Mally's Birth Story
We had scheduled our induction date for Monday, 12/20 at 6am. Everything was set. My mom drove up on the Wednesday night prior, Jon was off of work, and I was more than ready to be done being pregnant for awhile. On Saturday, we had a full day of running errands and spending the day together. That night, Lucy got sick, but we thought it was just something she ate. She felt better the next day, so we didn't think anything of it.
Sunday night was a restless night. I was too excited to sleep, and something just didn't feel right. At 3am, I started having the same symptoms that Lucy had.... it was the stomach flu. GROSS! I debated whether or not I could fake it, and have them continue with the induction or cancel it all together. After about an hour, I called the doctor on call and canceled. I spent the morning in bed, and was later joined by Jon, who also came down with it later in the afternoon. Thankfully my mom was here to take care of Lucy because we were both out of commission!
That night, I realized I hadn't felt Mally move all day. After calling the birthing center and talking with them about it, we decided to brave the snow and head to the hospital to get monitored. Everything checked out fine, and they determined the mild contractions I was having to being so dehydrated from the flu. We listened to the sweet sound of the heart beat and ate ice chips for about an hour, and then headed home for the night.
The next morning, Jon woke up with Lucy and they played in the living room. I was laying in bed watching the clock... every ten minutes.... every eight minutes... every seven minutes. The contractions were getting closer together and very strong. Jon came in to get a quick snooze, and I took a shower. As soon as I got out of the shower, I told him to get the bags in the van. We were going.
On the way to the hospital, the contractions were getting very close. They were coming strong every three to four minutes. We cranked up the radio and I tried to sing through them, but it just wasn't working. The only song I remember singing was Starship's Build This Dream Together song from the 80s movie Mannequin.
We got to the hospital, whisked up to the birthing center, and hooked up to the monitors in a flash! As soon as I laid down, they checked me, and I was 6cm and fully effaced. They said they weren't sure if I had time for an epidural, but thankfully the anesthesiologist was an angel and hurried right on up to our room. The epidural numbed my belly, but not much of anything else.
The next time the nurse checked me, she paged the doctor, and it was time to push. About ten long, agonizing minutes later, we heard Mallory Mae's little cry and she was born! She looked so perfect!! Everything happened so fast, it was kind of surreal to see her for the first time. There is nothing quite like that moment when you meet the person you've become so close to for the past 39 weeks. Amazing.
