On April 30th at 11:03pm, Miss Aida James joined our family. That morning, around 5am, as I was getting back into bed after going to the bathroom, I heard a pop and felt a little trickle. I immediately thought, “My water just broke,” but decided to wait it out a little. We walked the boys to school and then I called my doctor to see what he suggested. He recommended that I go to Labor and Delivery to be checked. We put everyone helping with the boys on alert and off we went to St Mark’s Hospital, where they tested the leaking fluid. Sure enough, to everyone’s surprise, it was amniotic fluid and I was admitted. Luckily, the nurse, Charity, and my doctor, Dr. Watts, were both very supportive of letting my body try to start contractions on it’s own. They put me on a Bluetooth fetal movement and contraction monitor, which was amazing to not be hooked up to a machine with all the wires!
Charity brought in a breast pump, which would get contractions going for 20-30 minutes after using it, but then they would taper off. However, I was still progressing and went from 2cm at admittance to 6cm at 5pm. Dallin was an excellent delivery companion, as always. We played cards, did crosswords, roamed the halls and laughed together most of the time. Since my body just labors differently, the contractions were not unbearable until the very end, so we enjoyed most of the alone time, just playing. He is also the master at counter pressure and swaying. I’m grateful he is always there to support me with bringing these babies into the world.
By 9pm, I had a new nurse, Brittany, who also used to be a doula. She helped me through the doubting thoughts that come along with transition and gave amazing support. At 10pm, she suggested I lay on my side with my right leg up in a stirrup to open up my pelvis to allow baby to slide down. We did this for two STRONG contractions. In the middle of the third, I had an intense urge to push. Brittany and Dallin turned me over to find baby girl crowning! Dr. Watts came in to basically catch her head and deliver the rest of her body. From the urge to push to full delivery, it was maybe 5 minutes and baby Aida was on my chest, warm and snugly and perfect. She latched right on and is a breastfeeding champ. We couldn’t have asked for a better birth experience. Charity and Brittany were rock star nurses!
Aida was 7lbs 15oz., 20 inches long at birth and just the snuggliest babe. She had a little bit of low blood sugar when she first came out, but the girl latched right on and nursed like a champ was in the clear by the next check and never dipped again. Those moments of just us in the hospital with my new babe are some of my favorite. I sometimes crave them. At one point, I came out of the bathroom to see Dallin dancing with her and singing to her the song "Alright" by Anthony Ramos and my heart official became a puddle of mush. I fell a million times more in love with both of them and will cherish that mental vision forever.
While in the hospital, we got to have a "Celebratory Feast." Basically, they bring in the hospital food with plastic champagne flutes and sparkling cider. We had a good little giggle about that.
I tell Aida all the time she is the piece of my heart I never knew I was missing. She brings a missing piece into our lives that I can't imagine how we ever managed not to have.
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