Yesterday, my baby Julia turned two. When I got old enough to have a three-year-old, a two-year-old, and a baby on the way, I have no idea! Last I checked I was living on my own in an apartment, barely out of college, and dating the neighbor boy. (Yes, that neighbor boy was David . . . the only person I ever dated!)
Since I shared Samuel's birth story, I thought I'd go ahead and do so for Julia, too. For whatever reason (I imagine it has to do with him being my first), I have to think a little harder to remember all the details of Julia's birth than I did for Samuel's!
I was due on Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010. It had been a rough couple of years, having gotten married and gone through several trials, then having Samuel, and unexpectedly finding out we would be having another baby when Samuel was only 6 months old.
On Saturday evening, the 19th, I started having fairly regular and sometimes intense contractions. David and I were both quite nervous about the whole labor process, since I was only in the hospital for little over an hour before delivering Samuel. We live 45 minutes from the hospital, so we were not willing to take any chances with this baby! We decided around 9:00 that night that we should go in and see if I could be admitted since we were pretty sure it was the beginning of labor.
One thing I remember being very sad about was that my main OB was still on vacation. She would not be back until Monday, and since I just adore her, and she had also delivered Samuel, I was really wanting her to be the one to deliver Julia as well. I was very thankful, though, to find that my second choice was on call for Saturday night into early Sunday.
When we got to the hospital around 10:30, my contractions were 10-15 minutes apart and I was dilated to 4 cm. They put monitors on me and let me lay in a waiting area and chew on ice. I know the ice seems to be a very small part of this story . . . but ice is one of my favorite things during pregnancy. Especially the incredibly crunchy crushed ice they have in the delivery area.
I was monitored all night, and though our nurse insisted David and I get some sleep, we were both uncomfortable and just ready to have a baby. We stayed awake watching old TV shows and visiting, and all the while, my contractions seemed to be slowing. By 4:00 a.m. they were 30-40 minutes apart, and I had not dilated any further. The on-call doctor said she could come in and break my water to try and speed up labor, or that we could go ahead and leave and come back when the contractions were closer again. She said, though, that we should not go home since I was definitely in beginning labor and we live so far away.
What in the world do you do at 4 in the morning on a Sunday, though?? Walk around Wal-Mart. We actually kind of enjoyed ourselves, picking out a little outfit for David to get after I delivered, if the baby happened to be a girl. At 5 we went to IHOP where we wasted about another hour eating stuffed French toast. Finally, around 7:00 when we had walked around the mall with the older people for an hour and realized we truly had exhausted all of our options, we decided we would go home.
We called Labor and Delivery and told them our decision. I was scheduled to be induced the next day, Monday, by my regular OB, Dr. Wenzel.
We picked up Samuel from our friends' house Sunday morning and then went home and took turns sleeping on and off all day. Monday morning we called in at 6:30 as we had been instructed, assuming that we would be able to leave shortly thereafter and have our baby. Since Dr. Wenzel had been on vacation, she had scheduled about 10 inductions for that Monday the 21st. They told me that not only did they have a full induction schedule, but several ladies were in labor and all of their beds were full. I would have to wait to call until 10:30. How disappointing.
Between that time, my contractions started picking up again. They went from 40 minutes, to 30, to 20 . . . I called in at 10:30. "We're still really full. We'll call you when we're ready - probably in an hour or so," they told me. Great.
I had a really terrible stomachache in addition to the contractions, and all I could stand to eat was ice cream, so that was what I ate all morning. I have to say, David and I did really enjoy every moment with Samuel that day. We knew it would be his last day as an only child, so we played with him and read to him.
By 1:00, my contractions were 10-15 minutes apart, and I knew I was going to be having the baby soon. We had not yet received a phone call from the hospital, so I called in and told them what was going on. I was surprised at their non-chalance. They told me to take a bath, and take my time, and to come within the next 2 hours. Maybe they would have a bed ready.
It was actually pretty nice (aside from the whole labor/contraction/pain thing). Instead of going to emergency, since we were technically being induced, we parked in the regular parking lot and took our time getting up to labor and delivery. My parents met us in the lobby, where they had been waiting since 7:00 that morning. They didn't want to miss the birth. We were able to hand Samuel over to them, and go straight back to be admitted.
By the time I was admitted, it was around 3:30. My contractions were less than 5 minutes apart and I was dilated to 6 cm. I don't remember a whole lot from that time - it really seemed to fly by. I do remember asking David repeatedly to tickle my arm, and then yelling at hime to stop touching me. I felt kind of bad about that . . .
Julia Lucile was born at 6:24 p.m. on Monday the 21st - exactly 14 months, 14 days after her big brother. She was a "mommy's girl" from the beginning, crying if anyone else was holding her but me. That was wearing on me, and I have to admit that it took a few months of getting used to.
Once again, God answered our prayers and I did not have an epidural, we made it to the hospital, and my own doctor was there to deliver. We are so thankful for how the events took place as we brought Julia into the world that day.
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