Proud Momma of A Prince & 3 Princesses: Birth Story

I've been wanting to write down Sophiyah's birth story so I can remember the day and look back on the details in years to come. I guess to tell her birth story I need to start a few days earlier. On Tuesday, January 31, 2012, I started having some contractions around dinner time. They were stronger than Braxton Hicks but not completely uncomfortable. I monitored them for about two hours and then decided to go to the hospital to be checked. (At my last OB appt my doctor had told me if I have steady contractions for longer than an hour and a half to head to the hospital) One of our good friends met us at the hospital and took our kids to her house. When I got into OB Triage the nurse checked me and said I was dilated between 2-3cm. She said she was going to have me walk for an hour and see if there are any changes. So off to walk we went. After an hour she checked me and I was a good 3cm, almost 4cm. By this time my contractions were feeling a little stronger and I was feeling very dizzy. The nurse didn't want me to walk anymore since I was so dizzy so I layed in bed for awhile and she said she would come back and check me in an hour. After an hour and a half passed she came back and I was 4cm. Shortly after that it was like someone flipped a switch and everything stopped! My contractions stopped and I stopped dilating. I was soooo disappointed!! I wanted to meet my baby so badly and did not want to go home without a baby in my arms. They gave me some medicine to help me sleep and sent me home. We got home around 6am and I slept until 2pm when I had to get up to go to my dr appointment. My doctor told me "I'm almost there, just need something to jump start my labor". He told me if I made it to my appointment the next week then we would talk about a c-section. (I had a c-section with Janae, so I was going for a VBAC with Sophiyah. But by this time I was so uncomfortable and tired, I just wanted my baby!) All afternoon and for the next two days I had contractions, nothing that was steady though. On Friday morning I woke up with a wet feeling down there. I knew I hadn't peed my pants so I just watched it. With my other pregnancies it was very obvious when my water broke, nothing like this. By the afternoon I still had that feeling so I called my dr office and the nurse practitioner told me to head to the hospital. She confirmed what I thought it was...my water had a slow leak. My bag was already packed but I had done some laundry and had to finish packing the kids. So after that and loading everything in the car we were headed to drop off the kids. Tyler wanted to go to my dad's house so we dropped him with Grandpa and dropped the girls off with our friend. By the time we were driving to drop Tyler off my contractions were getting uncomfortable and very steady! We got to the hospital, got all checked in and the nurse checked me. 4cm!! She said I needed to walk for an hour and see if I progressed. The last thing I wanted to do was walk, but I wanted my baby to come. So off to walk we went. I was so uncomfortable and my contractions were getting stronger, I was having a hard time walking. I had to stop everytime I had a contraction and hold onto Eric because it was too difficult to hold myself up. I only made it 30 minutes walking and had to stop. She checked me again and I had dilated to 6cm!!! That was what I needed to happen...I wasn't being sent home again, I was going to have our baby!!! At this point my contractions were getting painful and much stronger. Oh and the constant wetness I kept feeling was my water slowly leaking. The nurse said she could feel my bag bulging, just needed some contractions to break it. The nurse quickly got busy getting me ready to head to labor and delivery. Once I was in my room they hooked up my IV and had me finish signing all the paperwork. Since I was trying for a VBAC I had to sign some papers just in case I ended up needing a c-section and that I was aware of the risks involved with a VBAC. After that I was ready for my epidural. The anesthesiologist came in and it seemed like it took forever for him to get set up!! Once I had my epidural I felt so much better! My nurse came in to check me and I was at 8cm. While she was checking me my water broke!! YAY!! She said she would come back in 45 minutes to check again. Eric and I tried to relax during that time but we were both so excited to meet our baby. When she came back I was complete. She told me to do a "practice push" and quickly told me to stop! She ran out to call my doctor. He arrived at 4:29am and quickly began getting set up. I pushed once and she was crowning, I pushed again and had my baby in my arms!! Sophiyah Ashleigh Ann was born on February 4, 2012 at 4:39am! She weighed 7lbs 11oz and was 21 inches long. We were so happy she was here! I was also so happy I had just had a VBAC!!! I held her for a few minutes and then the nurse took her to clean her up. While she was weighing, measuring and cleaning her up my doctor was stitching me up since I needed an episiotomy. Once he was done with that the nurse brought Sophiyah back over to me and they all left the room and let me and Eric enjoy our baby for awhile. It was so nice to have that first hour or so of her life with just the three of us. After that they gave her a bath, did her footprints and helped me get cleaned up a bit. Then I was moved to a post partum room. Sophiyah was born on a Saturday (exactly 39 weeks) so we had quite a few visitors that day. My dad also brought Tyler up to the hospital so he could meet his new baby sister. The girls were both getting over being sick so we decided it was best for Sophiyah and for them if they saw her when we came home. It is RSV season so visitors are not allowed under the age of 12, unless it's a sibling. By that evening we were so exhausted and tried to get some sleep. Sophiyah was up every 2 hours to eat and I was having a hard time sleeping. I could not get comfortable and I was so hot! The nurse told me that was from my lovely hormones. Sunday was a bit busy too. The pediatrician and my doctor came by and gave us both a clear bill of health to go home. By that evening, after watching the Super Bowl of course, we were discharged. We couldn't wait to go pick up the kids and get home.