July 3rd, 2014
I had another breakdown. I sat on my exercise ball while keeping track of my contractions. The same contractions I'd been feeling and having for the past month or so. I was feeling like I was getting nowhere. Contraction after contraction, for a month, and I was done. I had come to the conclusion that Adeline wouldn't ever come out. She was just going to be inside of me forever. And I cried. And cried.
It was the last day before Charles would be home for the Fourth of July holiday weekend, and I was SO, SO ready for him to be home during the day. I felt like I couldn't handle the mental game of having contractions ALL DAY LONG that got me nowhere by the end of the day. It was getting more and more difficult for me to enjoy the end of my pregnancy. I had so much on my mind about the logistics of going to hospital, having someone come watch the girls, what if the baby came fast like Vivian, etc. In my mind. 24/7. Over and over again. Constant.
So when Charles got home from work, he asked me if I wanted to go to Walmart and look at car seats. In my nesting phase, I was washing the car seat cover and when I was putting the seat back together, I noticed that the bottom of our car seat was broken in a few places. So we decided to look at buying a new one for Adeline. And I needed to get out of the house, so it was perfect!
We ran into a ton of people we knew, and it was nice to catch up and zone out for a little bit! We ended up finding a car seat that we liked, so we went ahead and bought it! When we got back home, we let our girls run around the yard while Charles did some yard work. I sat on the deck and set up the car seat!
I installed it in the car, had Charles double check it, and then took a picture!
After Charles and I put our girls down for the night, he went out and bought me some Cookies and Cream ice cream. I had been resisting eating sweets and desserts for some time, but I just really wanted some ice cream! And it was perfect! After a large small bowl and a few episodes of Parenthood on Netflix, I went to bed relieved that Charles would be home for the next few days so that I could hold onto what little sanity I had left!
July 4th, 2014
I woke up to some light menstrual-like cramps. I laid in bed for about an hour thinking the same thing I had been thinking for the past three weeks: "Adeline isn't coming today. These are just Braxton Hicks contractions. They are getting me nowhere." But I also thought: "It would be cool to have our fourth daughter on the Fourth of July! May the FOURTH be with you!"
I got up fairly early to start packing bags and the car for the Fourth of July parade uptown. I had to wake up the girls and get them fed. Charles went to a friend's house to help him fix up his new house while I got the girls and myself ready for the day. I got to do the girls' hair, and I took a
Pinterest challenge and did Rosalie's hair like this:
She got a LOT of compliments for it! And we saw three other little girls with similar hair! We had a plan to park a few blocks away from the parade and walk to a good spot. Charles was running late coming home, so by the time we were suppose to meet up with our brother-in-law to walk over to the parade, we had to walk really fast to catch up. I felt fine while we were speed walking and I was already having contractions. I didn't think much of it. We found a good spot, met up with some other friends, and enjoyed the parade! I realized when we got there that I forgot the camera! LAME!
Afterwards, we walked to the flea market. I noticed that my contractions hurt more than usual. But again, I didn't think much of it. When we got to Charles' sisters' booth, I had to stop walking because my contractions hurt. I laughed them off, but started to worry. I felt off. I didn't feel quite right. And I felt like with each contraction, Adeline's head was not in my pelvis, but over towards my right hip. I got Charles and told him that we needed to go home. My contractions were becoming consistent and I was getting super anxious.
On the way back to the van, I had to stop with each contraction. I tried to force myself to walk, but with Adeline's head being pushed towards my hip, it was difficult to walk. I kept telling Charles to slow down, but the truth is, he was already walking slowly. This is when I had the first glimmer of hope that Adeline would be coming. But my brain kept telling me that today probably wasn't the day.
When we got back to the van, I couldn't even lift my legs to get into my seat. And that's when I looked at Charles and said, "I need to start keeping track of these contractions."
We got home and made the girls some lunch. My contractions were every 2 to 3 minutes apart. I drank two huge glasses of ice water thinking that I was a little dehydrated and that's what was causing my contractions. But they didn't stop or slow down. Charles and I debated for half an hour about calling into the clinic. My doctor was on vacation and I didn't want to go in and have someone else deliver Adeline. But I didn't really have a choice. My contractions weren't slowing down and it had been over an hour.
After a prayer and come coaxing from Charles, I called the clinic and was told to come in to be monitored for an hour to see if I was making any progress. Charles called his Dad to come watch our girls and we grabbed the suitcase and got in the van. The entire ride there I kept saying, "They are going to hook me up to the machine and my contractions are going to stop!" Only time would tell!
We went straight to Labor and Delivery and were put into room 102 around 2:00 in the afternoon. I handed over my birth plan and got settled into the room. The two nurses hooked me up to the monitors and one nurse wanted to check my cervix to see where I was at with dilation and effacement. While she was checking, she said, "What is that?!" And let me tell you, when a nurse is checking inside of your vagina, the last thing you want to hear is, "What is that?!"! Awkward.
Apparently, it was Adeline's hand. It wasn't out of my cervix or anything since my water hadn't broken. The nurse felt Adeline's head off to the side and could feel the knuckles on her hand. Just to be sure, the nurse wanted to check one more time. Adeline's head had shifted down and was finally in position. Her hand was blocking her head from the birth canal. The nurse told me that I was at 4 cm dilated and about 60% effaced. And I had my bloody show when she was done checking my cervix. The nurse also told me that my amniotic sac was very thick, so if I progressed through labor, the doctor would have to break it. And I was totally fine with that. But I still thought I would be going home later that night. But the nurses would be back within an hour to see how I was progressing. I wasn't allowed to walk around just yet, so I sat my bed up as far as it could go to put pressure on my cervix. After half an hour of that, I was able to walk around and be disconnected from the monitors.
After that hour, my contractions were indeed, 2 minutes apart, the entire time. When the nurses checked me again, I was at 5 cm and 65% effaced. I was going to be admitted and the doctor was coming in to break my water.
And that's when it hit me. I would be meeting my little girl within 24 hours! I was SO excited! While I waited for the doctor to come in, I went ahead and started calling my family and telling them what was going on! I think everyone was excited and thinking that it was crazy that I would probably be having Adeline on the Fourth of July!
When the doctor came back around 4:00, some of Charles' family had come by to visit me in the hospital! They had to leave the room so that the doctor could break my water. When she did, it sounded like someone kept dumping buckets of water out. My water just kept coming out and out! It felt like forever, but it was probably only 30 seconds... but it was a long time! I watched my stomach deflate! I had SO much water! The nurses started setting up the room because of how fast Vivian came after my water was broken during my last labor. I sat up in the bed and waited! If Adeline was going to come fast like Vivian, I wanted to be in the bed, ready to go!
After another hour had passed, I was checked again at I was 6 cm dilated, but still at 65% effaced. I decided to get up and walk around. Labor was taking longer than we had anticipated. I wasn't effacing. Being up and moving around helped. I was checked again and told that Adeline's head wasn't quite turned enough. She wasn't in position yet. So she wasn't putting enough pressure onto my cervix to help it efface. I sat on a labor ball and slowly rotated my hips for about an hour. I ended up needing to be on all fours in order for Adeline to turn enough to be in position. Once she got into position, I could tell right away! But this process took a few hours! I was getting very anxious and a little discouraged. I wanted Charles to be able to go home to watch the fireworks with our girls!
I was checked again around 8:00 p.m. when I started feeling shaky. I could feel my hormones shifting and I knew it would be time soon. I was finally 100% effaced, but I was sitting at 7 cm dilated. I wasn't cranky yet, but I wasn't comfortable anymore. I couldn't stand or sit without discomfort. I ended up leaning on the counter and it helped me through my contractions. My sister-in-law needed to leave for a bit and I told her to go now and get back quickly!
Right about 9:00, I had a very strong contraction and knew it was time. I called for the nurse and told her it was time and I was feeling very "pushy". I sat on the hospital bed and had another contraction. The nurse checked me and said that I was at 9 cm dilated and then told me that she needed to step out to call the doctor. I told her
NOT TO LEAVE ME! If this baby was going to come like Vivian did, I needed her in there with me! She called from my room and within five minutes, the doctor walked in and my sister-in-law followed her! With each contraction, I really felt the urge to push.
While the doctor got ready, I had to pant through my contractions so that I would resist the urge to push. It was very difficult. I felt very hot, but I was shaking as if I were cold. I felt out of control. I knew that I would feel like this, but I always hate this part of a natural delivery! I could feel Adeline descending with each contraction and I was getting very nervous. Charles went and got me a cold towel to put on my head to help keep me cooled off. I remember getting mad that he didn't fold it up small enough to fit just my forehead! I didn't want the wet towel touching my hair! Another contraction came and I really felt the need to push. The doctor told me to pant through it because she needed to check me to make sure that I was fully dilated.
As soon as the contraction ended, she checked me and told me that I was complete and I could push with the next contraction. The nurse told me what to do and how to push when my contraction came. When a contraction came, I took a deep breath, grabbed my legs, and started pushing. I immediately felt Adeline's head come down and out, and then her shoulders came out next, then she was completely out! Adeline Virginia was born at 9:16 p.m.! It was fast, thank goodness! I was glad that it was over because it HURT! As soon as she was out, she let out a huge cry and I reached for her, but the doctor said that she couldn't put her up on me because her cord was so short. I took a minute to just look at my sweet girl!
She had such huge cheeks! I think I said, "Look at her fat face!" She was covered in vernix and she had a head FULL of hair! Once her cord stopped pulsing, they clamped it and had Charles cut it. Then the doctor handed me my sweet girl!
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| Covered in vernix! |
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| Reaching for Mommy's nose! |
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| Soaking in my little lady while the doctor was checking me for any tearing. |
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Catching my breath after everything was said and done!
Holding hands with my Sweet Adeline! |
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| Charles and I meeting our little lady! |
The doctor checked me for any tearing and I hadn't tore at all! I was thankful! My placenta was delivered within minutes of Adeline's arrival. I started shaking a lot and went ahead and let the nurses take Adeline over to be cleaned, measured, and weighed.
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| Adeline's stats! |
Adeline was handed back to me, literally, as the firework show started in town! Everyone in the room could hear the booms and pops from the fireworks! It was in incredible experience! I got to finally meet my little firecracker and it was a beautiful moment! I started breastfeeding her while Charles ran home to put our older girls down for the night! My Mom finally showed up about 15 minutes after Adeline's arrival! She traveled three hours and just missed everything, but I was SO happy to see my Mom!
When Charles got back, he FINALLY got to hold his fourth daughter for the first time! It was a beautiful moment and it filled my heart with so much joy and love! I love seeing my handsome man holding our beautiful children!
Adeline's birth was completely natural with only one intervention, when my water was broken! I am so, so thankful to my loving Father in Heaven for this blessing! Everything worked out for us! Everything fell into place! My labor was calm, slow, and gave me plenty of time to pray and prepare! I am thankful for that! I did get anxious and irritated at times, but really, it was a beautiful experience!
We had one slight argument with the nurse that helped deliver Adeline. Adeline's blood sugar was very low after she was born, and while I was breastfeeding her for the first time, the nurse told me that if Adeline's blood sugar was low again, she was going to give her formula and/or sugar water. I told her that she would not be giving my daughter any of those things. Not at all. The nurse told me that she would be giving it to her. It took everything in me to not freak out on this lady, but I remained calm and said, "Just check her blood and if it's low, then we'll talk about this!" Adeline's blood sugar was just fine and there was no need for any formula or sugar water. But aside from that, our whole experience was phenomenal!
I spent the next day at the hospital since it was within the first 24 hours after the birth! I had plenty of time to snuggle and get to know my little lady! Charles brought our girls the next morning and they immediately LOVED their new little sister!
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| Our first family photo as a family of SIX! |
Our family came through the day to meet our sweet girl and the rest of the day was spent breastfeeding and snuggling!
