Blake's Birth Story

Like I mentioned in my previous post, I made the decision that I wanted to be induced as soon as my doctor would allow me. We had the induction scheduled for Monday, February 18th. I was told to call the hospital between 6:00am-6:30am and let them know I was on the induction list. Then depending on how busy they were, they would call me back and let me know what time I was supposed to come in.

I slept TERRIBLE that night. The two nights previous, I had been waking up right around 3am with terrible stomach and back pain. I didn't realize it at the time, but I think they were probably contractions. The problem was that they weren't timeable. It was constant pain and discomfort for about an hour. I would walk around the house a little, sit on the couch, anything to try to get somewhat comfortable.

Then right when I was almost back to sleep, the hospital called me. It was about 5:15am and they asked if I could come in within the next hour. Thrilled, I said yes started getting ready.

At 6:15 am, we arrived at the hospital.

Let's do this!

Day of induction!

6:45 am - The nurse did her initial check to see where I was. I was only dilated to a 1.5-2, which is where I had been at my previous appointment the last Monday. I was really surprised as I had been having contractions and pains all week. I thought for sure I would have progressed at least a little bit.

Soon after she checked me, she got my IV going and started the pitocin.

Super excited that this day was finally here. 

At about 8:30 am, I was still only dilated to about a 1.5 and was having contractions every few minutes. They were super uncomfortable and made me feel really sick to my stomach. I wouldn't necessarily say they were painful at this point, but they sure didn't feel good. Right before I got an epidural, they started getting more painful, and I happily welcomed the drugs.

8:30- Got epidural - The epidural actually hurt quite a bit this time. I don't remember feeling anything when I got it with Will so I was surprised at how much it hurt. I spasmed and jerked a few times because it hurt so bad. But a few minutes of pain is definitely worth it to avoid hours and hours of pain. I felt great shortly after given the drugs and didn't feel much the rest of the time.

Feeling much better after epidural kicked in :)

From this point on, the nurse came to check me hourly. Within the first 2 hours, I finally dilated to a 3. Then things decided to get a bit interesting.

We were both surprised to find me still only dilated to a 3 every time she checked. Each hour, the report seemed to stay the same. I had thinned out a little, the baby has dropped slightly, but no change. So each hour, the picotin dose was increased.

-1 o'clock passed with no change.

-2 o'clock passed with no change.

Finally, my nurse decided to connect an internal monitor to see how strong my contractions were. They were frequent enough, but perhaps they just weren't strong enough. Once that was connected, we discovered that they were indeed strong enough, but for some reason my body just didn't want to progress.

-3 o'clock passed with no change.

-4 o'clock passed with no change.
-5 o'clock and still no change -  I was beyond frustrated at this point. It seemed like this baby was never going to come. I hadn't eaten anything since 5 am and I was starving.

My nurse started talking about the possibility of having a c-section. She said that there was a pretty good chance that I would need to get one. My doctor had a different c-section scheduled for 6 pm, so we would discuss it with him once he was finished. I was fully expecting and planned on having a c-section around 8 pm that night. And at that point, I was more than ok with it. Anything to get that baby out.

Between 6-7 pm, I started feeling a lot of pressure. It almost reminded me of the pressure I felt when I was pushing Will out. I was slightly hopeful that maybe a miracle had happened and I was somehow a 10 and needed to start pushing...otherwise, I needed to use the restroom.

So when she checked me and I was dilated to a 4, I wasn't happy. It was only a slight change, but because I had progressed (even a little bit), I was told we should keep waiting.

No c-section. I was not happy. You'd think I'd be thrilled, but I really was just super frustrated and ready to be done. After 10 hours and only changing 1 cm, I was sick of waiting. And I was scared that it would only continue at that rate. I was convinced it would be March before I would have that baby. (Little dramatic, I know.)

Lance decided he should go home for a few minutes to check on Will and to get himself some headache medicine. He got home around 7:45 pm. When my nurse came to check me at 8 pm, we were both shocked to find I was suddenly 9 cm.

I called Lance and told him that he needed to hurry back.

After many hours not progressing, I was pretty happy to be told I was now a 9.

Meanwhile, they started getting prepped for delivery and getting everything ready. At one point, we were pretty much ready to go, but just waiting on Lance. My nurse didn't want to check me again until Lance arrived in case it started something.

Waiting for Dr. Olsen to arrive.

Lance arrived, and Doctor Olsen came shortly after. After about 3-4 sets of pushes, Blake Nicole was born. 

They immediately placed her on my chest and let me hold her for a moment. (This was new to me as Will had to be taken immediately and I didn't get to hold him until he was all cleaned off.)

Tired and hungry, but thrilled to be holding my baby girl.

She was born at 8:42 pm, weighing 7 lbs 4 oz and measuring 20 inches long.

  Just like her brother, she was born with lots of dark hair.

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 Even before they cleaner her off, you could tell she was going to be a beauty.

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Always something special between a daughter and her daddy.

I got the shakes again, though not as badly as I had them with Will. 

Blake getting her first bath at the hospital.

She was pretty content to have her hair washed.

 We had quite a few visitors while we were at the hospital. Thanks to those who stopped by.

 Special thanks to both our parents. My mom watched Will for a few days while we were in the hospital and Lance's mom watched him a few days after. It was nice to be able to go home for a day and adjust with a newborn without having Will's craziness. 

We stayed in the hospital until Wednesday morning. By then, we were definitely ready to go home.

Blake all buckled up and ready to go.

 Because of the bad flu season, no one under the age of 14 was allowed in the hospital (including siblings). So Blake was several days old when Will finally got to meet her. We showed up at the Hinton's during dinner, and first thing Will said was BABY! Then he refused to finish eating and insisted on seeing the baby.

And lastly, a few pictures during her first few days. She is such a beautiful baby and we are so thrilled that she is finally here and healthy.

We love you, Blake Nicole!