Finally get to share the birth of my little girl with you! I have shared all my births on this blog. I thought I had experienced it all by having a previous c-section and two other very different birth experiences with VBAC, but I was wrong!
In late October or early November, I started having Braxton hicks contractions pretty regularly, which was something I did not experience with my other pregnancies. On 11/13, around 5 pm, they kept coming. I started timing them and realized they were every 5-7 minutes. They were uncomfortable but bearable. I decided to try to go to sleep, but I really didn’t sleep much and debated if I should call the midwife in the middle of the night. I woke up Thursday, 11/14, and called the practice. They had me come in and hooked me up to monitor the baby and contractions. At this point, contractions were every 3.5-4 minutes and baby girl’s heart rate was on the lower end. They made me consume sugar and all the things, but homegirl was just snoozing. After an hour of monitoring and being less than 37 weeks, they sent me to the hospital due to contractions. Upon arriving, they really didn’t give me much choice and started giving me fluids, antibiotics, and whatever they could to stop the contractions. When they checked me, I was 3 cm. By 9:00 PM, they wanted me to stay in the hospital overnight, but by this time, contractions had virtually stopped, so we opted to head home. We will call this round one of labor that got me to 3 cm and was roughly 17 hours of labor that we will later classify as prodromal labor.
On 11/21, contractions started again that evening. Instead of timing and stressing, I timed for a minute, realized they were around 5 minutes apart, and then just tried to go to bed. Friday, I made the call again, as I didn’t want to be seen before the practice closed, and ended up not knowing what to do on the weekend or back at the hospital pointlessly. At the doctor’s office, they checked me again, and I was 4-5 cm, regularly contracting. She said, “You are going straight to the hospital.” I said, “Well, I have not eaten lunch.” She said, “Only get something close and go.” Upon arrival to the hospital, the hooked me up which I was regularly contracting, my water membrane was bulging, but being a VBAC I didn’t want to interfere as much as possible. So when they offered to break my water to get labor going, I refused. Once again, after a period of time and being hooked up to a monitor, contractions slowly stopped again! Now, this was round two of labor, going from 3-5 cm and once again leaving the hospital without a baby.
At this point, I was exhausted mentally and physically. I was confused. Heck, with Silas, my water broke, and the baby was here just a couple of hours later. I had never experienced prodromal labor, and I started to worry. I went from being uncomfortable to being ready to have a baby after round two of labor on Sunday, and I was just kinda over it then. I cried and went to bed early, knowing I had a follow-up appointment the next morning. Monday morning at the appointment, she offered to, once again, break my water, strip membranes or really anything to get me to the next point. I just sat in her office, cried, and said, “Nope, she will come when she is ready.” She told me to schedule another appointment in a week but she had a feeling it would not be that long.
1 pm that same day, I got a massage. Call it crazy but the prior week I had reflexology appointment and was told my left shoulder and jaw was all tight. The Left is your feminine side, and the right is masculine in Chinese medicine. The jaw also mimics the pelvic floor. No lie, she started massaging my left jaw and I felt some water. I said, “I think my water just broke.” She said, “Are you sure?” I said, “No, maybe not. Maybe I just peed myself a little, lol.” I moved my leg slightly, and I felt a huge gush! My water had for sure broken! I immediately started to panic and sit up, and she was like, “I am finishing what I started with massaging you. Give me two minutes, just lay down and chill.” I mean, my type A self chill?!? Ha. I said, “can you hand me my phone so I can call Brandon so he can at least head this direction.” I called and he didn’t answer. I called again. He didn’t answer. I sent him a bunch of water emojis and said it is go time. He called back and said I was “lying.” I said, “No, I am not.” He said, “Yeah, right, you are saying this because I didn’t answer.” Michelle, who was giving a massage, stepped in and said, “She is not lying. I will make sure she gets home or can get her to the hospital if needed.” He was in route and didn’t question again after that… lol!
This was on 11/25 around 2 o’clock. I expected contractions to start immediately like past labors, but I had very parasitic ones, and the water continued to gush. Around 3:30 pm, I arrived at the hospital, and being a VBAC, they decided for me to try to move around to induce the contractions, as they said it could take up to 6 hours to fully start. Well, the 6 hours came and went, and contractions were every 3-4 minutes, but they were bearable. Around midnight, they decided to check on me, but again, I just felt like I was not progressing. To my demise, they checked me and I had not changed from what I was when I first got in there. They made the decision to start a low dose of pitocin to help bring on strong contractions because, for some reason, the baby was still not engaged. At a 2, they believed that is why I was not progressing with labor. Pitocin meant fluids and being hooked up, and that started a very long night of labor and needing to pee all the time.
They kept upping the pitocin by a little and at 4 AM, decided to check again. Guess what… no change… I was beginning to start to doubt. I was exhausted, and Brandon said, “Kristy, you might have to accept you might need a c-section. Nothing is changing.” I said, “Don’t speak that,” and felt tears roll down my face. They decided to up the pitocin again. From 4-5 pm, I am not sure what happened, but if you have never had pitocin contractions, that is what started kicking in. By 5 AM, I could no longer speak. I would tell Brandon to add counter pressure to my back, he would touch me, and then I would say, “No, don’t do that.” I felt like I could not breathe. Things went from 0 to 100 quickly. I went from I am not sure I need an epidural to begging for something. I was begging to turn off the Pitocin or anything. It was pain like I have never experienced.
They called the anesthesiologist and said I needed an entire bag of fluids, which would take about an hour before they would give me any relief. I just kept counting in my head how many more I would have to endure. 7 AM rolled around, and shift change happened with all doctors and midwives. Finally, around 7:30 am, they came to give me the epidural, and by this point, I do not even remember what that person looked like. I have no idea how they even did it because I was not able to stay still during contractions. I was exhausted and beyond myself at this point with pain. As soon as it was done, the midwife came in and said well I heard we had a long night, she said “let me check you.” At this point, I could still feel a lot was feeling pressure to push already.. She checked, and I was fully dilated. She said, “Okay, well, out of curiosity, let’s just try to push.” I pushed, and she started directing the nurses to bring her coat; the lights went on, and three more contractions later, a baby girl was here!
Aria Jade was born at 8:20 AM, weighing 7 pounds and 7 ounces. The amount of relief, joy, and love that washed over me started healing my soul in parts I didn’t even know possible, and that can never be described properly.
She was immediately brought to me for skin-to-skin and my world was then changed forever. We spent the next two days recovering and got to go home on Thanksgiving Day, where she had won over siblings, family, and friends’ hearts. There is a full newborn session coming soon, but I just had to share these moments that have changed me forever. A labor unlike any of my others and one that was worth every second and ounce of pain that seemed to melt away with each cry I heard her make.
One other fun fact. We could not pick her name for over 2 days after she was born. It drove the family crazy, and we ended up going with a name that no one even expected.
In Italian, Aria translates to “air” but also means “song or melody”. An Aria is an elaborate vocal solo. In Persian, Aria means “noble”. In Hebrew, Aria is derived from the name Ariel, which means “lion of God”.
Jade means “precious gemstone” and comes from the Spanish phrase piedra de la ijada, which translates to “stone of the side”. Jade is also a type of Hummingbird.
Aria Jade, know I am so grateful for the gift of you. You have an amazing Daddy, and know I can not wait to watch you grow…
Grateful to my Mom, who showed up just in time to be able to capture these photos.
I was so sick this pregnancy, starting around seven months with Heartburn. Actually, it was not even heartburn it was classified as Gerd. I would have heartburn constantly and coughing, which led to being sick. I never got morning sickness with her, but the last trimesters were full of a lot of sleepless nights. If the wife’s tails hold true, this head of hair would be proof! Can not and still can’t believe how much hair she has!
This moment… My oldest and my youngest. Both were 7 pounds 7 ounces at birth.
Some snapshots once we got into our room… the photographer in me has taken wayyyy to many photos but I really don’t care. I am obsessed with her!
Here is a little sneak peek from Brooke, Paperlilly Photography, from Aria’s newborn session. I cannot wait to share more.. stay tuned!!! She is literally so perfect….
