Anna Claire's Birth Story

If birth stories aren't your thing feel free to just skip right over this post! Warning... this is a super long post! I don't want to forget a thing. (: 

On Wednesday, April 25th I worked a half day at work and then eagerly headed to my 39 + 1 day doctor appointment to check on Miss Anna Claire. I had hoped to have made some progress because I  had always said how perfect it would be to deliver just one week early. The doctor's appointment went well and while I was progressing in the right direction I had not progressed enough to make me think I would be going into labor in the next day or so. When I left the appointment I ran a few errands when I started to feel some cramps. My doctor told me to expect that so I really didn't think much about it other than the fact it was not very comfortable. On the way home I started craving coco puffs which is so random. I probably haven't had coco puffs since I was 10... I decided to soak up the last few days of being able to pull the "pregnancy craving" card and pick up a box. When I got home I put everything away, picked up in the house, bounced on my yoga ball and took Henson on a 30 minute walk all while continuing to feel really crampy but still not thinking twice about it. At 8:30 that night I was exhausted so I finally sat down to eat that bowl of coco puffs I had been craving since earlier that afternoon. Right when I took my first bite my water broke.... It was the oddest feeling ever. I knew deep down that it was my water breaking but I also just couldn't believe it! I was still 6 days out from my due date and still had two more scheduled work days! After a quick freak out with Justin and calling my doctor we decided that it was indeed my water breaking and needed to head to the hospital. Of course I couldn't leave the house until I put on some makeup and washed the dishes haha. It took us almost an hour to finally get out of the house and then we had an hour drive to the hospital. On the way to the hospital my cramps really started to pick up. I found out later that these "cramps" were actually contractions. I had been having contractions ALL afternoon and had no idea! Everyone always told me I would know when they started but that did not prove true in my case. After being caught by the swing bridge (out of all the times to be stuck in traffic!) we finally made it to the hospital around 10:30 pm and checked into triage where they would confirm that my water had indeed broke.

We waited in triage for over an hour! Apparently it was a busy night for labor and delivery. Once the doctor finally came in it only took seconds for her to admit us and we were soon moved to our labor and delivery room. It was almost midnight at this point but we were way too excited to sleep! Justin and I got settled in and I was hooked up to all of the machines. My nurse encouraged me to wait on asking for an epidural since it was so early. That was okay for a while because my pain was manageable. I labored until 4:45 am when I was finally in tears from the increase in pain and was able to get my epidural. (I had asked for it around 3am but it took forever for the anesthesiologist to get there) The epidural really did not hurt at all compared to the pain from the contractions. It took effect immediately and was the absolute best decision ever. I felt SO much better and was finally able to relax some. Justin and I still couldn't fall asleep but we did drift off and rest for a little bit. During this time they started me on pitocin to speed things up. At this point I couldn't feel a thing and was just happy happy happy! Later that morning family started arriving and we all were just waiting patiently for go time. Around noon my epidural started to wear off on my left side which began making me nervous. It continued to wear off all afternoon which was not ideal and the pain started to creep back in. I toughed it out and labored until 4:00 that afternoon when it was finally time to start pushing!! We cleared the room and it was just Justin and I eager to meet our baby girl.

I pushed for four hours straight all while the epidural continued to wear off. The first two hours of pushing were not that bad. I knew the end was in sight and we would be meeting our baby girl soon. I was determined to do whatever I had to do. Throughout my labor I suffered from nausea and threw up at least ten times. By the end of the third hour my spirit was really starting to drop. I hadn't slept in 38 hours nor had I eaten in 24 hours. I was in a lot of pain and just pure exhausted from pushing. I was still determined to do whatever I had to do but after 3 1/2 hours the doctor told me I really hadn't made any progress. I had been working SO hard that was devastating to hear. Baby girl was RIGHT there but she was face up and just couldn't make it the last little ways. We decided to give it thirty more minutes to see if we could get her to flip. They tried so many things to encourage her to come but after four hours it was decided that I would need a c-section. I never in my wildest dreams imagined I would labor for 25 hours and actively push for 4 hours and STILL end up in a c-section. That is exactly what happened though. As disappointing as that was to hear my body was also physically exhausted and I knew it was my only option. Justin was by my side.. literally, the entire time. He was so supportive and even started counting through all of the contractions. I don't think I could have done it without him!

Since my epidural had worn off the anesthesiologist came back in and give me a spinal block. It numbed me from the chest down and brought on some terrible side effects. My arms and hands were shaking, teeth chattering, nausea, I felt like I couldn't breath which made talking difficult and I could hardly keep my eyes open which was from the pure exhaustion. I felt like that through the procedure but I had Justin by my side which really made me feel safe even though I felt like my body was shutting down. It only took what seemed like minutes before we heard a cry and our baby was here! She was born at 9:07 pm weighing 9 lbs 3 oz and 21 inches long. Just thinking of that sound brings tears to my eyes. I couldn't see her but I knew she was here and I would be meeting her any second! It was the sweetest sound in the world. Justin was able to cut the cord and hold her for the first time. I'm so happy he had that moment with her! I know it was so special and something he will never forget. He brought her over to me and I saw my baby for the first time! She was absolutely beautiful and nothing like what I had imagined with a head full of dark hair! My heart was so full of joy and I was the happiest I had ever been however because of the exhaustion and side effects from the spinal I really couldn't show any emotion. Justin even asked me if I was happy which broke my heart because YES! I was happier than I had ever been in my life but I also was too exhausted to smile, move my arms, talk, I still felt like I couldn't breathe, I was shaking too much to hold her, etc. That was probably the hardest part for me. I wanted to be able to show my happiness but my body had just been through the ringer and honestly felt like it was shutting down. Justin took our baby girl into the recovery room while they got me all stitched up. After the doctor had left and it was just a few nurses cleaning up, I hemorrhaged and had some blood clots. They had to rush the doctor back in which was super scary because Justin had already left at this point. Thankfully the doctor took care of it and everything was okay.

I was wheeled into the recovery room where I was finally able to hold my baby girl for the first time!!! It was absolutely amazing. We spent about 45 minutes together with just me, Justin and Anna Claire. The nurses helped me breastfeed and she latched on right away. By the end I think my body had decided it had enough and I fell asleep. Sleeping is the last thing I wanted to do right then but I honestly did not have a choice. This was such an emotional part for me and still breaks my heart! I fell asleep and Justin went to get our family who had been patiently waiting all day! They were able to meet her while I slept for a bit. I hate I didn't get to watch everyone meet her for the first time but I was happy to finally get some rest. I think I slept for about 30 minutes when I caught a second wind and was able to sit up and join in. By 11:30 that night (I think) everyone had left and we were moved to our last room we would be in for the remainder of our stay. That night nurses were in and out checking on me and baby girl and I really didn't sleep. I had my baby beside me though and she was healthy so it was okay. We ended up spending four nights in the hospital where we had TONS of visitors, the most amazing nurses teaching us things and recovering. On Sunday we were discharged and ready to start our life as a family of three!

my mom! 

my dad meeting his first granddaughter! 

Aunt Ginny! 

First car ride home! 

It was a long birth that did not go as planned. It started out as a dream with everything going seemingly perfect to becoming an extremely emotionally and physically painful experience. I can honestly say it brought Justin and I closer together in a way I could have never imagined.  As difficult as my labor was I would do it a million times over. Anna Claire is truly a gift from God. We are SO in love with her. I already can't imagine a life with her not in it. I constantly just want to cry thinking about how happy she makes me. I love you little AC!

If you made it this far I give you props! I really just wanted to document our entire experience for myself so I don't forget a thing about this special experience.