I need to do this post before I forget all the little details of this baby's birth. I'll include this awesome picture. It was taken at 38 weeks. I had the same shirt on at 38 weeks with the other two so I felt like I needed to do it with her too. It's the only official belly pic I took and I don't really feel sad about it. They aren't the cutest.
So, in advance of the actual "story" story...I will say that I started having weekly doctor's visits at 36 weeks. He started checking me at that time. He was surprised at 36 weeks that I was dilated to a 3. I knew that meant nothing and I could sit there for awhile. But he also said he'd be surprised if I made it to 39 weeks. I hate when they say that. Haha. Not like he knows even with all his experience! I kept expecting something might happen and then started really feeling like it NEVER was really going to happen. Well, each week I went and was a little more dilated. 37 weeks I was 3+. 38 I was almost 4. I made it to 39 weeks and that day was also my last shift of work. I had my appointment the next morning and he said I was almost a 5. That was so crazy to me! I had been having TONS of Braxton Hick's contractions for weeks. But nothing that was ever painful or regular so it was wild to me that I had dilated that much. He made it sound like I could go really fast when I do because I was already that far. I was really looking forward to going into labor naturally and just excited for when the real thing was going to start and what it would be like. Greta we got induced and Harvey my water broke and I never really got into active labor with him without Pitocin and epidural etc etc. I wanted this one to be a bit different.
So...Tuesday came and went and that evening I was feeling like maybe my contractions were a little more frequent but still not regular or painful. I was kind of wondering if anything would happen that night and had a really hard time falling asleep. I finally did only to be woken by a contraction an hour or so later. Then I REALLY couldn't go back to sleep. Nothing was happening more but I just couldn't sleep. Tanner was still awake so we chatted for a little bit and then I decided to just watch something because trying to fall back asleep was driving me nuts. So I watched some Call the Midwife on Netflix. And then contractions started to come more regularly it seemed. I started timing them and it seemed like they were coming every 3-5 minutes. Never really painful but definitely regular. Lasting about a minute. I let it go awhile wanting to make sure it was the real deal. But also really nervous to wait too long and then have things go really fast. About 2 hours into it I started having a few more that seemed mildly more intense and decided to wake up Tanner. I wanted to make sure we had plenty of time to find someone to stay with the kids as well. We got ahold of Tanner's parents and Berrie came over and we headed to the hospital. Me mostly being super stressed that it was a false alarm, even though I had a few that hurt pretty good on the way to the hospital and I remember telling Tanner I thought it was a good thing that we were coming in.
We got to the hospital about 2:30am. We got all checked in and the nurse got me in the bed, hooked me to the monitor and checked me and I was still a 5. And then my contractions literally all but stopped. I wandered the halls for a while. I sat and rocked. I rested. Still, no increase in intensity or frequency and in fact they were probably like 10+ minutes apart. I am still so baffled by this. Well, by 5 o'clock she checked me again and there was no change. I was so sad. She said she would call the doc and he would most likely give us the option to go home or come in and break my water. I couldn't really make a decision - I didn't like either. Tanner said to just have him break my water. So I said ok. As soon as she walked out and Tanner fell back asleep, I kind of had a meltdown. Looking back I realize how much hormones were at play, but I felt devastated. I felt horrible for calling people in the middle of the night for what wasn't the REAL deal. I felt stupid. And I felt so sad because it wasn't what I wanted. I didn't want my water broken. I wanted to feel active labor start and go with the flow that way. She came back in and said he'd be there by 6 or 6:30 to break my water. He was there about 10 to 6am and I was basically bawling when he came in. So silly. I think he was a little startled and confused by the whole thing and asked if I wanted to go home. I did and didn't and ultimately just decided we might as well go for it. We were there and had kids taken care of. So he broke my water at 6. I was maybe a 5-6 dilated by then. We let things go for a bit from there and I think I only had like 5 or so contractions that whole hour - slightly more painful but no increase in frequency. I think it was about 7 that she started me on the lowest dose of Pitocin. I might have almost been a 7 at that point. A couple hours went by of me on Pitocin and things still didn't really pick up much. I felt like things were getting more intense but the nurse said they really needed to be coming more frequently. Doc came by again a bit before 9. Still a 7. So all along the way, ever since he broke my water, they had been asking if I wanted an epidural. She mentioned when and where the nurse anesthetist was and would be. I had felt pretty good the whole time and kept thinking I wanted to just wait and see. There was a tiny part of me that wanted to try it natural. I think they double the Pit right around 9am. Almost immediately after that I had a contraction that was a doozy and then I thought - if I'm only a 7 and it's been this slow and now it's hurting this bad, I think I want an epidural. Next contraction - yeah - I definitely do - let's get that going ASAP. So the doc said he'd be close but wandered out. The nurse left to get the nurse anesthetist. I started having much more frequent and PAINFUL contractions. And then they just got more painful. Then all of a sudden I was kind of yelling mildly through them. And then I was feeling SO. MUCH. PRESSURE. I'm pretty sure I was getting much more vocal. The nurse came back in (later she said it was because she heard me and thought she'd better check things out)...I told her I was feeling a lot of pressure so she checked me and I was complete. So much is a blur at this point. I remember saying I felt like I needed to poop and push. "Saying" vs. "yelling", haha. Oh and it BURNED. It burned so bad. They kept trying to tell me to breathe through the contractions but the sensation was SO intense. Like nothing I have EVER experienced. I think I yelled out that she was coming. I remember hearing the nurse say a few times to get the doctor. She was sitting on the bed when her head came barreling out. THEN the doc came in and delivered the rest of her. I felt some relief after the head but the contractions were still so painful. And then more relief after she came out. I remember him telling me to LOOK LOOK because she was being birthed. My eyes were clenched tighter than they ever have before and I couldn't even look down. (That's one thing that I think was terrible about the natural - I really couldn't appreciate the moment she came out like I did with Harvey and Greta...I was in so much pain). She was born at 9:31am. They did set her on me and it was an amazing moment. Really the best moment that life has to offer. Literally. She didn't stay long because she wasn't crying much and they were worried about her breathing.
They took her away and put her in the warmer and Tanner went over that way to be with her. It took her 15 minutes or more to stop retracting and be a little more stable. It wasn't super serious but still a little unnerving. The nurse said sometimes babies have a little harder time when they come out THAT fast. She was still pretty high up when they doubled the pit and In the meantime Dr. Bitner delivered the placenta and that also gave MUCH more relief. By this time I was shaking SOOO bad. All over. They said that was pretty normal. They offered some fentanyl and said it would help the shaking, so I did get some of that and it did help a lot. I felt a lot more relaxed and the no shaking was lovely. They weighed her (7 lbs 12 oz) and then I got to hold her and try to nurse her. She latched on pretty good and sucked for a long time. Hallelujah. I did it. And I didn't even care that it went the way it did. And I was kind of happy that I did get the experience of natural although I can't say I'd do it again (but we are almost a week out of me blogging this and it has been the most incredible recovery. Not sure if it has anything to do with no epidural or if it's just 3rd baby or just lucky. I didn't tear and I seriously don't even feel like I had a baby. It has been SO incredible).
While we were still in the delivery room, Tanner wrote down our 4-5 names we had been tossing around. We hadn't been able to decide or agree on any one name. It was rough this time around. I think we had Georgia, Pippa, Izzy, Lottie on the list (Gwen was my total fav but Tanner didn't like it at all). He had really been pushing for Izzy for a long time. So we each had a list and had to circle our fave 2. Lottie was the one common ground and we both felt really good about that looking at her and having her here. Lottie Georgia Niederhauser. Perfect in every way.
My sister had just had a baby a couple of weeks before and they named her Clara. Harvey had a hard time realizing that our baby is different from Clara. I think he has it figured out now, though. But funny. Sorry - this video isn't the best quality. But they have been really cute with her. Greta squeals every time she sees her and says "bay-beee!" My mom had told Harvey they were coming to see Little Lottie Ladybug. Harvey said - "please don't say that".
My world. So many heart eyes.
While my parents were there we had a slew of other visitors. Laura came with her 2 kids and my friend Kristen stopped on the way back to Washington. Her dad and kids were with her and they all were loving all the babies :)
Baby Clara...
Clare and Berrie showed up as my parents were leaving. Clare took a pic of him holding her on his phone but I never got a copy. He was there though :)
Heather came later that night and so did Kathryn. After Kathryn left I PASSED out. I had worked my last shift the night before so it was a very short night. And I really didn't sleep AT ALL Tuesday night. I needed SLEEP. And it was a much better night than I was expecting. She woke up a couple of times. But people didn't really come in too much to bug me and I had them take her after I fed her at 4am and got to sleep pretty good till about 7:30.
Flowers from Clare and Berrie
From David Dunkley, one of Tanner's bosses
My mom came to pick up the kids Thursday morning. She took them back to her house and I planned to go home that day so I could enjoy the comfort of home without the crazy of Harvey and Greta :)
Nat was our last visitor in the hospital :) and obviously more pictures that aren't in order. Haha. Oh well.
Great dumped Harvey's slurpee ALL over her. And didn't love it.
Going home outfit!
We are over the moon in love with this little precious thing and so happy she's in our family. I forgot how much I love newborns. Oh my gosh she's so sweet.
