Lila's Birth Story

So Lila Marie decided to start her entrance to meeting her amazing parents the night before her scheduled induction. Saturday started out at Ina's for breakfast with my mom, Mary, Mary, Jess, Mike, & Hope. When we walked in, Mary HT proceed to tell the owner, Ina, that I was 6 days overdue. She proceed to tell me to eat the gingerbread pancakes and a half order of veggie hash. I did just that.

My contractions started later in the day and only continued to get more regular and stronger. Mike and I went out to Wildfire for a date night, but I really didn't have much of an appetite. We made it home before the Blackhawks game (Mike was excited) and I started timing the contractions. About 2 hours later, with my contractions about 8 minutes apart, I called Dr. Ashby and told her the good news. I also told her I think my water had broken, but I wasn't sure. She said it sounded like I was in labor, and to head to the hospital when the contractions got really painful, or whenever I started to feel uncomfortable (and to wait for the Blackhawks game was over so Mike could finish watching it). Mike and I stayed at home until the end of the Blackhawks game then hung out for awhile. When my mom said I was getting "testy" with Mike, we decided it was time to head to the hospital. We went in around 11:15 p.m.

Once I got to the hospital, I got checked in and hooked up to a monitor. I wasn't crazy, my contractions were regular and pretty strong. They notified the attending doctor who then came in to check on my progress. I was 4 cm dilated and 75% effaced. They asked if I wanted an epidural, and I said, "yes please". The nurse said that if I planned on getting one, to do it now so I could get some sleep because I would need my energy for the approximately 1-3 hours that I would be pushing, like most first time moms. I was a little nervous about doing it so early, but the contractions were getting painful so I got it. I was shaking the entire time, but to be honest, the contractions hurt more than the epidural did. The nurse I had was great and talked me through the whole thing. Mike had to sit in a corner of the room with a mask on for this medical procedure. I was wishing I was able to squeeze his hand, however it didn't get to work out that way... I just kept my focus on him.

Once the epidural was in, my legs started to feel numb. They became very heavy and hard to move. I got a catheter, since I wasn't allowed to get out of bed. I had to lay on my side, which was pretty comfy except when I had to flip since I couldn't feel anything from my waist down. My contractions slowed down once I was given the epidural, so I received Pitocin to help speed them up. My job was to then just rest, which was easy. Libby and my mom arrived at the hospital first, prepared to be there for the long haul. Not long after, Mike, Julie, and Kari arrived with coffee and treats... sadly, none for me. Everyone visited for a bit, but then proceeded to the atrium waiting area so Mike and I could get some rest. More and more visitors showed up... Elyse getting a speeding ticket, Ben and Jess, and my Dad came with Starbucks and treats to recharge everyone. At. 7:00 a.m. the resident came to check me again. I was 6 cm dilated and 90% effaced. The baby's head was also pretty high up still, but was good for how much I was dilated. I was starting to feel contractions again painfully, so they gave me another dose of whatever in my epidural. I thought my legs were numb before, but boy were they lifeless now. They upped my Pitocin a little bit more and I continued to rest.

Around 9:00 a.m., I started feeling a lot of pressure. It wasn't pain, but pressure. I alerted my nurse and she said that it was normal. The pressure kept getting stronger and stronger... I kept mentioning it to the nurse every time she came in, and she would just reply how it was normal. Finally, after what seemed like forever, the resident came in to check me. Her check was very simple, upon looking, she said that I was 10 cm. dilated, 100% effaced, and the baby was +2, which meant I was ready to push! She was going to call Dr. Ashby and we were going to have a baby! I started to get nervous about the pushing, which I was scared about along with the epidural all along. Mike started straightening up our room and we told our visitors (which continued to grow with Matt, Kathy, & Grandma) that the room was closed until Mike gave everyone the all clear. It was important to Mike and I that we were the only ones in the room for the start of our family.

Dr. Ashby arrived and told Mike and I she was excited to see us and that we needed to do a "practice push". She started breaking down the bed, told Mike to hold one of my legs and she was going to hold the other one. She told me to take a deep breath and to push along with one of my contractions. I told her I was having one now, and she said then go ahead and push. I started pushing as hard as I could, and then Dr. Ashby told me to stop. The baby's head was crowning and we needed to get the nurses in here so we could deliver that baby! Dr. Ashby told Mike to look and sure enough, he could see her head! Once the nurses arrived quickly, I started pushing with one of my contractions. Out came her head. One more push a few seconds later and Lila Marie was here! I couldn't believe how instantly the pressure had disappeared and how beautiful this little person was! The nurses took her to the scale and the warmer and Mike followed. I watched as they weighed her and gave her Apgar scores of 9 & 9 - which is really good. Her color was amazing for a newborn! They continued to clean her off and then gave her to Mike. Dr. Ashby continued to work on me, as I needed a three stitches because I tore a little bit. Dr. Ashby asked what her name was going to be and Mike proudly announced, Lila Marie. They brought her over to me and I got to hold her. I couldn't believe after 9 months I was finally meeting our little girl!

Lila weighed 8 lbs. 10 oz and was 20 in long. She has beautiful blue eyes and a head of blonde hair. We couldn't be more excited about our little girl, and we know we're not the only ones! I'm going to continue to update the blog, hopefully more often with pictures, and writing hopefully once a week.

I hope you enjoy reading about our journey with Lila!