As the time for baby sister’s arrival approached I began to feel a little anxious about the delivery – this was a new thing for me! Plus, I was getting concerned more and more about GETTING to the hospital to have the baby.
Because we moved late in my pregnancy we decided we wanted to stay with my OB. He was the one that delivered Benjamin and I was really comfortable with him. But I was now 3 hours away from my doctor/hospital with truly no options inbetween here and there.
Luckily, my sweet doctor was sympathetic to my concerns. I would recommend him over and over again!
I had an appointment Tuesday and had gone to the doctor only to be told I was only dilated to a 1 ½ and he was concerned because I had been hit HARD with a nasty cold. He was concerned that I wouldn’t have the energy needed to go through labor. But my doctor suggested we have another appointment on Friday just to check my progress.
Mark had the day off but we didn’t want to take the kiddos with us – just in case things had progressed. Bless my parents who were so supportive and helpful these weeks that I had to drive to my appointments in Logan. They agreed to come up Thursday night and watch the kids so Mark and I could go to my appointment.
I was feeling better than I had Tuesday but still had lingering symptoms from my cold. I was worried that I was wasting everyone’s time going to the appointment but I couldn’t resist keeping my appointment to check on progress. Thursday night we ended up chatting with my parents late and I didn’t end up going to bed until about 12:30.
That night at about 3:00 I woke up to contractions. With all of my pregnancies, all of my contractions are in my back, and this was no different. The contractions weren’t horrible but they were enough to keep me from going back to sleep.
Finally, at 5:30 I got out of bed to get ready for my appointment. Mark and I had to leave by 6:15 in order to make our appointment on time in Logan. After attending all of my appointments alone or with the kids it was nice to finally have Mark there with me.
I was not very optimistic that I had progressed enough to be admitted but I was hoping that because of the contractions I had had that night that maybe it had been enough.
They were moving really fast that day and my doctor came to check on me only to tell me that I was only dilated to a 2. I immediately thought that we were done and would be going home.
However, being the wonderful doctor that he is, he talked with me and decided that we were going to have the baby come today! I was shocked and ecstatic and nervous all at the same time.
The whole drive I had told myself it wasn’t going to happen and so I was truly shocked at the change – especially since I had not progressed very much.
As we drove over to the hospital I called the kids to let them know what was happening. I talked to Jacob and he was THRILLED. He was so excited that baby sister was finally coming – and that he didn’t have to share his birthday month!
Walking into the hospital was just a crazy experience. The knowledge that we were going to meet our baby girl that day was definitely still sinking in and didn’t feel real. I couldn’t believe it was finally happening. With all of the stress that we had gone through over the course of her pregnancy it had felt like I had been pregnant for two years – and so now that the moment was coming – I was in disbelief.
We got all checked in and settled into our room at about 10:15. Our nurse was great and got us all set up. Their initial plan was to just hook me up and see how fast I progressed. I KNEW I wouldn’t be progressing much on my own. All of my other pregnancies I have had to be put on Pitocin and I knew this would be the same.
After about an hour and a half of barely any progress, they called in my doctor to come and break my water. When they broke my water there was some blood and traces of meconium that came with it. They weren’t overly concerned but they did request that there be a NICU team in the delivery room with me to check/help the baby when she was born.
They hoped I would progress faster after my water broke but my progress continued to be minimal {if any}. At about 1:30 they started me on Pitocin. I was still moving slow and so the Pitocin was increased. Around 2:45 they came in and gave me my epidural as my contractions became more and more steady and severe.
Things continued to be really slow moving. My nurse checked me again a little before 4 and I was only a five. It was a little discouraging to think I was only at a 5 after so many hours and I thought I had a long wait still ahead of me.
Despite having an epidural I was still feeling quite a bit of pain. 15 minutes later the nurse came in to check on baby whose heart rate had dropped. She could tell I was in pain and decided to check me again. I WAS A 10! I couldn’t believe it and neither could she. I had gone up so fast – and I could feel it!
She called in my doctor and the NICU team and they got everything prepped. After two pushes baby sister made her debut at 4:35 pm – FACE UP! After she was born the room felt pretty quiet. There was no cry from baby sister and all I could hear was the repeated suctioning of my doctor on our baby girl.
Finally, he took her over to the NICU nurses and responded that she needed some work done. Come to find out she was pretty limp and blue for about a minute and a half after birth. I am so grateful for a doctor that I trusted and a great team who stayed calm {which helped me to stay calm} during all of this. Finally, little whimpers were heard from our little one and those are about the best sounds in the world. She came in at 6 pounds 9 ounces and 19 inches long.
Once she was thoroughly checked out from the NICU team she was brought over to me. There is nothing better than holding your little one for the first time. She was so calm and alert and it was a beautiful time for Mark and I. It felt like everyone cleared out really fast and it was so nice to just have some quiet time. Those first moments are so special and never get old – no matter how many children you have.
As with all of our other children, we wanted to wait to see our little one before deciding on a name. We hadn’t had too many serious conversations about names prior to her being born. But, again, as with our other children when we had a quiet moment to talk about it together we were both immediately unanimous in what her name should be – Lydia Rose.
We decided to use the name Rose as a middle name, in honor of Mark’s great grandmother Rosetta. We love passing on these family names to our children and hope it gives them a connection to their ancestors and strengthens these bonds in knowing that our family is forever. We think her name is beautiful and fits her perfectly.
At around 6:45 we were moved to a recovery room and got settled in for the evening. Lydia did so well. She was so alert that first night and hardly made a peep. Around 1:00 we sent Lydia to the nursery so that we could try and get some sleep. Considering the lack of sleep I had gotten the previous night plus the toll of having a baby you would think I would sleep, well…like a baby! But I was very restless and I never felt like I really went to sleep more like a doze.
At around 4:30 my nurse came in and was supposed to bring us Lydia. Lydia was not with her. She told me that she had gone blue and stopped breathing while in the nursery and had required some intervention. I was, understandably, concerned. We decided she would stay in the nursery where they could monitor her a little more and then be brought in a couple more hours.
After my nurse left I could not even attempt sleep. I was worried and a little unnerved to think of what could have happened had we not decided to send her to the nursery.
Finally, at around 6:30 I asked for Lydia to be brought back to our room. She seemed perfect and I loved being able to hold her once more.
The rest of the day was mostly just recovering. My Grandma Dixie came to visit us around 11:00 that morning and it was wonderful to catch up with her and introduce her to our sweet girl.
We did a lot of back and forth about when we were going to leave the hospital. The soonest they said we could leave was about six that night and we eventually decided that we didn’t want to have to get home late and decided to stay the night.
That night I was finally able to get some sleep. It felt wonderful and I was so grateful. It was only a couple of hours but it was still nice. I had been having some pretty severe contractions and they were finally able to give me something that helped my body relax for a couple of hours.
The next morning we got the results back from her newborn screening. She was our one and only baby to pass her hearing test the first time – WOOT! However, they did recommend that she get her bilirubin test done again.
Finally we were in the car leaving the hospital at about 11:00 that morning. I sat in the back with Lydia while Mark made the three hour drive back home. Lydia never made a peep the entire drive.
We were so excited to see the kids and introduce them to their new baby sister. We had Facetimed with them a couple times but meeting in person is very different. The kids and my parents had decorated the garage, front door and inside of the house with all sorts of balloons and signs welcoming our sweet baby girl.
Jacob and Sarah were so thrilled to meet her and hold her and kiss her. It was such a wonderful thing to watch. Benjamin was a little unsure about her but we have no problem letting him take his time as he gets used to his new role as big brother.
We love you so much, sweet girl. You are the perfect addition to our family and are so loved. Thank you for choosing us, for letting us be with you forever. We are not a perfect family but we promise to love you forever. We hope to be all that you need to discover and reach your fullest potential. We are thankful for our Father in Heaven for trusting us with you. We can’t wait to see what the future has in store for you.
