Labor, delivery, and... Zoie Elizabeth!!!

We made it! Zoie Elizabeth is here!

Born at 9:49pm on Wednesday, July 17th, our little girl weighed 6lb 4oz and measured 18.25 inches. What an intense experience labor and delivery was! Definitely not the natural birth I was hoping for, but everything turned out okay.

Our little Zoie!

As I mentioned in my last post, my doctor was concerned about Zoie's dropping growth rate. I had ultrasounds every few weeks to check her measurements and weight (all estimations), and it appeared that she was in as low as the 2nd percentile! Worried that Zoie's growth was restricted by an early-aging placenta, my doctor told us we needed to get this baby out ASAP. The next evening, James and I checked into the hospital for a scheduled induction. I received Cervidil, was placed on a fetal monitor for a few hours, and then James and I were left to sleep until early morning, when I would start Pitocin.

The nurse woke us up at 5:30am, and got things ready for my IV drip of Pitocin and saline solution. She strapped me back onto the fetal monitor, added a blood pressure cuff, and I laid in bed while Pitocin started dripping. I couldn't even feel the contractions, but we watched them rise and fall on the computer screen. I remember thinking, wow, labor isn't so bad! That is, until my doctor came in at 8:30am to break my water. After the cushion of my amniotic sac was broken, every contraction pushed baby's head directly against my cervix. Ouch!

Often times, a women's body will take over labor and continue contracting after a kick-start of Pitocin and/or other labor drugs. Mine didn't. I stayed on Pitocin for 15 hours until Zoie was born! Being hooked up to an IV pole, fetal monitors, and a blood pressure cuff limited my movement to a few feet of space next to my bed. Every bathroom trip was quite an ordeal of unplugging wires and draping them around my neck. And I was so looking forward to the hot tub and soothing hot showers! Oh well...

As my nurse slowly increased the concentration of Pitocin in my IV, my contractions started to get wild. It's amazing how your primal brain takes over in active labor. I couldn't think straight, couldn't answer questions, and I could barely tell the ceiling from the floor! All I could do was focus on getting through each sharp, painful contraction so I could rest for a brief minute in between.

Proud new daddy!

James was such an amazing support during labor! He stayed with me every minute, letting me collapse onto him during rests (he literally held my entire body weight), and cheering me on during contractions. He pretty much saved my life when I had an anxiety attack when the nurse attempted a cervical exam during a contraction (James dove in and scooped me up from laying back in bed, and soothed my panic so I could breathe again).

The most painful position during labor was in bed. Luckily, I only needed to lay in bed briefly for cervical exams every 1-2 hours. I spent my entire labor on my yoga mat (which we rolled out next to the bed) either swaying in a type of Warrior pose, or sitting on the birth ball (exercise ball). During contractions on the ball, I would grab the squat bar attached to the bed and hang off the side. It felt good to hang onto something! During rests, I would collapse onto James, who was sitting behind me on a stool.

This lasted for endless hours, and it was exhausting! There was no way I could relax my body during these sharp, intense contractions (which is the best way to dilate your cervix!). Sometime around 6pm, the nurse checked my cervix again. Still only 3cm! I wasn't dilating any further. At this point, my contractions were completely overwhelming me. I had reached my breaking point, and knew that an epidural would be the only way I could possibly continue.

After the epidural was in place, James and I both settled down in our room and tried to sleep. It was definitely a relief, but I felt pretty sad about ruining my natural birth plan. However, the epidural ended up being a blessing! About 2 hours later, the nurse checked on me again. I was dilated to 9.5cm! It was almost push time!

Our baby Zoie, shortly after birth

The nurse ran to tell my doctor, but my doctor was about to begin a c-section on another patient. So, I labored for another hour, trying my best to relax through contractions. This extra hour was actually super beneficial, because Zoie started making her way lower and lower in my birth canal. When my doctor finally suited up and came in, I pushed Zoie out in two pushes! It literally took seconds.

What a beautiful moment when James cut the cord and the nurses placed my beautiful slimy blue baby on my chest! She felt sooo warm. I couldn't believe that she had been inside me just seconds before. It was the best moment of my life.

Zoie Elizabeth, we love you so much! We're so happy to have such a healthy, darling little girl.

Welcome to the world, Zoie!