Zoe's Birth Story
The worst part about this is that poor Zoe is 15 months old already, and I am JUST NOW getting to her birth story!
It's ok though, I remember every second like it just happened. We were getting ready to go to bed--it wasn't actually that late--when I started having contractions. I was suspicious that these were the real deal because they didn't hurt like the awful Braxton-Hicks I had been experiencing did. They were more in my lower back and kind of felt like a dull ache that came and went. I actually had felt them before when I started going into labor a few weeks prior (thankfully they stopped on their own with a bit of rest).
Kyle and I mulled over whether or not we should call the sitter and we finally settled on calling her...just to be safe, and if she didn't pick up we would call a few friends. Thankfully our sitter, Carrie, picked up and said she would come over if we needed her. At that point I figured we would rather be safe than sorry so we asked her to come, casually. She was about an hour away, so by the time she got there my contractions were actually pretty strong and closer together.
We started off toward Winchester Medical Center and the contractions went from 0-100 in the 20 miles in between! We filled out the paperwork and every contraction was stronger than the last! I had 2 kids before and I knew I must have at least 8 hours, possibly longer before Zoe would make her big entrance, right? WRONG. They didn't admit me right away, they put me in an 'observation' room. This is where things got a little frustrating. They checked my dialation: 2 cm, 90-something percent effaced. OK. so why was I having these powerful painful contractions? Was something wrong? All kinds of things were running through my head, but Zoe's heartbeat on the monitor calmed my nerves.
The nurse told us to wait a bit to see if they got any stronger (like I was already nearing a 7 in the pain level--I think we are headed in the right direction...), hooked me up to a machine, and left. We (My husband, Kyle and I) talked and joked for about 10-15 min. We laughed about the fact that we had not thought about a middle name yet, because this was all happening 2 weeks before my due date! Then, the active contractions really began. In just 30 minutes I made a leap from walking and talking and laughing to full force active labor--not even checked into a room yet! The pain was so intense that my husband was calling out the curtain for a nurse! It felt like hours because each contraction was worse than the last and I had no relief in the tiny observation room! Finally, 45 minutes in a nurse and on-call doctor came to check me and was shocked that I had advanced nearly 3 more centimeters since she was gone! (I am a veteran mom---ya think I would be screaming for you down the hallway for nothing? Thanks for taking your sweet time...eerrrg). I was pretty annoyed at that point as the nurse encouraged me to get up and walk to my delivery room.
I almost couldn't make it, because at this point, there was no break in my contractions, so I went straight to the shower for some relief! My sweet Kyle got in there with me, fully clothed and rubbed my back and held the water on me. They wanted to put an IV in but I could barely concentrate on anything they were saying and refused to leave the shower. I hadn't even been in there for 15 minutes when I knew it was time to push--I called for a nurse and I remember seeing everyone scrambling to get the room and the bed ready--someone was calling for my OB to get here now. The amazing team of nurses delivery nurses, who's faces I barely remember but who's hands were there to hold, and my wonderful husband, dripping wet and probably freezing, helped me over to my bed and stayed there as I labored the most painful labor to date. Out of all of my kids, this birth shocked my entire body with the speed at which it came! No time to even test my blood for an epidural, I was going all natural for the third time. I felt the heat of the lights and heard the metallic clatter of instruments on tables. The very air around me was swirling and I heard one of the nurses say 'open your eyes' I looked up and BLESSED BE! Dr Elizabeth Kidd was at the end of the bed--it was time to meet my baby! I had barely made it to the bed, my OB had barely made it to my room and 2 pushes later my Zoe was here! All 6 lbs and 6 oz of sweet baby girl! She arrived a little over 2 hrs after I first felt the contractions at home!
During our hospital stay and first days home, I have to say, never have I ever felt so confident and loved as as I did when I brought this little girl into the world. I knew she would be loved, I knew she would be safe, and I knew we would be ok. My sweet rainbow baby, Zoe means life, and the joy that bursts from this tiny baby is just that--she brings life and love and hope to everyone she meets.
Oh, and remember we said we didn't have a middle name? Funny story:
While Dr Kidd stitched me up (I tear every time), she jokingly told us 'Elizabeth is a good name! how about that?' Exhausted, elated and thankful that our girl was here, we giggled along with Dr. Elizabeth Kidd, who had been our doctor through our lost baby girl, Faith and through my pregnancy with Zoe...and we decided we kinda liked it! We named her Zoe Eliza--not so much that we were naming her after our OB but after the fact that Elizabeth means 'Promise of God'. What a perfect name for this little one, every promise fulfilled in her face.
