I think I’ve mentioned before that Lucy’s due date was April 17, which is my birthday. So, I asked my doctor if I could be induced earlier so we wouldn’t have the same birthday. He told me I could be induced up to a week earlier, so April 11th it was! Except, he was going to be out of town that weekend so he asked if the 14th would be okay. I sighed, and said that would be fine but it’s cutting it a little close since Rose didn’t come until 36 hours after I got to the hospital and I wasn't entirely convinced that Lucy wouldn't do the same thing.
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| Our last photo as a family of three |
I was told to wait for a phone call on the 13th (Monday night) to let me know what time to come to the hospital on Tuesday. Around 9 or 10 pm I got the call saying I should expect another phone call in the morning around 7 or 8 to come in. So, Ryan and I got up at 6 am (Rose was staying with my parents) and waited. And waited, and waited some more. Around 10 am I decided to call and the hospital told me they were swamped but that I was the first in line when they had a room open. We waited and waited some more. I was feeling emotional though about leaving Rose for 3 days because she’s never not seen me for that long and I was worried she would feel betrayed when I came back after being gone with a new baby that needed all the attention. (Those pregnancy hormones are no joke, let me tell you.) So, after crying for a bit, Ryan suggested we go wait for the phone call with my mom and Rose. We went over there to wait, Rose was doing just fine and we waited some more. I called again at 2 pm and they were still full. At some point they called and told me to just come in at 8 pm. With that extra time we had, Ryan found a store nearby that carried a gun he’s been looking at and saving up for... so he went and bought it. *insert eye roll here* while I sat and waited and worried some more. It was a REALLY long day. And I was frustrated because by the time I had Lucy it would be the 15th or 16th which is only one or two days away from my birthday rather than the original week I had been hoping for.
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| The pictures that look like this are from my stories on Instagram throughout the whole birth/hospital experience. |
Around 7:30 pm, Ryan and I drove home to pick up a few things and he gave me a blessing of comfort that really helped to calm my nerves. Then we drove to Two Jacks to pick up a pizza for him to bring to the hospital (we learned our lesson last time around). Then we drove to the hospital.
We checked in and got all settled into the room. I put on the uncomfortable hospital gown, sat in the uncomfortable hospital bed, had my blood pressure checked, an iv put in my arm, the heart monitor for the baby and the contraction monitor attached to my large pregnant belly, and the rolled up towel put under my pack so I wasn’t flat on my back. If it sounds uncomfortable, just know that it is and probably even more uncomfortable than it sounds.
The nurse then told me that I would have to do the whole Cervidil (cervical ripening) again.... even though my doctor said that I wouldn’t have to do that this time. ( I suspect that he didn’t want to deliver a baby in the middle of the night... which is fair... but I wish I hadn’t waited all day just to be told I had to wait until the next morning to actually be induced.)
When my nurse had to check my cervix I politely let her know ahead of time that I would most likely cry but not to worry about it, I was fine. I just always cry. I can’t help it. Hospitals and doctors and dentists give me anxiety and all the stuff that goes with birth typically makes me want to cry. Even if it doesn’t hurt. (But for the record, getting your cervix checked is extremely unpleasant, and feels painful to me.)
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| These are from my Instagram stories throughout my time in the hospital. |
Oh! I forgot to mention that I was so worried about having a baby during a pandemic and that Ryan wouldn’t be able to be there if the Coronavirus stuff got bad. I’m SO SO SO grateful that he was able to be there because he is the best at helping me to breathe and calm down when I get really overwhelmed. AND along the lines of what was different about having a baby during a pandemic: I had to get tested for coronavirus on Monday before having the baby and that was a horrible experience. (If you’ve been tested with the nose swab then you know what I mean.) and then other than that, Ryan had to wear a mask when nurses were in the room.
Okay, back to the birth story.
So, we hung out all night while my cervix was “ripening” I guess. At 8 am the nurse checked my cervix again (a truly traumatizing experience, does anyone else feel this way? Or am i just a baby?) and the Cervidil actually worked this time! I was dilated to a 3! I was planning on just doing what I did with Rose: epidural, Pitocin, water broken, baby. But my doctor wanted to break my water before his office opened at 9 so he came and broke my water and then I ate breakfast, got the epidural, the Pitocin, and then waited.
With Rose, I accidentally got too much epidural/anesthesia right before she decided to make her arrival so I couldn’t feel ANYTHING of the delivery. This time I decided I wanted to be able to feel a little bit. So I didn’t push the button for more. And the contractions didn’t really hurt, they just felt like pressure. And it got harder to breathe when I had a contraction. After about 2 1/2 hours I could tell that the contractions were coming closer together and getting much stronger. I had to lay back because of the epidural (I asked if I could sit up more and the nurse said no...) and I started having reflux and the difficulty breathing made me feel a little sick. At one point Ryan was trying to talk to me and distract me but then I threw up my breakfast which was gross. Going into labor has that effect on some women according to the nurse.
My doctor got there soon after, they got everything ready and then it was time to deliver Lucy. I only had to push for about 20 minutes. It didn’t feel very long at all. It was actually kind of nice to be able to feel a little bit. I’ll never have a baby without an epidural, my anticipation of pain tolerance is VERY low. But I liked feeling more present and a little bit more in control.
Our beautiful Lucy Del was born at 12:26 pm on Wednesday, April 15th. It was pretty a pretty emotional and wonderful experience. I hate being uncomfortable so all the stuff leading up to having a baby is hard for me and I complain a lot. But I definitely wouldn’t trade any of it if it meant I couldn’t have Rose and Lucy in my life.
Lucy had the cord loosely wrapped around her neck when she came out, which resulted in some liquid getting in her lungs? I think? The nurses didn’t seem to worried about her. And she turned out fine, we just had to suck liquid out of her mouth with the little bulb thing and try to get her to cry to clear out her lungs.
She was 8 lbs 2 oz and 20 1/2 inches long. She had darkish brown hair, her skin was super duper red, and she was fuzzy all over. Her and Rose look completely different to me.
My parents kept Rose at their Airbnb for the rest of their stay (about another week) but they brought her over when we got home so she could meet Lucy. They also brought me a ton of beautiful tulips.
The first few weeks after having a baby are tough. Recovery is difficult and having a two year old and a newborn that rely on you when your body hurts and you are far from feeling normal isn’t easy. But it’s been 7 weeks now and we are all doing really good. I’m getting the hang of having two kids, Lucy is starting to sleep for long stretches of time at night, and my body feels so much better than it did. And I can see my toes again! (Hooray hooray for not being pregnant anymore!!!)
I love love love being a mom and getting to see my girls grow and learn and discover their world. It’s not easy, but it is oh so worth it!
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