kaelyn grace: the birth story (part 2)

(part one here)

Despite the contractions being so close together and my husband speeding through the neighborhood, I was calm. I was convinced that my labor wasn’t too far advanced. I guess I was in a bit of denial!

We grabbed my wallet (Brittany was waiting with it out on the front step) and were back on the road to the hospital at about 2 am. We arrived around 2:20 am and went straight to the nurses’ station to check in.

“Can I help you?”
“She’s ready to have a baby,” Michael said.
“What?” the nurse asked. It seemed she hadn’t heard him. I was confused that she even had to ask why I was there after two in the morning. Apparently, I was so calm that it wasn’t obvious I was in labor.

We were asked some questions, and then our awesome nurse, Kelly, took us to triage and had me change into the hospital gown. I had a couple more contractions while I was in the bathroom, so it took me longer to change than I felt it should have.

I got into the bed, and Kelly strapped the heart rate and contraction monitors on and then checked my cervix.

Before she told me how many centimeters I was, she asked, “How would you rate your pain?”
I just replied, “Um… variable,” since I’d still just been feeling what I’d call tightness and pressure.
“Well, you’re at 7cm! And you’re just talking through contractions like we’re out getting a pedicure together!” she said. I was definitely glad to be so far advanced already.

It was around 2:40 am when we walked from triage to our room, and they had the baby warmer out already. I remembered that they didn’t bring that into the room until I was very close to delivering Kaya, so this made me very excited! I got in the bed and had the monitors strapped to my belly again. The nurses put an IV put in my arm for a saline drip, since I apparently had a fever, but I was so focused on working through the contractions that I wasn’t even aware of it.

My legs started to shake a lot and I know I commented on it at least once. I asked why I was shaking so much and Kelly just replied, “Because you’re a seven, dear!”

I had some more contractions, but just kept closing my eyes and breathing through them. The nurses were impressed and said that I just “went in the zone” during my contractions, and that I should teach a Lamaze class, because not everyone can focus like that. Nurse Kelly kept telling me I was a rockstar. I loved all the praise and it really encouraged me! Kelly asked me all the standard hospital registration questions while I lay and contracted in the bed. It was around 3 am, and all the nurses left, but told me to press the nurse-call button if I started feeling a lot of pressure.

Michael and I just sat together, and he rubbed my arm and held my hand. It was getting harder to sit through the contractions and focus. I didn’t want to, but I kept watching the clock because it was on the wall right in front of me. By 3:20, I was very uncomfortable and called the nurse. Kelly came in right away and checked me. She said, “Oh yeah… let’s have a baby!”. I was excited… but still a little afraid honestly. There was no turning back now! I was doing this all naturally!

The midwife, Mattie, came in, and I started pushing around 3:30. It was definitely the hardest part of the entire labor. When I didn’t push, my muscles would hurt. I felt this incredible amount of pressure in my pelvis, and not to be gross… but it really just felt like I had to use the bathroom more than I ever have in my entire life. I really wanted to just run into the bathroom and go! I was somewhat impatient while waiting to push with the contractions because I just wanted that insane amount of pressure to disappear. Pushing burned a little, and the midwife told me that I had to just get past it and push my baby under my pubic bone. Michael kept telling me he could see her head and that I was so very close to having her here.

Her heart rate started dropping a bit. I immediately became nervous that they’d send me to c-section, but apparently her head was already crowning by that time. Between contractions, they had me wear an oxygen mask to help Kaelyn get enough air.

Mattie told me that I probably had one or two more contractions before she’d come out, and I think it was on the third one, at 3:55 am, that my sweet little girl was born. I didn’t see her for the first few seconds, and the first thing I heard the midwife say was “double nuchal”, which made me panic, because I didn’t know what it meant (the umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck twice, which was the reason her heart rate was dropping). Someone else exclaimed “What a little peanut!”, so I really worried that something was wrong.IMG_2903

They put her on my chest and she was healthy. I was so grateful. I honestly just couldn’t believe that my baby was out. She was here, and she was mine. I had a small second-degree internal tear, and was stitched up while the nurses took care of my sweet little Kaelyn. 5 lbs 10 ounces, and 18.5 inches long.IMG_2905

Once I was stitched up, I got to hold her again. I was overwhelmed with emotion and love for this little person who I was “technically” just meeting. I cried.

IMG_2911They went to give her a bath, and she was gone for a few hours because she had to be under the warmer. I missed her so much. When I got her back, I just kept stroking her cheek and talking to her. She definitely knew my voice right from the beginning (probably from hearing me talk to Kaya all the time).

I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father for this very special little girl. I definitely feel a very powerful connection to her and love her with all my heart.

Thanks for coming to our family, Kaelyn Grace.