A Fairway Home Companion: Aubrey's Birth Story

Since baby Emmy will enter this world in just a couple of days, I wanted to take some time to write about Aubrey's birth story while it is still clear and unique in my mind. I want to take a moment to remember it without having to wonder if I'm getting her birth confused with Emmy's.

Aubrey was due on November 13th, 2010. Leading up to her due date, my weekly exams indicated that I wasn't really making much progress towards going into labor on my own. Very little dilation and effacement. So we scheduled an elective induction on November 16th, a Tuesday. We checked into the hospital at 12am that Tuesday to begin the induction process. We went to an antepartum room where they started my IV and began the process to thin the cervix (they basically just put a little pill of something up next to the cervix and it is supposed to help it thin out). They had to administer the pill twice during the next several hours- I wasn't making much progress. Weston and I tried to get some sleep, although we were way too excited to sleep.

Ready to go to Labor and Delivery

Around 9am they wheeled me down to labor and delivery to start the pitocin drip. The pitocin basically makes you have steady contractions and the contractions should move along the dilation process. At this point I was still at 2cm and not very effaced. Family started to come by and visit us and hang out in the L&D room until my contractions began to get so strong I wanted them to all wait outside. I never asked for my epidural, because I wasn't making any progress and I wanted to have freedom to move around and see if I could use gravity to help move things along. It was around 3 in the afternoon when my doctor said that if I didn't start making some progress, we would have some decisions to make. The decision was-- 1. let her break my water (at which point we would be totally committed and might have to end up with a c-section) or 2. go home and come back another day. Weston and I prayed and prayed during the next two hours, while he coached me through each painful contraction. We prayed for progress. We prayed that God would show us how to make the right decision if it came down to that.

Not feeling so hot- trying to stay optimistic

The doctor came to check me after a couple of hours and I had made zero progress. We asked her to wait outside for a few minutes while we made a decision. Words can't express how disappointed we were... we prayed so hard for progress! Ultimately we decided that if God didn't offer up the progress we so desperately wanted then it just wasn't time for Aubrey to be born. If we decided to break my water and go for it-- we would totally be doing it OUR WAY without consideration of what God's plan was.

So we packed up and went home.

We were so disappointed to come home with Aubrey still in my tummy. Depressed is a good way to describe how I felt.

We killed the time for the next few days and went back to the doctor on Friday, the 19th. Since it was a Friday- the week before Thanksgiving- we found out that L&D was REALLY booked up. Although I wasn't "officially" a full week past my due date (I was only 6 days past)- they went ahead and found some room for me in L&D for a medically necessary induction. I went directly from my doctor's office to the hospital. We weren't prepared to have a baby that day so we didn't have our hospital bags with us. My mom went home to get all my things and Weston and I checked in and got settled.

This time it was a breeze!! They started my IV and my pitocin drip around 10 or 11am. After about an hour of contractions, my water broke on its own. It was at that point I decided to ask for my epidural. The anesthesiologist was there within 30 minutes and the process of getting the epidural was pretty easy. The medicine, though, made me feel extremely nauseated and kept causing my blood pressure to drop. They covered me with some warm blankets, and moved me onto my side- a position that would be good for allowing Aubrey to move down into the birth canal.

So I just laid there trying not to think about the seasick feeling and then I felt a lot of pressure. I asked the nurse to come check me and I was at 10cm, Aubrey was ready to come out and it was time to push!

Ready to push!

They called the doctor, prepped the room and explained what I needed to do during the delivery. My doctor wasn't on call that day- so another doctor from her practice came in to deliver. I pushed on maybe 3-5 contractions and out she came! She was perfect. 7 pounds, 6 ounces. They immediately laid her on my chest so I could hold her, then she went to the other side of the room to get cleaned up. Weston went with her and held her little hand while they wiped her down and checked her out.

As soon as they brought her back to me, we spent some time skin to skin and I was able to nurse her. It is absolutely amazing that they just know how to nurse. No one had to teach her how to do that, she just knew how. Everything after that is pretty much a hazy fog of adrenaline and emotions. I remember getting to hold her as they wheeled me up to my postpartum room and we dropped her off at the nursery for her bath. I went on to my room to get settled in and Weston (and all the grandparents) stayed with Aubrey to watch them give her her bath. I couldn't wait for her to come back!