LuLu Mom: Our Birth Story and My Birth Plan (or lack there of)

Blake Elizabeth

Oh this crazy daughter of mine.

They say that you forget all that happens when you give birth, and that's how women have multiple children.

I beg to differ, I say, you remember every little thing, but it is so worth to pain to meet your child.

So I'm doing this again... I know what's to come. I know it won't be fun, but man, is it worth meeting the wonderful little human that God gives you to raise for Him.

As for a birth plan. I didn't have one. You see, before having Blake, I was a fly by the seat of my pants kind of girl. I hated planning and I loved just "rolling with it". We didn't do any birthing classes or anything, I was literally was going to roll with it. Crazy as that might sound, I'm going to do the same thing with Mr. Man I'm carrying. Just go with it.

The only 2 things I had planned were, I wanted an epidural, and I wanted my husband and my mom in the room with me and that was it. Well I got my second thing, but my first... I got the epidural but it sure didn't help all that much. And that my friends, is why I don't plan! :)

Moving on....

Well here is one of my favorite pictures... Caleb, absolutely exhausted and a little nervous about what is getting ready to happen, and me smiling away because for the first time in a month I haven't felt a single contraction for the past 4 hours.... Little did I know, that was all about to change.

1:15am- my water breaks while I'm sleeping!!!! SLEEPING! I had been walking, cleaning, eating spicy food, you name it and it breaks while I'm doing nothing but sleeping.

1:20am- after calling the doctor I called my husband at work! After weeks of trying to be available at work, I call him in the middle of a "paper" call, which means, he's swarmed with paperwork galore from a pretty crazy night.... He is superman and his boss helped him leave so he got to me within half an hour! VERY IMPRESSIVE.

2:30am- we're at the hospital. I didn't tell anyone but my mom that I thought my water had broken. I was so scared that we'd get there and they would just tell me that I just had poor bladder control. So in effort to save face and getting made fun of for peeing the bed, I waited until the hospital confirmed I was being admitted to tell people what was going on.

7:30am- My mom (who lives in Oklahoma) and my friend, Kodi make it to the hospital to help relieve Caleb, get him food, and let him sleep. My mom was pretty phenomenal. She got a call at 1:15a from a frantic daughter and immediately books a 6am flight to get to me ASAP. I love that woman!

8:00am- They decide my contractions weren't strong enough to start the labor process in the time frame they wanted. (when your water breaks they worry about infection so you have to have the baby rather quickly after that happens) so we started Pitocin. That stuff SUCKS! I went about 2 hours on my own and then got my epidural around 10.... yeah more about the epidural later... the times from here on out were a little fuzzy so I'll consolidate.

I went through the labor process of dilating pretty much pain free until I hit a 9 and then it was hurting. It was hurtin real bad! My legs were numb and paralyzed, and my stomach was numb, but where Blake was going to make her entrance, yeah that wasn't so numb. So I did what any normal mom to be would do.... I panicked! I realized that I was probably going to do this with some pain..... and after the doctor says they've done all they can do in the pain management department, well I knew I was in for some fun....

I started pushing at 2:45, and she came out at 4:43... it was a rather exhausting and painful 2 hours of my life but it was so incredibly worth it. Now I have to give credit to my amazing husband. He was phenomenal during this whole thing. He kept me calm, focused, and I mean it when I say I COULD NOT have done it without him. I remember at one point, looking at him exhausted, scared, in so much pain and telling him I couldn't do it anymore. I will never forget the look in his eyes... he had so much confidence in me and told me I could do it. That man's strength is something that God knew I needed and I desperately needed it that day.

Blake had some problems arriving. She had swallowed the poo in the womb, AND she had the cord wrapped around her neck. She came out and she was as white as a ghost and dead silent because they had to cut the cord before she came out. Oh I was freaking out. I knew something was wrong but I couldn't do anything. Caleb stayed with me, and mom kept us posted on her! It was awful!!!! When I finally got to hold her and see her I just cried out of relief. I had run a fever through all of labor, and was exhausted and sick in every which way but seeing her made it all better.

Little Miss was so pale when we first saw her... think I'm kidding, check this out.