Bethany's Birth

Here is the story of our sweet Bethany's arrival into this world.  Bethany was due to be born on Oct. 23.  Since Abigail was 5 days late, we were planning on an overdue delivery for Bethany as well. The week leading up to her due date was full of plans for final get togethers and final preparations before she arrived.  So, when I began having contractions a week early, on Oct. 16, I was caught off guard.  The contractions started about 1:30 AM and they felt different than the Braxton-Hicks contractions I had been having throughout the pregnancy--I could feel these ones in my back.  At first they were not too intense, I could easily breath through them and they were coming every 8-12 minutes.  This cycle persisted for a couple hours.  Around 3:30, Steve woke up, so I told him I'd been having regular contractions.  I still thought they might go away soon, but they kept on coming. Steve helped me time the contractions and would push on my back to help ease the pain.  Looking back now, I realize that the contractions were slowly getting more intense, but I wasn't acknowledging that.  Since they weren't going away yet (they would stop, right?) I decided I should probably pack a bag for the hospital just in case.  By 5:30 AM, the contractions were coming every 5-7 minutes.

Abigail woke up at 6:00, so we brought her into the bed with us.  She kept asking, "Mom, what ya doin'?" and "Mom, you wanna get up?" How do you explain contractions to a 2 year old :). We made our way out to the living room, where I laid on the couch in intense pain.  The contractions still weren't consistently 5 minutes apart, so we kept putting off going to the hospital.  Abigail was able to eat breakfast and then we decided, we should probably leave by 7:00.  Steve got everything loaded in the car and I hobbled out.

While in the car, my contractions started coming on really strong every 3-4 minutes!  Unfortunately, traffic was starting to build, so all I could do as they came was squeeze the living daylights out of Steve's fingers.  We arrived at the hospital by 8:00 AM and Steve pushed me into the Labor and Delivery area in a wheelchair.  I was in agony at this point.  They took me right back and checked to see how far along I was.  When they announced that I was dilated to 7.5 cm I was shocked.  No wonder I was hurting so much!  I thought my water would have broken long before that point, which is another reason we kept putting of going to the hospital.  I immediately requested an epidural. When they paged the anesthesiologist, he said that he was just getting ready to start a C-section and wouldn't be able to come out for about 45 minutes.  I thought I was going to cry.  The nurse explained to him that I was moving really fast and asked if he could come before starting.  They got my IV in and he was able to come right away (Thank goodness!!!). After giving me a fast acting medication through the epidural, I was feeling relief within a few contractions.  I could finally relax and prepare for the arrival of our little girl.  My water had still not broken, so the doctor broke it for me.  The amniotic fluid was slightly discolored, so they were concerned that the baby had passed some meconium into the fluid.  They call the nursery nurses in just as a precaution.

Grandpa Kenny and Grandma Kathy arrived at the hospital in time to take Abigail to a family waiting area while I got ready to push.

By 9:45 AM the doctor was in and I was ready to deliver.  My legs were completely numb, which was different than with Abigail, and I was pretty tired from laboring, so pushing was harder this time around.  But at 10:16 AM (on 10/16/2014) Bethany was born.  She quickly cried and her examination was perfect.  There were no problems, for which we were very grateful.  She weighed in at 8 lbs. 12.7 oz. and was 20.5 inches long (thank goodness she came a week early, or I would have been giving birth to a 9-10 lb. baby!).

After Daddy and I held our little girl, Steve went to bring Abigail in to meet her new sister.  She was very sweet and excited. I am so grateful that she was able to be there to be the first (non-parent) to meet Bethany.

Abigail did a good job spending most of the 2 days at the hospital.  Steve went home with her the first night and on the second night she slept over at Grandma and Grandpa Harris's.  We were grateful for those who were able to come visit and who expressed their congratulations in other ways too.  On Saturday morning, we were able to all go home together as a family.

Bethany has been a wonderful addition to our family.  It takes some adjustment, of course, but we couldn't imagine life without her.  We are sleep deprived, but know that won't last forever.  Abigail has been adjusting well.  She has some hard times, but for the most part is very sweet and excited to have a sister.  She always wants to check and see if Bethany is okay (even when Bethany is sleeping). Abigail likes to hold her, pat her head, and say nice things like, "It's ok Bethany, I protect you."  Thankfully, Steve has had the past 2 weeks off of work, so we have eased into the 2 kid thing.  We've been able to spend one on one time with Abigail, while the other cares for Bethany.  We've even managed to squeeze in a couple naps.  Well, onto new adventures, growth, and happiness.