I can’t believe it’s been one whole week since our little Lily joined us. It was another amazing birth experience and I’m so excited to share her birth story with you!
The last appointment I had before she arrived was Wednesday June 7th (38w). I had declined cervical checks up until that point because after doing this whole birth thing once, I trusted my body to tell me when it was in labor. With Emma, I received cervical checks at appointments starting at 36 weeks and showed zero signs of progress in all of those checks. Then at 39w1d I went into labor, so it made the most sense for me to hold off on cervical checks. Jarred and I decided I would get one at my 39 week appointment but lily had other plans!
On Tuesday June 13 I had a feeling it would happen soon. Zero signs of labor, I just had a gut feeling. I snapped this photo because I thought it might be my last bump pic. I even texted my mom telling her it would be happening soon. I went to bed around 11 pm that night and this is where my birth story begins.
Around 4am I woke to a familiar feeling…contractions. I quickly got up and downloaded a contractions app (should have done that earlier) and started timing them. Between 4:00 and 4:30 I had already had 10 contractions. They were increasing in intensity and frequency. I called labor and delivery and they told me to wait 30 more minutes, but I knew it was time and mama wanted an epidural. So I texted my mom to come over, woke up Jarred, and we loaded the car.
We left our house at 5:04 am and headed to the hospital. Thank God we only live less than 15 minutes away. The pain was becoming intense and it was hard to breathe, talk, or think about anything other than the pain.
Around 5:20 am we arrived at the hospital and they took me up to triage. My water hadn’t broken so of course before being admitted they had to test for that, check my cervix, check me into the system etc. Even though I’m pretty sure all those tests weren’t needed because everyone could tell I was clearly in active labor. At that point I was 100% effaced and 4cm dilated.
I don’t have fond memories of triage either time I’ve been in labor. They ask you so many questions and love to small talk and that’s the last thing I want to do when I’m in thick of contractions. I’m pretty sure the only words I said to anyone were “put me on the epidural list”. I wanted it ASAP!
I can’t continue this story without mentioning the best triage nurse ever, Sandy. She provided counter pressure during contractions and coached me through them. “Drop your chin to your chest, open your palms face up, breathe slowly and deeply”. Like I said, an actual angel who coached me through the trenches of very painful contractions.
Around 6:30 am they wheeled me up to L&D and they checked my cervix again before placing the epidural. I was 6 cm dilated at this point. Finally, I got my epidural and it was just as amazing as the first time. It immediately took my pain away and I knew I was about to enjoy everything so much more from this point forward.
Around 7:00 am there was a nurse shift change so our new nurse came in and shortly after that the Dr. came in to check on me. They both told me to let them know if I feel any constant rectal pressure or the urge to push and that they would come back to check on me in an hour.
One thing that was different this time around is that I felt SO much rectal pressure and it was increasing my the minute. It wasn’t painful, just really uncomfortable. I remember telling Jarred I felt so much pressure it felt like I was actively pooping. We called back the nurse around 7:30 and she said that’s normal and that she would be back to check on me in an hour.
At around 8:15, I felt the urge to push and constant rectal pressure. Jarred called the nurse and she checked my cervix and sure enough I was 10 cm. The nurses called the doctor and they all came into the room, put on their gloves, got the stirrups up and saw that I was crowning. It was go time!
It all happened extremely fast. At 8:17 I started pushing and by 8:18 baby was here. I was crying from excitement and adrenaline and happiness and then I heard Jarred say it, “it’s a girl”. They placed her on my chest and all I could see was baby Emma. They looked so much alike at birth!
There are no words to describe the feeling of finding out the sex of your baby at birth. It’s the best surprise in the world and there is nothing quite like speaking your baby’s name into existence right as you meet them.
Even though I suspected girl, I was still in shock. Shocked that I get to raise two little girls together. Which is all even more special because I’m lucky enough to know life with a sister as your best friend and how wonderful that can be.
Later that day we found out that lily had some rising bilirubin levels. This meant that she spent a lot of time outside of our room for additional testing (well, one bilirubin test every 6 hours which felt like a lot of time away from us). That made our hospital stay an interesting one because it felt so uneventful. We are so used to a fast paced life with a toddler that it felt odd to be sitting in a hospital room without having anyone to take care of. We missed her soo much when they took her away and it also simultaneously made us miss Emma even more too! Lily’s bilirubin levels did rise, but not enough to need light therapy so we were able to be discharged after 1 day and make our way home to settle into life with 2 little girls.
This birth experience is something I won’t ever take for granted. I realize that my next birth could be vastly different from this one. Nonetheless I am forever grateful for what we did experience and how we got our Lily. Birth continues to be truly one of the most magical experiences of my entire life.
