Julia's Birth Story

If you read my previous blog, you know that I was put on bed-rest to see if I could make it to 36 weeks.  By God's grace, I made it to 36 weeks.  Then, the doctor told me he wanted me to try to make it to 37 weeks.  Hearing this, my mom graciously offered to stay another week to make sure I could really stay on bed rest.  Ethan and I were so happy to have her stay.  I loved having her company during the day.  Of course we got our share of chick flicks - like we watched "Emma" and "Pride and Prejudice."  :)  What a sweet mother-daughter time we had together.  Also, since I was on bed-rest, I couldn't "nest" like I wanted to.  So, mom helped with cleaning amd sorting baby clothes and other such things to get ready for our baby's arrival.

On November 8, all three of ended up getting a bad stomach sickness.  I got so dehydrated from it that we decided I needed to go the ER that night because my braxton hicks contractions were getting too frequent.  When I got to the hospital, they pumped 3 different IVs into me until I got hydrated again and my contractions settled down.  Ethan and I left the hospital around 1:00 a.m (November 9).

Later that morning (November 9) I was so happy to wake up at 5:00 a.m. hungry!  I hadn't eaten in over 24 hours, so I was so thankful to finally be able to keep some food down.  I ate some crackers and jello and then climbed back into bed.

An hour later (at 6:00 a.m.) I had just been feeling a contraction (I had been feeling them all night and hadn't slept too well because of them), and suddenly my water broke!  I woke up Ethan and told him my water had just broken!  So, Ethan called the hospital to ask if we needed to come in right away or if I could take a shower and pack my bag.  The doctor told us we had to come in right away but could take a shower if we wanted to.  So, I took a quick shower and Ethan started packing our hospital bag.  In the meantime, my contractions were starting to get more intense and much more frequent!  My mom told me later that she was quite concerned when she saw how quickly my contractions were coming since she tended to have fast labors and was worried that I would too...

We live minutes away from the hospital.  When we got there, we had to check in first and the lady could tell that my contractions were getting intense and assured me she would try to get through the check-in process as quickly as possible.

When we got up to the delivery room, they hooked me up on monitors and told me I was dehydrated again.  They needed to get me hooked up to an IV but couldn't do so until the doctor came to see me.  In the meantime, my contractions were getting stronger and stronger.  They did an exam on me.  However, the nurse said, "Huh, that's wierd.  I can't quite find your cervix.  It seems like it's far back.  I have short fingers, so I'll get another nurse with longer fingers to get a good reading."  So, another nurse came in and said, "That's strange.  I've never felt this before.  It appears that your cervix is off to the right a little.  And, I can't quite tell how dilated you are.  I'm going to say it's probably about 1 cm."

I was a bit confused at this point because the night before I had been 1.5 cm. dilated...  I also remember thinking, "Oh boy!  I'm only 1 cm. dilated and I'm in so much pain.  How am I going to get through labor and make it to 10 cm. if I am already in this much pain?!"

Well, the doctor arrived and did an exam on me.  Right away he said that I was 10 cm dilated!  He also told me that the baby was breech.  I was taken by surprise.  He verified her breech position by doing an ultrasound.  He explained that her bottom was down so we had to do an emergency c-section.  (So, the reason the nurses couldn't get an accurate reading of my dilation was because I was already fully dilated and they were feeling the baby's bottom!  In fact, when she was born, she had a bruise on her bottom!) 

Of course I was surprised and disappointed that I would be needing a c-section.  I so wanted to have the baby naturally.  Ethan asked if there was any physical way to turn the baby.  The doctor explained that because my water had already broken and the fact that I was already 10 cm. dilated, it was too dangerous to try to change the baby's position.  If they didn't act fast, the baby would be born and it was too risky to have her be born in her breech position.  God gave me a peace at that point which I'm so thankful for.  Although I wanted to have the baby naturally, I knew God was in control.  From that point on, everything happened so fast so it is kind of a blur.

They whisked me to the operating room.  After the anesthesiologist gave me an epidural and they had me all prepped for surgery, Ethan was allowed in the room in scrubs.  He sat right behind me and talked to me during the surgery.  It was such a comfort to have him there.

Julia Beth was born at 8:38 a.m.  She weighed 5 lbs. 14 oz.  She was 20 1/4 inches. 

When I saw her for the first time, I remember seeing her thick head of black hair.  She was also so alert.  I heard her little cry but she didn't cry long.  She seemed quite content in her new environment.  Ethan went over to the warming table where they were cleaning her.  He cut the umbilical cord.  Ethan got to hold her and brought her over to me so that I could see her.  I remember seeing her just looking around with her cute eyes.  I loved how alert she was! 

After that, they wheeled me out to a recovery room.  I had to stay there for 1 hour.  I kept asking the nurse what the "plan" was because I was so anxious to be reunited with my sweet daughter.  After 1 hour, they wheeled me to my room.  In the hallway, my mom met me and said that Julia was in the nursery with Ethan.  I looked in the window and there was Ethan, holding our sweet daughter!  It was such a sweet scene to see daddy and Julia together. 

Then, they wheeled me to my hospital room and transfered me to my bed.  Shortly after, Ethan came in with baby Julia.  I got to hold her for the first time!  It was such a sweet moment!

Here are some pictures of Julia's birth day.  :)

Not the most flattering picture, but it is when I was in labor... before we knew that I would be having an emergency c-section.

This was me, getting ready for my c-section.  Another not-so-flattering pictures of myself.  :)  The chair that is directly behind my head is where Ethan got to sit during the surgery.  It was such a comfort to have him there with me.

See how alert Julia was?  Ethan took this picture of Julia while he was waiting with her in the nursery (while I was in recovery for 1 hour).

Another sweet picture of Julia in the nursery.  Ethan said he had so much fun getting to know his daughter.

My mom took this picture of Ethan while he was waiting in the nursery.

My mom had to wait outside the nursery.  She said it was so sweet watching Ethan hold Julia and talk to her.  She also said that the other ladies were admiring Julia.

This was taken when Ethan brought Julia to my room.  I got teary-eyed when I saw her, knowing I would finally get to hold her for the first time!

Holding my precious daughter for the first time.  What a special moment!

Ethan's mom was able to come to the hospital and meet Julia shortly after she was born.

This was Ethan, changing Julia's diaper for the first time.  He became quite the expert since I couldn't get out of bed for the first 24 hours.  In fact, Ethan changed her diaper for the first 3 days.  It wasn't until day 4 that I actually changed a diaper and I had to ask him for help.  :)  What a great dad!