Abigail’s Birth Day
{Double Disclaimer: This story is LONG and exhaustive. This little ol blog has turned into an amazing memory keeper for me, so I really want to include every detail and picture of the story here.}
Looking back, on Thursday November 4th I had some
early labor rumblings. At the time I didn’t realize it, because I perceived them as typical pregnancy symptoms. I felt a little bit crampy and *ahem* made
some extensive bathroom visits about 5 times that day. That day I ran some
errands in town, to get lots of walking in. I went to Kohl’s and bought Abigail a
couple outfits, I went to Target and bought some cloth diapers to use as burp
rags, and I went up to Styles and spent the day visiting with old
co-workers. That evening after I had a particularly disgusting
trip to the bathroom I called and
complained to my Mom because it seemed like things were going on but
nothing was changing or happening.
she would come any day and nothing had changed. I was 100% effaced, but only
dilated to 1cm(and that was being generous)
{Right at 35 weeks. After my last day of work. Coincidentally, my last bump picture. It probably had something to do with my effectively giving up on all hair and makeup after this point. I choose to believe I never got any larger than this instead of growing for another 5 weeks}
That night around 10 o’clock I had a pretty substantial
*AHEM* clearing out of the bowels. I told Jim not to get too excited but that it might just mean
something. I called Mom and told her to make sure her bags were packed,
to which she replied, “Oh honey, I’ve had my bags packed and by the back door
for weeks!”
to start, but nothing did. So around 11 o’clock we headed to bed.
I woke up around 1:30am to some low back pain. It wasn’t
really painful or time able but it was kind of uncomfortable and it didn’t feel
good to keep laying in bed. I didn’t wake up Jim in case it was nothing
because I knew he had to work if I didn’t go into labor. I went into the living
room and sat on my yoga/balancing ball and tried to time the pains. They were
anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes apart and were really hard to describe.
really long time to time something that is 30 minutes apart!! About an hour
later though, they were pretty consistently 10 minutes apart so I decided to
wake up Jim. He was so excited! Like, jump happily out of bed, prance to the shower, excitedly clap hands excited. I also called my Mom and Dad and
told them they should probably head this way(because they had a 2 hour drive to us). I could practically hear their
engine revving in the background.
computer and kept track of them. The plan was to labor at home for as long as
possible since I wanted to deliver naturally. I had also hoped to eat something
before we left to go to the hospital. I didn’t feel very hungry though, so I
ended up not eating anything. Jim brewed a pot of coffee for himself and
he took a shower. We finished packing up
the last few things we needed to take with us, I put on my makeup, got dressed,
and I kept sitting on my birthing ball timing contractions. By 4am they were
consistently 3-4 minutes apart and 45-60 seconds long. Considering we had a 30
minute drive to the hospital we thought it would be best to get going. (Jim made the drive in about 15 minutes. Yeah. He has always had this fantasy of getting pulled over racing to the hospital with his laboring wife in the car. It didn’t work out for him.)
entrance and then I was wheeled back to the maternity ward. The nurse had me
change into a hospital gown, pee in a cup, and take off all of my accessories.
It seemed like it took forever to me because I kept having contractions and was
all by myself in a cold, sterile bathroom. They then directed me to a holding
room where you initially get checked and they decide if they want to keep
you. My parents arrived just then.
Perfect timing!
did not like her one bit(there’s a possibility that I was also hormonal and ragey). In fact, I
don’t even remember her name. So glad I didn’t have to deal with her for very long)
Awful nurse came to check me and said I was only 75%
effaced(wrong-I had been 100% effaced for the last two weeks) but that I was at
3cm. She left me in there to go get the doctor to see if he would want to keep
me(Dumb. I was having contractions every 3 minutes. Clearly I was in full blown
labor and had a 30 minute drive over. Of course he was going to keep me).
Apparently, he thought she was being dumb too because he didn’t even come look at
me, but told her I was to be moved to a permanent room.
lots of questions and paperwork. Awful nurse kept having me do things even in
the middle of contractions, she was skeptical about me not wanting to use any
medication, and insisted that I wear constant fetal monitoring. She was going
to start an IV and I told her I didn’t want one as I was planning to deliver
naturally. She rolled her eyes and started to administer a heplock. She
couldn’t get it in and it was very painful. A few minutes after she put it in
it felt like it was leaking fluid. I looked down and blood was running down my
hand and arm. Awful nurse had to come fix it and redo it.
introduced himself. He said I looked like I was doing great and that he had just
been taught what cankles were that day and that he was impressed that I didn’t have any.
He told me to expect to have a baby around noon. He also asked awful
nurse if she’d started my IV and she said, “She says she doesn’t want one”. To
which he responded something along the lines of, “That’s just great. That’s
great.” He came back to check on me periodically after that. I had to pee at
one point and she made me keep wearing the monitoring. It fell off on the way
back to the bed(of course) and she was trying to ask me questions and reattach
it in the middle of a contraction. I finally said, “Do you think that could
wait until I’m not in the middle of a contraction?”
Thankfully, (THANKFULLY) shift change happened at 6am. So at 6 my new nurse, Liz, who had helped teach our birthing
class arrived. I loved Liz immediately. She was very supportive of my decision
to deliver naturally and even suggested ways to help me be more comfortable.
She checked me at 6am and I was at a 4cm. The time had seemed to go very
quickly up until then and I was still feeling pretty good. I labored the entire time on the birthing
ball and used lots of deep breathing and moaning during contractions. Jim would rub my low back and my Mom{who is a certified Doula-convenient} helped me focus on my breathing. All of
my contractions were in my low back and as Abigail progressed lower the pressure
increased lower too.
class arrived. I loved Liz immediately. She was very supportive of my decision
to deliver naturally and even suggested ways to help me be more comfortable.
She checked me at 6am and I was at a 4cm. The time had seemed to go very
quickly up until then and I was still feeling pretty good. I labored the entire time on the birthing
ball and used lots of deep breathing and moaning during contractions. Jim would rub my low back and my Mom{who is a certified Doula-convenient} helped me focus on my breathing. All of
my contractions were in my low back and as Abigail progressed lower the pressure
increased lower too.
{The most TMI picture of my life. I remember saying something like, “Mom, take a picture of me while I still look happy.”}
near as quickly as the one previous and I was really feeling
pressure and discomfort. The nurse decided to check me and said that I was at
an 8 and that my waters were bulging. I was shocked and relieved. I was only
expecting to be at a 5 or 6 and yet here I was in transition and almost done!
My Dr. B arrived shortly after that to check on me. When she checked me
the nurse asked if she would like the “hook” to break my water. Just as she was
saying yes her finger caused my waters to break. It was a big rush of warm
water and I said, “ah…that feels so much better!” and everyone laughed.
Almost immediately it was time for me to push. The room quickly
transformed into a sterile environment, Dr. B changed her clothes and
told me I could start pushing.
idea how to do what I was about to do and I started to get a little A LOT scared. I
told Mom what I was thinking and feeling and she reassured me that I
could do it. I decided then and there that I
was going to push this baby out as quickly and strongly as I could! And I only
ended up pushing for 10 minutes. I remember at one point thinking, “I wonder if
I just tore?” and later having to ask how long I had been pushing for because I
had no concept of time in those moments. It could have been seconds, it could
have been hours.
vanity was still going strong. They asked me if I wanted a cool washcloth for
my face and I seriously considered refusing it because it could have messed up
my hair and makeup. And there were going to be pictures afterwards! I went
ahead and said okay, and my Mom did a very good job of not messing
anything up- we must have been thinking the same thing 😉
Abigail Faye was born at 7:40am on November 5th{her due date!!}. Almost exactly 6 hours after I
felt my first contraction. When she was born it was SO amazing. One minute she
was in me depending on me for everything, the next she was breathing and
living on the outside. Jim was crying and my Mom was taking lots of
pictures.
I wanted to hold her immediately and loved her so. Although, I was
very surprised at how very “in the moment” I was, and truthfully thought she was a little A LOT yucky and was very okay with them taking her away to get cleaned
up!
{I love you so much- but, could someone go give her a bath?}
{Worth noting: The tear drop on Jim’s nose}
{This picture makes me LOL. It’s the only picture we have with my Dr. Also, pretty sure I’m delivering the placenta or you know, something awesome like that.}
My Mom went with Abigail and got lots of amazing pictures
of her being bathed,
She also scored
9/9 on the apgar test, which was great!
Me, on the other hand, I was
delivering the placenta(Which I have literally zero memory of) and getting
stitched back up.
{Postpartum truth: It sucks for everyone}
I had 2 second degree tears and another small tear that
didn’t require stitches. They had to give me pitocin to stop the bleeding and
local anesthesia so she could stitch me back up. It was extremely painful. I
would deliver 100 babies again no problem, but getting stitched back up afterwards
hurt tremendously. It felt like tugging, pulling, cutting, pinching, and
yanking. It seemed as if it was taking forever and I was crying to Jim
in pain. (I was also thinking to myself, which I’m glad I didn’t voice this
aloud, “How are they going to get the placenta out if they’re stitching me back
up?” I saw someone across the room throwing it away{true story} and it’s the only reason I
didn’t ask.)
When they were done stitching me up my Mom handed Abigail
over to me. She smelled so good!{Pink Johnson and Johnson for the win!} I couldn’t believe I was actually holding her.
Jim took his turn and then my Dad got to come meet her for the first time
too. He had been pacing in the waiting room because he had heard me yell{during delivery I suppose} and
then no one came and told him anything for 45 minutes! He was so worried for me
and for Abigail.
too. He had been pacing in the waiting room because he had heard me yell{during delivery I suppose} and
then no one came and told him anything for 45 minutes! He was so worried for me
and for Abigail.
I was able to get up and walk around very soon after. I ate
a power bar immediately because I was STARVING. Then, I went to the
bathroom and was amazed at how much blood gushed everywhere. It’s totally scary initially! I got the shakes really bad while I was sitting on the
toilet and couldn’t pee the first time I tried. They gave me big mesh underwear
to use{sexy}, and we filled it with a giant ice pack and big pads{padcicles}. We also used lots
of dermoplast to help numb me.
gown and looked at my empty belly for the first time. I didn’t want to look!
But when I did it wasn’t as bad as I’d expected. It looked about like I was 6
months pregnant, and continued to deflate pretty rapidly after that point.
Truthfully, I don’t remember much anything about it at all. I know I had to get used to
holding her and had to learn how to nurse completely. Abigail was a terrible
the world’s worst nursing baby. My Mom said when she first saw Abigail one of the first things she
thought was, “Well. Crap” Because she had the worst little recessed chin and she
knew that it was going to give us both a very hard time(which, oh my lordy, did
it ever).
Initially I thought she looked just like Jim, but over
the next couple of days I started to see more of myself in her,
too.
Grammy & Pappy
Uncle Cameron
Aunt Mary Esta
Grandma Jenny & Grandpa Monty
Nana and Papa
Jared Lightle
Lauren Wright
I never got much rest in the hospital. Abigail and Jim were
sleeping great! But nurses, visitors, and hospital staffers were constantly
coming in and out of our room with questions for me or pills to deliver or
things to give. I was so ready to just go home and be in our house so we
could finally rest{haha} and recover. They let us leave the next day at 8pm.
I am so thankful for my labor and delivery experience. Iwas so proud of myself for laboring and delivering completely drug free, and I
was SO thankful for the amazing support I had in Jim and my Mom. It was a completely text book labor, exactly how I had
planned it out, and then specifically what I had prayed for.
be her Mommy. I’m also still praising His name to this day for
bringing her into the world so safely and so healthy.
Oh how precious this story is! She was a beautiful baby and is such a beautiful three year old now! That is so awesome that you got to deliver drug free. And I agree with you, the post partum is definitely the worst! Delivering didn't phase me much either, but that post partum is terrible! Happy Birthday, A!
Thank you so much, Carrington!
can i tell you how much i hate you for looking so good after it all? because i was a HOT MESS (for like days with more than my fair share of throw up in my hair). I love hearing other peoples birth stories! everyones is totally different!!
I freaking LOVE birth stories. I could read them all day like a weirdo.
You're sweet 🙂
Courtney, I just loved reading your birth story! I'm so glad you wrote it! I think your the most beautiful person after labor.
Thank you, Lauren! That's WAY too generous, but I appreciate the compliment!
You looked great!
Thanks, Kara 🙂
I agree with everyone else-you look AMAZING in your photos! I thought about trying for a natural birth, but in the end, I was too afraid of the pain. Not of the birthing or contractions, but the post delivery stuff like you said. I've heard from many different people how horrible that part is. I cannot even imagine being stitched up after all of that, and feeling it! Go you!!!
It was absolutely the worst part- but even during and after everything was done, I would absolutely birth that way again. Natural birth was the most amazing experience of my life.
What a sweet story, mama!
Thank you!
So sweet, Courtney! These pictures are precious. It makes me so excited about January!! 🙂
Thank you, Ashley!
You should be excited about January!! You can do it!!
What a great birthing story. I need to write mine down too. Thanks. =)
Thanks, Megan 🙂
I've had it written out FOREVER, I just realized I had never posted it here before!
What a great birth story, I love reading them. I'm so glad that you got the birth experience minus the horrible nurse. I'm so impressed that you did it naturally!! I'm the biggest baby when it comes to pain, so I was like epidural please. Big props to you. I LOVE that in the first picture you are wearing purple, so perfect for Miss Abigail!
I hadn't even thought about the purple top! That is awesome! 🙂
I don't think of myself as particularly tough when it comes to pain…but Jim says I am. So, I guess I'll believe him 🙂 I must be more of an inward pain sufferer than a vocal, outward one haha.
I love birth stories! And you look amazing!! So jealous! I looked like a swollen mess! Lol
Love every single detail! I'm sure your daughter will love reading this when she gets older!
Thank you!! I actually first wrote out my entire birth story as a letter to her. I know I loved hearing my birth story from my mom, I wanted to write out all the details of Abigails.
I have a copy on my computer that is addressed directly to her….for someday….very far away 🙂
LOVE it! I totally agree… The stitching up part is the worst… And yes, please bathe my baby! 😉
I shudder at the thought.
Courtney- beautiful birth story!
Thanks, Marla. I love it so much. I'm so blessed that I got to experience birth the way that I did.
I SO love reading birth stories. Best day of a mamas life!
I love this and thank you so much for sharing. IF I ever get pregnant, IF, I really want to have a natural birth too!!
This is such a beautiful story! My husband and I are both getting baby hungry and I'm constantly reading about pregnancy and such. Ha ha. Love your story! Such a beautiful baby! And we almost have the same birthday! Mine's the 4th. 🙂
http://whenthecowscomedancinghome.blogspot.com/
Love this post so much!!! Yay NATURAL-UNMEDICATED (bc apparently natural to some doesn't mean unmedicated)!!! We had to fight those same hospital politics (suh a shame isn't it) but we were able to achieve our birth plan as well. I'm like you, could totally talk about pregnancy, Breastfeeding, and labor all day long! Cheers friend!
1. I cannot believe you did it drug free!!! GO YOU! 2. She was (and still is) absolutely beautiful!
Read this now, too! 🙂 WOW, you are amazing! This makes me so excited to go through it again (in most ways!).
I love reading babies birth stories!! ❤️❤️ And props to you for delivering a baby with no drugs—I went as long as I could before I needed something lol ?