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| Last picture taken of me pregnant - 40 weeks, 4 days |
I love birth stories! Each one always seems so different and beautiful to me in their own unique way. I don't mind sharing my own and also want it as a keepsake but I'm warning you, it's long.
As I approached my due date and then watched it pass by, I became more and more at peace with the idea of being induced. My induction was scheduled for Monday, March 7th and as the weekend leading up to that day came, Todd and I just knew we had the weekend to slowly relax and prepare for Monday.
Saturday, March 5th, we did just that - relax. We had a slow day at home and later in the evening decided to go out to dinner together. As we had dinner, I wasn't eating much (which is not like me at all) but I didn't think anything of it and still have no clue if that was any sign of the hours to come but in hindsight I see it as odd. When we got back home, we watched two episodes of our favorite Netflix series. While watching the show, I had a few strong cramps but didn't think much of it since I've had those on and off the last few weeks of pregnancy. In fact, I didn't even tell Todd what was happening. Around midnight, I decided to go upstairs first to get ready for bed. At this point, I still just knew in my heart that I had one more full day of pregnancy so as I got ready for bed I thought about how I wanted to spend my last day of pregnancy...
watch church online, clean the house, go to Target, out to eat again (why not?).
All those things would be great and certainly distract me from waiting. Within moments of closing my eyes the strong cramps returned. Intense cramps! I tried to ignore it. Todd was upstairs by this point and I mentioned that I was having some of those annoying cramps again. As fast and strong as they would come on, suddenly they would disappear. Then like clockwork, would reappear. Todd immediately said we should start timing them. I couldn't sit still any longer so I got up and tried to walk but as soon as a cramp came on, I couldn't walk or talk. This is when I began to realize that more may be happening but in the back of my mind I was still in denial. I couldn't believe it could all happen so fast! Timing the cramps, we realized they were 5 minutes apart. Still in denial, I decided to take a bath and see if that helped ease the cramps. When it didn't, I decided to call my mom for a second opinion. Of course she said (okay it was more like a motherly demand) "get yourself to the hospital!"
It was then that I had Todd call the after hours nurse line. By this point, I couldn't concentrate on anything. While on the phone with the nurse, Todd was already starting to gather our things and load the car. I had most of my stuff packed but since I thought I'd be induced Monday, I still thought I had Sunday to do the final prep. So this left us both in a little bit of a panic but since I was pretty much immobile from the cramps (obviously contractions) Todd had to get everything. I remember giving him orders telling him where my flip flops were, where my slippers were, asking him to put the wet clothes in the dyer, asking if he got the camera, grab my toiletries bag and a million other last minute things. My brain couldn't seem to process what was happening but every 5 minutes I would just curl over in pain. As we got into the car (1:20 am), I remember telling Todd not to get his hopes up. I had heard that the hospital sends people home all the time for false alarms. Clearly I was still in denial.
When we arrived at the hospital, they had already pulled my folder and took us straight to triage. At this point the contractions felt like they were coming closer and closer together and sure enough as soon as the nurse hooked me up to the machines, she noted they were every 2-3 minutes. I even asked again, "so these really are contractions?" Still in denial.
The midwife came in to check me and noted that I was 3 cm dilated. She ordered me to walk the halls for an hour to see if I progressed. I wasn't thrilled about walking with the pain but before I began, they gave me a ginger ale to drink to stir up the baby. After about 10 minutes, while the nurse was still in my room, baby girl kicked harder than I have ever felt her kick. It was painful! Then it just stopped. The nurse very casually got out her phone and made a call. I remember her saying so calmly, "I have no baby heart rate" and seriously within 10 seconds an entire crew of nurses came in. One placed an oxygen mask on me and another began an IV in my arm. The midwife said, "you are now 4 cm, you are here to stay, we are admitting you and I also need you to be aware that a c-section could be necessary." Despite all the crazy, I had complete peace. In my head I recited Psalm 23 over and over as I held on to Todd's hand tightly.
Within minutes, Todd was throwing all my things in a patient bag and the nurses were pushing my bed into a hospital room. By this point, the heart rate was found again (praise the Lord) but baby girl was still being a bit stubborn so they continued to watch my monitor and adjust as needed continuously. Once in the room, panic slowed down for all and I asked about the epidural. I had a fabulous nurse who was so good to me and assured me she had already requested it but I had to have a bag and half of IV fluids before I could get it. My denial wore off and I mentally settled into the idea that I wasn't leaving the hospital without a baby!
The epidural was in by 3 am and it was glorious! By this time my mom had arrived and although I was tired, I felt completely normal other than not being able to feel my legs. From here on out, my sense of time was all off. I personally felt like time flew by! I was so exhausted so I tried to get some rest. Slowly, more family arrived including my dad, sisters, Todd's mom and stepdad. Sometime that mid morning, I was talking to my sisters and felt a gush of water. Todd laughs at me now because he says I casually mentioned, "my water just broke." From that moment on, things seemed to get real!
The nurses were able to give me a timeframe. As exciting as that was, I hit a wall of exhaustion and that scared me because I couldn't even imagine the workout to come of pushing a baby out! All visitors left my room and I took a great nap. It was so good, that by the time the nurses came in around 1 pm, I didn't want to wake up. But they came in and started prepping me to push. I had to mentally force myself to wake up and focus. By 1:30 pm the pushing began and the midwife would come in and out checking on me. It was not easy but after 2 hours, I knew I must be getting close because more and more nurses were coming in with equipment which was encouraging. Everyone was cheering me on and at 3:39 pm baby girl Peri Kathryn Davis was delivered! Todd and I were both overcome with so many emotions - relief, thankfulness and pure joy! Todd was able to cut the cord although he admits having a hard time seeing it because of his tears. Our baby girl was perfect. That moment they put her on my chest is a moment I will cherish forever!
I was awake but totally loopy during surgery. On happy drugs for sure. When the procedure was over (they didn't have to cut me, yet treated it like a D&C), the doctor leaned down to me and told me that I had the most stubborn placenta he has ever had to work with! I remember telling him, story of my life, this would happen to me!
In the grand scheme of things, this was nothing and I'm thankful it was easy to take care of it but just very unexpected for my ideal birth plan. I was going to be fine and I had a beautiful baby girl and loving husband waiting on me back in my room. When I arrived back, Todd was skin to skin with Peri, had already fed her a bottle and was grinning from ear to ear. He looked like super dad so content and calm. I'm incredibly thankful for him! The nurses had already began teaching him all kinds of newborn things. I hate I missed out on the post delivery activities like her first bath, footprints, etc. but Todd was able to tell me all about it.
I remember being so thirsty, had a metallic taste in my mouth from the medicine and the only thing that sounded good to me was a Coke. Unfortunately, since I had so much medicine in my system and being post-surgery, I had to wait to eat or drink. I was also super nauseous which was a total bummer because I couldn't wait for family to meet Peri (plus they had been waiting for hours). Once the nurses reclined my bed, I felt a little better and told Todd family could come in but not for long. By this point it was evening and everyone was just as tired as we were from waiting all day so they met Peri and went home to let us get some rest. I finally was able to get that Coke and my parents grabbed us some takeout so we would have some food when we were ready to eat.
That evening was so special with just the three of us. I'm pretty sure we just stared at Peri all night long and got zero sleep. Plus the nurses came in continuously to check on me and it wasn't until 5 am that they finally allowed me to try to walk on my own.
What an emotional yet incredible day it was! My body has never been so sore but it was all worth it. Lord willing, I'll totally do it again one day. These sweet baby snuggles are the best! Adjusting to life at home has been just as expected. Our world is forever changed but it is a great change. I'm so in love with Todd and the way he cares for us. He is being an awesome dad (as I knew he would) and together we are being a team as we figure out how to be parents. We are so thankful for this miracle of life from God and honored we get to be her parents.
I'm also incredibly thankful for all the friends and family that are bringing us food, helped take care of Maggie and even bought our groceries and cleaned our kitchen while we were away at the hospital (thanks Whitney!).
Todd made the sweetest video documenting our pregnancy and birth. I look forward to showing it to Peri one day! You can view the video here:
Peri Kathryn Arrives from Todd and Sara Davis on Vimeo.
Now, one last picture because she is still just as cute when she cries! ;)
-Sara