Birth Story for Sophie

I wrote this birth story for Sophie's baby book. It lacks a lot of the numbers and time details, but it's her story and I think it's a beautiful one.

Little Sophie it must have been very nice inside Mommy because you did not want to leave the comfort of my belly. Your due date, March 24, 2010, came and went without any sign of your arrival. A week and a half later you were still hanging out inside Mommy so our doctor set a date for you to finally be induced. Your birthday was going to be April 2, 2010. On April 1, 2010 your Granny and Aunt Lexi arrived from Florida and Mommy was there at the airport to pick them up. Lexi came in first and Granny followed shortly after. While Aunt Lexi and I were waiting for Granny to get in I started to feel some very minor contractions. Since I wasn’t in any pain, we continued on and met Daddy for a sushi dinner once Granny got in. After dinner Mommy dropped Granny and Lexi off at their hotel so that we could all get some rest before the big day. Daddy and I headed home and just as we got into bed for the night I felt my water break. Daddy called the doctor and he wanted us to come in right away. Mommy called to let Granny and Lexi know that the show was starting earlier than expected. We were all excited that you finally wanted to arrive. Daddy and I checked into the Labor and Delivery unit and were taken to a room. Once I got changed and answered a bunch of questions we got started. Our first nurse wasn’t able to get my IV started and Mommy had to be stuck 3 times before the IV was finally placed. My antibiotics were started so that we would both be Group B Strep free when you were born. Usually after your water breaks contractions start on their own. For some reason I decided to not start contracting after my water broke. The doctors and nurses gave me an hour or so before starting the Pitocin to see if I would start, but I never did. The Pitocin was started and the dose was increased every thirty minutes. Neither one of us enjoyed the Pitocin. It made Mommy’s contractions very strong and pretty close together. You didn’t like the Pitocin either. The nurses had to either turn off the Pitocin or turn it down because you couldn’t tolerate it. After tolerating as much as I could on my own, I requested pain medication. The first medication that they gave me, Stadol, helped to ease the pain slightly. I got a second dose of Stadol and was in the process of requesting a third dose when they decided that I should get an epidural. I was still only 1cm dilated and about 75% effaced at that point even though I had been laboring for several hours. I wasn’t scared of getting an epidural like I’ve heard some people are. It took three anesthesiologists and six sticks before they finally got the epidural in place. It was worth every stick in my opinion. The epidural was amazing once it was finally in and working. It was at that point that I was able to relax and sleep and that’s when you started moving down and I started dilating more. Several hours after the epidural was placed we were ready to start pushing. After 20 hours of labor, we worked together for another hour and a half before you were finally laid on my chest and screamed your little heart out. Daddy, Granny, and Lexi were all there in the room with me to witness your first breath of life. Little Sophie, your entrance into this world was not the easiest thing that I’ve ever done, but having you here and being able to kiss your sweet little cheeks makes it all worth while. You are the most precious little girl and your daddy and I are so excited that you are finally here with us. We’re looking forward to watching you grow into the amazing person that you are going to be and helping to guide you through life.

Here are a few pictures of our little doll.

Pregnancy as well as labor and delivery weren't exactly what I thought they were going to be. The good times were finding out that we were pregnant, the ultrasounds and feeling the babys kicks, but there was also a whole lot more pain and discomfort than I expected. The end result made it all worthwhile though. Life with a newborn is crazy, exciting, tiring, and exhilarating. Little Sophie is my first priority right now which is why I'm making this my last Pregosaur post. I will still be reading and cheering on all of you that are still pregnant and/or trying to conceive. This has been an amazing journey and I thank all of you for letting me share my experiences with you.

-Mrs. Luckysaur