{"id":7457,"date":"2011-09-27T08:02:04","date_gmt":"2011-09-27T12:02:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ahealthysliceoflife.com\/2011\/09\/27\/haileys-birth-story-part-1\/"},"modified":"2014-04-04T18:02:31","modified_gmt":"2014-04-04T22:02:31","slug":"haileys-birth-story-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ahealthysliceoflife.com\/haileys-birth-story-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Hailey’s Birth Story: Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

At 36 weeks, I went ahead and got the house cleaned, my toenails painted and the freezer stocked because I just knew we\u2019d be welcoming a baby within a week or two\u2026 tops.\u00a0 I felt my body couldn\u2019t stretch any further.\u00a0 I was wrong.<\/p>\n

39 weeks hits and I thought, WOW, it\u2019s right around the corner- for sure! But at the doctor I was 50% effaced and though one midwife said I was 1 cm dilated, 2 other doctors assured me I wasn\u2019t dilated at all.<\/p>\n

And I stayed that way at 40 weeks, too.\u00a0 At that appointment we had to set an induction date because the doctor wouldn\u2019t allow me to go further than 10 days overdue.\u00a0 How did I get to this point? I thought I\u2019d go early.<\/p>\n

At 41 weeks I was a bit softer- 75% effaced and 2 cm dilated! With my induction 2 days away, I had high hopes my body was kicking into gear and we\u2019d have this baby without intervention<\/a>.\u00a0 I was having contractions and could just feel it!<\/p>\n

I was wrong \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n

Wednesday night, September 14th, Hubbs and I headed into the hospital.\u00a0 At 7:00pm they inserted the cervadil, which was going to soften my cervix.\u00a0 I had read that sometimes it\u2019s enough to put you into labor, too.\u00a0 Again, my hopes soared!<\/p>\n

\"IMG_1156\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Not long after we settled in, mom showed up with dinner- veggie pizza! And mom and dad Dixon came to hang out for a bit, too, and brought adorable pink and blue cupcakes. At this point, no one knew whether Baby D was a boy or girl.\u00a0 The cupcakes got a bit mixed up on the ride over, but they were still delicious!<\/p>\n

\"IMG_1159\"<\/a>\"IMG_1158\"<\/a>\"IMG_1165\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It was nice to have the company to pass the time and calm the nerves.\u00a0 Hubbs and I were giddy knowing that FINALLY the day had come\u2026 even if it needed a jump start to get things going.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_1162\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t sleep too much that night for a few reasons. Excitement, nerves, the saline lock in my arm (even though I didn\u2019t need an IV \u2013 safety precaution!) and, oh yeah, the pumpkin inside my belly \ud83d\ude42\u00a0 At 2:30 am I woke up to contractions that were 4 minutes apart.\u00a0 I also noticed I felt very sore \u2018down there\u2019\u2026 almost like someone had kicked me between the legs and it had bruised.\u00a0 I played on my phone for about an hour before forcing myself to close my eyes and squeeze in a bit more sleep.<\/p>\n

At 5:00am I woke up and was having contractions that were 2-5 minutes apart.\u00a0 I was so excited to be having contractions on my own.\u00a0 They weren\u2019t painful, though I could feel them, and finally understood the \u2018wave\u2019 that people describe as contraction as.\u00a0 You can feel it coming on, feel the height of it and then feel the relaxation.\u00a0 It felt like a belt tightening around my middle.<\/p>\n

At this point, I was up for the day and hungry. Contractions were still coming often, but ouch, I was more focused on the bruised feeling on my pelvic bone.\u00a0 It didn\u2019t matter too much though, I was excited!\u00a0 Hubbs ran to Starbucks for some coffee (he would need it) and I begged him to bring me a turkey bacon, egg and cheese English muffin.\u00a0 He did, hesitantly, and suggested I not eat too much of it.\u00a0 Even though I could have scarfed it down, I took his advice and only had a few bites.\u00a0 I was glad later!<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a><\/p>\n

The doctor came in to check and see if I made any progress. I was a bit disappointed to hear that I was 85% effaced and 2-3 cm dilated.\u00a0 I hadn\u2019t made much progress, BUT I was having contractions on my own.<\/p>\n

At this point, the doc said we needed to get things moving.\u00a0 He suggested we break my water and start pitocin.\u00a0 I freaked out.\u00a0 Pitocin? I was contracting on my own! I thought we\u2019d get to wait it out.\u00a0 And I wasn\u2019t so sure about breaking my water and getting rid of the contraction \u2018buffer\u2019 right off the bat.\u00a0 However, the doctor said we needed to do something to move things along.\u00a0 My eyes opened wide and the doctor left us alone for a minute to discuss.\u00a0 I frantically started googling on my phone the pros and cons of breaking water, and after reading and talking with Hubbs, we decided it was best.\u00a0 At 7:27am we broke my water.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t feel any pain, just the gush of warm water that was released.\u00a0 It totally feels like you just wet yourself.\u00a0 My heart started pounding knowing that now there was no turning back.<\/p>\n

We agreed no pitocin, and I hoped my body would keep contracting.\u00a0 It did!\u00a0 The contractions were a bit stronger, too, which gave me hope.<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a><\/p>\n

I made a conscious effort to stay well hydrated and away from IV fluids.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_1164\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I sat on the birthing ball, which was great.\u00a0 When a contraction came, I would put my head down and David would push hard against my back with counter pressure until it passed.\u00a0 Once it was gone, I could lift up, chat and smile like nothing had happened.\u00a0 I was feeling optimistic that I could do this, even though nurses would tell me that eventually I wouldn\u2019t be smiling through them.<\/p>\n

\"early\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Dad arrived and popped in to say hello.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_1170\"<\/a><\/p>\n

After a little bit, I decided I need to focus a bit more, so mom and dad moved out and it was just Hubbs and me.\u00a0 The contractions were coming a bit stronger by 11:30am.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_1168\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The one thing I had going for me is that I wasn\u2019t hooked up to an IV of any sorts, so I could move around freely.\u00a0 That was fantastic, because the only thing that sounded more painful than what I was already going through would be trying to do the same thing strapped to the bed.<\/p>\n

I did have to keep monitors on my belly that tracked the baby\u2019s heartbeat and my contractions, but luckily they had one that was portable.\u00a0 Although annoying and I would have much preferred to go without them, at least I could move.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_1178\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In between contractions I talked to Hubbs, texted, tweeted and snacked on some jell-o.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_1181\"<\/a> \"IMG_1177\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The contractions kept getting more intense.\u00a0 Hours kept passing, but I had begun to lose track of time.\u00a0 At this point, the contractions were coming quickly and hitting me hard.\u00a0 I realized that when contractions are 2 minutes apart, and lasting for 90 seconds each, that you only get a 30 second \u2018rest\u2019, which isn\u2019t much at all.<\/p>\n

I was able to get into a hot bath, which is the only thing that would provide any sort of relief from the strong pressure and pain ramming into my pelvis.\u00a0 However, in the tub, I\u2019d get more a break in between contractions, but when one hit, it was like slamming into a brick wall.\u00a0 I\u2019d breathe deeply and whisper to myself \u2018open, open, open\u2019 as if I could talk my cervix into dilating.\u00a0 I spent my time going from hot bath, to walking around, then back to the bath.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t stand the thought of standing still, and sitting or laying down was not an option.\u00a0 All I could do was try to breathe through the contractions, which I did with some tears and moans.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_1175\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I have to pause for a second and tell you how amazing Hubbs was.\u00a0 I wouldn\u2019t have made it an hour without him.\u00a0 He never took his eyes off of me.\u00a0 He rubbed when I wanted him to, drew my baths, and would sit and watch me when I wanted to be left alone.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t know it was possible, but I fell even more in love with him that day.\u00a0 I can\u2019t imagine watching someone you love in that kind of pain, but he stayed strong, like I had asked him to, and never left my side.<\/p>\n

At 2:00 the doctor came in to check me. The checks were the worst part because I had to crawl into bed and try to handle the contractions on my back while the doctor reached up inside. I thought that surely I had made progress because the contractions were too intense and painful to not have.<\/p>\n

I was 4 cm dilated.\u00a0 And I see why people don\u2019t want to be checked.\u00a0 I had hardly progressed at all, despite all my hard work.\u00a0 I must admit, I felt discouraged\u2026 until a contraction came, then all I could focus on was the pain.<\/p>\n

Leading up to labor, I never referred to contractions as painful.\u00a0 I\u2019d call them intense or powerful, but I tried to switch my language from using the negative word of \u2018pain\u2019, but to be honest with you, \u2018intense\u2019 doesn\u2019t do what I was feeling justice.<\/p>\n

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<\/p>\n

Part 2, coming soon! With as wordy as I got with this story, I didn\u2019t want to bore you with a novel of a post.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At 36 weeks, I went ahead and got the house cleaned, my toenails painted and the freezer stocked because I just knew…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":7449,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1483,1482],"tags":[365,366,368,319,367,66],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ahealthysliceoflife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7457"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ahealthysliceoflife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ahealthysliceoflife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ahealthysliceoflife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ahealthysliceoflife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7457"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ahealthysliceoflife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7457\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ahealthysliceoflife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7449"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ahealthysliceoflife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7457"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ahealthysliceoflife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7457"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ahealthysliceoflife.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7457"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}