On August 16, 2012 we were in for the surprise of our lives—we found out we were expecting baby #3! It came as a complete surprise to us, and we really didn't know what to make of it. It took at least a month for the shock to wear off for both John and me. Once the shock wore off, we gradually became very excited about our future arrival.
As expected, I once again developed gestational diabetes, as I had in the other two. I was put on insulin around 14 weeks, and as with my Thomas pregnancy, it really helped to keep my glucose in check. Also as with my Thomas pregnancy, I only gained 12 pounds because of the restricted diet. Sure helps with the weight loss afterward! This pregnancy also turned out to be my easiest pregnancy to date. I had no nausea or morning sickness at any point, I really didn’t have any food aversions, and I craved pretty healthy foods. I was just more tired than the last two times, probably because I already had two kids to chase around and a full time job!
Because of the gestational diabetes, and this being the third time around with that, we knew that we would once again be facing an induction. We also knew that I would want to have another natural labor. I did it the first two times so I really couldn't see any reason to need an epidural when I have such short labors anyway.
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| 38 weeks! |
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| Twas the night before Lydia's arrival..... |
We hopped in the van and my nerves started dancing. My stomach did a few flops and I just kept trying to remind myself that we would meet our new baby in a matter of hours. Halfway to Davenport I quickly wrote up the world's shortest birth plan. I kept reminding myself I had done this twice before so this was just going to be more of the same. John talked about all kinds of other things to distract me. He knows the unknowns of labor and delivery always make me a little nervous. What if I need a c-section? What if there are complications? What if something goes wrong? I have never taken for granted the fact that I have always had complication-free deliveries and healthy babies. And I know those are things that can change in an instant.
We arrived at the hospital just before 7:00 am and they sent us up to our room in labor and delivery. We had the sweetest nurse, Kris, who was so nice and hilarious. She got us all checked in after about 3,000 questions and set about putting in my IV. After blowing two veins she called in another nurse who was finally able to get the IV set. Man, my arm was sore for two days, and it took over a week for the bruises to go away. IV's and my veins don't get along. Our midwife Beth came in and did a cervical check and found that I had made a little more progress from the final visit 4 days before, so she felt confident the Pitocin would do its job beautifully.
After the IV was set, somewhere around 9:00 am, they started pumping me full of saline and Pitocin. Within 20 minutes I started having small contractions. They monitored the baby's heartbeat and my contractions for about 20 minutes and then allowed me to walk the halls to try and get her to drop into place. John and I spent the next few hours wearing a path into the hall carpets, sitting on the bouncy ball, walking some more, "enjoying" a clear liquid diet, fighting with the belts on the monitors that kept sliding around my belly, breathing through the contractions, and walking and bouncing some more.
At 1:00 pm our sweet midwife, Beth, who delivered Amelia almost 6 years earlier, came back to the room having already delivered 5 babies since midnight, and proceeded to check my cervix again. I had progressed some more and she felt comfortable breaking my water and getting the party started. Almost immediately the contractions picked up in intensity and speed. They monitored me for about 20 minutes again to make sure that the baby didn't go into any distress due to breaking my water. She was performing beautifully on the monitor, so they let me relax in the bathtub to help relieve the pain from the contractions. I think it's my favorite place to be during labor. With Amelia I relaxed in the tub for at least an hour which really helped me to progress, and Thomas was almost born in the tub because I stayed in there so long! The heat from the water and the nice jets really helped relax away the pain.
We had told the nurse and the midwife that Thomas came in two hours, so they were both very concerned about leaving the room and having me spontaneously deliver in the bathtub. It was kind of nice to have them stay close, because I was concerned too that they might not get to me in time if the baby decided to come too quickly.
As I was laying there I was starting to get concerned that maybe things weren't progressing very quickly and that maybe this was going to take a really long time (ha, I should have known better!). At some point Beth checked my cervix again and told me I had dilated another centimeter. I started to feel more discouraged, like maybe she wasn't going to come out. It's kind of funny the tricks your mind plays on you when you're in pain and you can’t see the clock.
After what felt like quite a long time in the tub, my bottom was starting to go numb from the way I was laying in the tub, and I felt like something was keeping the baby from moving down properly. Nurse Kris and Midwife Beth had stepped out of the room for a few minutes and I asked John to help me roll over onto my hands and knees in the tub. I wanted to try to change positions but didn't want to get out of the tub in case it made things worse and I wanted to lie back down in the water. He helped me get turned over and I asked him to put the nice warm wet towel on my back to keep me warm, and keep from giving everyone a really embarrassing view of me! Somehow it confused him and he tried to put the towel across my back like one would put a saddle blanket on a horse! I informed him that that was not exactly what I had meant and that I wanted it to cover my WHOLE back and bottom if he didn't mind. Light bulb! With my towel situated I could focus on the next contraction.
About that time Kris and Beth made their way back into the room to see how I was holding up. "Oh, we've changed positions, huh?" Kris said with a smile. Beth came in and said, "Oh, looks like you're shaking a little bit, that's a good sign! Would you like to get out of the tub and come to the bed?" She could tell already that the time was getting close and didn't want me to have the baby on the way to the bed. I told her I would come to the bed, but that I wanted to use the toilet first since I'd been drinking tons of water and getting pumped full of fluids for several hours. I used the toilet between contractions and told her I was ready to head to the bed. While I was in the bathroom they had messed with the bed and set it up in such a way that I could continue to be on my hands and knees and give that position a chance to work.
After a minute or so and another contraction I was ready to leave the bathroom and finally head to the bed. Beth and Kris helped me to get onto the bed and wrapped a warm blanket around me to keep me nice and toasty. I had one more contraction almost immediately upon getting onto the bed and breathed through it. After that contraction Lydia decided that she was ready to make her debut. Beth said to me, "If you start to feel any pressure let me know and I'll make sure I'm ready." No sooner had the words left her mouth than a new contraction started and I immediately felt the pressure of the baby dropping into place. Through clenched teeth I stage-whispered, "PRESSURE!!! LOTS OF PRESSURE!!!" Beth kind of chuckled and said, "That's good, we're all ready so whenever you're ready you can start to push!"
I've never really been in the hands and knees position before during labor, so I guess I kept expecting them to tell me to turn over to the sitting/reclining position to deliver the baby. To my surprise, they didn't. They let gravity take over and with every contraction I could feel Lydia pushing toward her final destination.
Beth told John to get a pair of gloves on and she would allow him to "catch" the baby. John seriously couldn't have been more excited. He got his gloves on and took his place behind me as I started to push. I must have pushed about a half dozen times or so. Even though it was my third time doing this, it took me a few pushes to get the hang of it since I'd never pushed from this position before. Once I got the position figured out though, it was only a few more pushes and she was on her way out. Beth helped John to get himself properly positioned and at exactly 3:00 pm he proudly caught his newest princess with his own two hands, while I said, "Thank you, God!" I was so glad that was over and she was finally here.
About that time I heard Beth telling John that I would probably want to turn around then so there were two ways they could get the baby to me: either they could pass her between my legs to me to grab, or they could hold the baby and let me turn while I brought my leg over her. After expending all of my energy, I decided that I would rather do the latter. I started to turn and Beth said, "Okay, I guess we're doing it this way!" I got settled in and they placed my sweet baby on my stomach and wrapped her in a towel while she practiced using her lungs. She was still attached to the cord at that point and I was unable to see her face, but I could see her dark hair and her tiny fingers and toes that were flailing everywhere. After about twenty minutes they cut her cord and I was finally able to see her precious little face. She was sucking on her hands so I decided to see if she would attempt to nurse. She immediately latched on like a champ and nursed for about twenty minutes. I told John I felt like I had just run a marathon. And I was so happy.
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| Another one, fresh out of the oven. |
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| 7 lbs 8 oz of sweetness and screaming. |
Lydia Irene was a surprise, to be sure, but the best kind of surprise. I can’t imagine our family without her. Not a day goes by that she doesn’t make me laugh. She has been an incredible blessing, and I am so happy that I get to spend every day at home with her.
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| Proud big sister. |
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| These kids couldn't imagine life without this baby sister either. |
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