Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Our Birth Experience

Wow! I can't even express how grateful we are for such a wonderful experience with the birth our first child. I really don't think it could have been any better.
Let me start at the beginning. . .
As you all know, I was quite a bit past my due date (10 days to be exact). My doctor let us wait as long as she could stand to, but finally scheduled an induction for Monday, May 3. She told us that she would break my water on Monday if the baby didn't come before that. So, we were more anxious than ever for our little one to make an entrance before that could happen. This entire pregnancy I had worked extremely hard to stay healthy- no medicine (not even Tylenol), no junk food (thanks to gestational diabetes), and lots of exercise. I really desired to cap it off with a natural birth. We had read a lot , gone to classes, and even practiced labor positions at home. We were so ready!
I had a doctor's appointment on Friday morning for a non-stress test. Everything still looked great with the baby. Dr. Shattuck did another sweep of my membranes in hopes that labor might start sooner rather than later. I went home with a terrible backache that didn't let up all day long. I had some sporadic contractions, but I didn't get my hopes up too much. I had experienced several nights of false labor before. We went out to dinner at Tokyo with our friends, Jeff and Nicole Spikes, but things really kicked up after we got home. None of this textbook labor for me. . . my contractions started out almost a minute long and 5 minutes apart.
We labored at home from about 8pm until midnight, only heading to the hospital once the contractions were rapid-firing. We probably should have stayed at home a little longer, but since I was already 4cm dilated and 80% effaced that morning, I didn't want to risk having the baby in the car or something like that.
The nurses at Christus Schumpert Highland were so amazing! We called them on our way to the hospital to let them know we were coming. When we arrived, my room was ready for me. I gave them copies of my birth plan, and they followed it, no questions asked. My family and friends were there to support us, even though it was in the middle of the night. They stayed in the room with us until my labor progressed to a point where I could concentrate on nothing else. As per my birth plan, I didn't have to be hooked up to the fetal monitor, an IV, or anything. I was free to move around the room and change positions as much as I wanted. The hospital staff stayed out of the room most of the time and let Adam do his job. He was the best labor coach I could have imagined!!!!!!!! There's no way on earth I could've done it without him. In the end, he was almost as tired as I was. Every other minute, he was pressing on my back with all of his might. It was the only thing that seemed to relieve the pain.
I labored for several hours, steadily progressing a couple centimeters every two hours or so. I kind of stalled at 8cm, so the nurse suggested I try out the tub for a while. By the time I got out, I was going through transition and feeling the urge to push. Dr. Shattuck arrived and broke my water because I was fully dialed and effaced, but the bag of water wouldn't let the baby come down. Soon after that, I started pushing. I pushed for a little over an hour. . . but I think it felt like more than that to my family and friends in the hall. At 7:01 am on Saturday, May 1st, little Sara Elizabeth Hart was born. She weighed 7 lbs. 12 ounces and was 19 inches long. She had a full head of dark brown hair and a dimple on the right side, just like her daddy. She is perfect in every way and we are already so in love with her!!!!! I am so thankful to everyone for your prayers. God is so good to us!
Here are a few pictures to tide you over until the next post.

5 comments:

The Shoemakers said...

Aww so Sweet..In the moment it feels like forever but when it's over feels like it went so quickly :)

Crystal said...

Perfection! The delivery, the baby, everything. Thank you for sharing this monumental event with me. Love you ALL!

Amby D. Taylor said...

Brandi--
You and Adam are SO amazing!! You both did a great job--Sara Beth is so lucky to have you as parents and I am sure she is loved beyond your imagination.

Congratulations again!!

Amby D. Taylor

Unknown said...

I cannot believe how easy you made it sound!! I hope my labor goes even half as smooth as yours was! I am VERY happy for you and Adam and glad you got everything you wished for!
Christina

Brandi Hart said...

Christina, It was not easy by any means. But, I wouldn't have done it any other way. I was up and walking that afternoon. You can't do that when you are medicated. :)

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