Grace Lilian

I've been out of the blogging world for a while. But, there is no better way to get back in than with a good birth story, because who doesn't love a good birth story (or at least pictures of a newborn baby)?

On October 21, I went to my 38-week doctor's appointment. The doctor stripped my membranes and sent me on my way with a 39-week appointment scheduled. I was a little bummed because I was under the impression he was going to schedule an induction rather than another appointment but he said he didn't think I would make it that long.

I went to bed that night still very much pregnant but we had a lot going on during the week that would keep us busy and make the time go by fast. At around 3 o-clock or so, I woke up with really bad heartburn and I was having a hard time controlling my body temperature. I took a shower to get warmed up and then went and sat on the couch so I could be propped up. I fell asleep for a while and then woke up again with the chills and nausea. I was having some uncomfortable contractions but they weren't consistent so I got in the tub to try and stop the chills and relax a bit. I was sitting in the tub, thinking about Clara's rushed delivery and I felt like I should go to the hospital, just to be safe.

At around 5, we called my brother-in-law to come over to be with the other kids and my parents got ready and headed down to stay with the kids while we were at the hospital. We arrived at the hospital a little before 6 and got checked in. I was still having irregular contractions but I was feeling a little better otherwise.

When they got me hooked up to the monitor, they noticed that the baby's heart rate was really high. They took my temperature and discovered that I (and in turn, the baby) had a fever. I had checked my temperature at home because of my symptoms but I often don't register a temperature until I've been exhibiting fever symptoms for a while. They started me on IV fluids which helped the baby's heart rate go down but I still had a fever. They didn't know if I was in labor or if the fever was causing me to have contractions. They gave me Tylenol, started me on antibiotics and said they were going to admit me but that they didn't know if they would keep me. I was super stressed that they were going to send me home and I figured I would be back later that day based on how I was feeling.

When we got into the labor and delivery room, my doctor came to see us. He sat down to deliver his speech and Sam and I were both convinced he was going to send us home. He was worried that if I had a fever and was getting sick, it would be hard to care for a newborn. However, they had no idea what was causing the fever and my platelets were dropping and would probably continue to do so. After weighing all of the variables, he said they would start me on Pitocin and deliver me that day. Whew! I wasn't going home!

The next several hours involved a lot of waiting. The doctor didn't want to break my water until I had received two rounds of antibiotics. The nurse figured it was best to wait to start the Pitocin until I had the epidural and the anesthesiologist wanted to start the epidural as soon as possible, before my platelets dropped anymore. I don't normally get an epidural right away but after a stressful morning, I was exhausted and wasn't feeling up to dealing with the pain.

The anesthesiologist came in around 3 and started the epidural. The nurse started the Pitocin shortly after that and then the doctor came in to break my water. I was 3 cm when I arrived at the hospital, 4 cm when I checked into labor and delivery and 5 cm after he broke my water. The contractions were still pretty sporadic so they kept turning up the Pitocin. A little after 4, they nurse noticed that the baby's heart rate was doing funny things so she started me on oxygen. She asked if I was feeling any pressure and I said that, now that she mentioned it, I was. She checked me and, true to form, I had cruised through the end of labor and was ready to push.

At 4:25, our beautiful baby girl was born. She weighed 6 lbs. 5 oz and was 21 inches long.

We still hadn't decided on her name and with the nurses coming in and out, we didn't get a chance to talk about it for a little while. When, we got to the recovery room, we finally decided on Grace.

She is such a precious baby. She is a wonderful sleeper, which sometimes impedes her nursing. Her siblings are all absolutely in love with her. The girls want to hold her all the time and Grant goes running to her side anytime she makes a peep.

We are so blessed to have this sweet angel in our family!