The night before she was born, I had a big boost of energy and cooked a big homemade meal AND dessert. I made a new chicken recipe, homemade mashed potatoes, and banana bread brownies! Steven was in shock and so happy because I typically do not enjoy cooking. I had been so tired and therefore a little cranky, but on February 1st I was all smiles. It had also been a couple of days straight with no contractions. I even texted my doula earlier in the day about it. It's like my body just knew. I started having contractions around 10:30, but waited to text her until we went to the hospital and confirmed it was the real deal.
Steven was upstairs in the media room when I first felt them. They felt so different than the contractions I had with Barrett, so I wasn't sure what was going on. I texted Steven just to give him a heads up. They were ten minutes apart and then quickly went to five minutes apart. I decided to take a shower and get ready just in case. I really didn't want to go into labor during the night because I didn't want to start out with no sleep, so I tried to go to sleep after I got ready. By this time, Steven was completely dressed, his bag packed, and couldn't stop staring at me . I told him to take his shoes off and try to go to sleep. We laid down, then a big contraction hit and I knew. I called my mom to come over so we didn't have to wake Barrett up. We quickly got everything ready and nervously waited for my mom. Steven texted me every time I felt a contraction so we could keep track of the timing.
We got to the hospital around 2:00 am and after confirming I was actually in labor, we moved into the l&d room. For the next few hours, I was just waiting around anxiously for the time to pass so I could call/text my family and friends to let them know. My mom was the only person who knew I was in labor and it was killing me not being able to talk to everyone. Steven was asleep, my dr. came in overly tired acting like a completely different person, and my emotions were on edge. My doula could tell the loneliness was getting to me and was urging me to just call my dad and sister to make myself feel better, but I really didn't want to wake anyone up in the middle of the night.
Since my first pregnancy, I have done a lot of research and felt very passionate about experiencing natural birth. My doctor isn't really a proponent for natural births, but I loved him so much I stuck with him once again for my second pregnancy. This was a huge decision that weighed heavily on me since we had to switch hospitals. I stuck with him because I trusted him and felt like he was a special kind of doctor who wasn't jaded. I was hugely disappointed this night. He came into my room shortly after we got checked in and his exhaustion and bad mood was immediately apparent. One of the first things he said was that he wanted to break my water. I was uncomfortable and told him I really wanted to wait a little while and try to experience everything as naturally as possible. He came back in a few hours later to tell me that since I hadn't progressed fast enough, he would not be able to deliver my baby. He had plans that afternoon and just couldn't commit to being there. He gave me the name of the doctor that would be delivering and as much as I tried, I couldn't hold back my tears. My best friend showed up a little after this happened and I started crying again. Thank goodness for her, my doula, Steven, and my wonderful nurses who made me feel better about the whole situation. I had to pull it together so I could make it through the night.
I had quite a few moments of feeling defeated and feeling that I couldn't possibly make it through all natural because I was so exhausted and upset with my doctor situation. Also, the contractions seemed to hurt worse than with Barrett. Every time they checked me and told me how dilated I was, I cried because I felt the contractions were too strong to not be further along. Basically, I felt like a hot mess all night.
My new doctor that I had never met before came in around 9:00 am to check me and break my water. I was at a 6 and feeling very ready to be done, so I was up for anything that would speed up the process. She broke my water, and I immediately felt the transition. The contractions were INTENSE and I kept having to make the nurses check me because I could tell it was happening fast. Within 45 minutes, I went from a 6 to a 10! That last hour was fast, intense, and extremely emotional. The best part of the whole labor was feeling Steven holding me during my worst contractions. I looked up and he was crying; I could feel his tears falling on my face. My pain disappeared for the first time the whole hour and it felt like we were the only ones in the room. I told him I was going to be okay and we had a very special moment I will never forget.
Once the doctor arrived I pushed twice, and we finally met our perfect baby girl. I have never worked harder than I did with both the births of our babies, and have also never experienced a greater reward. Baby Zoey is our tiny little angel and perfectly completes our family. Watching Barrett meet her for the first time was one of the best moments of my life. We couldn't love her more!
We got to the hospital around 2:00 am and after confirming I was actually in labor, we moved into the l&d room. For the next few hours, I was just waiting around anxiously for the time to pass so I could call/text my family and friends to let them know. My mom was the only person who knew I was in labor and it was killing me not being able to talk to everyone. Steven was asleep, my dr. came in overly tired acting like a completely different person, and my emotions were on edge. My doula could tell the loneliness was getting to me and was urging me to just call my dad and sister to make myself feel better, but I really didn't want to wake anyone up in the middle of the night.
Since my first pregnancy, I have done a lot of research and felt very passionate about experiencing natural birth. My doctor isn't really a proponent for natural births, but I loved him so much I stuck with him once again for my second pregnancy. This was a huge decision that weighed heavily on me since we had to switch hospitals. I stuck with him because I trusted him and felt like he was a special kind of doctor who wasn't jaded. I was hugely disappointed this night. He came into my room shortly after we got checked in and his exhaustion and bad mood was immediately apparent. One of the first things he said was that he wanted to break my water. I was uncomfortable and told him I really wanted to wait a little while and try to experience everything as naturally as possible. He came back in a few hours later to tell me that since I hadn't progressed fast enough, he would not be able to deliver my baby. He had plans that afternoon and just couldn't commit to being there. He gave me the name of the doctor that would be delivering and as much as I tried, I couldn't hold back my tears. My best friend showed up a little after this happened and I started crying again. Thank goodness for her, my doula, Steven, and my wonderful nurses who made me feel better about the whole situation. I had to pull it together so I could make it through the night.
I had quite a few moments of feeling defeated and feeling that I couldn't possibly make it through all natural because I was so exhausted and upset with my doctor situation. Also, the contractions seemed to hurt worse than with Barrett. Every time they checked me and told me how dilated I was, I cried because I felt the contractions were too strong to not be further along. Basically, I felt like a hot mess all night.
My new doctor that I had never met before came in around 9:00 am to check me and break my water. I was at a 6 and feeling very ready to be done, so I was up for anything that would speed up the process. She broke my water, and I immediately felt the transition. The contractions were INTENSE and I kept having to make the nurses check me because I could tell it was happening fast. Within 45 minutes, I went from a 6 to a 10! That last hour was fast, intense, and extremely emotional. The best part of the whole labor was feeling Steven holding me during my worst contractions. I looked up and he was crying; I could feel his tears falling on my face. My pain disappeared for the first time the whole hour and it felt like we were the only ones in the room. I told him I was going to be okay and we had a very special moment I will never forget.
Once the doctor arrived I pushed twice, and we finally met our perfect baby girl. I have never worked harder than I did with both the births of our babies, and have also never experienced a greater reward. Baby Zoey is our tiny little angel and perfectly completes our family. Watching Barrett meet her for the first time was one of the best moments of my life. We couldn't love her more!
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