Caroline's Birth-day Story

You'd think now that I have all this time on my hands, I'd be a better blogger.  But that certainly has not been the case and I will try to get better at it.  I definitely want to keep my readers well-informed and satisfied with plenty of pictures.   Social media like Instagram and Facebook are truly wonders of the web... providing a resource to spread the word and pictures like wildfire.  But, for documentation's sake (and the sake of my memory) I really need to discipline myself to blog.  So here goes... {wordy at first but a few pictures to reward you for hanging in there!}

After our "big" garage sale day with the Rainwaters, we headed home to relax and spend the evening in watching college football and being together.  Neither of us had no idea it would be our last night without our daughter!  Saturday night and early Sunday morning I did not sleep well.  I had "cramps" all night long and attributed them to the spicy chili I had for dinner and my sensitive stomach.  But when my 7:30 alarm went off and I began to get ready for church, I realized that those "cramps" very well could have been contractions.  I started to time the contractions with the pregnancy app I had on my iPhone and after about an hour I made a call to my doctor.  Dr. Nguyen was actually the on-call doctor at the time and we talked about my symptoms and contractions and how I was generally feeling.  It was about 8:30am.  She gave us the option to come in to the hospital or to stay at home a few more hours and see if the contractions increased in frequency and intensity.  We decided to wait.  We practiced some techniques we learned at our child birthing class, went on a walk, I took a warm bath while Jay helped me clean up the house, and made sure our bags were packed for the hospital in case this was "the real deal".

At about 12pm, my contractions were approximately 5 minutes apart, lasting about 45 seconds to a minute and had greatly increased in intensity.  They were very painful and I could no longer talk through them nor think about anything but the pain.  Mom called and was asking about them and quickly encouraged us to head to the hospital! ;)  We made another call to the doctor and he said to go ahead and come on in to get me checked out!  At that point, I think it became a little more real for me.  We notified some family to give them a chance to make arrangements for travel.  It took us about 30 minutes to prepare the house for our absence but we made it to the hospital  and got checked in about 1:00pm.  I worked through several intense contractions and the nurse was finally about to check my cervix only to tell me I was dilated to a 9.  WOW.  OK.  A NINE.  I guess those labor techniques at home really did work!  Neither Jay nor I expected me to be that far along in labor and we quickly realized that we would be having a baby that day!

The nurse called in several more nurses and staff to help with my IV, paperwork (our Maternity Care Coordinator meeting was scheduled for Monday!), and labs.  I was extremely focused on my contractions and hardly remember the bustle of the "crowd" in the room.  The next thing I remember is the sensation like I had to push and feeling my water break.  The nurse checked my cervix again and I was fully dilated.  Both Dr.  Heit (the on-call doctor) and Dr. Nguyen (my OB) were on their way.  At that point, I realized it would be too late for the epidural and began to prepare myself for a natural birth. All I remember from then was a lot of commotion, squeezing Jay's and another nurse's hands, breathing, trying NOT to push, waiting for ANY doctor to show up, telling the nurses "I HAVE TO PUSH", the nurse saying "Go get Dr. Piquard!", being able to actually push, the nurses encouraging me and finally feeling the relief of giving birth to my daughter.  It was 2:08pm.

After the delivery, everything was a blur.  I remember seeing and talking to Dr. Nguyen, being stitched up (that's all I'll say about that except that it was probably more painful than labor), holding Jay's hand, hearing our daughter cry for the first time and thinking "Wow, I just did that." :)

I am so grateful for the labor and delivery experience that God allowed me to have for many reasons.  His provision and blessing was upon me the whole time and I could not be more thankful for a healthy pregnancy, a full- term baby, a quick and natural delivery, beautiful daughter and loving husband.  Giving birth is truly a miracle and my heart is overflowing with gratitude and humility.  I praise God for allowing me the privilege to bring His creation into this world and love and care for her with all my heart.  

"Social media" announcement

Weigh-in immediately after birth

Face to face meeting! 

First bath.  Didn't like it then, doesn't like it now :)

Under the warmer

OK, so I realized that probably wasn't enough pictures for you...  But I've been blogging for over an hour and I promise I will post some more!  Until then...