I’ve been meaning to write Adeline’s birth story for some
time now before I forget too much about that day.
When I left work on Monday night I guaranteed that I’d be in
the next day because we had very minimal coverage for the office and I just
didn’t think I’d be lucky enough to go into labor early or on time. “What if you go into labor tomorrow”
they asked, but I knew I would not go into labor. I left work that Monday night and headed to the
chiropractor’s office where I went weekly. I told them I was there for the adjustment that would make
me go into labor and then I laughed because I was very much joking since there
is no such adjustment.
That night my mom made us dinner and we finished catching up
with “Blacklist”. We walked home
(she lives VERY close) and as I walked into the house I thought my bladder had
decided to give out. I went to the
bathroom and saw some blood. I
knew that was it; baby Adeline was coming soon. My water breaking wasn’t the gushing kind, it was a slow,
constant trickle so at first I wasn’t sure if it was just my bladder or if it
was actually my water, but the blood confirmed it. At 10:00 my water had broken and things were going to
start happening. I called my
sister-in-law who had texted me an hour earlier that two of her kids came on
their due date. I had responded
telling her that was crazy and I just knew it wasn’t happening to me. I called my mom to fill her in on was
going on so she’d be ready to go when it was time to leave for the hospital,
and then we called our doula. At
this point I was nervous, a little scared, and so excited to meet our baby
girl.
I had considered a doula before but wasn’t sure and didn’t
want to pay for one. I went to an
appointment with one of my midwives she mentioned a doula at that
appointment. I was extra nervous
at that appointment, likely because I was getting to the halfway point and I
really wanted a natural birth. I
had heard so many horror stories of women being pressured into interventions they
didn’t want or unnecessary c-sections.
I knew what I wanted for my body and my baby. Mr. C and I were on the same page. We decided a doula was a good investment and once we met
with Kelly we were sold. She had a
calming presence and I am so thankful we had her.
We called Kelly who then called the midwife on call to let
her know what was happening and then called me back to discuss my options. Although I could go to the hospital, it
wasn’t recommended by anyone and part of our plan was that I’d labor at home as
long as possible. She (and the
midwife) advised that I take a shower if I’d like and suggested we try to get
some sleep. I washed my hair and laid
down to try to rest. The
contractions were getting more serious at this point and after maybe 45 minutes
I couldn’t see how anyone could rest.
I would lay down and then get up and go to the bathroom. My back hurt but the leg cramps were
the worst. Mr. C massaged my lower
back, my legs, and was encouraging.
We tried some essential oils, but oh man, those leg cramps just kept
getting worse. I was also so
cold. I was breathing through the
pain and trying different positions, but at a certain point I decided that I
needed to get in the shower to try to relax a bit since nothing was helping
with the pain.
I stood in the shower and Mr. C and I chatted when I
could. I know we laughed a few
times and he kept telling me I was doing great. My legs were shaking so much it was hard to stand. Things seemed to kick into
overdrive. He began timing the
contractions again and around that time I began feeling like I needed to
push. My body began to push
involuntarily. Mr. C called the
doula at 1:34 and she told him to get to the hospital ASAP. She called the midwife to let her know
we were on our way and called the hospital as well so they’d know to take us up
immediately since we had to go through the emergency entrance since the women’s
entrance closed at night. I’m so
thankful for this. I learned later
that had we not had Kelly to call ahead, I likely would have delivered in the
ER or a nurse would have delivered our baby because the midwife would not have
made it.
Mr. C had called my mom, but he almost left her when she
wasn’t at our house. He started
turning the car the other way and I told him he was forgetting her. I could tell he was stressed as he
pounded on her front door.
Apparently he hadn’t filled my mom in about how serious things had
gotten and when she got in the car her face changed. I found out later that she had put blush on. Ha!
In the meantime, Kelly had called me back and was breathing
with me through the phone, telling me that I needed to not push and to hold the
baby in there. Let me tell you,
this was not an easy feat. At one
point she asked me to reach down and see if I could feel a head. That did not sound fun at all. Mr. C may have sped a bit to get us to
the hospital. I continued talking
to Kelly when I could, focusing on breathing, and my mom held my hand as I
breathed through each contraction.
When we got to the hospital I walked myself in, sat in the
wheelchair, and instead of taking me up to delivery as instructed, they took my
blood pressure and asked me some stupid questions like my weight. I wanted to yell “WHO CARES PEOPLE??? I’M ABOUT TO HAVE A BABY!”. Mr. C parked, ran in, and they wheeled me up to delivery. I was able to skip triage and go
straight to a room. I had
purchased a comfy nightgown to wear during delivery instead of the hospital
gown but our bags were still in the car.
I halfway put on the hospital gown not really caring what I wore, got
myself to the bed, and the midwife checked my progress at 2:08. She told me the baby’s head was right
there and finally I was able to start pushing.
At 2:12 I began pushing. It was hard and painful but it was also amazing. I’m told that there were some nurses in
and out of the room but all I saw was Mr. C, my mom, Kelly, Amanda (the
midwife), and Erin, an amazing nurse.
Kelly was taking pictures and showed me one of her head so I could see
the baby was right there ready to make her appearance. I never imagined I’d want to see that,
but it was pretty amazing.
Everyone was encouraging and I couldn’t have asked for a better support
group. There was no screaming,
minimal swearing, and even some laughing on my part. Between contractions everyone just stood there and somehow I
had nothing on at that point.
During one of the breaks I said “wow, this is awkward” and we all
laughed before the next contraction hit.
After pushing for 32 minutes I pushed her out, reached down and pulled
her out and up to my chest. She
didn’t look at all like I had imagined and it was honestly just so surreal for
the first couple of hours, but she was here.
Adeline Rose Kay was born at 2:44am weighing 7 lbs 12oz on
my due date, election day. Her middle
names are after her great-grandma and both of her grandmothers. I didn’t cry until I went to say her name
for the first time after she was born and then I had to have Mr. C say it out
loud.
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| Photo by: Crissy Delacy |
I delivered the placenta shortly after (it’s ridiculous you have
a baby and then ALSO have to have a placenta btw) and was still bleeding. Apparently the upper sack had burst and
there were pieces stuck inside me.
The bleeding would continue until all the pieces were gone. I ended up getting a shot of pitocin, they
gave me an IV with 2 bags of pitocin as well to stop the bleeding, and some
pills along with about 45 minutes of pulling pieces out of me. There was a time during all of this
when I realized that I should probably be worried. It was painful and possibly worse than the labor portion,
but I am grateful I had such a great team.
The hospital was amazing and many things I wanted were
standard there; immediate skin-to-skin contact for mom and baby, delayed cord
clamping, and the baby being measured and evaluated on me instead of being
taken away. Mr. C cut the
cord. They only took Adeline for a
moment to weigh her when I was ready; everything else was done with Adeline on
my chest. Had I not been bleeding
so much I would have not had to have had an IV. I was able to breastfeed her right away and because I had no
interventions, she was wide awake.
At some point my mom had made her way to the corner to
quietly sit and give Mr. C and I some time with Adeline. When I asked if she wanted to hold her
she quickly jumped up and exclaimed “of course!”. It was so early that we didn’t text or call anyone for a
bit. It was nice having it be a
few of us, just enjoying our new little girl. Kelly got us settled and took off. The rooms I’d be staying in after delivery were full so we
waited for a few hours over the shift change. I ordered breakfast, which was amazing, and we began calling
and texting to share the news. I
should have slept but I couldn’t do anything but hold Adeline and stare at
her. It was so odd that that
little baby had been inside of me hours before and she was ours.
I thought leaving the hospital would be the scary part, but
it really wasn’t. For the most
part we had been left alone in the room other than the check-ins on me for the
bleeding, checks to see if we needed anything, and random people stopping
in. Adeline slept in a bassinet
next to me and we had a day and a half of caring for her with nurses a call
away if we needed help. I was able
to see a lactation consultant when I needed assistance and when I left I knew I
was able to feed my baby. We could
have stayed longer but it seemed like we knew as much as we were going to and
if we went home we could at least sleep in our own bed. I did miss food being just a call
away though.
Adeline is four weeks old tomorrow and I’m not quite sure how
that happened so quickly. I’ve
been soaking up very moment with her and Mr. C. during our time off
together. There are moments that
have been difficult like the first nights when it seemed like we woke up every
hour and she’d only sleep when we held her, the cluster feedings and knowing I
was the only one who could feed her even though I was exhausted, the worrying when
I can’t hear her constantly breathing or moving at night, and changing her outfit
three times in three hours because she spit up on everything.
I didn’t feel great for a lot of my pregnancy, which I never
expected. Along with that, I also
experienced some prenatal depression.
I wasn’t sure what to expect when she arrived and there was a period
when I was pregnant in which it was hard to be excited about anything. I’m tired but to say it’s worth it is an
understatement. I miss Adeline
when she’s asleep and her cries can make my heart break. I can’t imagine not having this little
girl in our lives. Life with a
baby is a lot easier than I thought it would be. My mom even commented that I seem very calm. I actually feel pretty calm which isn’t
a word she’d typically use to describe me. I worried that I’d still feel the way I had been feeling
when she arrived, but it’s quite the opposite. I can’t say I looked at her and was flooded with an
overwhelming love, but by the time we left the hospital I certainly was. It was more something that started and
crept in. I’m calm because she’s
ours and somehow we seem to know what we’re doing, and the rest we figure out
as we go. We’re doing what works
for us.
Recovery for me was easier than expected and within a few
days we were going out. I’m
someone who’s never been good at sitting at home so I’m not sure why I expected
anything different. I’m still me,
just me as a mom. I love my makeup
and I’ve managed to shower everyday, get my makeup done, and keep the house
semi clean. My life is different
but it’s a good different and I can’t imagine life without this perfect little
person that’s a bit of both of us and so much more.
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| Photo by: Crissy Delacy |