With the arrival of our baby boy just around the corner I thought it was fitting to share the birth story of our beautiful baby girl. There is nothing more special to me than this story because it is the story of how I became a momma. And as I am sure many of you can relate to; one of the most amazing moments in any parents life.
Let's start from the beginning! Chris and I had been dating for about a year and half when we found out I was pregnant with Lily. Chris and I knew early on in our relationship that we were meant to be together forever and have a family together so while it was a shock that I was pregnant, it was the most amazing surprise we could have asked for. Now the real zinger; I didn't know I was pregnant until I was 3 months pregnant. I wasn't getting my period for a few months and of course went and seen my doctor. They did pregnancy tests which came back negative and decided that it must be due to my thyroid issues. Then at the end of November I got very sick for about a week. Couldn't eat, drink or move off the couch. Finally I went to the urgent care centre cause my family was worried about me being dehydrated. Chris and I went together and as we sat there playing Heads Up on my phone, the doctor walked in and told us I was pregnant. We were shocked because about 3-4 weeks prior to that my family doctor had done a pregnancy blood test that came back negative. But we were overjoyed at the new adventure that was to come. The next day I was sent for an ultrasound at the hospital and was told I was 3 months pregnant. We waited a little while to tell our families because we needed some time to enjoy our news together. We had a family dinner a few weeks after finding out with our immediate family and gave everyone a gift to announce I was pregnant. Everyone was just as shocked as we were genuinely overjoyed about the news. We then continued to share the information with the rest of our family and friends over the Christmas holidays.
My pregnancy with Lily was pretty good. Other than gaining way to much weight (I used my pregnancy as an excuse to overeat but come on how can you not!) and being seriously uncomfortable at the end of my pregnancy overall it went without any complications. My OB told me at every appointment how perfect I was and how she wished everyone patient could have a pregnancy like mine. I loved going to every appointment and hearing Lily's heart beat and seeing how much she had grown at our ultrasound appointments. And Chris was by my side for it all. I loved seeing his reaction to all the new things we were learning and experiencing together. And I will never forget the day that he finally felt Lily kick. It took FOREVER for him to feel her kick!
Of course, as with most first pregnancies Lily went 1 week overdue. Which ended up working out good as Portugal was playing in the Euro Cup and Chris was adamant that if I went into labour he would be watching the game (boy was he wrong!). But thankfully Lily held off her arrival until after the end of Euro Cup as there may have been a domestic during her arrival. I saw my OB on the Friday and it was decided that if I didn't go into labour over the weekend that I would come into the hospital on Monday to be induced when she was on duty. I was so happy because one I knew we were going to meet our baby girl very soon and two my OB was likely going to deliver her. However, Lily had a very different plan. After my appointment we went out for dinner with our family's at the Mandarin and then to watch my softball team play. About an hour after we got home my water broke and shit was about to get real!
I had to go to the hospital as soon as my water broke as I tested positive for bacteria that could harm Lily if my labour lasted too long and needed to be hooked up to IV medication. To this day, the worst part of the whole labour experience for me was when my water broke. Thankfully I was sitting on the toilet. however the continued (*sorry for my graphics*) gushing of water pouring out of me every time I moved drove me crazy! I hated that I couldn't control it. Especially when they want you up and walking around and you feel like you are leaking everywhere. We arrived the hospital around 9:00pm on the Friday and my contractions were very slow to start. Which was nice cause both Chris and I were able to get some rest throughout the night. And by rest for me I mean 10 minutes of closing my eyes before someone came into the room to check on me and baby. Early morning I got my epidural put in. I probably could have tolerated the contractions longer but the anesthesiologist was ready and available and it was the best decision I made. After the epidural I was able to sleep and get my energy back for when it was time to push. But, before I go on, let me tell you a funny story about Chris.
Chris really wanted to watch the anesthesiologist put in the epidural. I said NO WAY as I wanted him visible in front of me so I had something to focus on. The anesthesiologist was also against it because he says often times fathers faint when they see it. So, Chris obeyed and did as he was told. The anesthesiologist told him to move the recliner chair in front of me and he could sit and watch from there. As Chris was moving the chair, he hit the recliner bar and out came the foot rest and nailed him right in his goods! Poor guy; but boy was it funny and did it lighten the mood in the room. Everyone was laughing and it was the perfect distraction for me. Shockingly, the epidural was not painful at all. Uncomfortable yes but not painful, I was expecting WAY worse! Finally around 1:00pm on Saturday I was ready to push. I had a hard time getting the hang of pushing and thankfully had lots of encouragement from my hubby and amazing nurse. I don't think I could have done it without them. One thing I learned was that you know your body best. While the doctors and other professionals in the room are knowledgeable. You are also very knowledgeable about your body. I was shocked that the OB on duty wasn't delivering my baby - I didn't even know she was in the room. Later I asked Chris where the OB was and he told me she came in at the end of the delivery and was sitting on a stool in the corner of the room observing. A resident delivered Lily and that definitely scared me. I was prepared for that at all, and with it being my first baby I was very nervous especially cause I had no idea the OB was even in the room observing everything. The resident kept telling me near the end to wait to push that I was going to tear, but I felt that if I didn't push that it was going to be worse. She discouraged but I continued to push and trust my body and I was right. I barely tore and was able to push my baby out safely. I pushed for over an hour and our beautiful baby girl was born at 2:04pm weighing 7lbs 4oz.
And then that moment happened. That moment when all your pain disappears, you no longer feel exhausted and you are just full of so much love and happiness. Nothing else in the room existed other than Lily. Everything just felt so right in the world. And then I handed her to Chris and watched him tear up as he met his little princess for the first time. And my heart burst with even more love and happiness then I knew existed.
Lily and I had to stay in the hospital for a week after she was born which was very difficult. Lily's weight dropped after birth and they would not allow us to go home until she was gaining again. Each day we worked harder and harder to make sure she was getting enough breastmilk and gaining weight. And each day we would find out that she hadn't gained enough weight to go home. As the days went on I became more and more discouraged. I had no idea what to do to help my beautiful baby. Lily was latching fine, we tried different positions, I was pumping but nothing seemed to work. No one offered me formula to top her up, and I did not know to ask for it. Breastfeed was just pushed and pushed on us. It wasn't until the day we were leaving the hospital that a lactation nurse came to see us to offer support (and in my opinion it was a bit too late). After we went home, we continued to try to breastfeed while topping Lily up with formula and noticed a drastic difference. Not only in her weight but her personality. I continued to try pumping, breastfeeding and formula but eventually we had to make a decision what was best for all of us. And what I learned is "fed is best" and that as long as Lily was happy and healthy it didn't matter how she was getting fed. So we decided to forgo breast feeding and exclusively formula feed. From then on we had a lot of learning to do about caring for a newborn but we were able to overcome our first big hurdle and grow as a family.
I could probably go on and on about the story of Lily but I will leave you with that for now! I would love to hear from you in the comments section some highlights, funny stories or even the hard parts of your birth stories.
Maternity & Newborn Photography done by @nadinewatson
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