The Birth Story

It only took me 5 weeks to get it up here...

Do not read if you don't want to hear about water-breakage and the word "dilated."

{this was a picture I took the day before I gave birth. I was pretty huge}

All day on Monday (June 27), I had lounged around my house bored out of my mind and procrastinating housework. I had about 10(,000) loads of laundry to fold and put away strewn across my living room and a whole lotta dishes piling up in the sink. I hadn't done anything that day except talk on the phone and go for a walk. I decided that in order to get the motivation I needed, I would do a project and chose to make some freezer meals. I went to the grocery store, got all the items I needed, and as I loaded a bag of cans, felt a cramp. I thought: "Whoa. Better not lift anything heavier than that."

And then my water broke. In the grocery store parking lot.

And when you hear people talk about their water breaking, it's usually about some small trickle of what feels like pee. This was NOT my case. It was a GUSH and it did. not. stop. I yelled out loud: "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" put my shopping cart away (I mention that because I am very passionate about people putting away their shopping carts, and if I can do it with amniotic fluid running down my leg, you can too), and jumped in the car. I called my mom who was exasperated from me calling her all day and let her know. They live about 5 hours away and my mom later told me that you never saw our family get ready for a trip so fast.

Then, I called Scott and told him that I was on my way to his work to pick him up since my water broke. Through the entire process, this was the only time that Scott was not calm and content. He was downright frantic! When we got home, I was trying to get a hospital bag put together (something I had on my to-do list) but my water was everywhere and I ended up having to dictate from the bathroom. Scott could not focus to save his life, and kept talking to people on the phone- it's amazing we had anything in that hospital bag :) Meanwhile, I kept lamenting over my previous decision to avoid housework as now I would have to bring my baby home to a disaster!

As we drove to the hospital, I was pretty calm and Scott seemed to settle down. We felt very at peace and had a peaceful excitement that, because my water broke, we would for sure be meeting our daughter in a matter of hours!

At the hospital, I found out that I was at 2cm and 90% effaced and my contractions were 2-3 minutes apart. I labored for what felt like 15 minutes but was acutally 5 hours and discovered that I had only progressed 1 cm!

{Me on the birth ball. I loved that thing}

The doctor recommended that I go on Pitocin but I was nervous as I had heard pitocin can make your contractions worse than naturally going through them. But it was 10pm and I noticed that while I could breathe through the pain of my contractions (not comfortablly, but still), I was exhausted after each one. I had not eaten anything since 11 that morning, and they would not let me have anything to eat at the hospital. After a lot of talk, prayer, and consideration, Scott and I decided to have the Pitocin and to also get an epidural. I waited to get the epidural until my mom arrived because I was getting nervous about it. You always hear the horror stories of grumpy anethesiologists who just walk in and stab you in the back and mess up. Well, my anethesiologist was probably one of the nicest people I met at the hospital, and while I had a brief few seconds of frantically reminding myself this was scary, I calmed down probably because everyone in the room was so relaxed and calm. That epidural was a really good decision. I was able to sleep a little through the night and by the morning was ready to push!

When I was told it was time to push, I felt a determination I have never felt before. I was determined to not have an hours upon hours pushing phase and with every push gave everything I had. There came a time when I would always throw in one more because I wanted to meet my daughter so badly! When the baby crowned, they asked me if I wanted the mirror, and I said sure (because I really didn't care and did not want to be asked any questions). The first look at her crowning gave me a huge rush of motivation, but after that I hated it because it was showing me every time the baby didn't come out! You know, people talk about how they don't feel a thing through their delivery, and while I wasn't in tons of pain- it really did feel like I was pushing out a watermelon.

I pushed for about an hour and a half- and then things got really intense. AKA, epidural wearing off a bit, unrelenting pressure and burning. I started to really focus on the pain and Scott and my mom tried to help me focus on my breathing instead. When I look back on those last few intense moments, I'm really glad I got the epidural because I don't think I would have been able to focus on my daughter through the pain of active-late labor. My biggest concern with the epidural was that I would not be in control, but I felt very in control of my experience.

And then she came. A blue and white little cone-head that was all mine. She screamed, and I cried. They put her on my chest and I couldn't stop kissing her sticky little body. I looked up at Scott who had tears on his cheeks and I felt like we had all been together forever.

Georgia Rose Chapman was born on at 7:28am on June 28, 2011. She was 7lbs 1oz and 20" long. When they took her to do the stats, I was being sewn up (I had a small tear). I felt the stitches and it did not feel good to say the least. I kept trying to focus on Georgia but I really hated getting stitched up. Later, when they were pushing all the extra stuff out of me they found what they called a "lobe." Could have been a piece of the placenta, could have been an extra growth. All they could tell me was that they didn't know what it was and they had to make sure I didn't have anything extra. That, also, was no fun.

That day the nurses and doctors were wonderful! I loved having my daughter and my family around me even though I hadn't showered and was pretty gross. Later that day, while my mother-in-law was holding Georgia, we heard Georgia start to gag. And then she turned purple. I couldn't do anything from the bed but call the nurse and when the nurses came in they were quick and silent. It's never a good thing with nurses are quick and silent. Apparently Georgia had gulped down some amniotic fluid and was coughing a bunch of stuff up. It explained why she was so angry being laid on her back (gas- hello!) but I hated that she kept turning colors and we kept having to call the nurses in. That night, Georgia would wake up every hour SCREAMING a scream I have yet to hear to this day. I think her stomach really bothered her. That was a very long night. In the end though, it's made all the other sleepless nights bearable because compared to that first one, the others aren't so bad.

I told the nurses and doctors that I wanted to be out of the hospital in 24 hours. They insisted that I stay for 48 but I did not want to sit in a hospital bed that long when I would have so much help at home. They agreed to let me be released early. It's a good thing I was so persistent about this, because it meant that they checked Georgia for jaundice earlier than usual. She had to be under the bili lights for 12 hours- which meant we were able to get out of the hospital in 48 hours instead of staying an extra day.

I hated the special care nursery. I was all postpartum emotional and it broke my heart every time I heard those babies sad cries and their families whispering about giving them blessings. My heart prayed for all those families. I had a hard time watching them put the sunglass head wrap on my baby and I knew she was going to be okay! I could only imagine being a parent who didn't know.

In the end, her jaundice went down and we went home to house that my family had scrubbed top to bottom! My poor sister folded all 10(,000) loads of laundry and everyone cleaned my embarrassing house.

I'm so glad that our sweet Georgia girl is here with us. While there are nights/days that I cry and am convinced I can not give any more, in the end, my life has never been better. I love my little family with all of my heart. It is when Scott and I are laying in bed reading, with Georgie Porgie asleep between us, that my soul sings. I am so grateful that I am sealed to them for eternity. I know that it is through Christ alone that that is possible, and for this gift, I praise Him.