Charlotte's birth story

Thank goodness this isn't my 40 week update; I was really nervous that I'd have to write one of those and even possibly the dreaded 41 week update!  Today was her due date, but we got to meet her just a little early.  Charlotte Esther joined our family at 2:07am on Friday, August 8th... and changed our lives forever.  There's now a squishy baby who calls for us and loves nothing more than snuggling on our chests.  We are, in fact, living the dream.  A dream 4 years in the making and worth every moment.  My heart is so full of love for Charlotte and I am so excited to see how she grows and changes.

I have always enjoyed reading the birth stories of my blogger friends' babies and felt it gave me hope as it was the final moment in the battle against infertility, the crossing of a finish line.  So today, in celebration of love and this chubby cheeked baby girl, I share with you the story of Charlotte's birth.

Charlotte's Birth Story...

I woke up Thursday morning and had this moment of fear/panic because I wasn't sure if my water had broken or if I had lost my mucus plug.  I texted my boss and requested to work from home, just to wait it out and see if anything happened.  I wanted to be close to home (and the hospital) if possible.  Porch called into work and our day began.  He started working and I let myself go back to sleep until 9 (thank goodness I did, I would later depend on those few sweet hours of sleep).

I felt super crampy all morning and spent most of the day working from the bed thanks to my laptop.  I called the doctor's office around 10:30 to seek advice; if my water had broken, I wasn't sure if they would want me to head right to the hospital.  Because she is our first, Dr. G felt comfortable with me laboring at home until contractions were 5 minutes apart, at least 45 seconds long, and lasting for an hour.  I wasn't even sure at that point that I was having contractions and wondered if I would even be calling the office back that day.  I talked to my mom and she began to wonder if she and my dad should come down (just in case).  I agreed that it probably wouldn't hurt, if this was labor, it was bound to bring us a baby sometime soon!  And then things got serious!  It got to the point where I had to walk around when in the midst of the contraction because laying down seemed to hurt worse.  I called Dr. G at 7:15 to let him know that I had made it to his specifications.  The on-call doctor called me back and was all "no big deal, I'll meet you there, this is your first, it'll probably take quite some time... get something to eat."

So I grabbed an apple and ate it in the car as we sailed down Lake Shore.  Thank goodness traffic wasn't terrible and we arrived to the hospital around 8.  We pulled up to the front and I had to laugh as we had the stereotypical moment where Porch is freaking out, trying to find me a wheelchair, and losing his damn mind while I just kind of rolled out of the car and refuse to get into a wheelchair.

We checked into the triage area and were taken back pretty quickly; preregistering was totally worth it.  That's when the contractions got suuuuper strong!  I had a stress ball that I had gotten at a training and probably would have broken Porch's hand without it.  The nurse shared that we either needed to prove that my water broke or have a change in my cervix (which was long and closed on Tuesday).  She came in and did a test to see if my water had broken; the first test was negative but she did another which (thankfully) showed amniotic fluid.  Then she checked my cervix.  And I had to laugh as I heard her say "You're at 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 centimeters!"  That could probably explain the pain!  We had to wait for a delivery room to be available and I began to wonder if I was going to deliver right there in the triage room.

I got into the delivery room at 7cm and got my epidural (holy. crap. that was amazing) which changed everything.  Though I was in good spirits, I felt like I was back to myself!  Crazy feeling!  Shortly after the epidural, our nurse started asking me to lay on my left side, my right side, hey, let's try all fours... and then she pushed the alarm to get help.  It turns out that Ms. Charlie was laying on her umbilical cord.  So as I lay there with an oxygen mask, the team is telling me that I might need a c-section and how it's not so bad and blah, blah, blah.  THIS is why we didn't have a birth plan.  We were open to whatever the best plan was for Charlotte.  We figured out how to get her off the cord and the c-section didn't happen.

Dr. G arrived and wanted to check my cervix since he had heard I was already at 7cm.  Loved the moment when he looked at me and said, "Well, you've completed the first part!  Let's get ready to push!"  I was already at 10cm.  I started pushing with the help of Porch and the nurse and I have to be honest, pushing felt so weird.  I couldn't feel anything at first.  I started to feel pressure and heard reports that her head was quickly making its way out.  I think I pushed for a total of 40 minutes before I felt the rush of Charlotte coming into the world.  Charlotte arrived at 2:07 am weighing 8 pounds 14 ounces and measuring 21.5 inches long.  Yeah, that giant baby come out of me!!  I stare at her now and wonder how on Earth she had room in there with those long legs and arms!

The worst part of delivering Charlotte was the stitches.  For real.  Everything else was amazing.  I'm moving slowly as my stitches heal and I can't help but think that my surgery in 2009 was just good practice for this!  This felt like nothing compared to that recovery!  And I get a chubby baby to snuggle!

Apparently, we were lucky because Charlotte arrived at 2am and not just before midnight; we technically got two nights (insurance) in the hospital and that didn't start until Friday night.  So we spent Friday and Saturday nights in the hospital with an amazing team of nurses.  Saturday, we got Charlotte's bilirubin results and they were high enough to require monitoring.  Charlotte had to spend Saturday night and most of Sunday under the lights, but eventually the pediatrician felt confident enough to release her.

We left the hospital as a family of three Sunday night and spent our first night home together.  It was amazing.  Charlie and I both enjoyed a night of sleep without constant monitoring and Porch enjoyed a night of sleep in a real bed!

We're home!  We're healthy!  And most importantly, we're happy.  Our adventure is just beginning and we are so excited to see what comes next.

This chunky nugget was in my belly!
Seeing her stretch out made me appreciate those kicks and jabs... girlfriend had no more room in there.

Best reason to stay up past 2am!  Waiting to hold my sunshine!

Already a daddy's girl!

Snuggles with mommy in the morning :)

There was a lot of this action goin' on in that hospital room... naps rock!

Our first family picture :)

This moment sucked.
Watching Charlie under the lights, desperate to get out of there, just broke my heart.

A gorgeous view from our room... so serene.

Baby Girl's going home outfit... had to laugh that this newborn-sized onesie barely fit and will likely never be worn again... Charlie's arms were just too rolly!

Welcome home Charlotte!