Life in the Lowcountry: Birth Story

As of recent so many bloggers that I follow have had babies and have shared their birth story. Granted my child is almost six years old, it has donned upon me that I have never told y'all Cadence's birth story, so without further ado...

Cadence's original due date was Christmas Eve 2008, then it got moved up to December 19th. I went in the Monday before Thanksgiving in 2008 and my doctor told me that I was already effaced and 3 centimeters dilated. She anticipated an arrival on Thanksgiving Day. It didn't worry us because in the ultrasound Cadence had measured fine and healthy, so even a month early she would have been fine but my doctor put me on light bed rest to be safe.

Thanksgiving came and went and no Cadence.

We were all bummed because a "turkey" baby would have been great and I was beyond ready to see her and have some spare room in my belly. I got so big that even eating was a chore at that point and when you're pregnant you love to eat!

The doctor saw me once a week after Thanksgiving and determined that she would induce on the 19th of December if I had not gone into labor yet. I was so excited because we had an official date set in place.

The morning of the 16th was just like any other, sleep! Fair warning to all you expectant mother's, you will be so tired at the end. I was sleeping hard but would toss and turn due to the huge mass of what was my stomach. In between tossing and turning I felt wet sheets, I got up, looked down and thought that Macy, our chihuahua had wet the bed. Pissed off, I got up to go and pee first prior to cleaning the sheets and woosh! Just like in the movies my water broke all over our master bathroom. Thank goodness for wood floors!

I wasn't at all nervous, just very excited. I pee'd first because when you're pregnant and you have to go, you have to go! I called my doctor and she told me to come in right then. I called Tarl who worked 30 minutes away and told him to come home. In that time I got in the shower, changed my clothes, checked the hospital bag to ensure we had everything we needed and glanced in the mirror one last time, because I knew that I wouldn't come home with a pregnant belly. This was the last time looking in my bathroom mirror at Cadence in the womb.

Tarl got home and we were off. The only thing I regret is no makeup and not straightening my hair. It seems so juvenile but I was huge and swollen from head to toe (you'll see in pics) and a little bit of makeup and tamed hair would have went a long way with pictures. All the pics of me in the hospital, I look like a beached whale!

We walked in the doctors office and they immediately sent me back where my doctor confirmed that my water sure enough had broke. She had us head straight for the hospital and had already called and had them set up a room for me.

I was still only 3 centimeters dilated so they started me on Pitocin at 12pm exactly.I was hell bent and determined to make it as far as I could without getting an epidural. I was by no means against the epidural and I thank the Good Lord for making the man who invented it because it's a glorious thing, but I was scared it was going to wear off before it was time to push so I wanted to make sure I could last as long as I could prior to getting it.

At this point mom had showed up and we were just hanging out in my room, Tarl being the most nervous of all of us.

See what I mean? You could have sent me to Sea World and no one would have known the difference. I was 115 pounds when I found out I was pregnant and exactly 160 the day I had Cadence.

The contractions started becoming more regular at around 1:30 and became fierce at 2:30. The bed railing was my best friend for a long time and ice chips were my crack. I couldn't get enough of those savory little chilly morsels.

The nurses were in and out checking both mine and Cadence's vitals. My doctor came in at 4 to check my cervix and I was at 5 centimeters. She told me I could get the epidural at any time but not to wait too long before it was too late. I made a deal with her that once I made it to six centimeters I would get it and she said that would be fine. It only took 45 more minutes to get there.

The epidural was the only time I cried from fear. I hate needles and the thought of one going into my back scared me. There was a nurse there and I will forever remember her holding me in her arms while I was bent over and the anesthesiologist was inserting the needle in my back. It was a piece of cake. It felt like a tiny sting (rubber band popping me in my back) and that was it.

Not long after I felt nothing. A nurse would tell me I was having a HUGE contraction and I couldn't feel a thing which was fine by me.

Five thirty in the afternoon came and I was at nine centimeters. The doctor came in at six and confirmed we were at a full ten and it was time to push.

I started pushing at 6pm on the dot and nothing was happening. My doctor told me that Cadence was too big for my frame so she needed to do an episiotomy to keep me from tearing and ensure Cadence came out as she should.

After pushing, having a nurse sit on top of my stomach, and a lot of screaming just due to pressure (no pain), our healthy 8 pound 8 ounce baby girl arrived at 6:51pm.

I was blessed in the fact that I had such an easy labor and delivery! My mom told me horror stories about her being in labor for 48 hours...I was worried going in, but it was great!

See what happens when you don't fix your hair, crap pig tails with industrial rubber bands, but what a beautiful baby to make up for my horrible hair :)

When Cadence popped out there were no infamous baby cries which worried Tarl and I sick. They whisked her to the baby station and started sucking her mouth and nose with the syringe to get all of the fluid out of her air ways and then we heard her beautiful first cry. The brought her over to me and I held her first. Unlike most babies born with stone blue eyes, she had brown eyes from day one, beautiful big brown eyes and a head full of hair to match.

Friends and family filtered throughout our hospital room the next three days until we were released on the 19th, seven days before Christmas. We went home to a home filled with Christmas decorations and the best present we could have ever received.

This was on our way home. We had picked out a beautiful white dress for her to wear and she hated it. So one mile from the hospital we pulled over in a bank parking lot and changed her into a plain white tee.