Lyza Jane – Birth Story

After carrying Lyza for ten months I was more than ready to get her out.  As her due date got closer I was more and more excited and ready for her to make her appearance.  Then her due date came and went and each day I became more moody and miserable.  I was ready to get her out. After my last doctors visit they scheduled an induction for June 4 and I was excited because there was finally an end in site.  The morning of June 4 we got up early and got ready because we were supposed to be at the hospital at 6am.  At 5 am we got a phone call that told us to wait and come in around 9am so I headed back to bed after saying a few choice words because I was ready to have a baby.  We called back at 9am and they told us to call back at 11am and I was even more upset.  Finally we called back at 11 and they told us to come on in.  Well the hospital is about 45 minutes away and we had to get everything packed up in the car.  We made our way to the hospital and got there a little after 12. They told us to go ahead and eat a good meal because once labor started I wouldn’t be able to eat anything. We stopped at Bojangles and got 2 chicken biscuits and 2 large sweet teas.  It was amazing and I savored every minute.

Once at the hospital they took us on in and took us up to the room so we could get settled in.  I packed food and drinks because I didn’t know what we would have and I hate to spend money on food from the vending machines because it is so expensive.  Once settled they had me change into my gown.  My mom met us over there so we would have someone to help us out.  It was close to 2pm before the nurse came in to start the pitocin because Lyza was not dropping down on her own.

Once the pitocin kicked in the contractions started but they were very mild.  At this time Chris’s mom and dad came and they were hanging out in the room with us.  They moved me onto a ball to help with moving around and with the contraction that were getting ready to get more intense. The contractions were still pretty easy, just a little cramping feeling.  After about an hour they kept increasing my pitocin by two and before I knew it the contractions were coming every 30 seconds and I was in pain so I through in the towel and got an epidural.

About 30 minutes later they finally came in to start the epidural because I needed some relief from the contractions.  Sitting on the ball and saying a lot of cuss words was the only way I was making it through the contractions at this point. Once the epidural was in I was ready for a nap because I was worn out.  The pain from the contractions started to go away so I climbed back in the bed and took it easy for awhile so I could rest up before they decided the next move to get Lyza here.

At this time it was about time for the doctors to switch and Dr. Gibney was coming on duty.  They had let me labor about 2 hours with the epidural and I was about 4-5 cm dilated but not moving in the right direction.  Lyza’s heart beat was good and I was good but she just wasn’t dropping down to where she needed to be and was hanging out high and to the right.  After a little while longer the doctor came in and started talking about a csection.  I knew that this might be an option because I was a csection baby and I knew Lyza was on the larger side.

Around 7pm the doctor and nurses started to prep me for the csection by scrubbing my stomach and putting my hair up into the net.  It wasn’t the first thing that I wanted to do but I knew I wanted a healthy baby.  It wasn’t long till they wheeled me back to the operating room and at this time I knew things were about to get serious and we were going to have a baby.

They laid my hands down on these arm rest, slanted the table and it was time to roll.  I remember feeling a lot of pressure but not much else. I thought the procedure would take a lot longer but at 7:55 PM Lyza was born.  Chris decided to watch the entire thing but I wanted the drape put up so I didn’t have to watch them cut me open.  Once they pulled her out I got to see her for the first time and it was so cool to see the kid I had been carrying in my belly for the last 10 months.  They handed her off to Chris so they could take her and check her out.  I remember them yelling that she was 9lbs 14ounces and 21 3/4″ long.  She was a big kid and I am so glad that I didn’t have to deliver her that big.

Once they had me sewn back up they wheeled me into recovery and I finally got to hold her for the first time and it was so sweet.  It’s amazing how becoming a mother all of your natural instincts kick in and you know exactly what to do.  I was always worried I wouldn’t know what to do but from instincts and the nurses they help you out so much.  We got to spend about an hour just me and Chris hanging out with her and getting to know her.  They started her breast feeding right away so she could get some colostrum as quickly as possible.  My plan was to breast feed her as long as I could and she latched on pretty quick.

After getting back to the room everyone was excited to see her for the first time so she got passed around a lot.  Lyza slept and ate pretty much the first 24 hours of her life.  I did have to get up every couple of hours to nurse her but other than that she was so easy to take care of.  The first thing I wanted to know was when I could get food.  They told me I had to wait close to midnight and I was not excited.  Once midnight rolled around I was ready for food and the nurse told us the night time menu in the cafeteria was not that great and we were better off to go get food somewhere else.  My sister went and got us subs from the gas station and it was the best food that I had eaten all day! About 2am they finally let me get up out of the bed and start moving around.  I was walking the hallways to get feeling back in my legs because sitting still is not my favorite thing to do.

Throughout the next day we had several visitors come in to see Lyza and it was so neat to see her meeting everyone for the first time.  Anna came and took some family pictures of us at the hospital so we would have some memories of our time with her.  Once we started to adjust to being parents they decided to move us to another room to make room for some more mommas that were coming it.  I didn’t mind moving but it was hard because we had so much stuff to take with us and the rooms were so much smaller.  The second night we were in the hospital was a little quieter and we were able to get a little more sleep because at this point they were pretty good to leave you alone.

Once it was time for the discharge directions and they told us we could leave after lunch we hightailed it out of there.  We were both ready to get home.  Once home we got her fed and changed and we both sat down and crashed.  At bed time we were ready to crash and get some sleep so we could function. I tried to put her in her Rock and Play but she screamed bloody murder so I grabbed her boppy pillow and she slept on it her first night on the floor beside her bed.  The second night I got her into another bassinet and she did great in it.

The second morning of being parents we had to be back in Hickory at the doctors office at 8am so they could check her weight and jondas levels.  At this point she had lost about a pound and few ounces and they were worried so they sent us back over to the hospital to talk to the lactation specialist and she said everything looked good. Then they sent us over to the ENT doctor to make sure that her tongue tie was good.  Everything checked out and the doctor told us to continue everything as we were but to supplement some food as need be to make sure she was getting enough. For the next three days we had to head back over to the pediatrician and she finally got the clear that she was good and healthy.  Over three days her jondas level dropped from 14 to 5 and she gained back up to 9lbs 5ounces.

After all the doctors visits we decided to move her to a closer pediatrician so that we wouldn’t have to travel so far.

Becoming a mom has been one of the hardest and funnest things I have ever done.  I am responsible for taking care of another human but seeing her smile and grow is so humbling.  She looks up and smiles and it melts my heart every time.  I can not wait to see what she grows up to be but at this time it is fun enjoying each step of the journey.

Here are some of the sweet pictures my friend Anna of Anna Oakley Photography captured the day after she was born and they will always hold a special place in my heart: