"Ready or Not Here I Come"

We went to bed peacefully on Thursday, May 7th. I was 37 weeks pregnant and was not due until May 29th. I was sound asleep until about 1am when I woke up having pretty painful contractions. I had been having contractions for a few weeks before this but they were never very painful. I laid there for an hour to see if they would go away but they didn't so finally at 2am I woke up Kevin and told him I was having contractions and we needed to start timing them. They were coming about 5 minutes apart and were lasting 30 seconds or so. We called my doctor and told her what was going on. She told me to go to the hospital if I felt like I needed to. After we got off the phone with her I had Kevin give me a blessing and we both felt that we needed to go in. The only problem was that we didn't have our hospital bag packed yet. With all the nesting I have been doing over the past few months I was leaving the hospital bag and Hailey's room until last. Of course I thought I had a few more weeks to get those things done but Hailey had other plans.

So there we were completely numb and in shock about me actually being in labor at 37 weeks and we were trying to keep our heads together enough to think about what we needed to bring to the hospital. On top of that I was also working through contractions that were getting more painful. We did a lot of laughing a lot of panicking and a lot of silent praying as we gathered what we needed. (After we got back from the hospital after delivering Hailey I was unpacking our bags and in my things I had packed my Calvin Klein Obsession perfume. I don't know what I was thinking when I packed that, obviously I wasn't.)

We called a neighbor of ours who had told us she would take Sarah whenever I went into labor. By this time it was 3am and luckily we were able to get a hold of our neighbor. She said to bring Sarah on over. So we grabbed our bags and carried Sarah down to the car. I explained to her that Mommy was going to the hospital to have the baby and that I was going to be there for a few days but she could come and see me while I was there. I also told her she was going to our friends house to stay with them for a little bit. She was so great about the whole thing. So we dropped her off without any problems and off we went to the hospital.

We got there about 3:30am and they hooked me up to the monitors right away. They watched my contractions for a bit and then checked me to see how dilated I was. The nurse that checked had a hard time finding my cervix and she eventually had to push down on the top of my uterus from the outside to get to it. The whole process was extremely painful and when she pulled her hand out I felt a big gush of fluid...my water broke. I really feel that the only reason it broke was because the nurse was being so rough. Anyways, I was at a 3 and 90% effaced.

I told the nurse I would like to labor on my own for a while and then when I needed it I wanted an epidural. Instead of staying in bed through the labor I got up and went in the jacuzzi tub for a bit. After I was done with that it was about 6:30am and my contractions were no different than when we arrived at the hospital. Kevin then informed me that he forgot to grab clean garments and he wanted to go home to get some and take a shower. Since I wasn't progressing at all I was ok with him leaving for a bit. After he left the nurse told me my midwife wanted me to start walking the halls to get things moving along. I didn't want to walk without Kevin so I rested in bed for a bit. Then things started happening fast. My contractions doubled in intensity and they got so bad I was screaming and crying. Kevin got back about 7:00am and told me the nurse had told him she wanted me to start walking the halls. I looked at him and told him there was no way I could even stand because they were so bad.

Just then a new nurse came in the room. She had just come on for her shift and she introduced herself. She said she had been listening to everything that was going on and she called my midwife to tell her I wasn't going to do the walking and I needed an epidural now. I was still crying from the pain and I thanked her. I ended up waiting about 10 minutes for the anesthesiologist to show up. By this point the contractions were coming every few minutes and were still extremely painful. I kept hyperventilating and the nurse had to work hard to get me to slow my breathing. Luckily I only had to work through three or four contractions while the doctor was inserting the epidural. After it was in I was in heaven. Kevin and I were able to get some rest and watch the monitors to see the progress and watch the baby's heartbeat.

After a while we noticed with every contraction the baby's heartbeat would drop below what was normal. The nurse came in and said she had been watching the heartbeat as well and told us that she suspected the cord was wrapped around the baby's neck. I was pretty worried when she said this but then she informed us she wasn't worried. It happens in about 40% of deliveries and it's usually not a big deal. She told us she would let us know if she did get worried and she had me wear an oxygen mask for the baby's benefit.

Shortly after that my midwife showed up. It was about 10:00am. She had been watching the monitors from her office and decided it was time for her to be with us. She checked my progress and I was dilated up to a five and 100% effaced. I had been at a five for a while so they gave me pitocin to speed things up a bit. At about 11:30am I started feeling like I needed to push so I told my midwife. She and the nurse calmly broke the bed down and got all the instruments ready. We kept the room lights off and just had the natural light coming in from the window. The atmosphere was very relaxed and calm. The nurse reminded me how to push properly and the pushing began. The nurse kept the count while Kevin held my hand and calmly encouraged me. I had the baby's head out in two pushes. As soon as her head was out the midwife affirmed the cord was wrapped once around the baby's neck and she quickly unwrapped it. I gave a third and final push and she was out. It was 11:53am.

They immediately put the baby up on my chest and Kevin and I just looked at her in awe. As soon as I saw her I knew her name should be Hailey. She was very calm and just looked back at us.

Shortly After Birth

The Proud Daddy

My birthing experience with Hailey was so much more enjoyable and easier. I have been seeing the same midwife for five years but when I delivered Sarah the hospital was not allowing midwives to deliver so I had the on-call doctor from the same practice. With him I had to wait almost an hour to push because he was with another patient and the delivery felt much more rushed and impersonal. With my midwife it was a very calm and relaxed atmosphere and she took her time making sure the baby was positioned right so I didn't tear. She was also there a couple hours before I was ready to puch so she could personally monitor the situation.

Sarah came to the hospital later that evening and was so excited to see Hailey. I asked her if she knew who the baby was and she said, "my sister." She got right up on the bed and gave Hailey a big hug and a kiss.

Holding Baby Hailey

We have a tradition in our family of always getting a Dairy Queen ice cream cake on your birthday. When Sarah was born Kevin got one for her "birth day" and served it to all the nurses. He did the same with Hailey.

We went home from the hospital on Sunday. It was so special to bring this little baby home on Mother's Day. I am so thankful we have this new little spirit in our presence. It's amazing how much she has changed our family already. When I stop and think about how recently she was with our Heavenly Father it makes me realize what a precious gift children are and how blessed I am to be a mother. Bringing a new little life into this world is such an amazing experience and I am grateful for the privilege.