daisy's birth story.

Our baby girl is finally here! My due date was July 9th but she came a few days late. A few weeks before the 'big day' I was having doctors appointments once a week to check on the baby's heartbeat and growth. On June 26th I went in and my doctor checked my cervix; I was 4cm dilated, 70% effaced, and her head was in position in the pelvic cavity. My doctor mentioned that this was the week I'd be having the baby! I went home and was SO excited we'd finally meet our baby girl. Every day came and went - no baby. Just over a week later I went in and I measured the same (4cm dilated and 70% effaced). Dr. Lewis went ahead and stripped my membranes and said 'we'll see you in the hospital in the next 48 hours!'. Again, we were nervous and excited that the birth of our baby was so close. In fact, we didn't schedule an appointment for the next week because we knew I'd have the baby by then. The next 48 hours came and went.... still no baby. Our original plan was to wait a full 7 days after my due date to get induced but I was feeling miserable. I had been having Braxton Hicks for the past 3-4 weeks and my pelvic area was aching from the baby being in the birth position.

I had been planning for 9 months to do a natural birth. I read HypoBirthing books, listened to CDs, and mentally prepared myself for a birth without assistance. I have nothing wrong with moms using an epidural or drugs to help with the pain, but I really wanted to be aware of the surges/contractions I was going to have and I figured women have been doing natural births since the beginning of time so I could too.

I was so miserable and let down from being told I was going to have the baby early and then passing my due date, that I called my doctor to push forward my induction date. On July 12th, we went into the hospital at 6:50 in the morning. My doctor didn't show up to the hospital until around 11AM and broke my water. I started feeling real labor contractions almost immediately. I could have never imagined the pain of contraction! These contractions made my Braxton Hicks feel like a complete joke. My birthing plan immediately flew out the window. But I wasn't ready to surrender to an epidural, so my nurses offered a drug called Stadol to 'take the edge off'. My body really didn't react well to the Stadol - I'd fall into a deep sleep for about 90 seconds, then wake up in agonizing pain with contractions, then fall back asleep, etc etc. The drug was supposed to last for 90 minutes but it ended up staying in my system for 3 1/2 hours. I felt like I was on a hard street drug - I couldn't tell the difference between my deep dreams and reality. The Stadol really didn't take the pain away. My body wanted to push the baby out and I needed something stronger. I felt like I had to use all of my effort to not push the baby out. Apparently I was screaming so loud for an epidural that the anesthesiologist pushed back other future moms to come into my room and give me the epidural.

When I got the epidural and felt so much better. I was still very loopy and tired from the Stadol but I no longer felt any pain. My mom flew in from Seattle and she came just before the baby arrived. I was dilated to an 8 and it was almost time to push. My mom and mother-in-law left the room to grab Chipotle for dinner for after I had the baby (and Tate and I wanted to be the only ones in the room when I had the baby). My doctor arrived and it was time to push! I held my breath and pushed 5 times and she came out! Dr. Lewis was cheering me on and I couldn't feel a thing. I knew she was close because I could feel a lot of pressure but I didn't realize she was coming out so quickly. Baby Daisy arrived at 4:47PM, just 15 minutes after my mom and mother-in-law had left the room. On a side note, we didn't tell anyone the name of Daisy. We both loved the name early on during pregnancy but wanted to wait until meeting her to give her an official name. She was a Daisy for sure!

Our baby was immediately placed on my chest after she was born and I was so shocked. I really couldn't believe that this baby girl was ours and that she'd be ours for eternity. In that moment I had never felt more loved by my Heavenly Father. I was so grateful that he trusted Tate and I to take care of Daisy on Earth. I was still loopy from the Stadol and I thought I would be a big teary mess, but I was just shocked she was actually here. It wasn't until I saw Tate with tears in his eyes that it became 'real' to me. He kept telling me how proud he was of me and I could tell how extremely excited and proud he was to finally be a dad. They took Daisy to measure and clean her then they placed her back on my chest. She had hair! She had ten toes and ten fingers! Her skin was pink! I've never seen anything so perfect and straight from Heaven. 

Daisy has been a huge blessing in our lives. It took us exactly a year to get pregnant (and while that really isn't that long it was a trying time for us) but she was worth the wait. We're adjusting to parenthood and we've had sleepless nights since the 12th of July but I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. She's our little Milk Piranha who wants to nurse and snuggle all day and night. We love her so much!