Eliza Ann’s Birth Story

Good Morning y’all! Still living in a land of newborns snuggles and coos over here (and trying to get Eliza’s days and nights sorted out) but I wanted to share Eliza’s birth story while it was still fresh in my mind! I’ve always loved reading other people’s birth stories, because every single one is so unique and it’s your special story of bringing your baby into the world! I actually wasn’t sure if I would want to share mine or not, but after going through labor and delivery I know that I don’t want to forget a single detail! Most days I still marvel that I birthed a baby- do any other mama’s feel that way? Like, I know I did but it feels surreal that it actually happened. We are so thankful for every detail that the Lord wove together to bring Eliza into the world- I hope you enjoy reading her story!

Preface: My original due date was March 22nd, but around 28 weeks I was diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes and was told that I would probably be induced around 39 weeks as GD babies tend to be bigger so my doctor didn’t recommend going to 40 weeks. As we started getting closer to her due date I moved from monthly, to bi-weekly to weekly appointments. At 36 weeks, I went to see my doctor and my blood pressure was very elevated and they noted my extreme swelling of my legs, feet and hands (we loving called my pregancy feet “Ogre Feet” because they were SO swollen!!). With all these symptoms I was diagnosed with Gestational Hypertension with a high risk for preeclampsia. My doctor didn’t want to take any chances so we moved quickly and scheduled me for an induction once I hit 37 weeks.

Wednesday, March 3, 2021

The nice thing about getting induced is that you can plan for it- so I started my maternity leave on 3/3 and got a pedicure and had a pre-scheduled hair appointment that happened to be on this day (#perfecttiming). Funny story, the hospital actually called around 10am and said if we wanted to come in early we could (we were scheduled to go in at 9pm) and I told them “I’m getting a pedicure and my hair done… I’ll see you at 9pm!” 🙂 A girl’s got to look her best to meet her baby, right?

Rob and I loaded up all our stuff (we ended up having about 7 bags!) and headed to the hospital a little early, and arrived at 8pm. After filling out some paperwork and signing in, we were admitted to labor and delivery to start the journey to meet our daughter!

The nurse came in around 9:30/10:00pm to give me the first dose of Cytotec to soften my cervix. I was only 1cm dilated when I went it- so I had a ways to go! After taking the first dose of Cytotec we headed to bed knowing we had a long day ahead of us! Sometime overnight the nurse came in to check again and I took a second dose of Cytotec- we needed to get my Cervix in shape!

Thursday, March 4, 2021

At 6am on March 4th, the nurse came in to check again and I was now 3cm dilated- this meant I was ready to start the Pitocin which would jump start my labor! Pretty quickly after the Pitocin drip started I started to feel contractions- and let me tell y’all those stinkers HURT! It’s difficult to describe them, but “whew!!” Each time I made it through a set I felt like a hero! ha! However, I didn’t want to jump to an epidural as I heard they can slow down labor, so I tried to keep moving through them for as long as I could.

My doctor came in to check on me and actually allowed me to order a bagel for breakfast (often doctors don’t let you eat once you are in active labor) and that thing saved me! I joked it was the best bagel I ever had!! I also spoke with my doctor and since my water hadn’t broken let she let me know that she’d be breaking it around noon, so if I wanted my epidural now was the time! (Apparently the transition once your water breaks is brutal, so you want to get your epidural ahead of time). Getting the epidural was pretty painful (not going to lie) but once it kicked in I was feeling good! Definitely took all pain away from the contractions! Shortly after, my doctor came back and broke my water, and then it was a waiting game. Every 30 minutes the nurse would rotate me from side to side on the peanut ball (this helps to keep your dilation moving along)- and since my legs were totally asleep from the epidural it was no easy feat!

At 6pm, the team checked me again and I was now 10cm dilated!! Woo-hoo!! I did a few practice pushes with the nurse and Rob, but Eliza wasn’t in the birth canal yet, so they decided I would keep rotating on the peanut ball until 8pm to get her moving down into position. After 2 more hours of rotating, my doctor came back and it was time to start pushing! Things start to become a bit of a blur at this point, but basically my epidural was too good, and I couldn’t feel my pushes at all! This meant I really wasn’t making any progress in moving Eliza into position. The team made the decision to turn my epidural down a bit, and then I could feel things a little bit more. We were starting to make progress 🙂 I pushed for about another hour, and around 10:30pm (and unbeknownst to me!!) the team turned my epidural down even further- and then I started to feel things for sure. the more I felt, the harder I pushed- it was time to get my girl out! I pushed for another 40 minutes or so, and at 11:13pm Eliza Ann made her wonderful debut into the world!

We had a bit of a scare when she first came out as she wasn’t breathing, Rob and I held hands and prayed silently as we waited- it was the longest 30 seconds of our lives! But shortly after we heard her beautiful cry and then the team placed her on my chest and we fell in LOVE!

Eliza Ann, we love you more than words- you’ve changed our lives for the better in every way- and we are thankful every day to be your parents! We love you!

Be sure to join the Style on the Daily Weekly Link Up with Amy Ann of Straight A Style and myself!

Thanks for stopping by y’all! || Gentry