Lizzy. . .

After four pregnancies and the birth of our third child I have really realized what a miracle having a child is and the magnitude of being a parent to that child. It's amazing that everything comes together so beautifully and perfect, so I thought I would share Lizzy's Birth Story. I had been having contractions for several weeks, but all day Friday September 1st they would get closer together and then farther apart. They stayed that way until mid-afternoon when they began to get stronger and more consistent. I called my practice and was advised to come to the hospital. Jody met me, the girls and Diana at the hospital and off Jody and I went to get checked out. Well it turns out I wasn't really in labor but since I was already dilated, we live far away from the hospital and my history of short labors they wanted me to stay and see what would happen by morning. They unhooked me from the monitors, we walked around for an hour and I was checked again. I still hadn't progressed much, 3 cm, 80% efaced and she was at a +2 station (she was pretty high up there still) they decided to let me stay in a hospital room for the night and get the antibiotics (for group B strep) in my system just in case I went into labor that night or the next morning. I stayed in the room only a couple of hours when I had a very painful contraction and realized they were staying close together, getting longer and intensifying. I called for the nurse, they checked me and I was 5 cm, 100% efaced, but she was still +2 station. They decided to hook me back up to the monitors and break my water. They broke my water at 1:10am and I got an epidural. I had decided not to endure the pain and "go natural" this time and try to enjoy the birthing experience as much as I could. The nurse checked me around 3:00am and I was only 6 cm so they decided to give me pitocin to keep my labor going. At 5:00am I woke up to immense pressure and I told the nurse she was right there and I had to push. She went to check me and said call Dr. Corvin the baby is crowning. The nurse actually got herself ready to deliver just in case Dr. Corvin didn't get there in time. I pushed only once and her head was out. The cord was wrapped around her neck and with the next contraction Dr. Corvin delivered her! I ended up having some difficulty delivering the placenta and after 45 minutes Dr. Corvin basically had to pull it out and then do a D&C. All in all this was my longest labor at just under 4 hours, but it was a great experience! As any mother would say "what pain?" and "it was all worth it", that's how God intended it :-)