Her story begins on the afternoon of the 11th at my regular doctor appointment, one I wasn't surprised to make it to as I've never gone early with any of my girls. I walked in there that day, a little disappointed but still hopeful that it wouldn't be too much longer. I'd been taking homeopathic capsules from my former midwife, drinking lots of red raspberry tea, spicy food, pineapple, dancing around the house, etc. I didn't want to let her think she was welcome to stay in there any longer. My appointment was quick. A little conversation, an uncomfortable sweep and some advice to get walking if I wanted that baby out.
I'm not one to ignore advice so as soon as I got home I got myself ready to head to the mall with Sarah. Mom kept the girls for me so I could go walk as long as I wanted. I was having tiny cramps at this point but nothing that had me convinced I'd find myself at the hospital anytime soon. About half an hour into our walking the pains started growing stronger and more regular so I decided it would be a good time to download a contraction tracking app. Sure enough I was about 8-10 minutes apart, 30-45 seconds long. David's Tea gave me a cup of fresh raspberry leaf tea on the house, we grabbed a bite to eat and after two hours and really swollen feet we headed home. At this point I was thinking just maybe Isla was on her way.
Sarah, Sophia and I went for one slow walk around the neighborhood before I decided I would try and have a bath to see how my body reacted. With Sophia my contractions slowed in warm water and with Lucy they picked up. I lasted about 10 minutes in the tub before I was too uncomfortable to keep sitting. I could still talk through my contractions but they were definitely picking up. The next hour I spent doing my hair, moving my bags to the door, helping Mom get the girls ready for bed and letting her know if there was anything she was planning to bring to the hospital she should have that ready. I didn't want to tell her it was time to go only to have her running around looking for things.
At 7:30pm my contractions were spaced around the 5 minute mark and a minute long. My doctor told me to go in when they were 10 minutes apart and one minute long, so not wanting to push my luck any further I decided we should head to the hospital to get checked out. I was terrified of being turned away but a home birth was not on my to-do list for the night. We tucked the girls in bed and off to the hospital we went, just Mom and I. Now, if you remember Lucy's birth story the drive to the hospital was probably the worst part of the whole experience for both of us. My poor Mom will never live that drive down so I will give her credit for a much better drive this time. It was all good except for when she hit a curb during my worst contraction up to that point. There had to be something.
The hospital was quiet when I arrived so I got taken in pretty quickly. Everyone was very friendly, checking me in and taking me to a room for assessment. I was just shy of 4cm which means they would usually send you away but because it wasn't busy, it was my third labor and Isla was already sitting very low they decided to let me stay. The nurse witnessed one hard contraction, heard me say I was looking forward to an epidural and next thing I knew I was being escorted upstairs to my birthing room. I sent my sister, sister-in-law and best friend a text letting them know it was go-time.
By 9:45pm my epidural was in and everyone I'd invited to be there had arrived. Our nurse was named Stephanie and she was awesome. I was comfortable in my bed and for the next couple hours I laid there enjoying girl talk while no longer feeling any pain. It was just after midnight at 5cm dilated that they decided to break my water to see if that would get things going and within no time, things started to change. All of a sudden I could feel contractions down my left side again to the point that I was breathing through them. It wasn't horrific pain but enough that I asked for a top up. By 1:30am the pain was under control again but I felt a different change in my lower pelvis. I didn't feel the need to push but there was definitely more pressure than before.
Around 2:00am my nurse checked out the situation and was completely surprised to find me ready to push. Isla's head was right there. My doctor arrived within 20 minutes, took one look and said lets get this baby out. Keah held one leg while the nurse supported the other and in one contraction and two not-even-super-hard pushes my beautiful girl came out covered in vernix, crying for all to hear. I was so shocked thinking I would have been pushing for at least 10 minutes. I could not believe how easy it had been. It was exactly the experience I was hoping I would have for my last birth. Isla was placed on my chest and it was a love at first sight. She was really here.
And that was that. I have been filled with more joy than I have ever known from the moment Isla was placed on my chest. The hard months leading up to her arrival suddenly felt less painful and I could feel parts of me healing that have been hurting for quite some time. Just as I did with my other girls, I can feel the peaceful reassurance that this little soul has joined our family at the time we needed them most. We are all so smitten with Isla and our family finally feels complete. I can't wait until we are all together again in a few weeks. We love you, sweet Isla Kate!
photo credit: my sister Karen
No comments:
Post a Comment