Lila's Birth Story

It's been exactly two weeks since I was blessed with a beautiful little girl and I think it is time that I share our story.

It was on Friday night at 6:20 when I went to the bathroom and got a little extra surprise. My water broke!! I was a little unsure at first if my water actually broke, but it kept coming and I had no control over it. It wasn't the big gush that they portray in movies. It was a trickle that kept coming for hours.

We were going to have a movie night with some friends, but those plans changed quickly. We called them up and asked them to still come over so we could show them how to take care of our dog Winston while we were in the hospital.

We had an hour until they came over so I spent the time making sure that things were ready. Chris finished cooking his dinner and I kept changing bottoms because the pads I had weren't thick enough I guess.

At 7:30 our friends came over we showed them the ropes and then the contractions came. They weren't too bad at first, but I felt that we needed to hurry up and get to the hospital.

We got checked in and I got hooked up by about 8:30 p.m. We were put into the triage room first so that the doctor could confirm that indeed my water did break. Sure enough it really was broken and I was at 2cm. As soon as they finished cleaning up and getting the labor and delivery room ready we moved in.

(Turns out that they were really busy with all the babies that were going to be delivered in the next 24 hours.)

Once we got into the labor and delivery room they hooked me up to an IV and started me on fluids. The contractions were now coming every 3-5 minutes apart and getting more intense. Thankfully I was able to get up and walk around and didn't have to stay hooked up to all of the monitors.

Chris was really great and helped relieve some of the pressure on my back and making sure that I was as comfortable as possible. I couldn't have gone so long without pain medication without him. I dealt with the contractions until 12 a.m. and I was only 3cm. I was shocked, overwhelmed, and exhausted. I didn't know how I was going to make it without any pain medication. I then accepted phentonol and before the nurse even left the room I was out of it. My eyes got heavy and I felt like I couldn't speak, I felt like I was being rude to the nurse because I couldn't respond to her, but it felt so good to feel my body relax. It was short lived. The medication didn't last long and when the nurse came back she wanted me to have some juice to try and get babies heart rate back up. I drank some orange juice. A very VERY  bad idea. It didn't really help to wake up the baby and it made me throw up three times throughout the rest of labor.

When they came back to check on me I decided that it was time to get the epidural and Chris totally supported me, which made me feel better about the decision to get it. I originally wanted to try and make it without and go all natural, but I wasn't progressing very fast and I was exhausted.

At 1:30 a.m. the epidural was administered and I was feeling better. Now, the epidural certainly helped and the procedure wasn't painful at all, but it didn't take away all of the pain. I had back labor that just felt like a lot of pressure on my back. Since the orange juice didn't raise Lila's heart rate they had me roll onto my side. It worked, but it was the most uncomfortable position for me to be in. I struggled through the pain for two hours trying to rest between contractions. Chris slept. I knew there was nothing Chris could do to take the pain away.

At 3:30 a.m. they checked me again and I was complete. The nurse called the resident in to check me and confirmed that I was complete. The nurse then called the doctor to come and deliver. Everyone was preparing the room and at 4 the doctor arrived and I started pushing. I pushed for twenty minutes and had a baby girl at 4:20 a.m.

Pushing was an amazing experience and surprisingly relaxed. In between pushes the doctors and nurses were cracking jokes and the whole atmosphere felt calm. I was thankful that I couldn't feel anything and I just started to push when I had contractions. I did ask for a mirror so I could see what I was doing. Birth is quite miraculous. 

Daddy gets to hold his baby girl.

 Lila May Perry born at 8 pounds 13 ounces and 20 1/2 inches long.

Lila's first diaper done by daddy.

 Daddy talking to family and letting them know we had a perfect little girl while cuddling with her.

Because the hospital was so busy with deliveries we got to stay in the labor and delivery room undisturbed for a while, which was really nice. I held Lila skin-to-skin for almost two hours before anyone else, even dad. It ended up being that Lila was the first baby born of 6 on Saturday.

 Our first family picture! :-)

We entered the hospital on Friday night, had a baby girl Saturday morning, and then headed home by Sunday afternoon. All day Saturday was spent admiring our little baby girl and having shots and tests and everything checked out to make sure that mom and baby were healthy and doing well. I made sure that I had as much help as possible with nursing. That part wasn't easy, but eventually we got it and I felt comfortable doing it myself. Everything was perfect and so we were able to go home on Sunday afternoon.

 Saturday night was the first time I was able to get some sleep and I got a good two hour stretch. I was surprised by how much those 2 hours really helped me. I felt totally refreshed after and ready to take care of my little girl. The nurses did come in a few times to check my blood pressure and during the night they checked Lila's weight and hearing. She lost a few ounces, but that is totally normal.

 All strapped in and ready to go home!

 Loaded up and headed home!

Baby Pictures!! 

Lila's first outfit!

 Lila's many faces.

 Winston saying hi to his new best friend

 Already smiling in her sleep. She is such a cutie!

 Winston protecting his baby!

 Such a good girl, sleeping is her favorite thing to do, besides eating.

 Cuddling at home with mommy in bed. I love my little princess!!

 Such pretty dark blue eyes. I'm excited to watch them change.

 Lila at two weeks old! Sleeping away in her car seat.

 She can be pretty serious when she is awake.

Baby's First Bath

And there you have it. That is my little angel. She was so worth the wait and I'm so happy that she is so strong and healthy. She is eating great and she slept for 6 hours last night. Lets hope that this is going to become a pattern. Oh I just love my Precious!!