Birth story time! Feel free to just skip through and look at all the pictures if you don't feel like reading the whole thing, but as soon as I got pregnant, I became enthralled with birth stories, so now I feel inclined to share my own, just in case there are others like me. :)
First things first- even after all the research and scary stories I read online, I chose to be induced- my doctor brought it up on one of my last visits- since I was "semi" high risk it was within the realm of possibilities and he was actually going on vacation the week of my due date. So after weighing the options, I decided that I would rather be monitored and watched through the whole process, and know that David would be around for at least a week before being sucked back into the vortex known as dental school. So we set the date for the 27th of December. It was a Saturday and my doc was on call all weekend, so we were able to get in and scheduled at the hospital.
I'll admit, I'm kind of sad that I don't have one of those spontaneous crazy labor stories to share about my water breaking in walmart or something, but on the other hand, it was extremely nice knowing when things were going to happen, especially with family not being super close, we could plan for when everyone could come and stuff, so in the end, I am totally okay with the fact that I was induced, no matter what all those judgmental mommy boards say about "unnecessary" medical intervention.
Okay, now on to the good stuff! So since it was an induction, we went in on Friday night where they gave me a pill called cytotec to basically get things moving before jumping into the harder drugs, basically tricking my body to think it was in early labor before starting pitocin which triggers the more intense contractions. It was a little annoying, we got there at 10 so the pill could work over night, but they were super busy and understaffed as it was the day after Christmas, so they didn't get around to us until like 2 in the morning. So it was a long and uncomfortable (very unrestful) night. But we survived and by 11 that morning, contractions had started on their own! They were regular, but not super strong, so they gave me a little bit of pitocin to amp things up. A little bit later my doctor stopped by and broke my water. What I've learned when it comes to induction is that slow and steady wins the race, pushing things too quickly is when problems arise, so while things took alot longer than I had imagined, it was fine. We spent the day just hanging out, it was a little annoying having to consistently be hooked up to monitors and IVs, but it was a Saturday which meant college football! No huge games, but we passed the time by watching two football games and the new Thor movie. By about 4 o clock I was pretty exhausted, having not really slept the night before, so when they said I was only dilated to a 5 (halfway there), I decided to get an epidural. I was never really against them, it was always more like well if I decide I need it, I'll get it. And I decided I would rather get some sleep since I knew now that it would be a late delivery and I wouldn't sleep that night either. And I'll be honest, the second the epidural started working I wondered aloud why I hadn't done it hours ago. It was absolute heaven. Sure, my legs felt funny but I would just look at the contraction monitor and laugh as they happened cuz I couldn't feel a thing! So I was able to sleep for a few hours. My mom had left from southern Utah that morning and got there that late afternoon, so we really just hung out and slept and visited until about 930 when things started getting intense. The nurse checked me and I was at a 9, so super close, and I was starting to feel a lot of pressure, which was the coolest part about the epidural, there was no pain, but I felt I was still apart of it because I felt the pressure that came with each contraction and eventually the urge to push. At 1030 the nurse checked again and I was ready to go! They called the doctor and got me all set up. She started having me do some practice pushes, which ended up being super effective because she had me stop and wait because if I pushed anymore, baby would be here! So it was a little frustrating, being so close but having to wait for the doctor to show up, but show up he did a few minutes later, and it was really all a blur from there. He put on all his garb and gloves, they lifted me way high on the bed, the nursery nurses came in and literally 2 contractions and a few pushes later, she was here! At 11:04! It was such a wonderful experience, they handed her directly to me and I was in love.
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| Before we left for the hospital! |
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| Look at those bags under my eyes! Haha, totally worth it though! |
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| 7lbs 4 oz and 20.5 inches long! This was 38 weeks 4 days, I wonder how big she wouldve gotten had she gone another couple weeks! |
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| Just perfect! |
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| All cleaned up and warm! |
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Eyes open!
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I have loved the name Brielle for as long as I can remember- I don't remember where I heard it originally, but when we saw her, I just knew that it was a good fit. Pauline is David's late grandma's name, and it was a perfect match, so we have our little Brielle Pauline. :) She has my nose and lips and Davids ears and eyes. Her hair isn't blonde blonde, but it's definitely not brown, and I think she'll have blue eyes! Right now they're more gray, which is unique for sure, but I see a little blue peeking through more and more each day.
The rest of the hospital stay was pretty uneventful, but we needed to go back in on New Year's Eve because her bilirubin levels got too high, so she had to spend the night under the phototherapy lights. That was a pretty miserable night, she did not like it at all, but luckily it worked quickly and we were able to go home the next day.
I absolutely love being a mom. Its interesting to see how reality is comparing against my expectations. For example nursing isn't nearly as bad as I thought, we both got the hang of it pretty quickly, but no one ever told me how messy it is! Holy cow. Between the leaking and her deciding she's done and milk spraying everywhere, not to mention the spit up, haha its pretty crazy. Also, I knew the whole not getting enough sleep thing would be rough, but I didn't realize how much consecutive sleep really does for a person. Haha, oh well, we're getting into a routine slowly but surely.
But she is absolutely precious. We are so in love with this little blessing! She's getting more and more alert everyday, and I swear this morning I got half a smile out of her, so its progress. :) We all think she's going to be tall. Not only was she long to begin with, but she has HUGE feet. That was one of the first thing I noticed about her, was how big her feet are and how long her toes are, so she probably will have her mother's huge feet. But, there are worse things. :)
Well I think I'm done blabbering, so here are some pictures to enjoy! Believe it or not, David probably actually takes more pictures than I do, and I haven't gotten around to getting them off his phone yet, so I may do another photo post later, but here are a few of the ones I have!
Also, a big thank you to all those who have helped and are so willing to help during this fun, but crazy transition!
Hopefully I'll be back in a week or so with a one month old update! One month already, I can't believe it. It's been the longest, yet quickest month of my life. Haha, til next time!
These pictures are pretty much in chronological order, ranging from going home, to yesterday. :)
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| Going home! |
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| You can kind of see how yellow she was getting! |
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| I love this outfit! |
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| Our poor ducks didn't win the title, but they had one cute cheerleader! |
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| And we can't forget our Alma Mater! Go cougs! |
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| Look at those long legs! And chubby cheeks! |
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| This is one of her favorite faces to make |
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