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Ella’s Birth Story
I had been having contractions off and on and generally feeling terrible since 38 weeks. The closer I got to my due date contractions would start at night and then fizzled out by morning. It didn’t help that the baby kept rolling from side to side every morning. I was doing everything I could to get her to settle on my left and stay there!
On October 13th I was two days away from my due date. My mom had been staying with us for two weeks so she could be with Margot when I went into labor. That morning we decided to go for a walk since the weather was nice. I had heard about curb walking so I decided to try it to see if anything would start. If nothing else it helped get the baby back to my left side!
The rest of the afternoon I sat on a yoga ball and circled my hips to get the baby lower in my pelvis so she would stay in place. I started watching Harry Potter with Margot but we only got about an half way through before it was her bed time. I put Margot to bed at 8:00pm and went upstairs around 9:00pm. I turned the lights out at 9:30pm and I wasn’t even asleep yet when contractions started up hard around 10:00pm.
At 11:00pm I went downstairs to tell Matt contractions were about ten minutes apart and I thought I was in labor. He came upstairs around 11:30pm to try to get some sleep before we had to go to the hospital. I tried to get some sleep as well but it proved futile with contractions waking me up every ten minutes or so.
By 2:00am it was too uncomfortable to stay in bed and I knew I needed to get up and move. I went back downstairs to sit on the ball and watch some more Harry Potter.
At 3:00am it was getting harder to concentrate so I went upstairs to take a quick shower and wake Matt up. I finished gathering my things for the hospital and woke my mom up. We sat in the living room a while longer while Matt called the hospital to let them know we were coming in. We left the house around 3:45am and arrived at the hospital at 4:00am. The ride to the hospital was not easy!
After arriving in the emergency room a nurse from labor and delivery came to take us to triage. I was still managing through contractions but I really wanted to get into the jacuzzi. We had to be monitored for about 30 minutes in triage and I was so happy to hear I was already at 5cm!
We were taken to our room around 4:30am and after another 30 minutes of monitoring I was able to go to the tub room! I stripped down and got in while Matt got some wash cloths to pour water over my back. I wasn’t comfortable laying back so I stayed on my knees and leaned forward in the tub. At this point I was shaking and having a really hard time getting through contractions. After 30 minutes I told Matt I was gonna be sick and he pulled a trash can over. Before I had the chance to throw up I had another contraction and felt a lot of pressure. I immediately told Matt I had to get out. He called our nurse and helped me get dry and dressed and we went back to the room.
On our way to the room I had a contraction that made me bear down. Basically every time I breathed out it turned into a grunt and I couldn’t help from pushing. We got in the room and I hopped up on the bed and with the next contraction my water broke. Our nurse called in the midwife. I still had a hospital gown covering my backside. The midwife wanted to check me to make sure I was at 10cm but with the next contraction I could feel the baby coming out! They lifted the gown and her head was right there! The next contraction her head was out! One more final contraction and Ella Jane was born!
It was 5:57am – we had only been at the hospital for two hours. Ella weighed 7lbs and 6oz and was 20.5” long. She came out so fast she still had fluid in her lungs. She gave a tiny cry but she had to be taken over to the warmer and the NICU team was called in. Matt went over by Ella while I got stitched up (two small tears). She had fuzzy blonde hair and he let me know she had ten fingers and ten toes.
In the end she needed some extra oxygen so she did have to go to the NICU for 48 hours. It was so hard – my heart goes out to families that have to spend an extended amount of time in the NICU. We didn’t get to hold her much until she was 24 hours old and she didn’t get to nurse until the second night. I’m happy I was able to pump and give her colostrum and when she was finally able to nurse she latched right on. Now she’s doing great and gained two pounds in her first month!
We are so in love with this little girl and navigating life as a family of four!
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What’s In My Hospital Bag
As of this week I am 36 weeks pregnant and this baby will be here very soon! That means it’s time to pack my hospital bag! I was very pleased with what I brought to the hospital when I had Margot and I’ve pared it down even more this time. In most cases the hospital provides what you need so you really don’t need to pack a lot! Here’s my list of what I am bringing:
What I’m wearing to the hospital
On the way to the hospital I’m planning to wear a nursing nightgown, a pair of comfy undies, my Barefoot Dreams cardigan, and slip on sneakers. Once we’re admitted I’ll change into the hospital provided gown and slipper socks but this way I’ll have a nursing gown and comfy cardigan with me if I want to wear them postpartum.
For the delivery room
For the delivery room I’m bringing a few things to make me more comfortable and to help me through labor. When we had Margot we brought a portable diffuser with lavender essential oil to mask the hospital smell and I’m so glad we did! We also used it in our recovery room. I brought a big cup with a straw for ice water – one of Matt’s jobs in labor was making sure I stayed hydrated and giving me sips of water. I’m sure some hospitals provide this but I wasn’t offered anything in labor so it’s a good idea to bring your own. The hospital also most likely won’t let you eat while in labor. I didn’t ask, but I brought some Luna bars just in case I got hungry and needed some calories for energy. I ended up having no appetite while in labor but we also brought juice boxes which was a Godsend! I started feeling like I needed some energy when I was close to pushing and sucked down two juice boxes quickly. In the moment it was the best thing I’ve ever tasted! We also had a file folder with three copies of our birth plan for the midwife, the nurses, and ourselves, and a pen. Finally, we brought two bags of chocolates for the nurse’s station just as a little thank you.
For recovery
I brought other clothes last time, but all I ended up wearing was a robe and the hospital provided mesh undies! So this time I am just bringing a robe and flip flops to wear in the shower. I’ll also bring a nursing tank and maternity leggings to wear home with my Barefoot Dreams cardigan, slip on sneakers, and an extra pair of comfy undies. For breast feeding I plan to bring these Medela Hydrogels. I prefer these to nipple cream as they are cooling, soothing, and stay on without being messy. Other than that I am bringing a long charging cord for my phone, toiletries and makeup, hair ties and clips, dry shampoo, and a brush. That’s it!
For the baby
The hospital provides diapers and wipes, little shirts and blankets, and a hat for the baby so we won’t need much for our stay. I’m terrible at swaddling with regular blankets so I am planning to bring my Ollie Swaddle so I can try to put her down while we sleep. I’m bringing one sleeper and hat to put on her to go home in, a muslin swaddle blanket to cover her with in the carseat, and a fuzzier blanket to put over that so she doesn’t get cold.
This all fits in one big tote bag and we should be good to go! Was there anything you had for your hospital stay that isn’t on my list? Let me know in the comments!