they were going to have to hand her straight to a neonatologist to make sure there was no meconium in her lungs. I was bummed about this but grateful that she would get the care she needed.

I progressed pretty quickly and was at 9 centimeters by about 10:30 p.m. The nurse said she thought we'd have a baby by midnight but for some reason my contractions slowed down and I didn't end up fully effaced and dilated until about 4:00 a.m. Sunday morning. Fortunately I didn't need any meds to help my labor progress and I started pushing a little after 4:00 a.m. I pushed for about two hours. It was a long two hours. I pushed in the lithotomy position for about an hour but didn't feel that it was very effective. I've always thought trying to push a baby out while on your back is dumb. They say pushing is like having a bowel movement. Well, I don't know about you but I've never met anyone who poops while laying on their back. Squatting seems like it would be much more effective. Fortunately I had an awesome epidural and was still able to have pretty good control over my legs so I hopped up on the bed into a squatting position and started pushing that way. It was so much more effective. I felt like I had so much more control and she really started coming down after that. 

Once she started crowning they had me sit back down and brought a mirror over so I could see. It was so encouraging to be able to see her little head. Pushing her out is definitely the hardest thing I've ever done, but oh how worth it. The whole process truly is such a miracle. It was so amazing to watch this tiny little human come out of my body. It is such a tender experience. 

It took Jane a minute to come to life. The neonatologist had her for about 5 minutes or so making sure she was okay. That was about the longest 5 minutes of my life. I was so anxious to see and hold her. It was definitely love and first sight. It's amazing the maternal instinct and instant love that you have for these precious little spirits. It was so sweet to see the look in Tyler's eyes when they handed her to me. I could tell that he was in love with her too. It's such a magical experience and I am so thankful that things went so well and we have a healthy happy baby as the newest member of our little family. We just love her to death!

Three days before Jane was born.

First family photo right before we left the hospital.