Lily Ann’s Birth
Story
Born: February 12, 2014 (Wednesday) at 10:17pm
Hospital – Centennial Hills in Las Vegas, Nevada
I woke up,
February 12th at 12:30am, thinking I was peeing the bed (I know-
TMI!). And it continued all night long. Poor John couldn’t figure out why I kept
running to the bathroom all night long! I started having contractions that morning too
but didn’t think to much of it, since I have been having Braxton Hicks for the
past month. However being fast sleep and
waking up with these contractions were different, and I was praying Grandma and
Grandpa Stewart would drive fast so they could be here with me (they left the
day before and was staying in a hotel that night.)
So that
morning being 38 weeks and one day pregnant, I told John that I thought we may
have a baby that day! So another typical
day started, he went to work and I got all the kids to school. And just the day before I transferred the two
big kids over to their new school – Elizondo Elementary. Transferring them from Doral Academy was so
hard on me. I bawled all day. However the kids took the change really well
and the 4 hour drive was now behind me, but that is another story. So Wednesday morning after dropping kids at school
I called mom and dad and told them to not stop and do any site seeing. I think this made them super nervous because
mom called every hour asking me how I was.
I called my friend Susan and told her what was happening too – just in
case the folks didn’t get here fast enough.
Around 9:30am I lost my mucus plug and I was having contractions every
30 minutes. And I kept “peeing” my pants
all morning. However I kept plugging
along, cleaning the house, laundry and taking care of all my odds and
ends. Around noon the Grandparents arrived
– and everyone was glad. We put Emily to
bed and starting talking about how I was feeling. Susan kept telling me that my water broke and
that is why I kept ‘peeing’ my pants all day.
Saying, that it isn’t always a gush of water, but it can be a slow
process, like I was experiencing. Mom
agreed, so I packed my hospital bag –finally!
I called John to tell him that he had to go pick up kids from school
because I was heading to the hospital to check to see if I was in labor. I asked Susan to accompany me to the hospital
since mom and dad needed to stay home with Emmy and the big kids when they
arrive home from school. I drove myself
to the hospital and met Susan around 3pm.
We walked in and I told the woman at Labor and Delivery that I think I
was in labor with my 4th baby and she looked at me funny and told us
to wait in the waiting room while they prepared the triage room for me. Susan and I just laughed and I think the poor
nurses thought we were crazy! I got
checked and my water did break. I called
John around 5pm and told him that we were having a baby. He had to teach class that night and had to
hurry and find a substitute. By this
time, I was having pretty regular contractions and it was starting to feel very
real, but I was only at a 3. Susan kept
me entertained and my mind off the pain, most of the time. John arrived around 6:30pm and I received the
epidural right after that, but I was still at a 3. Susan went and picked up my mom at 8:30pm and
then she left us for the evening. We
were thinking we were in it for the long haul.
Our nurse came to check me around 9:30pm and I was ready! I did a couple practice pushes and she called
Dr. Harter because this baby was coming!
Dr. Harter arrived and saw that the baby was ‘sunny side-up’. My heart dropped. I remembered Emily was this way and it took a
long time to push her out. But Dr.
Harter fixed that without any problems and she was now the correct way. I
pushed one and a half times and Dr. Harter said to stop pushing and our sweet
baby was born at 10:17pm. He laid her on
my belly and I was able to hold her for the longest time before they took her
away to clean her. My emotions took over
as she was placed on me. Sweet tears
of joy and
happiness overcame me. Just to touch her
and to share this moment with John is such an amazing moment in my life. Those few minutes after all my children are
born are the closest to Heaven I ever feel.
That bond of a forever family and THE LOVE! It is just amazing. She was tiny!
I saw a little of Izzie in her, but she was perfect. She weighed 7 lbs and 4 oz and was 20 inches
long.
John and I still didn’t have a name for her and so we had to
decide! I have been calling her Lily the
whole pregnancy and John would never tell me a name he liked. Izzie wanted to
name her ‘Hot Dog’ but instead we named her Lily Ann. She is so beautiful and we love her so much! Our family feels so complete. I am amazed that I am a mother to four
beautiful children.
