I updated a bit at the hospital, so most of you know that Sadie has arrived, but I've finally gotten around to writing up her birth story. I love reading y'all's stories, so I wanted to share mine & Sadie's too.

The short:

Sadie Rose was born February 12th after only five and a half hours of labor and eighteen minutes of pushing! She weighed 7 pound, 10 ounces, and was 19.5 inches long. She was rosy pink and perfect. She has melted my heart. Oh, the love.

The long (seriously… long):

If you start reading, make sure you've got time. Her birth story quickly turned into a birth novel. I couldn't help myself. I’ve been feeling extremely nostalgic about Sadie’s birthday. I want to live it over and over. I want to go back and sense everything again—the excitement of crossing through the L+D doors, the smell of her fresh body on my chest, the look on my husband’s face when he saw her for the first time. A while back I commented on a post here on the ‘bee about whether or not we would skip the labor and delivery part if we could. As someone who never experienced delivery, and someone who was terrified of the pain of birth, I was on team “skip it!” It did hurt like hell, but I definitely wouldn't skip any of it... I'd do it all again tomorrow.

The last month of my pregnancy was a long one. With prodromal labor that teased her arrival and a few movement scares, our little drama queen made sure we knew that she was in charge from the beginning. As a first time mom, every contraction, tightening, ounce of downstairs pressure was a sure signal that the baby was coming NOW. Of course, it was never the real deal. I walked, bounced, ate spicey foods, but she showed us just how much she’s like her mama… there’s no rushing her.

At my last weekly appointment—the Wednesday before my due date—I was three centimeters and 80% effaced. Doc was excited about my progress, and had high hopes for a weekend delivery. Sadie had other plans. Due to a cord/placenta abnormality, I had an induction scheduled for the day after my due date (Tuesday, February 12th). The bigger baby got, the more dangerous a vaginal delivery would be for both of us. We cruised through the weekend with lots of contractions, but no baby. Induction it was. Though I was initially opposed to an induction, I’m glad it worked out the way it did. I really wanted my doctor there for the birth (she had been monitoring me throughout my pregnancy), and an induction was the only way to insure she’d be there. It was so comforting to have my precious, extremely competent doctor with me.

Monday night—my last night of pregnancy—I enjoyed a long, lovely dinner with Dan (my husband) and our entire family. We ate good food, and spent the night reminiscing about the past and sharing our dreams for the future. It was a beautiful way say goodbye to one chapter, and welcome the beginning of another. Though that time with our family was great, the alone time that followed was some of the sweetest Dan and I have shared. That night felt like our childhood Christmas Eves—Dan and I laid in bed all night, holding hands, wide awake and giddy.

We arrived for the induction at 7am on Tuesday morning. The car ride to the hospital was full of nerves and excitement. We parked in the “Expectant Mothers” spot out front for the last time, and took an annoying amount of photos—a few with our bags, the front of the hospital, a last pregnancy pose. We were so obviously first time parents. We checked in at the nurses’ station, found our spacious room (working at the hospital has its perks!), and met our incredible nurse. (If I saw my L+D nurse right now I’d kiss her on the lips. She. Was. Awesome.) I put on my gown, we took more pictures, and I got all hooked up. Baby looked perfect. I was up to 4cm. We were ready to roll.

Super doc arrived sometime between 730 and 8am, and broke my water. Weirdest feeling ever. The contractions started pretty quickly after the gushes began, but were pretty mild (but still more painful than any I had felt before). After pumping me with fluids, awesome nurse started my Pitocin drip at 850am. The contractions started off spaced out nicely, painful, but manageable. We invited our parents in to hang out, and for (even more) pictures. This was totally doable! Until those legendary Pitocin contractions really started. Oh lord, I was unprepared. Laughter to tears in a matter of minutes. I looked at the pain chart hanging on the wall beside me, and suddenly my face matched the emoticon in wretched pain under the big number “7”. Each time as the shaky line on the monitor began its ascent, I filled with dread and fear as I knew there was nothing I could do to keep the pain from coming. Inescapable torture. Tears and non-human moans poured out of me without any conscious effort. Our parents weren’t having so much fun anymore, and quickly excused themselves. Dan was doing an awesome job with back rubs and encouragement, but I needed drugs.

I was given Dilaudid around 1030am, but that just left me feeling like a drunk person being stabbed, squeezed, and slowly murdered. Awesome nurse wanted to wait until I was in active labor to give me the epidural, which meant I had to make it to 5cm (apparently dilation = active labor). Around noon I knew I’d made it to at least 5cm, as my moans had taken on a life of their own. I then met my favorite person who ever lived, the anesthesiologist. With very little discomfort, he put heaven into my back. As my legs slowly grew numb, my labor experience changed drastically. I was human again. Our parents came back, and we laughed and relaxed. I tried to sleep as my mom massaged my legs and feet, but I was too excited. I didn’t want to miss a moment.

At 4pm, awesome nurse turned down my lovely, powerful epidural. I was 9cm with a slight lip. Though I had sensation in and could move my right leg, my left leg was out. Apparently I thought I was lifting it, while it lay heavy on the bed. We poked and smacked it, but I felt nothing. While this was excellent for pain relief, it presented a problem for getting our girl out. As the epidural slowly diminished, the contractions began reappearing on my right side. They quickly moved up the pain chart… 2, 3, 4, 7. As I attempted to do some sort of made-up breathing technique, I began feeling a lot of rectal pressure. When awesome nurse came in at 5pm she didn’t believe me—there’s no way I could be feeling an adequate amount of pressure yet. She checked me, and to all of our surprise, it was go time! That moment will stay with me forever. Dan and I looked at each other with matching expressions of joy and excitement, and I saw his sweet eyes begin to overflow.

I began to push with awesome nurse at 512pm. I held my legs, while Dan stayed by my face. He’s prone to throwing up/passing out in extremely stressful or yucky situations, so he avoided all contact with my exposed lady bits. He did a wonderful job of holding my head and encouraging me. Hearing his voice while pushing was a huge motivator for me. After one push with awesome nurse, she made me stop. She could see her dark hair. We needed the doctor. Awesome nurse got things prepped, while we waited for super doc to arrive and scrub up. I ached to push. I had been dreading the pushing, as the phrase “ring of fire” terrified me, but pushing felt incredible. With each push, the awful pain of the contraction disappeared and I felt empowered. A few pushes with super doc, and she began to crown. I didn’t feel anything but pressure (no ring of fire!). Between contractions awesome nurse had me reach down and touch Sadie’s head. Lots of tears. One more push, and she was lifted onto my chest. Only 18 minutes from the first push, Sadie Rose arrived at 530pm. 7 pounds, 10 ounces, 19.5 inches of squishy perfection.

There aren’t words for the moment when I first saw her. I was just meeting her, yet I had loved this person my entire life. My spirit was connected with hers, and my body and soul overflowed with love, joy, and peace. When I looked at my husband looking at our daughter, I have never felt so in love. The smiles, tears, and soft words he poured over her in our first moments together made my heart ache with love and pride.

Due to my complications, I had been really nervous about delivering my placenta. It came out with one little tug, and it looked just fine. Incredible blessing. I had a small vaginal tear and a cosmetic (non-bleeding) labial tear. I had a few quick, painless stitches (thanks again, anesthesiologist!) while we cuddled with our love. We spent the following hour or so staring at her and kissing her sweet, pink body. We passed her back and forth—neither of us could get enough.

I was really blessed to have a quick (only 5 hours of active labor!) relatively easy labor and delivery, especially with the complications that could’ve come up with my cord abnormality. Sadie has had some feeding issues due to a tongue-tie, and the inability to latch properly (even to bottle), but we’re working on it. By three days old, she had lost 11% of her birth weight, and was down to the 30th percentile. Now she’s up to the 48th, and we’re celebrating. Keep on chubbin’ up, baby girl! Post partum has been tough, but our Sadie is worth every single minute of raging ‘roids, Frankenvag, baby blues, and breastfeeding troubles. She is perfect. Absolutely perfect. My heart is a permanent puddle in my chest. I mean, check this baby out…

(The first picture is right after her first bath at the hospital, two & three are from her newborn session I did this week.)