My Labor & Delivery Experience

As I mentioned a little bit in my last post, I was 9 days overdue and still hadn't shown any signs of labor at my 42 week appt, so it was time to get things started on my own!! I was so against being induced because I wanted to labor at home as much as possible before heading to the hospital and do it all completely natural. I was dilated to 1 cm at my appt, so she stripped my membranes and suggested that I try the casor oil milkshake when I got home and start walking. Sunday was induction day, so I only had 2 days left to get the ball on the road!!

We got home around 11:30am and right off the bat, I drank that nasty castor oil milkshake. That didn't stay down for too long :(. I then started up my new Medela Breast Pump and started pumping for about a half hour. I did that a few times and tried to stay as active as possible.

By 3:00pm, I felt my first contraction! Wahoo! I wasn't about to let them fade away, so Chad and I started walking...and walking...and walking! I'm so glad it was a decent day outside! We walked around Calanan Park and through the neighborhood. I must have looked funny to the neighbors! haha. If the contractions slowed down at all, I'd walk through them. I downloaded an app on Chad's phone that timed our contractions, and by 4:00pm, they were a consistent 4 minutes apart for 1 minute each! I called my midwife Karen and told her that I was in active labor!! She told me to head in when I couldn't walk, talk or text during a contraction

After our walk, we headed back to the house and made sure everything was in order. I called our wonderful friend Janeen and had her come pick up Lilly to stay the weekend and packed the car. Contractions were definitely tough, but in between was great! I was able to talk to Chad just fine. I think I was even doing laundry. haha.

We headed to the hospital (St. Peter Hospital) around 8:30pm and got there at 9:00pm. My nurse Shannon immediately checked me and said I was dilated to 4 cm!! Yay! I was so nervous of being sent home, but they said I was going to be admitted and I would be having the baby soon! We got settled in the room soon after and I was so excited to get in the tub! I labored for awhile in the tub and then on the birthing ball and was dilated to a 7 by 11:00pm! Things were moving quickly. I think I was dilated to a 9 by 1:00am, but got stuck there for awhile. I started pushing around 3:30am and had Brooke at 4:51am!! I cannot explain the feeling of holding her in my arms for the first time! Time stood still!

I think the best part about this entire experience was the first couple hours after having her. After being checked out and stitched up (small 1st degree tear), both Shannon and Karen left us alone with Brooke for as long as we wanted! I was able to nurse her right away and study every feature. Chad and I quickly decided she had his length and hair and my chin! She was perfect! She was so alert and looked right at me and squeezed my finger! What an amazing experience!

It was just Chad and I in the room, which was the plan from the beginning. I wouldn't have done it any different! The only other people in the room were Nurse Shannon and my Midwife Karen. It was so calm and peaceful the entire time. And I was able to do it without any medication!!! It went exactly how I wanted it to and the result was a happy, healthy baby girl! 7 lbs 15 ozs, 21 inches of perfection!

 We stayed at the hospital that night and were released on Sunday (Father's Day!) What a perfect first Father's Day gift for Chad!