Harper’s birth story

July 17, 2014 is the date that I was set to be induced. I was supposed to call the hospital about an hour out from my induction time to find out if they had room for me or not. Imagine my surprise when I woke up that morning plagued by the stomach virus that had infected my family earlier in the week. I had all of these plans of playing with Chloe and Addison and doing special activities with them all day.. the last day of just “us”. Instead, I laid in bed all day watching movies and trying to sleep as much as I could through the misery. My temperature kept rising and eventually was over 103 degrees. I called the hospital when I was supposed to, and they were super busy. Thank you, Jesus. They told me to call in the morning. I was so relieved.. I drug myself up the stairs to tell my girls goodnight, and thank my mother-in-law for coming up to take care of them. Don’t worry, I kept my distance. She came armed with Lysol anyway. 😉

I went back downstairs and noticed that I was having contractions. I timed them, and they were consistently 6 minutes apart. I told Scott, but told him that I was going to sleep. I was not going to make the same mistake of staying up all night just to find out if I really was in labor.. I will wake up if it is time.

The next morning I woke up super early to call the hospital. I was feeling tired, but SO MUCH BETTER since I had a full night of sleep. I was still having contractions 6 minutes apart. We got to the hospital and all checked in. They had all of my information since they had seen me so much over the past 3 months, so check-in was a breeze. They got me in my room and set up with an IV. The nurse was so nice. I HATE getting IVs. Shots don’t hurt. Getting blood drawn doesn’t usually hurt, but IVs HURT. A lot. I told her that I always get dizzy when I get an IV. She cranked the air WAY up and put a cold wash cloth on my head. Ya’ll, if you have the same problem, ask your nurses to do this. It was amazing. I didn’t feel pleasant, but I also didn’t feel like I was going to pass out. The only other time that has happened for me was when I was in the back of an ambulance and really confused.

They were trying to determine if they were going to start Pitocin, or if they were going to do the hormone that just softens things up. My OB figured that the hormone would be all I needed to get labor really going for me. They hooked me up to the monitors and determined that I was having too many contractions to do that. They started Pitocin. They always start it out really slowly. Slowly was all that I needed. I kept watching the contractions on the monitors, and they were going off the charts. I still felt pretty okay though.

My OB came in and said that she was going to break my water within the next hour, so if I wanted an epidural that I needed to do it then. I agreed, knowing that labor always flies once my water breaks. The anesthesiologist came in and started getting her stuff ready. Scott has always been able to be in the room during my epidurals. I was at a different hospital this time, and they made him leave. They have actually lost a dad who fainted and hit his head.. My anxiety level went through the roof. My rock wasn’t there anymore. The nurse was so nice though, and so supportive. She kept telling me what a great job that I was doing. This epidural HURT. Oh my gosh. It was loud.. it was painful.. I kept moving because it was hurting so bad. I thought that she was never going to finish. One leg went TOTALLY numb. Then, the rest of my body went numb. I was finally able to relax.

They left me alone for a while so that I could rest some. The nurse came in saying that she was going to have to slow the Pitocin down because baby wasn’t liking the contractions. A little while later she tells me that she is going to have to just turn it off. They were coming too fast and too strong, and she was not reacting well to them. The doctor came in and broke my water. They noticed that there was meconium mixed in with the amniotic fluid. They were concerned about how numb my leg was, so they turned me a little to my left side to try and distribute the epidural a little more. This backfired because it made my entire body completely numb. I couldn’t move anything below my arms at all.

I told Scott that I thought I was feeling some pressure, but that surely it was too soon. My labors have always lasted FOREVER. The doctor came in to check to see how far long I was, and she exclaims, “YOU ARE ABOUT TO HAVE A BABY!” I look at Scott and almost feel panicked! They start setting up to deliver. There were so many doctors, nurses, and students in the room. This poor guy that is on his way to being a heart surgeon is witnessing his first childbirth. He is asked by the doctor to hold one of my worthless legs for me. Poor guy.. At the time, nothing is humiliating.. Thinking back everything is!

My doctor told me that it was time to push. I hear a nurse say “Oh, that baby is going to slide out like buttah.” I started cracking up laughing. I only pushed a few times and Harper was out. I don’t remember hearing her cry, but I am sure she did. A nurse ripped the top of my gown down and all of the sudden this little stinky baby is flopped onto my chest. In case you wonder why she was stinky.. meconium… ’nuff said.. I was so in shock that she was already on my chest that I just kept staring at her. One of the nurses says “Do you like her?!” and I smiled and said yes as my eyes flooded with tears. I think they must have had NICU nurses or something in the room because there was a woman over my shoulder watching Harper. Harper was kind of purple colored. The nurse says “Yep, she is struggling.” I remember thinking “THEN DO SOMETHING?!?!?” She wiped Harper’s face aggressively with a towel and Harper took a huge breath and started screaming. Apparently that did the trick. They said to let them know when I was ready to have her weighed. Never. I don’t want to give her up. I told them that they could go ahead and do it so that I could feed her. They cleaned her up a little bit and got all of her measurements.

I remember always reading that when left on their own, a baby will make their way to their “food source”. I had always wanted to test that. Since they let Harper lay on my bare chest, I watched as she slowly wiggled her way and latched on all by herself. I was amazed! She ate for a good, long while. I was violently shaking terribly though. The doctor said that my lips were blue and asked if I was feeling cold. I felt fine, but was worried about shaking Harper. They piled warm blankets on top of me, and I kept shaking. They finally wrapped them around my head. A little while later, the shaking stopped.

At this hospital, they typically don’t give babies a bath for the first 24 hours of life… which after reading about it, is really good!! The nurse asked my permission to wash Harper’s hair since she had so much poo in it. I told her “yes, please!” Eventually I was moved to the recovery room. They never took Harper from my room. She followed immediately with me down the hall to my new room. They did every test in the room with me. It was so awesome to have this beautiful baby by my side every second.

Since I was having a tubal done, they left my epidural in. They were hoping to be able to re-use it. A little piece of advice. ALWAYS SAY NO!! I didn’t get any sleep that night because it was so painful. Not to mention, they can’t re-use it!! It is rarely successful and after a few hours, it’s impossible.

Harper was awake most of the night, but I didn’t really mind that. I love their soft, fuzzy, sweet little new baby bodies. I love snuggling them. I love just watching them figure out the world around them. I was not allowed to eat or drink anything after midnight since I was having surgery in the morning. I ate a CLIF bar and drank a big cup of apple juice shortly before midnight. I was glad I did. My surgery kept getting pushed back the next day.

Scott went home and brought the girls to meet their baby sister, and my mother-in-law joined them. They were so adorable with her. They got bored pretty quickly, so he and his mom took them back home.

FINALLY some time around 1, they came and got me. I was so anxious. I have never had surgery other than oral surgery. They took Harper to the nursery for the first time since Scott wasn’t there. I told the nurse that he would probably want her when he got back. The nurses offered me something to make me a little sleepy since I was so nervous. I am so grateful that they can do that through the IV they left in me. It wasn’t necessary, but they knew my history and kept me on fluids the whole time I was there. I woke up a little while later with a big ice pack across my stomach. The nurse asked how I was feeling. Ok. Tired. I was in and out for a while. She asked if I wanted anything for pain. I didn’t really have any at the time, so I said no. Then, I realized that was dumb. I didn’t want to wait to feel any pain. She brought me some crackers to eat so that I didn’t take it on an empty stomach. Crackers have never tasted so good!!!!

Finally, they wheeled me back down the hall and transferred me from the recovery bed back to my hospital bed. Scott and Harper were in the room waiting for me. I love seeing that man holding our babies. 😀 Eventually I had to sit up. I called a nurse and she came in. She told me some tips for sitting up for the first time. She told me that she didn’t want me to think that she was mean, but she wanted me to learn how to do it alone, so I didn’t get any help. That first time of moving HURT.

I was in quite a bit of pain that first day. The incision itself was pretty small, but it felt like my stomach had been inflated. I had asked to stay an extra night since insurance would cover it, and I could rest much better there than at home with two other little ones. I got to hang out half of the next day at the hospital since it was a Sunday and Scott needed to be at church.

Finally, we got to bring our beautiful new baby home. It was a long, difficult, and terrifying pregnancy. But, I would do it over and over again if it meant I ended up with Harper. It was 100% worth it!!