BIRTHday!

Sorry for the delay, just been chilling out and recovering, you know! I know a lot of you are anxious for the birth story, so here we go!

After being sad that we were bumped at 11:00am we were stoked to find out a few hours later we were back on. We all arrived at the hospital at 3:15pm. Everyone very excited! We got checked in and were taken back to a room. Joe helped me into my hospital gown and I hopped into bed. It took a bit to get started, but they were getting everything organized and stuff. When they checked me I was still sitting about 1cm. No change in two weeks, once again, my body hates to dilate. But that is okay. It is what it is. We started with the foley cath, which is a balloon that sits up against my cervix to help dilatation. They then let me eat some dinner about 6pm. Once I finished dinner we were going to start pitocin. Just before 8pm I got hooked up to the pitocin and somewhere in there I got my epidural. Everything went SO smooth. I was feeling great, we were all laughing and having a great time. Our nurse Heather, was seriously so awesome. I was sad to see her leave us for the night - pure entertainment I tell ya!

At midnight the foley balloon came out and I was 4cm. Contractions were steady and I was still feeling great. F&C had gone down the hall to the waiting room, and we were all hoping to get a little sleep. I was in an out of sleep. Like I would sleep for 1 minute, then be awake, and then back out. But that is how it is when people are in and out, and the BP cuff is going off etc. My mom showed up around 2am. We talked a few, had a couple laughs, then I rested some more. Around 3:30 am I was checked again and I was 5cm and we broke my water. An hour later I was a 7.

Then things started to go not so well. We discovered she was facing up, which babies are "normally" face down in delivery. I got to 8cm around 7am. They had me turning from one side to the other - because the babes heart rate was not handling the contractions well. They turned down the pitocin and we kept hoping her decelerations would stop. I was told that if this kept up, there was a change we would go back for an emergency c-section. Let me tell you, this killed me! Not because I was scared of it, or anything like that, I wanted to do what was best for baby, but I just didn't want one. I had labored for hours, hoping for my 3rd vaginal birth and I didn't want that to change. Then came the questions, who will go back with me? I definitely wanted my husband to be with me, but I also wanted her parents to witness her arrival into this world. We were all in tears. It was hard to even think about and I just tried to push it out of my mind. I text a few friends/family and told them to pray. Another friend send out the request to my bible study group - we had a lot of prayer warriors on our side. I just rolled over, closed my eyes and tried to relax, because crying and being anxious wasn't helping the situation. Everyone was so great and trying to keep me calm and be sure I was okay. And I know F&C were nervous too. I didn't want to make it worse for them either.

By this time the awesome nurse Heather was back and I was happy for that too. Not that all of the nurses taking care of us weren't awesome, but we just really clicked with her. She kept reassuring me that things would be okay. Kim, my midwife was also on shift, so I had all my favorite people there, and I was really hoping she would be able to help me deliver this baby! It was decided we would try the "peanut ball." Basically it is a huge yoga ball shaped like a peanut that goes between my legs while I am laying on my side. Let me tell you how uncomfortable that was after a while, BUT it was working. We also put in some internal monitors so we could get more accurate readings of the babys heart rate. I laid there until we got to 9.5cm. My epidural had worn off on one side because of my positioning and all the sudden intense pain was shooting in my groin and to my back with every contraction. I had to get my leg off that ball. They agreed to take it off and I just needed to get to 10. Baby did good with the change of position and I was starting to feel better.

Soon after it was time to push! I couldn't believe we were there. F&C were positioned behind me and Joe, mom and Heather held my legs. Push, push, push, push. This baby gave me a workout! I usually do not push too long, but this took about 45 minutes. Pushing her down while being face up seemed to be part of the issue. But I got her down, and as she was crowning she kinda screwdrivered out and turned head down in the process. Baby Victoria was officially here at 10:27am (I think thats right) on January 8th (my favorite number haha).

Her Papa was able to cut her cord and they all went over to the warmer to take photos while she was being evaluated. She was perfect. Great apgar scores, and a healthy 7lbs1oz. Some blonde hair. And she's just absolutely beautiful. It was so awesome to look over and see their JOY!

I did have some second degree tearing, but recovery has been good. The first day is always rough, but after that I was feeling better and better every day. Some people have been asking/wondering how I am doing, if I am sad. And my answer is no. Not one bit. I am filled with so much happiness. This entire journey ended up exceeding my expectations. They have their beautiful, healthy baby - and we have extended our family to include these sweet people. I love them, and thank them for choosing US. I feel so lucky that we have been able to spend so much time with them and that snuggly baby girl while they are here. As the time for them to head home closes in - I am so happy for them to be able to get back to their life, and share their excitement with their families and friends. But also (yes I will say sad) I will be sad that it will be awhile before we see each other again. Thank heavens for Skype!

F&C, thank you from the bottom of my heart for making this journey so special for me. I never thought it would be SO AMAZING. Thank you for letting me into your lives, and including us in so much while you have been here. It has been great, and one day we hope to visit France and meet your families as well. I know our families have enjoyed meeting you. I am looking forward to the many adventures you all take!! xoxo!

Much love,
Katy