We are thrilled to announce that our sweet little girl is FINALLY here! Ellie Grace Peterson was born on Saturday, October 20th at 3:58 pm. Here is the story of her arrival (warning: it's super long, but I'm writing more for me to document than for your enjoyment):
Once your due date (ours was October 13th) comes and goes, day after day it feels like your little one will never come. I started thinking about having to be induced (not what I wanted at all- I wanted my body to be able to go through this HUGE feat when it was ready too) even though my awesome midwife said she'd let me go to 42 weeks at least since my whole pregnancy had been so healthy (the only concern - me measuring small week after week- was always cleared up once an ultrasound was ordered). At the end of your pregnancy it's an odd feeling to know you could go into labor at any moment, wanting to have the house cleaned and everything prepared but then still living day after day and having it all get messed up time and time again. Jake and I wanted to soak up our last few days with it just being the two of us, but were also dying to see the little one who had been kicking me in the ribs, grinding on the nerves in my pelvis and making me pee like crazy (the record was 8 times in one night).
At my 40 week appointment I was 2 cm dilated, 75% effaced, and +1 as far as head position in the pelvis goes. My body was showing signs that it was at least moving in the direction of labor. The week before our due date as well as what felt like an extra long week after our due date, Jake and I did everything we could to try to get her to come. We walked miles and miles which was awesome time to get to hang out together and catch up, but that didn't work. We had a dance party- an uncoordinated one with just the two of us- to try to get things rolling, but we were just left sweaty and laughing at ourselves. My midwife stripped my membranes at my 39th and 40th week appointments, but that didn't work either. I took primrose oil pills which they say might help send you into labor, ate spicy food, had Jake press some pressure points, and talked to Ellie and just plain told her to come out but nothing worked.
On Friday, October 19th Jake got home from work and we tried to go to happy hour at P.F. Changs, but by the time we got there it was over. Panda Express was a quick and easy alternative nearby, so we picked some up to go as well as a redbox (Snow White and the Huntsman). When we got home, we ate, watched the movie, had a little ice cream and cuddled down together. Jake fell asleep during the movie (surprisingly enough-that's my MO 99% of the time), and as I finished up the movie next to him I started to feel a tightening across my lower abdomen. It was about 11:30 pm and the tightening came and went pretty regularly but wasn't super intense. When the movie was over and we got up to head downstairs and climb into bed I told Jake about the unusual tightening and that I thought it could possibly be labor. Knowing we wanted to wait at home as long as we could before heading to the hospital anyways, we hopped in bed to (try to) sleep. Jake was successful, but I lied there awake most of the time as the tightening came and went more frequently and a little more intensely. I woke Jake up a couple times telling him I thought they might be contractions, but being unsure I'd just lie back down.
When I woke Jake up at 2:00 am (now Saturday), he decided to call the hospital and get a refresher on how close together contractions should be before you come in and how to time them. Then we kicked into "this could possibly be it" mode. Jake took a shower, tore through the house tidying and cleaning everything so it would be nice to come home to, and loaded our prepacked bags in the car. I hopped in the shower, dried my hair, and grabbed a few last minute items to pack, pausing at moments to breath through a contraction. I tried sitting in a warm bath to help relax. We started timing the contractions and they were 3 minutes apart lasting for 30-45 seconds. It was now 4:00 am. Jake called the hospital again and after they confirmed that it probably wasn't false labor, they said we could head in at any point. I really did not want to get to the hospital too early, so I sat in the tub and continued to breath through contractions. At about 4:45 am we made the decision to head in based on the hospital having more ways to cope with labor, and with a 40 minute drive to the hospital we didn't want to cut it too close.
On the drive there, I ate a protein granola bar (wanting to have something to give me some energy for what was to come). We were checked into the hospital at about 5:30 am. They checked my cervix (I was at 4 cm), put an iv site in my arm (protocol in case of an emergency, or in case I changed my mind on wanting an epidural), and I changed into a gown. Testing negative for Strep B earlier in my pregnancy meant I didn't have to have an IV, but the hospital does make you have fetal monitoring and blood pressure checks for mom every 15 minutes. The anesthesiologist came in and explained my options just in case I changed my mind on the whole wanting to do it natural thing (I kind of just tuned her out the whole time). Then they filled up the birthing tub for me. I spent a lot of time there breathing through each contraction with my eyes closed - at this point I have no sense of time so I can't say just how long. Not wanting to lose energy, I tried to eat a little plain toast and apple juice. I went between the tub and sitting on the toilet (sounds weird, but actually one of the most helpful spots for me) trying to cope with the pain. One time while doing so, I puked my guts out (about 5 heaves with vomit, followed by some lovely dry heaving). Jake was such a source of love and support, right by my side the entire time. He gave me sips of water, rubbed my aching back (caused by Ellie being turned wrong I later found out), encouraged me through each contraction, put on music for me...
It seemed liked I'd been doing this forever and contractions were getting super painful and coming closer together. Happy, the midwife, came in and checked me at 11am. She said I was at 6 cm. I was completely disappointed and discouraged! Tears welled up in my throat, but never turned into a full out cry. Even though I wanted to give up I knew that somehow I just had to keep going. I HAD already made it a long way, and the second half of labor- though more painful-was supposedly shorter. The bed was comfy at this point, so I tried laboring there for a bit, lying on my side. For some reason my contractions seemed to become less frequent and less consuming. I found myself fading into a short little nap. Waking up 20 minutes later, the contractions were easing back into their prior strength and consistency. Jake helped me try out some different coping techniques. I tried the exercise ball (wasn't that great for me), and various positions lying on the hospital bed. Jake and I walked the halls- my hands draped over his shoulders as we sway-walked back and forth a few laps pausing with each wave of a contraction. Then I went back to the toilet to labor for a bit.
Happy came in again and wanted to check me probably around 2:00. Good news was that I was at 8 cm, but now we were asked if we wanted Happy to break my bag of waters. Thankfully this was the only suggested intervention the entire labor & delivery. Since it hadn't broken on it's own between 6 and 8 cm Happy said she could break it, but the contractions would get stronger, faster. Jake asked if my water broke on it's own if the contractions would get strong anyway, and Happy said "yes". That made our decision pretty easy- let's do it and get this done with! Immediately after she broke my water, I decided to get back into the tub. The contractions picked up, hitting me like a steam engine at full force. The slow breathing I had used to help cope with contractions now turned into low ohhhhhhhhs. Jake told me later that he thought I had turned into a duck fan because it was the same noise the crowd makes when the ducks kick off. I labored hard in there, going through the transition phase of labor (8-10 cm) in about an hour.
Then all of a sudden the pressure in my bum was unbearable, and it felt like Ellie's head was about to fall out. I told Jake (not so calmly) "She's coming! She's coming!". My eyes were closed, but I believe he hopped up to go find the nurse or Happy or both. They came in and got me out of the tub and onto the bed. It was time to push! They informed me that pushing would probably feel better than the intense contractions. They were wrong- it still sucked! There were three positions that they had me push in: laying on my back and pulling myself up on a towel that was draped over the birthing bar when the contractions hit, squatting with the birthing bar in my armpits for support, and finally just laying on my back and pulling my thighs up to my chest with my arms (and the aid of the nurse (Janette) on one side and Jake on the other).
During all the positions, I pushed and pushed through each contraction. With each push I thought she was right there, going to come out. Turns out that it takes longer than I thought. The deep "ohhhhhhhhh's" became a low grunt/moan. I hate to admit this because I always wanted to be the quiet, peaceful type while pushing, but there's just no way around letting out a verbal reaction to the pain your going through. Happy, Janette, and Jake rooted me on, gave me direction, put cold wet cloths on my back and forehead, and gave me sips of water for an hour. After pushing for what seemed like forever, I started crying out "please Lord, please Lord, please Lord" in between each contraction. Happy threatened me that if I didn't get my baby out on the next contraction she was going to have to do an episiotomy. That was the final motivation I needed. One last push and Ellie Grace Peterson was born at 3:58 pm on Saturday, October 20th (1 week exactly after her due date)!
What happened in the next few hours was all kind of a blur to me. The instant relief and voidness of pain that you hear is supposed to happen immediately after your baby is born didn't happen for me. I was sore and hurting and on fire. Ellie was immediately placed on my chest and had a good healthy cry. I focused on consoling her to try to take my mind off of the pain I still felt as the birthing process wrapped up. I was able to birth the placenta naturally, but because I was bleeding too much afterwards they gave me a local shot of Pitocin to force the uterus to contract and the bleeding to slow. Happy did her thing, stitching me up (I tore a 2). Jake was crying and telling me how proud he was of me and admiring our daughter. And I have no clue what the nurses were doing (a baby nurse had joined the crew at this point, along with our other nurse Janette). Jake cut the cord at some point and I tried to feed Ellie. She didn't want anything to do with it, so the baby nurse took her and suggested sucking out her stomach. Ellie had swallowed a ton of amniotic fluid which came out with the suction. I tried feeding her again, and she latched on the very first time and has ever since. After she was done eating the baby nurse and Jake took her over to weigh her, measure everything, sponge her off, stamp her footprints. I ordered a little food off the room service menu then they wheeled me upstairs with Ellie Grace in my arms and my sweet husband by my side to settle into a postpartum room. A long day came to a close at 7:30 pm when, after waiting all day, our families who had driven from Eugene, Tacoma, Yakima, and Beaverton came into meet our sweet little girl. I was pretty exhausted, but so thankful that everyone came to celebrate with us. We are thrilled that Ellie is finally here, and that she is healthy and happy as can be!
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