I decided that it’s time I write a bit about the birth of our 5th child. I can’t believe I am the mother of FIVE! I wanted to write a bit about her story before I forget the details…you have been warned!
I had contractions off and on all week. A couple of times they kept me awake for 2-3 hours at night. One night I got everything packed and ready to go, took a shower…and they stopped! So frustrating. The nurse midwife I saw scheduled me for an induction on my due date, so I knew there was an end in site, but the last few weeks of pregnancy are SO HARD! Endless days of waiting for something to happen and then disappointment when it doesn’t. Not to mention the fact that bending over to tie your shoes is nearly impossible, as is picking up the house after a toddler. I found it better to just leave things on the floor and wait until someone more flexible was around to pick up after Timberlyn! 
The baby was also still very high clear until the end which meant that I was constantly feeling pressure on my rib cage and taking a deep breath was nearly out of the question. YUCK!
Anyway, on Monday, October 14 Leonard had to work a 3-11pm shift. As I was getting the kids ready for bed, things started changing. I thought my water broke, but then it stopped – not typical for water breaking so I thought I would just wait to see what happened. Leonard called around 8:00 and I told him that I might be going into labor. I told him to continue to work but to come home prepared that we might be heading right back to the hospital. I also told him I would call if things changed. Because of all my contractions that ended up stopping, I don’t think he really took me seriously.
About 9:30pm I started having contractions again. I wasn’t really timing them because I knew that they were irregular. One thing I did remember from last time was that real labor meant contractions almost like clockwork. Instead, I swept and mopped my kitchen, bathroom, dining room, and entry floor. One last thing to get done before the baby came! After I finished mopping, I sat down to watch a show and noticed that the contractions were getting more frequent and starting to hurt more. By 11:00 pm I was pretty sure they weren’t going to stop but they were still tolerable so I thought I would wait for Leonard to get home. He came home about 11:45 and I told him we should go to the hospital. I remember that he said, “Do you think they’ll send us home?” I said, “It’s my 5th baby and I am due in 2 days…I think they’ll keep me.” He called his dad to come over to stay with the kids. They gave me a blessing and we headed to the hospital at midnight.
We had to turn around and go back home after we hit the highway because I forgot my purse. I wasn’t sure if I would need my insurance card or not (I didn’t) so we turned around. We finally made it to the ER about 12:15. I always think it’s weird that they bring you a wheelchair when you are in labor. I mean, really, who wants to sit down? I never do…yet they seem to be almost forcing me into the wheelchair. I would have much rather walked, but they made me ride. They did let me stand while we were checking in at the desk though. The lady at the desk said I looked really calm. She asked if it was my first baby, when I said it was my 5th she said, “Give me one of those stickers with your name on it so I don’t have to look you up again when they call me and say you are going to be admitted!” Funny.
We made it to Labor and delivery about 12:30 and my nurse was Stephanie. She was great. Very calm, didn’t get worked up about anything really. I was grateful. They found me to be 5cm dilated and they said I was definitely staying. They also said the doctor would be right in because he was already here for another laboring mom. Perfect. They started my IV and gave me some fluid while I continued to have increasingly painful contractions. The doctor came in and said they wanted me to have two doses of antibiotics (to prevent me from passing bacteria to the baby) before she was born. The trick is that the doses are supposed to be 4 hours apart. I told him that I wouldn’t make it 4 more hours so one dose would have to do. He said that after one dose, if I was really ready, he would break my water…so that became the goal. It took FOREVER for the antibiotic to get to the floor. I know how things work in the hospital, they often take a long time, but I didn’t get the antibiotic until 1:30! Then it seemed to become a game of waiting for the antibiotic to slowly drip into my vein. On the bright side, baby was doing great. Her heart rate was 145-160 and she didn’t seem to be having any distress. I was having plenty of distress for both of us. Contractions hurt, REALLY BAD!! Especially when they are pretty much right on top of one another.
Around 2:00 am, with the antibiotic almost done, I said I thought I had to push. Stephanie checked me and I was 8 cm, almost 9 cm. So she called in the doctor. They were worried because the baby was still really high. I could still feel her in my ribs and they were having trouble feeling her head. The doctor checked me with the same result, and he decided to do a quick ultra sound to make sure that baby was head down. They really couldn’t tell and didn’t want to break my water if she was breech. The ultrasound showed her head down (Yay!) and he said he would break my water if I was ready. READY!! For goodness sake, yes I am ready!!
Water was broken and unfortunately had a little meconium in it so they called a pediatrician (never made it) to come in and help with baby. They also had several other nurses in there and a respiratory therapist to help suction the baby if needed. Once everyone that was going to make it was there, he FINALLY said I could push – which was good, because I was already pushing.
I am not gonna lie. This baby was my toughest to push. Kaydra was longer, but this was much more painful. Her big head was finally out and I STILL had to push – like three times! – just to get the rest of her out. Then it was done – She was born at 2:15 am. on October 15. Only 15 minutes after I said I thought I needed to push and only about 5 minutes after the antibiotic was finished. SO, SO, SO, FAST! The poor thing showed signs of just how fast she came into this world. 15 minutes earlier they couldn’t tell if she was head down, and now she was here. A little beat up, but she was here!
Seriously, look at that bruised face! The camera flash made it worse then it looked in person, but she was pretty bruised! Since we hadn’t decided on her name, Leonard said, “Maybe we should call her Violet.” Everyone says when you look at your baby you will better know what to name them. I said, “No.” Her APGAR scores were 8 and 9. She didn’t have any trouble breathing and I was SO relieved it was over and the next phase could begin! It is still THE most amazing thing to have a baby inside you one minute and then laying on your chest the next. Nothing compares in this world….Nothing!
She is amazing and we love this little girl so much already. Welcome to our home, Shylee.
Love, Mom and Dad
As a side note, after they got me all cleaned up and fed Leonard was looking pretty tired. He decided to head home to help get the kids off to school. He was back home and in bed asleep by 4:00 am. He was only gone for 4 hours – the kids never even knew we weren’t there. Did I tell you that it was FAST??!!!
