My due date was June 3rd, and at 5 days past due, I was miserable and ready to have a baby.
I woke up at 1:30 am on the 9th to a somewhat stronger contraction than I had been having (off and on the whole day before). Then a few minutes later I had a second one that was about the same. I wasn't sure if I should wake up Bryan or not. But then I had one that was so super strong I grabbed his arm and decided that this was for real.
After that one was over, we talked about how long we should wait to call his mom and Julie the doula. It was storming, and we didn't want to wait too long, but we didn't want to be too eager. I'd say 2 contractions later we called them both. It was 2:00 by this point. While we waited, I labored in bed and Bryan packed the rest of our hospital bag. At this time I think they were 3 to 4 minutes apart. That's when Cheryl and the doula got here. Julie asked me some questions and helped me through some contractions and we decided it was time to head to the hospital.
Getting down the stairs was the hardest part. I didn't want to do anything but lay in bed, so I had to wait till one contraction was over and then pretty much go as fast as I could down to the couch to recover. Then I waited for the next one to be over, and then I got to the van as fast as I could. The van ride was super uncomfortable. I kept my eyes closed the whole time. It's only like a 7 to 10 minute trip, but I felt like it took hours. Every time we turned a corner or slowed or accelerated, everything became 10 times worse.
We pulled up to the hospital, and there happened to be 2 nurses hanging out at the door. They weren't even from L&D, so I'm not sure what they were doing there but it sure was a life saver. They grabbed a wheel chair for me and helped Bryan with our stuff. Once upstairs they triaged me which was totally ridiculous because I was having the urge to push and was clearly ready to give birth! Then they moved me to a L&D room and we waited for just a little bit for the doctor to get there. They kept trying to get an IV in me (which I didn't really want anyway, but consented to due to the fact that I had a positive Beta test and it's best for baby if you get antibiotics before they are born) but they couldn't get my vein. They tried and tried, but I hardly noticed between the contractions and laboring. They finally gave up because the Dr. got there and said we didn't have time for a round of antibiotics anyway because the baby was coming now.
He broke my water and there was meconium in it. That means that the baby had pooped in utero and, if swallowed, that can lead to complications. So, they said I couldn't delay the cord clamping because they needed to suction her out really well immediately after birth. I was kinda bummed, but that was the only part of my birth plan that didn't go according to what I wanted, and it was for an actually legitimate reason, so I was ok with it.
I started pushing with the next conctraction. And it is a lot different to push for 2 1/2 hours with an epidural vs. pushing for 15 minutes without one. So, less than 45 minutes after we got to the hospital, Lydia was born weighing an amazing 10 pounds 10 ounces. I did not expect her to be that big! But we got through it. After they cleaned her up, and brought her over, we started nursing right away. And boy is she good at it!
I was really shaky afterward, and could hardly hold up her massive weight in my arms. I think I was in shock a little bit and I was very limp and lethargic for a while. But once I got some food and a shower everything got better from there.
They moved us to recover at about 8:00 am and we took a nap and then the visitors started to arrive!
I'm so excited that my baby girl is here. She's so perfect and looks NOTHING like her sister, which is so bizarre to me. I thought for sure they would look something alike!
Since we've been home Hadley has been so excited to be a big sister. She is a great helper and is genuinely joyful and happy. We've had minimal fits, and minimal potty accidents. She likes to hold baby's hand and pat her on the head, but she isn't overly touchy and gives me space to nurse the baby when I need to.
When we left the hospital, Lydia was down to 9 pounds 12 oz but yesterday at her Dr's appt she was back up to 10 lbs and has officially outgrown everything in the newborn size....most of which she never even wore at all. She's sleeping in good 3 hour chunks, and one night even gave me 4 hours in a row. She wakes up ready to nurse and then goes right back to sleep for the most part. It's rough being alive!
Enjoy some pics!:
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