The Birth Story

Many people have requested to hear the birth story, so if you don't want to know, stop reading now. But for the girls out there and for journaling purposes, here's how it all went down. Literally.

Friday, September 14th, 10:00pm
Did 100 jumping jacks and ate salami pizza. Did it help? I really think the 50 jumping jacks the day before did. That's when I lost my "show." Contractions started becoming regular, every 10 minutes for about 30-45 seconds. I was getting excited. I didn't sleep much and looked at the clock every time a contraction started.

Saturday, September 15th
The contractions kept me up all night, but weren't too painful and I didn't tell Tally because I wanted to surprise him when he woke up. At about 5 or 6am, I woke him up because they were getting more severe and told him I wanted to go for a walk when the sun came up in order to keep them coming. When the sun came up, the contractions started to die down. We went walking. Up stairs, down stairs, running, jumping jacks. Everything except contractions. I was frustrated. Keep in mind, I was planning to have the baby before my September 13th due date. Apparently you can't plan these things.

Around noon, the contractions came on more regularly and once again, I did everything in my power to keep them coming. The church was doing a Space Derby (like a Pinewood Derby only with rockets on a string) at 2pm and I told Tally to go without me, I was going to take a nap. By 4pm, the contractions were a lot stronger and every 7-10 minutes so I called Tally and told him to come home. By 5pm, I called the hospital and went in around 6pm. They gave me some "cervix softening" medicine because I was only dialated 2cm. Two hours later, I was only at 3cm and exhausted. The midwife (or nurse), Sandra, told me she thought an epidural would help me relax and allow my cervix to open. I had wanted to do it naturally if I could, but after getting little sleep Friday night and it being well into Saturday night, I decided it was a good idea. Oh, and did I forget to mention contractions are PAINFUL? Well, they are. And they were about every 5 minutes at this point. Tal was watching Zoolander and holding my hand. I didn't like that movie before but seeing as it was my only alternative to thinking about the pain, it was quite enjoyable.

I opted for what they call a walking epidural. They said I wouldn't feel the contractions, I would still be able to walk around while laboring, and I would feel what it was like to deliver. I decided that was a good inbetween. After two very painful attempts to get the epidural in, I was freaked out and told them no epidural for me. They tried one more time (this time I sat up which I recommend) and it worked...mostly. There was a window in my right lower quadrant of my belly that I could feel. It was very painful but I'm glad I didn't have to feel the full contractions. Tally helped me remember to breathe correctly and was very encouraging. I don't think I could have done it without him there. Here's a Tally took (and I swore I'd never show anyone but it doesn't show anything too revealing). Even with the pain, I couldn't wait to see my little girl!



We wanted to have her on the 15th because our birthdays are the 10th & 25th and our anniversary is the 25th. Also, it would have been the same day in the states as it was here.

Sunday, September 16th
We got close, however, my body needed more time.
At about 1:00am, the contractions were strong enough that I couldn't resist the urge to push. I asked if it was okay to push because I didn't think I could hold back. The doctor wasn't there yet, but the nurse told me to go ahead. The doctor came shortly thereafter. After a half hour of pushing (I could feel the whole thing and at one point I almost passed out. It's the most pain I've ever felt), Kelsey Marie was born! The first thing I said when I saw her was, "She has my chin!" She didn't cry when she came out, which made me nervous, but then she cried a little bit just trying to breathe. They didn't suction her out right away either which also put me on edge, but they like to do things a little more naturally here. She eventually got all the fluid out. I always thought I would cry upon seeing her, but I was just in shock. I kept saying, "Oh my gosh..." Her poor little face was all smooshed and she still has remanents of the bruise she got over her left eye. She's mostly all healed up now that she's six weeks old. I've never felt so much joy and relief as I did after she was born.

She looks so different now!