Ella's Birth Story

I was 38 weeks pregnant when I gave birth to my baby girl on December 1. I had been staying at my parent’s house because they live closer to the hospital. On November 30, I went to my doctor for my weekly check-up. I was still two centimeters and 50-percent effaced, which is what I had been for two weeks. I was a bit disappointed and my doctor told me she could induce me the day before my due date, which was December 6. I agreed, and then went back to my parent’s house.

I was worried about being induced so I went to see a neighbor who has five children to ask her about what it meant to be induced. She said I would be fine, but maybe I should wait instead of being induced. I went home and thought about it and my husband and I decided it would be a good idea to be induced. I then went upstairs, and as I was walking, I felt like I was peeing myself, and then my worst thought was, “What if it’s blood?” I ran to the bathroom and sat on the toilet, and that’s when I realized my water broke! At the hospital, they checked to make sure my water broke and I was then admitted to the labor and delivery room. It was 8 PM. The nurse came in and hooked me up to the heart beat and contraction monitors. At this point, I was not having any contractions. The doctor said they would start me on Pitocin at midnight if I wasn’t having contractions by then. My husband took a nap and my mom and I watched the contraction monitor. I started the Pitocin, and by 2 AM, I had my epidural. During transitional labor, I did get sick and I had the chills but it wasn't so bad.

I began pushing at 7:30 AM on Friday, December 1. I used the squatting bar, which was great, and a mirror as I watched the delivery progress. I pushed six times with one contraction because I could see my daughter’s head begin to come out. I ate ice chips, and we now call my mom the "ice queen" because she was feeding me them when I needed it. I pushed the best when I was on my back and at 9:34 AM, my daughter, Ella, was born. We did not know the gender of the baby throughout the pregnancy. The doctor asked my husband to tell the gender but he couldn't see because the umbilical cord was in the way, everything was swollen, and he had tears in his eyes. The doctor told him it was a girl! We were so excited.

We had one problem: Ella had swallowed some amniotic fluid and we ended up staying at the hospital for seven days until the fluid evaporated. She had to have an IV with two different antibiotics to ensure that she did not catch pneumonia. The hospital has what is called “hoteling it,” which means that my husband and I paid every night to stay in the hospital with our daughter. After a few days, the fluid did clear up and we could not wait to get our baby girl home! I wish someone had told me about the fluid in the lungs so that my husband and I wouldn't have been so clueless about what was going on. Overall, it was a great delivery for my first time and my husband and I are so blessed to have such a beautiful and healthy baby girl!