We had a baby! Obviously lots of parts of the last year and a half are missing and I'll do my best to blog about them over the next few months but for now, this one seemed the most important to document.
We had a normal day, had put Kellan to bed just like every other day, hung out for a while, then I headed to bed around 9:30-10. I was painfully awoken about 11:15 with a contraction. I had been having alllll the braxton hicks contractions for days and days but this was my first real one. I took note, but didn't alert Hunter yet - just in case it was a fluke. About 15 minutes later came another one. This is when I started the contraction timer pictured below. I also warned Hunter (who had yet to go to bed) that it might be a long night, but was still slow to believe I was actually in labor.
Although quite painful, contractions were sporadic and when it jumped from 7 minutes in between back up to 12 (contractions 7 and 8 for reference) I told Hunter this was probably just a warm up and that we should try to go to bed because it likely wasn't happening despite the fact that my app told me it was a good idea to head to the hospital (ha!). However, the next contraction was suuuuper intense and resulted in me throwing up afterwards. The point that I started throwing up with Kellan was real, active labor, so that concerned me. That contraction wasn't really 3 minutes long, but I didn't stop the timer until I wasn't throwing up anymore. We waited a couple more contractions, which were much quicker at this point, then called our help to come sleep on our couch while we went to the hospital. Thank goodness for having friends in our apartment complex!
While they were a little more sporadic, the jump to much closer together happened alllll of a sudden and it was a good thing we headed in when we did. The last contraction recorded is the point at which we arrived at the hospital and were filling out papers and answering questions in between contractions.
We arrived at the hospital around 1:30 am. I was taken back quickly and by the time they checked my progression around 1:45 I was already dilated to a 6 with the baby in a zero position. We were shocked to say the least and realized things were going muuuuch quicker than they did the first time around. It took a little while to move from triage to labor and delivery and I was beyond ready for an epidural by the time I got there. They quickly drew my blood, started my IV, and got the penicillin going (group B strep positive). Since I work at the hospital I delivered at, I called the lab and had them expedite by CBC because I needed drugs! haha. They were prompt and Anesthesia showed up quickly as well. Placing my epidural was a different story however. The whole process probably took 30 minutes and sitting up, not moving, and hunching over your belly is probably the WORST position to be in while contracting - which I was doing every 3 minutes like clock work. When they finally did get it in it was very left sided - as in my left foot was numb and I could still feel everything on the right side. They adjusted it a little, which seemed to help, but it was still left sided. They left me with instructions to lay on my right side to help the medication flow over there. My body had different plans however. The nurse was very anxious to recheck my progress because baby had started having early decels - an indication she was down and in position to be delivered. Sure enough, she thought I was fully dilated and ready to go and quickly sent for my doctor - actually the on call doctor for my practice because who likes to have babies at normal hours when your actual doctor can deliver?? Not me apparently.
I saw Dr. Yunas for the first time (about 5 minutes after my nurse went to get her) around 4 am. She checked me, and sure enough I was fully dilated and baby was at a +1. She broke my water and asked if I was ready to start pushing. I hadn't quite felt the urge yet and was still trying to process the fact that I was already at that point so I told her we could wait until I felt the urge. She left to get a delivery cart and let my epidural take a little bit and by the time she got back I was definitely ready to push.
So, they set up the bed and with the next contraction I pushed. I only had to push through two contractions before baby made her appearance - twisting the whole way out. She had been squirming and moving the entire time I was in labor so I can't say I was surprised that she just kept moving right up through delivery.
And just like that, at 4:32 am on Saturday, May 20, 2017 Olivia Juliet Paddock was born weighing 8 lbs even and measuring 21 inches long.
I feel like I looked so put together in my pictures post Kellan, which I definitely do comparatively, haha. Something about having a 15 hour labor vs. a 5 hour labor gives you time to put on your makeup, take a nap, hang out. None of those things happen when you only have 5 hours from start to finish.
That's alright though, I think I would choose the fast labor if I got a choice in the matter. The only "what if" I have after this labor is that I BARELY had time for my epidural to take effect which makes me wonder if I could have done it all without one? I got very close to doing so. I was NOT about to continue on in pain for several more hours, but I wonder if I could have handled it for the 45 minutes or so that were medicated.
And here are a few more pictures for documentation's sake:
Nothing like starting your life with a newborn by pulling an all-nighter the night before. Sorry about that, haha.
Sooo precious and tiny.
We started the bow wearing early around here!
Hunter went home shortly after we were moved to the Mom/Baby Unit to try and be there before Kellan woke up. We didn't want him to be completely surprised when he woke up not having mom or dad there and suddenly having a sister. In my perfect world I would have been able to tell him we were going in to have a baby, buuuut things rarely go exactly as you would like them to. Hunter got home about 7 am, 10 minutes or so after Kellan woke up. He hung out with him for a little while then dropped Kell off with the same people who watched him while he was sleeping and came back to the hospital. In the evening, Hunter went home and brought Kellan to meet his sister for the first time. He was and continues to be super sweet with her for the most part. It has truly been joy watching him be a big brother.
Too bad all the headbands we had were too small for her tiny newborn head. We tried anyway, haha.
Welcome, Olivia! We are so happy to have you here safe and sound and are blessed to have you as a part of our family!
