Around 18 weeks, Little Buddy had correctly predicted the gender of his upcoming baby sister. It was a cute story, but he had a 50% chance of getting it right, so I wasn't ready to sign him up as a sideshow attraction just yet. Now though...
Because Little Buddy came at 37 weeks (and I hadn't been aware that I was in labor!), we had been on the lookout for Baby Sister early. At 36 weeks, I was 70% effaced and 4 centimeters. At 37 weeks, I was 70% and 5 centimeters. At 38 weeks, I was 70% and 6 centimeters. Although I was thrilled to make it past 37 weeks and be safely in full term territory, how in the world was my body that prepared but I wasn't in labor?
Fully prepared to go another week, I woke up on the morning of Oct. 19, 2013 no different than other days. Although I had experienced a few uncomfortable moments during the night, it was nothing different than what you would expect toward the end of a pregnancy. However, before breakfast, my sweet three year-old told me that "baby come out tummy today." This was the first time he had ever said this. Normally, if we would ask him, he would just ignore us or say "no." He told Daddy and I this with no ceremony or gravity and went back to getting ready to eat. Daddy and I laughed, not knowing how right Little Buddy was.
An hour later, I went to the bathroom after feeling several regular Braxton-Hicks contraction only to find some bloody show. Because of my previous quick labor and because I had been so dilated at my last appointment, Daddy and I decided we should just head up to the hospital and get checked, just in case. We were fully prepared to be sent on our way and took everything for Little Buddy's gym class, along with our hospital bags, just in case.
Headed to the hospital as a family of three!
Long story short, we were not sent home!
Turns out Little Buddy was right. I was having contractions about every 3 minutes and was nearly 7 centimeters dilated! Thank goodness we had gone to get checked (I had been having lots of anxiety about a too quick labor having our little girl in the bathtub at home)! Our dear friend, Ms. J, came to pick up Little Buddy and Daddy and I were all checked into the hospital by about 10:30 AM.
This delivery was much different than my last. Because we were further along this time (38 weeks, 3 days) there didn't seem to be as much anxiety about the baby. I was permitted to get an IV port instead of being automatically hooked up to the fluids and was allowed to walk around the birthing ward to help progress labor instead of being tethered to the bed, things that I really wanted after feeling "trapped" in bed for labor with Little Buddy. Freedom to move was awesome! As I walked (making Daddy keep up with me) my contractions continued to intensify. When I was checked around noon, I was showing to be a full 7 centimeters and progressing, though still not as effaced as I would have liked. They offered to break my water, which I accepted, because my water wouldn't break on its own with Little Buddy and because I wanted to avoid Pitocin if I could. I was also still planning on trying for a natural delivery, a goal that I hadn't been able to complete with Little Buddy due to back labor and his head being turned.
They broke my water around 1:25. After that, things got crazy.
I'm glad I wanted a natural labor because everything progressed so quickly after my water breaking that I wouldn't have had time for the epidural had I changed my mind. For me, quick labor is an understatement. Daddy was an amazing birthing coxswain (rowers have birthing coxswains instead of coaches; well at least I do). He was very calm and focused and really helped me get to 9 centimeters with breathing and counting exercises. At 9 centimeters, however, all bets were off.
The reason I wanted a natural labor is because I just wanted to experience it. That may sound weird to some, but I just honestly wanted to know what it was like. I'm still glad I did it. However, I will caution you, that it hurts just as bad, if not worse, than what people tell you. It makes your body contort exorcist style, except instead of green slime, your mouth spouts things you will never remember saying until people remind you that it happened. Things like, "GET HER OUT OF ME!", "I CAN'T STOP PUSHING! IT'S HAPPENING NOW!, "I don't think I can do this " (meekly and tearfully), and many guttural moans and screams. Honestly, I don't know how people do it for hours. I was so lucky that at 2:34 PM, barely an hour after breaking my water and only about 4 pushes, my brand new baby girl literally shot out of my body (this is true. I guess I caught the OBGYN by surprise with the velocity of the baby and the fluid that followed from the remainder of my amniotic sac. Sorry if that is graphic, but it's true). But it was all worth it for this sweet girl.
Welcome to the world, our Little Sweetie! Born on Sweetest Day.
Eight pounds, 21 inches long, 14 inch head circumference, and perfect in
every way.
The
first days in the hospital were tiring, but not overly so. We're not
sure if it is because she is an easier baby (a 38 week baby being more
developed than her 37 week brother) or if it is because we just knew
more of what to expect this time around. I am happy to report that she
is an excellent nurser and started to develop her milk callous on day
two!
One day old exactly!
We weren't crazy tired, but we were still pretty worn out!
The many faces of Little Sweetie!
Meanwhile,
Little Buddy was having a lot of fun staying with Ms. J and her two
boys, K and K, but he was still enthralled to come to the hospital to
meet his Baby Sister. He loves her so much already and it melted my
heart to see them together.
Reunited and it feels so good!
Although
our stay at the hospital went well, we couldn't wait to be released so
we could head home and start our new life as a family of four humans and
one pup! Once both Little Sweetie and I were cleared, we were good to
go! And I got my wheel chair ride out this time (they couldn't find one
when I was being released with Little Buddy and I didn't want to wait
at the hospital anymore)!
Taking our little hootie home!
Seeing her home for the first time and meeting Chesney!
So we are home and slowly adjusting to our new routine of two kiddos. It's going to take some work, but we are so happy to start learning. Little Sweetie's first pediatrician appointment was today and she is already right on track. So excited to watch her learn and grow and so excited to have our family feel so complete. Thank you for sharing this journey with us. I'm sure I will continue Little Sweetie's adventures in another blog, but I'm happy to bring this bump blog to a close with our beautiful baby.
Sweet girl, you are already so loved. More than you know. So blessed to have you in our family!
All my love,
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