Happy Birth Day, Riley Kate!

At 8pm on Tuesday, March 8th, Braxton and I arrived at the Labor and Delivery unit at Overland Park Regional Medical Center. I was going to be induced since my due date was the next day and Miss Riley had yet to arrive! My doctor graciously accomodated my schedule - I was feeling some pressure for Riley to come since I had a friend coming from Arizona on Friday and Molly, our photographer for Riley's birth day, would be leaving town over the weekend.

We got settled into our room, I was put on the monitor and my IV got started. The nurse explained the plan for the night, which was to place the cervidil and then we were suppose to sleep...yeah, right. There was no sleep for me that night. The few times I did manage to doze off, the baby wasn't tracking on the monitor and the nurse had to come in to readjust things. Instead of sleeping, I watched a couple movies, listened to the clock tick by, and kept hoping that the annoying cramping I was feeling every 10 minutes or so would turn into real contractions so we could get this show on the road.

At 6am the nurse took the cervidil out and I was still only 3cm dilated - the same as I'd been the night before and two days before at my last doctor's appointment. I was disappointed that I hadn't made any change. I was able to take a shower and change clothes...well change ugly hospital gowns. Braxton ate some breakfast and we waited for things to really get started.

At about 7:30 our day nurse, Sarah, came in to start the pitocin. At this point I was still having mild cramping, mostly in my back, occassionally and irregular, but nothing that made me uncomfortable. The pitocin got going and for about 30 min I didn't feel much of a change. At about 8:00 am, my contractions became more regular and frequent and I was starting to have to breathe through them. Most of the pain was in my back, so Braxton quickly learned exactly where to put pressure to help me through each contraction. The nurse continued increasing the pitocin, but at about 8:15 Riley's heart rate dropped and wouldn't come back up. Sarah turned off the pitocin, had me roll to my left side and then my right before Riley responded and her heart rate came back up.

At 8:40, our wonderful doctor and friend, Dr. Nash, or Dr. Hilary as we call her at our house, came in. She checked me and I was dilated to 4 cm. She broke my water at that point and put internal monitors in. Riley really didn't appreciate any of this. Her heart rate dropped again. More rolling from side to side and oxygen. After what felt like a long time, but was maybe 2 minutes at most, her heart rate came back up.

My contractions were getting stronger, but still bearable at this point. I felt in control and like I was doing a good job breathing through each one. Braxton continued to be an amazing support and coach. He just kept rubbing my back and quietly breathing with me through each contraction.

Around 9am, my mom arrived at the hospital to be with us. She did a great job supporting and encouraging me, too. I only had to remind her a few times not to talk; a very difficult request for my very talkative mother! :) Around the same time my mom got there, Dr. Hilary came back into the room. She said baby was looking much better and that she'd be leaving to go to her office. Before she left, she sat on the edge of my bed, held my hand and said a sweet prayer asking God to give me strength for the task ahead, to protect my sweet baby girl, and to give her wisdom as she cared for us. It was a precious moment and one of the many reasons that we love our Dr. Hilary.

At about 10am, I was starting to get more and more uncomfortable with each contraction, but still felt like I was doing a good job getting through each one. I told Braxton that the next time the nurse came in, we could let her know I was ready to get things together for my epidural. Little did we know that at this point, Sarah was in her other patient's room (also a patient of Dr. Hilary) helping her get her epidural. Of course, when she did come, I had to get a fluid bolus before we could do the epidural. During the bolus, I was really having to focus hard to get through each contraction.

Around 11:00 I told Sarah that I was really feeling a lot of pressure in my lower back/bottom. She checked me and I was 8 cm. Right after she checked me, the anesthesiologist came in and began to explain the procedure. I just kept saying, "ok, ok, ok.." although I don't really have any clue what he was saying. When Sarah and Braxton helped me sit up for the epidural, the pain and pressure got a lot more intense. Sitting still for the procedure was nearly impossible. I just kept crying and saying "Oh, no! Oh, no! Oh, no!"

As soon as I laid down from getting the epidural, I felt the intense urge to push with the next contraction. Sarah was on the phone with Dr. Hilary and she was on her way, but it would be 10-15 minutes before she was there. And Braxton was letting Molly, my photographer friend, know it was time to get to the hospital. I wasn't sure I'd be able to hold off for either of them to make it. With each contraction, I kept saying, "I'm gonna poop in this bed. I can't not push. I can't! I can't!" Braxton, my mom and Sarah were a huge support and kept encouraging me. After what felt like the longest 15 minutes of my life, Dr. Hilary was there. They wanted to get me positioned and ready to push, but Molly wasn't there yet. She was just a couple of minutes away, but I knew that if I put my feet in those foot pedals and let my knees fall apart a baby was going to come shooting out. I insisted on keeping my knees together until Molly arrived. While we were waiting, someone came in and told the doctor that her other patient next door was also complete and ready to push. Apparently, I shouted out, "Me first!" although I have no memory of that. Luckily, the other patient wasn't feeling any pain or pressure and could wait. Molly arrived soon after and it was showtime.

We all got ready. I pushed only a couple of times and there she was. At 11:51 am I had my beautiful, bright eyed girl in my arms. This precious baby. Perfection. She was here and crying and looking right at me and beautiful. I cried. A lot. It was all worth it. The pain of labor. The uncomfortable weeks spent complaining of back pain and lack of sleep. The heartburn. Those first 24 weeks of nausea and vomiting and thinking I'd rather die than feel like this ever again. It was all worth it. My 7 lb 7.6 oz 18 1/2 inch long baby girl made it all worth it.

I'd said from early on that I wanted Avery to come in to meet Riley before anyone else and I wanted us to have some time just the four of us before the rest of our family came. After we got cleaned up and I nursed Riley (who thank goodness is a wonderful breastfeeder!), Braxton went out to the hallway and brought Avery in. My sweet girl. I'll never forget the look on her face when she saw her baby sister for the first time. Her eyes lit up and you could tell the love was instant and magical for her, too. Avery admired her sister for a bit, but then became a little overwhelmed by all the equipment in the room and mommy's IV and all the cords and wires. For the next couple of hours, family members came and met Riley and loved on big sister, too!

If you haven't already seen the pictures taken by Molly at the delivery, check out her facebook page to see some. Search for Willow Brandt Photography and look for the album riley kate. birth day. This is one of my favorites:



I am so very grateful for Riley Kate's safe arrival. Thank you to our family and friends who have loved and supported us and for your prayers for our little family. We are blessed.

So much more to come of our first days with Miss Riley. Check back soon!