Lyla's Birth Story
Ok. You may want to pull up a chair for this one. This is a long story. [Also, I am not going to go into full-on graphic details here, but I am going to state things exactly as they are. So, if you're uncomfortable with the mechanics of child birth, this post may not be for you.]
A little background to start us off... Lyla's due date was Saturday, May 31. That being said, Jake and I deliberately made no plans for Memorial Day weekend. We knew this could very well be our last weekend to get a few more things done before the baby and to relax just the two of us. We made a point of being very noncommittal. After work on Friday, I went and treated myself to a pedicure. Saturday, we slept in, made breakfast and did one final clean-up of our house, garage and yard. Sunday, Jake took the day off from playing drums, so we were able to go to church together, and spent the afternoon going grocery shopping and picking up a few more things for Lyla. Monday, the weather was gorgeous and with everything done around the house, we spent the majority of the day outside reading, playing lawn games, hanging out with the neighbors, and capped the day off with an impromptu barbecue.
Everything was done--our house was clean, we were stocked with groceries, I had prepared freezer meals, baby goods were washed and put away, our hospital bag was packed, and I even had my toes done! I was totally prepared for this baby, except for one thing-- I just wanted to work at least ONE more day. My boss had been in Europe for the past 2 weeks, and while we had been corresponding via email, I was really hoping to meet with her on Tuesday to touch base about a few loose ends.
Of course, I went into labor bright and early Tuesday morning.
Somewhere between 4:30-5 AM, I rolled over in bed and felt a small gush of fluid. I had just been up around 3:30 AM to pee, so my first instinct said "my water just broke"... but another part of me was thinking, "or you've just lost control altogether" (hey, it legitimately happens to some ladies). I made a quick dash to the bathroom where I realized that I was, in fact, leaking and that no amount of kegels was going to make any difference. It also became pretty clear to me that I had lost my mucus plug. I headed back to our bedroom, trying not to wake up my husband. Given that I had just soaked my pajama pants, I needed to change and, of course, that woke him up. I calmly told him that I was fairly confident that my water just broke, but that we should just try and go back to sleep (I tested negative for Group B Strep, so there was no need to rush off to the hospital). He looked at me like I was a crazy person, but agreed to at least try. This lasted all of about 5-10 minutes. The excitement was just too much and he was quickly on the phone with family and getting himself and everything else ready to go to the hospital. In fairness, my contractions started pretty much as soon as I got back in bed and I was up and out of there shortly thereafter.
Now, what I am about to say is going to make me sound like a total workaholic. No judging.
Once I realized that my contractions had started and were already coming in a semi-regular fashion, I realized that I really needed to send some emails. Thankfully, I had been at least somewhat prepared for this scenario and had started drafting an email to my boss the previous week of all the things I wanted to touch base with her about. I quickly edited and sent off that email, letting her know I was in labor, followed by another email to my coworkers letting them know I wasn't going to be making in it that day... or for the next 12 weeks. Then, I had to set my out of office reply and forward all incoming emails to my boss. Meanwhile, I am contracting away through all of this; working at our desk and then dropping to all fours on the floor every few minutes. Jake had about had it with me. (Hey, I just needed to get these things done so I could focus on the task at hand, ok?!). I finally finished working and started being more diligent about timing my contractions and getting myself ready to go the hospital. My contractions had been very sporadic at first, anywhere from 5-8 minutes apart. Within a couple hours or so of my water breaking, they were about 3-4 minutes apart and I agreed that it was time to go (this was about 7:30 AM). At this point, everything was still really manageable. The car ride certainly was not the most comfortable, but it wasn't terrible and I was able to walk in to the hospital from the parking lot without any trouble.
Checking in at the hospital was a breeze. WAY easier than I thought it was going to be. I had sent off the pre-admission form early in my pregnancy, so when we arrived, I just told them my name at the admitting desk and they walked me right up to labor and delivery. No waiting, no triage, just right into the delivery room to change into my gown. I did not think about this at the time, but we got to the hospital right as a shift had changed, so I had the same midwife and nurses ALL DAY (it also helped that I did not have a very long labor). I loved every single one of them and was so thankful for the consistency. It's hospital policy to monitor mom's contractions and the baby's heart rate in the hospital bed for about the first 20 minutes you are there. That part was painful; sitting up in that bed through those contractions was really NOT the position I wanted to be in. Of course, my contractions picked up major speed during this point. They were still sporadic, but during that 20 minutes, I had at least 2 or 3 that came about 1 minute apart (at least I felt justified about my decision to come to the hospital). Shortly thereafter, the midwife came in to check my cervix and found that I was at 3 cm. After that, I was given the heparin lock so that I could move around more freely, and they started using the handheld fetal monitors to periodically check on baby girl.
When I arrived and met my main nurse and the midwife, they asked me about my birth plan. As I've mentioned before on the blog, I told them I was hoping to do it naturally, but was open to the epidural if things got rough.
Well, around 10 AM things got rough.
Within a couple of hours of being at the hospital, my contractions started coming about 1 minute apart. I would just be easing off one and could feel the next one already starting. I was on the birthing ball this whole time and there was no way in hell I was going to get off that thing. Every other position HURT. The next time the nurse came in, I let her know that I was thinking about the epidural. (I had no idea how I was going to keep this up if the contractions were already this bad and this frequent this early in the game). She could tell I wasn't quite ready to commit and said she would give us a few minutes to think about it. I kid you not, she left the room and my next contraction was the most aggressive yet. I wanted to crawl out of my skin. During all of this, my husband is pacing our room behind me not knowing what to do and looking absolutely miserable. He had promised to be my firm voice if I wanted pain relief. After that contraction, he looked at me with absolute certainty and said, "do it". They had to check my cervix again before the epidural, and I was already at almost 6 cm. My nurse was watching my contractions on the monitor in disbelief at how hard and fast they were coming, saying "If you were on pitocin right now, I would take you off!".
I thought the anesthesiologist would take quite a bit of time, but he was there within about 20 minutes or so. I have watched the epidural procedure a few times and it looks painful. But when your contractions feel like flames licking your back, a giant needle is nothing; he did the procedure in the middle of a contraction and I am not exaggerating when I say that I barely noticed. Within 10-15 minutes or so, I could feel the full effects of the epidural, although, apparently when you are tall, the regular dose doesn't go quite as far. The anesthesiologist came back in to check and see that everything was working as it should. He was watching my monitor and made a comment about how hard and fast my contractions were (and noting that I could still somewhat feel them--which I didn't mind really, as the edge had been taken off). My nurse said, "I know! I just told her if she was on pitocin, I would take her off." To which he replied, "wait, she's NOT on pitocin?!". Nope, people, my uterus was just on a fast and furious mission. All of that to say, he gave me a bit of a boost and I no longer could feel my contractions. I'm not going to lie, folks, it was lovely. And my husband was visibly relieved.
My mom showed up about an hour later and we just chatted the rest of the afternoon. Because my water had broken, they only checked my cervix twice during the day (once when I was admitted and once before my epidural). Around 3 PM, they finally decided it was time to check me again and I was complete! The midwife and nurses came in and got everything ready... and then disappeared. (Had I not had that epidural, there is NO WAY my body would have made it that long). I still don't quite know what happened there, but everyone reappeared at 4 PM and pushing began.
I pushed for an hour and a half to get Lyla out, and boy did it feel long. I know I shouldn't complain; before I started they told me it can take first time moms anywhere from 1-4 hours to push, so I am well aware that I am on the low-end of that scale (especially given that I had a big baby). I don't know if it had something to do with my height, or the fact that I never pushed the button to up the epidural, but once we started making progress with pushing, I could feel EVERYTHING. (I had actually never lost all feeling; I was able to pee on command [oh yes, in a towel, on my bed. Talk about getting comfortable with your nurse] throughout my labor without having to be catheterized... until close to the end; they did use the catheter during the intense pushing phase to help make room in the birth canal ). This probably worked to my advantage as I did have the urge to push and I wanted her out! They brought the mirror out when her head was about halfway out, thinking this would help me. I took one look at that thing and all I could think was, "that's all of her that I have pushed out?!? You've got to be kidding me!" (Once I got over the initial shock, it was a helpful tool). The pain of her head being halfway in and halfway out was certainly uncomfortable, but for me it was the pressure that was out of control. They kept encouraging me, letting me know that as soon as her head was out, everything would go so fast.
I thought they all were full of it.
But they were right! Once I could see that her head was almost there, I pushed HARD, pain be damned! Holy moly, the relief of her head coming out and, one push later, her whole body, was immense. Not to mention the sheer joy of getting to meet her! She was placed right on my chest where I dissolved into a total weepy mess. Labor is exhausting, sure, but it's also super emotional; I just could not rein in the tears. I had eyes for no one but her.
Lyla Rose Bennett arrived on May 27, 2014 at 5:34 PM. All 8 pounds, 13 ounces and 21.5 inches of her!
And then I spent a great deal of time getting repaired. I had a fair amount of tearing and stitches :(. Not that I noticed, I was too busy staring at my baby. Props to my midwife for the work she did fixing me up; 2 weeks later, I'm feeling great! (For all you mamas about to give birth out there, Earth Mama, Angel Baby products are a godsend!)
I still find myself looking at Lyla in disbelief of how she got here. That we created her and I birthed her. It is insane (in the best way). Looking back on it, I can honestly say that my birth experience was pretty wonderful. Hard? Yes. Painful? Yes (although, I did have some relief). My experience with the epidural was WAY better than I anticipated (I was worried it would delay labor, end up in the crazy cycle of epidural and pitocin, that Lyla would be less alert, etc. I was super fortunate and NONE of those things happened). The whole experience for me was a really great balance of productive pain + relief when I needed it.
Like pregnancy, childbirth is easily one of the most unique, amazing things I have EVER done. It was one of the most surreal, raw experiences of my life. And it gave me this sweet, precious girl. What a gift.
A little background to start us off... Lyla's due date was Saturday, May 31. That being said, Jake and I deliberately made no plans for Memorial Day weekend. We knew this could very well be our last weekend to get a few more things done before the baby and to relax just the two of us. We made a point of being very noncommittal. After work on Friday, I went and treated myself to a pedicure. Saturday, we slept in, made breakfast and did one final clean-up of our house, garage and yard. Sunday, Jake took the day off from playing drums, so we were able to go to church together, and spent the afternoon going grocery shopping and picking up a few more things for Lyla. Monday, the weather was gorgeous and with everything done around the house, we spent the majority of the day outside reading, playing lawn games, hanging out with the neighbors, and capped the day off with an impromptu barbecue.
Everything was done--our house was clean, we were stocked with groceries, I had prepared freezer meals, baby goods were washed and put away, our hospital bag was packed, and I even had my toes done! I was totally prepared for this baby, except for one thing-- I just wanted to work at least ONE more day. My boss had been in Europe for the past 2 weeks, and while we had been corresponding via email, I was really hoping to meet with her on Tuesday to touch base about a few loose ends.
Of course, I went into labor bright and early Tuesday morning.
Somewhere between 4:30-5 AM, I rolled over in bed and felt a small gush of fluid. I had just been up around 3:30 AM to pee, so my first instinct said "my water just broke"... but another part of me was thinking, "or you've just lost control altogether" (hey, it legitimately happens to some ladies). I made a quick dash to the bathroom where I realized that I was, in fact, leaking and that no amount of kegels was going to make any difference. It also became pretty clear to me that I had lost my mucus plug. I headed back to our bedroom, trying not to wake up my husband. Given that I had just soaked my pajama pants, I needed to change and, of course, that woke him up. I calmly told him that I was fairly confident that my water just broke, but that we should just try and go back to sleep (I tested negative for Group B Strep, so there was no need to rush off to the hospital). He looked at me like I was a crazy person, but agreed to at least try. This lasted all of about 5-10 minutes. The excitement was just too much and he was quickly on the phone with family and getting himself and everything else ready to go to the hospital. In fairness, my contractions started pretty much as soon as I got back in bed and I was up and out of there shortly thereafter.
Now, what I am about to say is going to make me sound like a total workaholic. No judging.
Once I realized that my contractions had started and were already coming in a semi-regular fashion, I realized that I really needed to send some emails. Thankfully, I had been at least somewhat prepared for this scenario and had started drafting an email to my boss the previous week of all the things I wanted to touch base with her about. I quickly edited and sent off that email, letting her know I was in labor, followed by another email to my coworkers letting them know I wasn't going to be making in it that day... or for the next 12 weeks. Then, I had to set my out of office reply and forward all incoming emails to my boss. Meanwhile, I am contracting away through all of this; working at our desk and then dropping to all fours on the floor every few minutes. Jake had about had it with me. (Hey, I just needed to get these things done so I could focus on the task at hand, ok?!). I finally finished working and started being more diligent about timing my contractions and getting myself ready to go the hospital. My contractions had been very sporadic at first, anywhere from 5-8 minutes apart. Within a couple hours or so of my water breaking, they were about 3-4 minutes apart and I agreed that it was time to go (this was about 7:30 AM). At this point, everything was still really manageable. The car ride certainly was not the most comfortable, but it wasn't terrible and I was able to walk in to the hospital from the parking lot without any trouble.
Checking in at the hospital was a breeze. WAY easier than I thought it was going to be. I had sent off the pre-admission form early in my pregnancy, so when we arrived, I just told them my name at the admitting desk and they walked me right up to labor and delivery. No waiting, no triage, just right into the delivery room to change into my gown. I did not think about this at the time, but we got to the hospital right as a shift had changed, so I had the same midwife and nurses ALL DAY (it also helped that I did not have a very long labor). I loved every single one of them and was so thankful for the consistency. It's hospital policy to monitor mom's contractions and the baby's heart rate in the hospital bed for about the first 20 minutes you are there. That part was painful; sitting up in that bed through those contractions was really NOT the position I wanted to be in. Of course, my contractions picked up major speed during this point. They were still sporadic, but during that 20 minutes, I had at least 2 or 3 that came about 1 minute apart (at least I felt justified about my decision to come to the hospital). Shortly thereafter, the midwife came in to check my cervix and found that I was at 3 cm. After that, I was given the heparin lock so that I could move around more freely, and they started using the handheld fetal monitors to periodically check on baby girl.
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| View from our birthing suite. We should have taken a photo of the inside--the rooms are HUGE and so nice. |
Well, around 10 AM things got rough.
Within a couple of hours of being at the hospital, my contractions started coming about 1 minute apart. I would just be easing off one and could feel the next one already starting. I was on the birthing ball this whole time and there was no way in hell I was going to get off that thing. Every other position HURT. The next time the nurse came in, I let her know that I was thinking about the epidural. (I had no idea how I was going to keep this up if the contractions were already this bad and this frequent this early in the game). She could tell I wasn't quite ready to commit and said she would give us a few minutes to think about it. I kid you not, she left the room and my next contraction was the most aggressive yet. I wanted to crawl out of my skin. During all of this, my husband is pacing our room behind me not knowing what to do and looking absolutely miserable. He had promised to be my firm voice if I wanted pain relief. After that contraction, he looked at me with absolute certainty and said, "do it". They had to check my cervix again before the epidural, and I was already at almost 6 cm. My nurse was watching my contractions on the monitor in disbelief at how hard and fast they were coming, saying "If you were on pitocin right now, I would take you off!".
I thought the anesthesiologist would take quite a bit of time, but he was there within about 20 minutes or so. I have watched the epidural procedure a few times and it looks painful. But when your contractions feel like flames licking your back, a giant needle is nothing; he did the procedure in the middle of a contraction and I am not exaggerating when I say that I barely noticed. Within 10-15 minutes or so, I could feel the full effects of the epidural, although, apparently when you are tall, the regular dose doesn't go quite as far. The anesthesiologist came back in to check and see that everything was working as it should. He was watching my monitor and made a comment about how hard and fast my contractions were (and noting that I could still somewhat feel them--which I didn't mind really, as the edge had been taken off). My nurse said, "I know! I just told her if she was on pitocin, I would take her off." To which he replied, "wait, she's NOT on pitocin?!". Nope, people, my uterus was just on a fast and furious mission. All of that to say, he gave me a bit of a boost and I no longer could feel my contractions. I'm not going to lie, folks, it was lovely. And my husband was visibly relieved.
My mom showed up about an hour later and we just chatted the rest of the afternoon. Because my water had broken, they only checked my cervix twice during the day (once when I was admitted and once before my epidural). Around 3 PM, they finally decided it was time to check me again and I was complete! The midwife and nurses came in and got everything ready... and then disappeared. (Had I not had that epidural, there is NO WAY my body would have made it that long). I still don't quite know what happened there, but everyone reappeared at 4 PM and pushing began.
I pushed for an hour and a half to get Lyla out, and boy did it feel long. I know I shouldn't complain; before I started they told me it can take first time moms anywhere from 1-4 hours to push, so I am well aware that I am on the low-end of that scale (especially given that I had a big baby). I don't know if it had something to do with my height, or the fact that I never pushed the button to up the epidural, but once we started making progress with pushing, I could feel EVERYTHING. (I had actually never lost all feeling; I was able to pee on command [oh yes, in a towel, on my bed. Talk about getting comfortable with your nurse] throughout my labor without having to be catheterized... until close to the end; they did use the catheter during the intense pushing phase to help make room in the birth canal ). This probably worked to my advantage as I did have the urge to push and I wanted her out! They brought the mirror out when her head was about halfway out, thinking this would help me. I took one look at that thing and all I could think was, "that's all of her that I have pushed out?!? You've got to be kidding me!" (Once I got over the initial shock, it was a helpful tool). The pain of her head being halfway in and halfway out was certainly uncomfortable, but for me it was the pressure that was out of control. They kept encouraging me, letting me know that as soon as her head was out, everything would go so fast.
I thought they all were full of it.
But they were right! Once I could see that her head was almost there, I pushed HARD, pain be damned! Holy moly, the relief of her head coming out and, one push later, her whole body, was immense. Not to mention the sheer joy of getting to meet her! She was placed right on my chest where I dissolved into a total weepy mess. Labor is exhausting, sure, but it's also super emotional; I just could not rein in the tears. I had eyes for no one but her.
Lyla Rose Bennett arrived on May 27, 2014 at 5:34 PM. All 8 pounds, 13 ounces and 21.5 inches of her!
And then I spent a great deal of time getting repaired. I had a fair amount of tearing and stitches :(. Not that I noticed, I was too busy staring at my baby. Props to my midwife for the work she did fixing me up; 2 weeks later, I'm feeling great! (For all you mamas about to give birth out there, Earth Mama, Angel Baby products are a godsend!)
I still find myself looking at Lyla in disbelief of how she got here. That we created her and I birthed her. It is insane (in the best way). Looking back on it, I can honestly say that my birth experience was pretty wonderful. Hard? Yes. Painful? Yes (although, I did have some relief). My experience with the epidural was WAY better than I anticipated (I was worried it would delay labor, end up in the crazy cycle of epidural and pitocin, that Lyla would be less alert, etc. I was super fortunate and NONE of those things happened). The whole experience for me was a really great balance of productive pain + relief when I needed it.
Like pregnancy, childbirth is easily one of the most unique, amazing things I have EVER done. It was one of the most surreal, raw experiences of my life. And it gave me this sweet, precious girl. What a gift.
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| Homecoming! And first family photo. Our sweet neighbors decorated our entryway to welcome home baby girl. |
What a blessing! So happy for both of you! Praying for your beautiful new family! Loved reading your birth story! Motherhood is God's greatest gift to us!
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