Ana Elizabeth

Little Baby Girl came into the world like a champ at 230am on 6.26. She was 9lbs, 4oz and 21.5" long... and only 5 days late! (Can you imagine if I had to wait to be induced until next Friday? Holy Smokes!)

Her story:
(it is loooooong but I didn't want to forget stuff! - and ps, I'm not sure if we ever posted anything about Z's birth but I reference so for those of you that don't know, I was 15+ days late, pumped to induce for like a whole day, then went into active labor around 4am, labored at the birthing center for 15 hours unmedicated never progressing far enough to do anything productive but with contractions that were on top of each other for the last 2ish hours there, had to transfer to the hospital, got an epidural and pitocin, progressed rapidly after that, and gave birth to Z about 36 hours later - leaving me completley exhausted.)

I woke up Saturday morningaround 5:30a with pretty strong contractions, but very, very irregular. Like, every 20 minutes irregular. I would wake up to a painful contraction, then fall back asleep and then wonder if it was a dream. I usually wake up at 7:30a every morning (to be up before Z) but I didn't want to get up because I felt so awful! Cramping, general yuckiness.... so I stayed in bed until 8:30a. I woke up Z and Matt and did usual morning stuff, but spent a great deal of time just laying on the couch...still contracting and feeling crampy. I finally went to our bed to lay down and spent most of the day in bed while Matt took care of Z. Around 3p I got out of bed, feeling really frustrated that my contractions weren't getting more regular and feeling like I was so sick of false labor!!! Matt had youth group that night so he had to leave around 3:45. He offered to stay home, but I knew I couldn't keep him home for false labor every time - even though I wanted him to be home! We took a walk together during which we met up with a friend... it was SO HOT but I felt like maybe I should do something to help contribute to labor. I'm not sure if it helped, ultimately.. I was just so hot! Matt left soon after we got home and I decided to go hang out with Linc and Amira because Saturday evenings are so boring if I don't go to youth, and I was defintely not going to youth! So across the street we went and we spent time watching the babies play, Claire was there too! I was still having contractions, but not getting any closer really. Amira and I decided we should go to chik-fil-a for dinner (I gave them so much business in my 3rd trimester!). I went home with Z, gave her dinner, gave her bath...all the while cramping, contracting..but nothing consistent. I was getting really frustrated at this point and was still just choosing to ignore it. One of my midwives said, "just ignore it until you can't ignore it anymore, then it's probably real." I still really doubted my ability to go into labor on my own, so the "false" labor was just making me feel depressed! We drove to chik-fil-a, actually I drove our stick shift with Amira and Z in tow, which looking back was a *terrible* idea. During the drive was when my contractions picked up to every 6-7 minutes, driving a stick while contracting is really ridiculous and by this time I was feeling SO nauseaus I didn't even want to eat chik-fil-a - but at this point I think I thought, "wow, I could really be in labor...I should eat." so I got a wrap and a lemonade.

We made it home and I put Z to bed. WOW! Difficult! At this point, they were coming every 5 minutes and she wanted me to read books, lay on the floor on her blanket and then rock in her chair and sing the ABCs. At one point, I was having a contraction and she kept saying, "abcs? abcs?" and I had to sing "A, B *deep breath out*...C, D *deep breath out*" at which point Z took over and sang it to herself because I think she was less than pleased with my contracting version of it.

I finally got her in bed, and thankfully she didn't fuss. At this point I desperately wanted to take a shower, but I couldn't because we had washed diapers (we don't have a real washer, we hook ours up to the sink and it drains into the tub so we have to clean it before we use it) and there was no stinking way I was going to wash the tub while in labor. So I ate my wrap, feeling pretty sick the whole time and seriously started timing. I was very surprised to see that some of them were 2 minutes but the majority of them were 4 minutes. At this point, I asked Matt to come home and when he got home he washed the tub and I took a shower. After I got out, I called the midwife and she said with a second baby with every 4 minutes I should come in. COME IN! Someone was telling me to come in to the hospital!

I started packing my bag and Matt ate dinner. It seems silly really, how NOT ready we were to go and how it was sort of silly to be packing a bag with strong contractions. But life doesn't neccessarily stop and I also had to hang up diapers to dry!
I let Kim know so she could come, and then set to find someone to stay with Z. My first plan was busy so I had to look elsewhere and my dear pregnant friend Natalie came to the rescue! Yay!

Around 9:30ish? we head out the door to the hospital. Someone parked too close to me in the parking lot and I had to wait for Matt to back up so my giant pregnant body could get in the car. While outside I had another contraction and some people out on their patio across the street I'm pretty sure were watching the whole time. Free show. You're welcome.

We get to the hospital and Meegs had beat us there! (yay!) She was standing outside waiting for us. I can not express how THANKFUL I was to have Meagan and Christine with me. You just need women! And really, someone who knows me best (2 someones) and has been through labor before plus my husband was perfect!

We buzz the door bell to get in and I remember thinking how silly it feels to say, "uh, we need to come in because we think we may be in labor." I'm still somewhat doubtful at this point. Thinking, "they are going to send me home because my body is broken and doesn't actually know how to do this!" I get into a wheelchair and Mateo wheels me through the waiting room which is semi full of people. I was really embarrassed and felt like I was on display and I was thinking "why do they have laboring women go THROUGH the waiting room!?" We wheel back and stop by the front desk. The nurses all look at us and again I feel the same, "it is so silly to say outloud, 'uhh i think we are in labor.'"

Back to triage! The lady told me to put on a gown, to which I politely declined and just waited for her to come back to monitor me, well Ana really. She came back in and I had to get in the bed (ugh!) This is the only part of the whole experience during which they made me get in the bed, sitting down. Horrible way to have contractions. Truly - I can think of NOTHING worse than sitting in an upright position on a semi reclined bed! At this point, I noticed I felt like I hadn't had a contraction in awhile. This is only serving to confirm my fear that I am going to be sent home! The monitoring begins and I answer about a bajillion questions and then she leaves it on while waiting for my midwife to come check me. Finally, Lisa gets there and lets me know that I am at a 4-5 and 90%. Then, somehow, it is conveyed to me that we aren't leaving and that I am indeed in labor. I couldn't BELIEVE IT! I did it! I went into labor on my own! I ask if she will be there all night and she says yes and that she antcipates she'll be the one to deliever. I remember thinking, you think I'm going to have this baby before 8am? Clearly, you don't know.

We wait a little bit and have to explain to them how there is a nurse on the floor who I had last time who I had a horrible experience with so I'd really like to not have her again. Of course, she is there and, of course, she WAS scheduled to be my nurse (what are the ODDS of that? seriously!?). Her name, is also Lisa and instead they give me another nurse named Lisa. Lisas everywhere!!

I get into the room and Mateo goes to get all our stuff. By this time Christine is there too. I have to stay on the monitor for a bit longer due to "discrepencies," but this time I think I was sitting on the edge of the bed and eventually I moved to a little stool so that my feet could touch the ground. The monitor really wasn't that bad as long as I didn't have to be sitting, reclined, in the stinkin bed. Eventually, I get to stop being monitored and I'm free! Lisa, RN asked if I'd like to take a shower but that seemed so silly to me. If you take a shower you have to get dressed! I think at this point I decided to do hands/knees on the bed. The bed changes so that the bottom half actually goes lower than the top half so you can put pillows and lean over the top half of the bed. We opted for this method and I labored like that for awhile. Lisa told me I should sway and try to squat all the way back with contractions. I started feeling pressue in my lower back and Lisa, RN said that could be that she was facing the wrong way so she started showing me all these pelvic tilts I could do. Looking back it was funny, even in the moment it was funny bc she was getting so into it! I remember thinking that it wasn't neccessarily comfy to be squatting back with contractions, but if it made Ana come faster I was willing to do it! After awhile I sat on the birthing ball on the side of the bed again, so I could rock back and forth even further and pretty soon I stopped feeling the back pressue - maybe she had turned around? Who knows.

All throughout my team was awesome! Two people were holding my hands, the others were putting ice water washclothes on my back and neck (I kept feeling SO HOT with contractions!) and giving me water. Also, they would hold that little blue emesis bag for me. I never threw up (thankfully) but as it got more intense I was SO overwhelming nauseaus with each contraction!

I then got back on the bed, it was probably around 1am at this point and I did hands/knees again. During this time I remember thinking that it wasn't as fun any more, I was getting tired - especially of holding my body up on the bed, but hands and knees felt the best. Matt and Meegs were at the head of the bed and I would hold their hands and lean my head against Matt during contractions. Between I think I stopped talking and joking and just tried to rest for the next contraction. Pretty soon I started feeling different...more pressure, not neccessarily an urge to push just a different sort of contraction. Meegs called in Lisa, RN and soon Lisa, midwife showed up to check me.

I had been on hands/knees and they wanted me to lay down on the bed. (why!? always on the bed!!) I knew that laying on my back would be impossible, so we just built a mound of pillows and I laid sideways. I was terrified to get into this position, knowing it would be uncomfortable, but once I was there I was pretty thankful because I could finally rest between contractions and didn't have to hold up my body. She said I was at a 7 and the pressure I was feeling was from the bag of water... and asked if I'd like her to break it. She said she didn't have to, but usually it speeds things up. I remember feeling a little dissapointed that I was at a 7 (3 more to go!?) and as soon as she said, "it speeds things up" I wanted her to do it. Let's end this thing!

So at 1:30am she broke my water. Ugh. Gross!

Side note: up unto this point I remember thinking that labor was totally doable. I was fine without an epidural and I liked feeling things and noticing differences in how things felt. I think it was also helpful because if Ana had been faced the wrong direction we picked up on it early and worked to turn her around. Even as contractions were getting harder and I was getting hotter and it was less fun and I was oh so tired, I never once wanted any kind of drug.

Immediately after she broke my water contractions were a whole new ball game. I guess it put me in "transition" and it sucked! It hurt, hurt, hurt! I can't describe it. It wasn't the most intense part (that would come later) but for the next 10-20 minutes contractions came fast and furious and sometimes double peaked. I held on to Matt, who was up by my head and moaned a lot and tried not to flat out scream cause that is how I felt. I remember thinking at this point that if this wasn't it, I wouldn't be abl to do it. Like, if it got any more intense than this - I would probably just die because I wouldn't be able to go on like that for long. And at this point, much too late, I remember thinkng, "why oh why oh why did I not get an epidural!?"

After not very much time I started feeling the weirdest/most intense feeling ever - and it wasn't pain as much as it was *pressure*. Just like, pressure that felt like the body half of my body was going to EXPLODE. I kept thinking, surely - someone must see this baby! I had one leg up and even though it hurt a ridiculous bunch I kept pushing my body further into a squat because I was thinking, seriously! Let me show you! This baby is HERE! But no one said anything. I remember looking at Lisa, midwife and Lisa, RN with desperation... I had given Annabelle that same look while in labor with Z... just like, please, make it end. DO something. But of course, there is nothing they can do!

The rest is fuzzy - oh except at some point during all this I leaned against the button on the bed that puts the head down and so I was basically laying myself down flat. I started screaming and hitting Matt to make it stop, which thankfully someone fixed it - but that was HORRIBLE.

Ok, so basically - there I am, with desperation.. screaming my head off. They keep telling me to keep it low, but that is impossible and at one point I wagged my finger at Lisa, RN to make her stop telling me that. I was going to scream. I think it was a lot of "Oh my God" and "I'm gonna poop!" It was just SO INTENSE... I guess it was her, coming down the birth canal but seriously - I was not expecting it to feel like that. During this time my body is shaking uncontrollably, I'm screaming into Matt's face/chest and begging Meagan and Amira to push harder into my back, while I was also gripping their hands. And good work girls, I actually had a bruise on my lower back later on and I think it was from their rings? Whatever. It rocked.

And then, all of sudden, I can't remember if I asked for the mirror or if someone got it, but I looked and her whole head was out. Just like that. Never felt an urge to push, didn't push consciously.. just, baby's head sticking out. At this point I was still screaming my head off and Lisa, midwife told me sternly to calm down (midwives are always doing this.. trying to get people to focus. It's good. It works... a man could never make me focus at a time like this.) Anyways, she wanted me to push again to get the shoulders out. I said, "I don't have an urge to push..." and she told me to push anways. So i did... lots more screaming.. shoulders out and there is Ana.

She put her on me but I was still so out of control that I barely touched her/looked at her. I was crying and shaking absolutely uncontroably. Like, I think that is what a basket case is.... literally. I couldn't calm myself down! They told me they were going to take Ana and I might have said something like, whatever! do whatever! because I was actually thinking "i don't think they should give a baby to a woman in this state!" really, I thought that.

It was 2:30a. About an hour after she broke my water.

And then all the extra fun stuff like pushing on your belly and placenta and blah blah blah. Thankfully there was no tearing and I needed no stiches! Still shaking (I really, really hate the shaking...) and just laying there like "dang, that was childbirth."

And then, at THAT point I think i realized that I had gone into labor on my own, without needing to be induced -- an answer to lots of prayers on my part. And I was really thankful that I had the experience for what it was. Crazy.

Finally, when I was given the little girl again, post placenta and with a little more composure I still didn't feel a rush of maternal hormones/instant connection with my baby. I was so happy to have her, so happy to not be pregnant anymore but I was also thinking that she looked like a swollen little mess. Her eyes were almost completely swollen shut and of course I noticed how she looked nothing, -nothing- like Z. She looked like Matt and the baby pictures I have seen of him. She was cute and oh so sweet, but over time I'm loving her more and more!

Here are the differences between Zoe (first) and sweet Ana.



The end of the longest post of all time. And thank you God for non-induction!