Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Leslie's Birth Story

I started to type this when she was just a few days old...but you know, life...third kid...and all that...

I finished it today! SO here is the birth story of baby Leslie!

Up until about 37 weeks, my plan was to go into labor on my own. I have never experienced that before and I wanted to give birth natural again but this time with no poticin. I am not really sure what changed. Maybe the waiting on going into labor...the misery of the end of the pregnancy...the being 5 cm dilated NOT in labor...fear of having a bigger than 9 pound baby...all the above...I decided to get induced with an epidural.

We went for our weekly check-up on Dec 1. I was 5cm and 60%...I told the doctor I wanted to get induced- he called the hospital and scheduled it for the next day.

We got to the hospital on December 2 at 5am. Once I got all settled, the pitocin drip was started on the lowest dose at 4...it was about 6:15am. I didnt really feel much when they started it. The nurse came in and told me the anesthesiologist would be in a c-section from 8-9 am, so if I wanted an epidural I better get it before 8 or I would have to wait an hour. Since I knew I was getting induced and was going to get an epi--I was like BRING IT ON! I dont want to feel any pain! :)

So about 7:45 I got the epidural. It seemed to be more painful when I had the one with Audrie. It wasnt bad at all. He said I had good tissue. Well thank you very much! After he was done, the nurse came in and bumped the pitocin up much higher. This is really when I consider the labor starting.

This was post epidural-notice the smiling...

Our wonderful photographer, April Wesson, came to photograph a birth for the first time. If you never had a birth photographer I would recommend it. I love that she captured so much that I couldnt see or focus on at the time. Because, you know, I was giving birth!

So, about 10am, I really started feeling pressure and pain.

So I call the nurse, tell her I am feeling so pain and I need some more epidural. She checks me and I am 8 cm. The anesthesiologist comes back and gives me another dose. The nurse then turns me on my side and stacks blankets in between my knees because she said the baby needed to turn her head. And it worked! Almost immediately I could feel her turn and start coming down.

About 20 minutes later...I knew she was coming. I paged the nurse. She was a little surprised. She thought it would take atleast another hour. So I started pushing. She said I was a good pusher and called the doctor.

I pushed about 5 contractions, 3 pushes each times. These were no weanie pushes. It was hard! Even with an epidural. 

During my last push, she was starting to come and the doctor told me to wait. Then on my next contraction I pushed really hard and apparently it was so hard the umbilical cord snapped.


You can see the blood splatter on the doctor. Oops. Leslie was already coming out so it was ok. The doctor thinks she had it wrapped around her neck and then the forceful pushing...

There is no greater relief then having your baby out. Epidural or not. Ive done it both way and man its alot of work. 

So at 11:09 am..little Leslie Rene entered our world at 8 lbs 11 oz!


It is always such an odd feeling to look at your baby and think, "you were inside of me!". I doesn't seem possible. A miracle that only God could do!



She was SO alert. When they put her on my chest she just stared into our eyes, like "I know you guys". Neither of my other babies were near that alert. We got to spend sometime just us with her. What a blessing. 


Her first selfie! Welcome to the world in 2015 little girl! 

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