Abby's Birth Story

So . . . time flies! I can't believe it's been 3 weeks already since our little Abby came into this world. 

I wanted to write down her birth story before I forget - I enjoy reading birth stories, so if you also enjoy that kind of thing, read on!

It was Saturday, September 6th. It was a nice day. I had the day off of work. Garhett was finishing the last touches on the nursery (He told me he knew why Abby wasn't coming yet, she was waiting for him to finish the nursery - turns out he may have been right :) ) and I was feeling very pregnant and tired. I'll admit, I was a little hormonal and grumpy that morning - not sure why.

I told Garhett I wanted to go to the fair. I want to go every year and something always comes up and we don't make it. So we were planning on going. It would probably be our last little date night before we had our little princess.

Around 1:00 ish I went to take a little nap. I turned on my Enya music and my relaxation CD to practice for the natural childbirth that I so wanted to have. Like always, it put me right to sleep. And it was a GOOD nap. (my body must have known that I was in for a high energy evening) I woke up feeling really rested and full of energy.

It was now about 3:15 ish. I went to the bathroom and then sat down at the table. . . I felt something. I had just used the bathroom, so could this really be? Did my water just break? It's not at all what I expected. I went back into the bathroom. Garhett came in and asked if I was OK. I told him I was trying to figure out if my water had just broken. It was hard to deny though, from then on I had this constant trickle of fluid coming out. So .  . . another year that we would miss the fair ;) But the alternative activity was so worth it!

We began to pack our bags and get ourselves ready. I called my mom to ask her if what I thought had just happened really did just happen. (My mom was a labor and delivery nurse for the majority of her nursing career.) She called the hospital and said that my water broke and we were on our way. (It's nice having a mom with a little authority) It was a little surreal. We would leave the house pregnant and come home in a few days with a brand new baby girl! I was nervous, but excited.

I remember the drive over to the hospital; my contractions started to get a little intense, but nothing terrible by any means. We arrived at the hospital close to 5:00pm. I was pretty quite sure that my water had indeed broken, but they wanted to test it anyway. While we waited I remember calling mine and Garhett's siblings to let them know what was going on. I distinctly remember my last phone call, before I couldn't talk anymore. It was my sister and I had to pause every time I had a contraction before I could continue talking. That's when they started to get more intense.

A couple hours went by, the night nurse arrived and came to talk to us around 7:30 ish. She asked what my expectations were and what my plan was. I knew I wanted to go natural but I had no birth plan (any good nurse knows that if you arrive to your delivery with a birth plan you will end up with an emergency c/s and your baby will be in the NICU.) :) So I mentioned things like a natural labor, but I'm not opposed to an IV or an epidural if in the end I just can't hack the pain. I wanted to do skin to skin and breast feed, you know, the typical stuff. I remember at

At about 8:00 the nurse came in to start my IV. I didn't notice too much of what went on after that because all of a sudden my contractions started to get really intense. Out of the entire labor and delivery Garhett didn't get queasy at all except when they were putting in my IV. I didn't notice, again because of the intense contractions that were coming on, but apparently the nurse was digging a little to find the vein. I remember looking and him and thinking "he is really pale" and asking him if he needed to sit down, while deep breathing through a contraction. After that, I remember getting up to walk around for a minute and not making it very far. I leaned over the birthing ball, which gave me some help and relief for a little while. Then I ended back up in my bed on my side. I had never been in so much pain! I was trying to relax and go to my happy place. I turned on my Enya music, which helped me focus a little better. I remember Garhett leaning over me telling me I was doing a great job. I remember grabbing and squeezing his hand every time I had a contraction. My mother-in-law was there and she was great. She was rubbing my legs and my back and that helped also. I also remember telling Garhett I wanted an epidural twice and he just kept pushing me, telling me I was so strong and I could do it.

This was my first baby, and all I know about having your first baby is that labor takes a long time. So I was thinking that I had all night to go. I was in so much pain. probably around 9 ish or so I told Garhett I wanted an epidural and I was so serious this time. I looked him in the eye and said "PLEASE". I thought if I had to do this all night, there was no way I could handle it. So he got the nurse, who wanted to check me first to see where I was at. She told me I was almost complete. Hallelujah! If I was almost complete, then I could do this for sure.

Soon after that my mother arrived. Garhett was fabulous, but when my mom got there is was like Night and Day difference. Mom, the Labor and Delivery nurse, knows a thing or two about coaching someone through labor that Garhett just didn't quite know. She and Garhett continued to coach me and help me stay relaxed. There is just something about having your mother at your side when your going through something like that. At that point my contractions started to slow down. They went from one right after the next to about every 4 minutes. It was so strange, but it gave me the rest I so needed and allowed me to have some good recovery time in between. I was so relaxed that I actually fell asleep between contractions. An hour later I started to feel pressure and the need to push. So I was moved into delivery position so gravity could assist me. At that point I really didn't feel much pain anymore, just a lot of pressure.

When I started pushing I realized that this was actually happening. We were so close. After each push Garhett looked at me with this anxious and excited look. He kept telling me how great I was doing and that he could see her head. She had lots of dark hair! I did end up with an episiotomy. Either I was too small or her head was too big. Which is hard to believe because she was so little. (But turns out she does have kind of a big head). But everything still went really smoothly.



The feeling I had as I delivered my baby girl was indescribable! It was amazing! It was 11:00 pm on the dot. They lifted her up onto my chest and she started to cry and pink-up. I was overwhelmed with relief of a healthy baby and love for my wonderful, sweet, supportive husband and for our sweet, beautiful little girl. Garhett cut the cord and then I tucked our little angel in under the blankets - skin to skin -  and relished the moment there with my new family of 3. Garhett was right by my side and we just stared at our little Abby.

The whole delivery was amazing. I felt so good and full of energy. I couldn't have asked for a better experience, and I was so grateful to have Garhett right there by my side every step of the way. I couldn't have done it with out him.
I would do a 'natural' delivery again in a heart beat. I know it's not for everyone, but I LOVED it!
We are so grateful to our Father in Heaven to have had such a good experience and such a healthy baby.