As one journey had now ended, another one has begun.
Where do I even begin.
First off, labour & delivery.
Tuesday July 21st I woke up with some bad braxton hicks contractions. I felt like it was an off day, maybe it was just too warm out etc, but I wasn't feeling the best. I had a DR appt at 1 that day. I went in for our usual check-up and mentioned I had been cramping all day so she did a cervical check. I was 2cm & 50% effaced. Basically she said "see you next week!" like I had a ways to go. We went about the day, got groceries etc, but by the time I got home I really wasn't feeling it.
I got into bed around 5 and layed there timing the waves of pain on my phone. There was a pattern, and I had never had that before. They were 10 mins apart, then 7-8, then 4-5 etc etc. So finally around 10:30-11 we decided to go into the hospital. I was still at 2cm and contractions were 2-3 mins apart. I was gripping the rails on the bed the pain was so intense. They gave me a shot of a narcotic and said to go home and come back when the pain is worse or my water breaks........Uh.....WORSE? this could get WORSE?
We went home and I went back to lay in bed for 3 hours. Around 4:30 I felt a pop. I got up and sure enough....my water broke. So back we went to the hospital. By now the pain was for sure getting worse and I was having troubles even breathing through them. I got checked in and was told I was 4cm, so NOW I am officially in labour. Somewhere around the 5cm mark I opted for the epidural. What a glorious drug. I had two more contractions after the epidural and then felt nothing. All I felt as I progressed was pressure. They gave me oxytocin to progress and it actually was very successful. Next time they checked I was 7cm and shortly after I was a 10. Once I hit 10, the nurse gave me an hour to relax before we were going to start pushing.
There was going to be a baby here, very soon. You can say I was pretty emotional and overwhelmed.
After the hour was up it was go-time. We got all set up and ready for me to push. The nurse said I would push with her and when she thought I was a few pushes away from delivery she will call the OB. I felt a contraction, the nurse told me to take a big deep breath and bear down. She said the baby was right there and asked if I wanted to see. I was freaking out, "no no no I don't want to see". Mike and the nurse said it wasn't gross and to just look, that I wouldn't regret it. They got a mirror and there she was. I could see the majority of her head.
The nurse said don't push, it's time to call the OB, this baby will be here on the next push. So as she was doing that I had another contraction and I could feel baby moving down. Mike started to say "baby is coming now!" and within seconds, there she was. I didn't even push the second time. This moment was everything. I didn't feel any pain and didn't have any physical trauma to my body what-so-ever. The placenta was delivered easily and without any pain as well. I had the most ideal delivery I could ever, ever imagine.
Where do I even begin.
First off, labour & delivery.
Tuesday July 21st I woke up with some bad braxton hicks contractions. I felt like it was an off day, maybe it was just too warm out etc, but I wasn't feeling the best. I had a DR appt at 1 that day. I went in for our usual check-up and mentioned I had been cramping all day so she did a cervical check. I was 2cm & 50% effaced. Basically she said "see you next week!" like I had a ways to go. We went about the day, got groceries etc, but by the time I got home I really wasn't feeling it.
I got into bed around 5 and layed there timing the waves of pain on my phone. There was a pattern, and I had never had that before. They were 10 mins apart, then 7-8, then 4-5 etc etc. So finally around 10:30-11 we decided to go into the hospital. I was still at 2cm and contractions were 2-3 mins apart. I was gripping the rails on the bed the pain was so intense. They gave me a shot of a narcotic and said to go home and come back when the pain is worse or my water breaks........Uh.....WORSE? this could get WORSE?
We went home and I went back to lay in bed for 3 hours. Around 4:30 I felt a pop. I got up and sure enough....my water broke. So back we went to the hospital. By now the pain was for sure getting worse and I was having troubles even breathing through them. I got checked in and was told I was 4cm, so NOW I am officially in labour. Somewhere around the 5cm mark I opted for the epidural. What a glorious drug. I had two more contractions after the epidural and then felt nothing. All I felt as I progressed was pressure. They gave me oxytocin to progress and it actually was very successful. Next time they checked I was 7cm and shortly after I was a 10. Once I hit 10, the nurse gave me an hour to relax before we were going to start pushing.
There was going to be a baby here, very soon. You can say I was pretty emotional and overwhelmed.
After the hour was up it was go-time. We got all set up and ready for me to push. The nurse said I would push with her and when she thought I was a few pushes away from delivery she will call the OB. I felt a contraction, the nurse told me to take a big deep breath and bear down. She said the baby was right there and asked if I wanted to see. I was freaking out, "no no no I don't want to see". Mike and the nurse said it wasn't gross and to just look, that I wouldn't regret it. They got a mirror and there she was. I could see the majority of her head.
The nurse said don't push, it's time to call the OB, this baby will be here on the next push. So as she was doing that I had another contraction and I could feel baby moving down. Mike started to say "baby is coming now!" and within seconds, there she was. I didn't even push the second time. This moment was everything. I didn't feel any pain and didn't have any physical trauma to my body what-so-ever. The placenta was delivered easily and without any pain as well. I had the most ideal delivery I could ever, ever imagine.
She was here. After all the time, appointments, needles and worry, she was here.
Born Wednesday July 22nd at 1:35 pm. She was 6 lbs & 10 oz. Just little but already changed our lives in a big way.
Her name was debated forever. Her original name before we got pregnant wasn't even on the radar anymore. We had a list that was super long and narrowed it down to two about a week or so before she was born. The name Sloan came from my time off during my IVF cycle. I plowed through all 10 seasons of greys anatomy on netflix. The name Jaye comes from calling her "Baby J" for the better part of a year along with my middle name that starts with a J.
It has been such an emotional rollercoaster these past few days learning how to feed and dealing with difficulties that comes with it. We are learning who she is and she is learning who we are. It's a lot to take in. We can't believe we are parents and have already forgotten how we got here.
Just because we did IVF doesn't mean we love our baby any more than someone else, appreciate it more than someone else or deserve anything different than someone else.
So now we start a new journey into parenthood and look forward to every milestone & every smile.
xx
A
Her name was debated forever. Her original name before we got pregnant wasn't even on the radar anymore. We had a list that was super long and narrowed it down to two about a week or so before she was born. The name Sloan came from my time off during my IVF cycle. I plowed through all 10 seasons of greys anatomy on netflix. The name Jaye comes from calling her "Baby J" for the better part of a year along with my middle name that starts with a J.
It has been such an emotional rollercoaster these past few days learning how to feed and dealing with difficulties that comes with it. We are learning who she is and she is learning who we are. It's a lot to take in. We can't believe we are parents and have already forgotten how we got here.
Just because we did IVF doesn't mean we love our baby any more than someone else, appreciate it more than someone else or deserve anything different than someone else.
So now we start a new journey into parenthood and look forward to every milestone & every smile.
xx
A