The Birth

The last month of my pregnancy was really hard.  I was more uncomfortable than ever and doing ANYTHING hurt. I was also having lots of contractions but they were always irregular and never got stronger. 

Then on Wednesday June 27th, I woke up at 7am and immediately started having regular, STRONG contractions. I was super excited but didn't want to get my hopes up at first.  So I waited about 3 hours and the contractions stayed regular and kept getting stronger.  Around 10am I decided this must be the real thing and really got excited. Mark and I stayed home and I walked, rocked on a medicine ball, and did some pelvic exercises I had learned in our birthing class to help things progress. Around noon our doula, Katy, came to our house because my contractions were still getting stronger. I continued to labor at  home until about 5pm when all of a sudden I felt like I needed to be at the hospital, so off we went.  It was really hard to say good bye to the pups, but also really exciting thinking about getting to meet our Baby FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!

saying goodbye to the pups the first time we went to the hospital!

 When we got to the hospital and I was checked by the midwife, I was really upset to find out that I was only 1cm dilated - AFTER LABORING ALL DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!! They told me to walk the hospital for two hours straight and then they would recheck me to see if I was making changes.  So Mark and I walked the Arb while Katy got us food, and then we all walked some more! We walked for about 2 1/2 hours and I felt like my legs were going to fall off by the end of it.  I also continued to have regular contractions during this time. When we got back to the triage area, I was checked again, and to my major disappointment, I was still only dilated to one centimeter. They did an ultrasound and discovered that Baby Hill was laying sideways so her head was not completely down and this is possibly why my labor was not progressing.  They told me I was having podromal labor - also known as false labor - and they best they could do was give me something to help me sleep through it and also some pain medicine if I wanted it.  So I left the hospital with an ambien (sleeping pill) instead of a baby and was completely devastated.

I woke up the next morning to find my labor had completely subsided, and we were back to waiting. 

I didn't have to wait too long... On Friday June 29th around 4pm, I started having contractions again.  The pain was even more intense this time around, and I thought FOR SURE this had to be it!!! Of course this time I was more nervous but by 11pm we went back to the hospital. I was having intense contractions every 2-3 minutes according to the monitor, but when i was checked.... you guessed it... STILL ONLY 1 CM.  They did admit me this time for observation, but around 3am there was no progression again, and I was sent home with another ambien and STILL no baby.

As you can imagine, I was feeling exhausted, frustrated, sad, and completely discouraged by this point. So, Mark took me to Silver Lake for a relaxing picnic and day at the water the next day. It really helped to get my mind off of everything and a fabulous way for us to spend our last Saturday alone together.  We went swimming and did some exercises in the water to help Baby Hill turn, ate yummy food, and just emjoyed eachother's company!!

Sunday, July 1st it happened AGAIN - I kid you not.  This time I was so apprehensive about really being in labor I refused to go to the hospital at all.  I remember saying at one point that I would rather have my baby at home then go to the hospital and be sent home again! The contractions lasted almost 12 hours and then disappeared on their own again.

I was due to be induced on the evening of Tuesday July 3rd, so I figured it would just be a waiting game until that point.
At 5am on Tuesday July 3rd I woke up to pee and noticed the bed was wet.  I was not sure, but I thought my water had broken (just in time to avoid induction!!!) . I didn't have any more leaking of fluid though, so I was not sure what was going on. We went into triage, and I was so apprehensive,we didn't even bring anything with us because I was sure I would be wrong and sent home until that night.  However, the midwife checked, and sure enough my water did break.  She told me I would be admitted and not leaving the hospital without a baby. I told her I loved her and I was going to name my baby after her!! Ironically, this time around I did not start having any regular contractions!!! So around 1pm since I was not progressing on my own, I was started on Pitocin to get things moving. About an hour later, I was sitting on a medicine ball and sneezed.  At that moment, I felt a pop and there was A HUGE gush a fluid.  The doctors think that earlier in the day I might have had a small break in my amniotic sac, but now my water was REALLY broken!!  After this, labor got really intense, really fast. 

I had wanted to have a natural labor and delivery and did a lot to prepare for this.  I took classes, read books on different pain management techniques, practiced visualization, and hired a doula to help with pain relief measures.  I'm not sure if it was the Pitocin, or this is just what real labor felt like; but it was the most awful, horrific pain I ever ever felt in my life.  It was nothing I could have prepared for and by 8:30pm I could not take it anymore.  I was literally seeing white during the contractions and my whole body down to my pinky toe was shaking violently with every contraction. Also, the contractions were happening every 2-3 minutes and lasting over a minute each, so there was no rest between them. Mark told me later that I had a look of pure terror on my face during this time. So I called my doctor in and asked for an epidural.  This also terrified me because I HATE needles - particularly ones that go into your spine!!!!!!  The team at the hospital was really fast at getting everything ready though, and by 930pm, it was placed. Mark held my hands the whole time they were placing it, and said I was squeezing his hands so hard he thought I was going to break them.  I don't really remember any of that though.  All I know is, after the epidural was placed, I was a brand new person.  My pain was completely gone, and I was back to talking, laughing, and making jokes. It was the best decision I could have made. Right before the epidural was placed, I was checked and dilated to 3cm. After the epidural,  I spent the next few hours relaxing and let labor take it's course ( WITHOUT FEELING ANY OF IT- AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!).  I was rechecked around 2am and now dilated to 8cm - it wouldn't be long now!!! They wanted me to get some rest before it was time to push, so I got a small bolus of medicine through my epidural and slept for the next hour and a half.  At 4am, they checked me again and I was now fully dilated, but not yet having the urge to push. By 4:30 am, I was ready.  Mark was such a great support tome during the labor, and he was really into the pushing stage. He held one of my legs and coached me along. I also had a mirror in the room and got to watch myself push her out, which was amazing to watch, but also really great motivation to push because I could see the hard work paying off with each contraction!

I started pushing around 4:40am and little Sydney Ann made her way into the world at 5:02 am on July 4, 2012. She weighed 7lbs and 1.2ozs, and was 19 3/4 inches long.  She had a full head of dark hair and was the most perfect thing I have ever seen in my life.  I could never have prepared for the  depth of love I would instantly feel for her; it was literally the most overwhelming experience of my life (in a good way of course).  And everyday, that love only grows deeper - which continues to amaze me.  I could stare at her for hours (and do - just ask Mark) and I have never seen anything more perfect in my life.

The moment Sydney was placed on my Chest.

                            

Mark's reaction to that moment =)

First Family Bonding Moments

Proud Dad holding Sydney for the 1st time!!!!

Exhausted but never happier!!!!!!!

7lbs, 1.2ozs!!

Maternal Grandma and Maternal Great Grandma holding Sydney for the 1st time!!

Dad doing skin to skin with Sydney

BEAUTIFUL SYDNEY ANN HILL!!!!!!!!!!!!!