Welcoming Finley Grace {Birth Story}

It's hard to believe it's been nearly three weeks (Monday) since our sweet Finley Grace made her arrival into this world...I suppose it's about time I finally sat down and wrote out her birth story now, before I forget the details!!

Those that had been following my weekly pregnancy updates probably remember that for many weeks leading up to her birth I had been experiencing increasing and consistent contractions...honestly, at one point I wasn't sure we'd make it to 37 weeks- let alone 39!! Still, when I went to the doctor on August 13th for my 38 week OB appointment, our girl seemed fairly content to stay put for a bit longer. Progress had been made (I was at 3 centimeters), and my contractions were growing more intense and frequent so when my doctor offered to schedule an induction for the next week if I'd like I turned down the offer. I truly believed that she would be making her appearance all on her own very soon, and did not want to be induced at all. I knew that typically speaking being induced made labor much harder. With my son, I had a long difficult labor WITHOUT being induced, and I could not imagine making things more difficult on myself. So I headed home knowing that it was an option, but believing it would be unnecessary. 

The next night, I started having more intense contractions along with horrible back pain...so off to the hospital we went. There had been no progress since my appointment the day before, but I was definitely having very frequent contractions. They had me walk around the maternity ward for a bit to try to get things moving forward, but still, absolutely no progress. You can imagine the frustration...having had painful contractions for days, lack of sleep, etc...the hospital decided to keep me overnight for a much needed 'therapeutic rest' with some medication to help me sleep. The next morning I was checked again and still no progress, so I headed home- exhausted and in pain. It seemed like our girl was never going to come out. So after much thought, debate and prayer I made the very difficult decision to go ahead with the induction. As much as I'd wanted to avoid it, I also knew that my body could not take much more of the constant contractions and pain. So it was scheduled for the next Monday morning, August 19th at 5 am. 

Once we arrived at the hospital, things got off to a rough start. They absolutely could not get an IV started. After calling in four different nurses, they finally got it in after the sixth or seventh try, about two hours later! By that time, both hands were bruised and sore from the attempts, I felt sick (I don't handle needles well) and just ready to get things going. They started me on a very low dose of pitocin, which they very gradually increased over the next few hours. My contractions became more regular-every 3 minutes or so, but still, no more dilation. And like her big brother, Miss Finley was not handling the contractions so well, and I was put on oxygen. After a few hours, they decided to stop the pitocin. At this point, I was convinced that I was in for another LONG labor and wondered if she would even make her appearance that day.

Sometime around noon-one or so, my doctor came in and decided to break my water to get things going. Up until that point, I had put off getting an epidural until absolutely necessary. I knew I didn't have the pain tolerance to avoid it completely, but I didn't want to get it before I needed it so I could move around until then. At that point, I decided to go ahead and get things started. I knew it would take a little time, and wanted to be prepared...a great decision, as it took no time at all for the contractions to become even more intense. After the epidural, I tried to rest up as much as possible, still thinking we were in for a long long night. A few hours later, just after my mother in law had left to go get the little man off the bus, I started feeling the contractions more again. I was checked and discovered I was at 10 centimeters! It was time to push!! About half an hour or so and six pushes later, our baby girl was born at 4:35 pm! She was immediately placed on my chest for skin to skin, and was able to nurse right away.

 

Despite the rough start, it turned out to be a pretty wonderful labor experience...especially compared to Shaun's! Much quicker and easier, but also just a better hospital experience too. After his birth, Shaun was immediately whisked away to be cleaned, given eye ointment, weighed, etc...I wasn't able to hold or nurse him for nearly an hour later. With Finley, there was no rush. They wiped her clean as she was on my chest. We opted against vaccinations at the hospital, so there was no need to do those. She was measured and weighed later that evening. We were just given the chance to hold and enjoy our sweet girl without feeling rushed to take care of everything else. Completely different experience, and one I am very grateful for. It started out rough, but in the end it worked out wonderfully and we have a beautiful, healthy baby girl to show for it!