On Friday, October 14th we got up, Mom treated us all to a pancake breakfast and Geoff and I left to have a baby! After a quiet and calm drive to the hospital, Geoff and I arrived for our 10:00 AM induction appointment. We got settled in, the doctor checked me (I had actually dilated to 1 cm!!), and determined that I would undergo the same procedure I had with Eliana--using the EASI and pitocen. I braced myself for the pain I had experienced before. The procedure to insert the EASI (which is a bladder used to "encourage" dilation) was nothing like it was two years ago--it was practically pain-free!
The induction process started at noon and I waited for the back pain and uncomfortable contractions to kick in...minutes passed, then hours, and all that was happening were regular, but mild contractions. At first, I thought this practically pain-free induction was great, but then I started to worry that the reason I wasn't experiencing any pain was because maybe my body wasn't responding to the intervention.
The nurse, Nina, was absolutely wonderful. She checked in on me regularly and kept saying our mantra for the day was "Three's a Breeze"! She was also mindful of Geoff's needs (for which Geoff was very grateful) and sent him off to get some food while things were quiet on my end. Geoff and I chatted away, tuned into HGTV, and there were times that I quite frankly forgot that I was in labor. Crazy, right?
So around 4:00, Nina came in to check up on me and finally I said, "I don't mean to complain or anything, but I'm not in pain and because of that, I'm worried that my body is not progressing." She assured me that because my contractions were so regular, that my body was moving forward beautifully. They were going to check the EASI at 6:00 to see if it was ready to come out. Well, I should have 'complained' sooner, because shortly after she left, my contractions really started to ramp up! The pain was becoming more and more intense, and my body started shaking from the contractions.
Even though it was getting worse, the pain was not as horrific as it was with Hylie or Eliana's labors--but the nurse saw that things had definitely changed and asked for a doctor to come in and check me at 5:00. Sure enough, the EASI came right out and I was dilated to a 5. As the contractions intensified, Nina felt I was in transition and went ahead and put the order in for my epidural and even turned down the pitocen a tad while I waited for the anesthesiologist. He came in at 6:00 and just before he entered the room, Nina quickly came over to me and quietly said, "I just want to warn you, this doctor talks REALLY FAST." When the doctor came in, he started talking (really, REALLY fast) and didn't stop talking the entire time he was performing the procedure. I was so glad that the nurse warned me, because I truly would have thought that something was wrong and the doctor was trying to distract me with all his questions and information on what he was doing. The epidural itself was a smooth process and shortly after, all I was feeling was pressure, no more pain.
Dr. Drachler came in to say hello and then came back in around 6:40 to check me and break my water. I was at a 6, and when he broke my water he noticed traces of meconium, so they ordered for the pediatrician team to be present during the birthing process so they could clear the baby's stomach and air passages of any meconium right after it was born.
Shortly after all of this, I started to feel the urgency to push during the contractions. I let the nurse know (Nina's shift had ended, so now Kristen was tending to me) and she said when I feel that urgency all the time to let her know. Well, Dr. Drachler decided we didn't have to wait much longer. He came in around 7:30 and they started setting up the room for delivery. Once everything was in place they had me push on my next contraction and the baby's head appeared. Dr. Drachler had me wait until the next contraction, asked me to push once, then he asked me to cough once, and then cough one more time. Then he said, "Okay." I just stared at him in disbelief. Apparently he was holding the baby and waiting to pull it out. My job was done! I couldn't believe it for a second, but I looked down and watched him flip our little baby over to discover that at 7:55 PM we had a beautiful, baby girl!
They immediately handed her over to the pediatrician team, I was glad they were taking care of her, but it was hard not getting to hold her right away. It was difficult to see them go through the process of clearing out her nose and mouth and keep her breathing, but I knew they knew what they were doing and it was the best thing for our baby.
Dr. Drachler finished with the after-birth process, gave me the one stitch I needed, and then started pacing the floor while the pediatrician team continued to work. "I'm not leaving until I see how much this baby weighs," he announced. To me, she looked itty bitty, but all the nurses and doctors assured me, she was not a small baby. Once the pediatricians were done, they weighed her: 9 lbs. 5 oz. and brought her over to my arms.
Finally, I was able to hold our little Lillian Eve. She was perfect and Geoff and I were so happy she was here! While Geoff was holding Lillian, I turned to him and said, "If giving birth was like this all the time, I could do it every day." I don't say that to brag, but I say it in awe at the experience I had in birthing Lillian. I'm still in shock as to how smoothly everything went and if I hadn't experienced it first hand, I wouldn't have believed how flawlessly everything went.
We called Mom as soon as we could to tell her the wonderful news. Hylie was on her way to bed, but I got to talk to her briefly to let her know she had a little sister. Hylie was excited and was looking forward to meeting Lillian. Our neighbor came over to the house so Mom could slip away and hold Lillian before they transferred me to the recovery room.
We are so grateful to have Lillian Eve in our family and were so blessed to be in such excellent care during her labor and delivery. We are looking forward to watching her grow and develop talents and take part of the craziness in the Woodhouse clan!
