Our Girl!

On September 23, our lives changed forever when we welcomed Harper Lee Smith into our lives. She weighed 8lbs and 8oz and arrived with a head of blond curls. The curls are from mommy and the blond is from daddy. Grandma and grandpa were there to meet their newest granddaughter.

Beware: If you continue to read below, you may learn more that you will want to know about my birth story so read at your own risk.

It all started on Wednesday night when I thought I was having bladder issues. Goodness knows that I pretty much had to pee constantly in my pregnancy but this evening I was going constantly, almost like a slow leak. I called my doula who said that I could wait til morning to call the doctor. I went to work on Thursday, attended a meeting and then called my doctor to explain my "leak". They set me up with an appointment for 12:30 so I left to pick up Michael. We managed to squeeze in a lunch at Mellow Mushroom prior to our appointment.

I met with the NP who pulled did a paper test and determined that my water had broken or was "leaking". We were to be admitted but MJ and I had to return to his office for his car and to our house to pick up our hospital bag. We arrived around 3:00 and after a short wait in the admitting area I was wheeled to the Maternity floor. It was all a bit surreal. I imagined my admission to be at night while I was in active labor. Instead, I was feeling totally fine and managed to make some phone calls on the way to the hospital.

We got there and they shut the door and MJ and I just looked at one another like, "now what?"

They put in my IV and gave me some antibiotics and started the pitocin drip to kick start my labor. My doula arrived and the three of us started walking laps in the hall. We watched part of Bridesmaids and Project Runway and finally I was starting to feel some strong contractions. I was only 1cm (barely) at admission so I knew I had a ways to go.

My parents arrived and spent time moving from the room, coaches corner (where they had snacks, etc.) and the waiting area. Throughout the night my contractions continued to increase in intensity and I continued to move from the bed, the birth ball, the tub and Michael's arms. Whatever brought relief was the position that won in the moment. The most relief was in the tub by far...I would have stayed there forever if I could have. My doula, Anne was wonderful and encouraging and such a support to both MJ and I. She gave me a foot massage, talked me through contractions and made suggestions of alternate positions to try for relief. Often being hugged by Michael provided the most relief.

Around 8am, I was in the tub after no sleep and MJ was pouring warm water over my belly which seemed to lessen the contractions. I was really tired but after 16+ hours I knew some progress had been made. I looked at MJ with tears in my eyes and asked, what if I've made no progress? He replied that I MUST have after such a hard night.

My fears came true when the doctor checked me at 8am and said I was at 2cm. I was utterly deflated and all self-doubt came rushing over me. They upped my pitocin and said that at 4cm I could have an epidural. I had thought long and hard about an epidural. Both my doula and Michael knew that I did not want one if I could avoid it. No, I wasn't trying to be a martyr. First, I hate needles. I know that you do not see it, but my IV alone was enough to cause me distress so sitting still while a large one was placed in my back was not something I wanted to tackle. Second, I moved around ALOT in labor and I knew an epidural would limit that and confine me to my bed. I did not like the idea of not having control over ways I wanted to move in order to tolerate the pain.

Over the next two hours I moved to 5cm and my nurses (Gail and Cheryl) came to talk to me about the epidural. Gail has been a L&D nurse for decades and Cheryl was from mother/baby and was shadowing for the day. They were both wonderful and complimented each other in a good cop/bad cop kind of way. Gail had seen me moving alot and had read the notes from the previous nurse and had my same concern about my inability to move after having an epidural. She totally supported me and offered Stadol instead. It doesn't take away the pain but is a short acting pain reliver that allows the mom to rest between contractions and lessens the length of the contraction or at least makes it seem that its shorter. You can only have three doses and each dose only lasts an hour.

I made more progress every hour and a half or so and around 4pm I finally made it to 10cm and wanted to push. An hour later, Harper arrived. The cord was around her neck so it took her a couple minutes (three to be exact) to cry. It was the longest three minutes of my life but totally worth it. All the pain quickly subsided when I saw her and held her against me. We are truly blessed!!