Time to Come Back...Birth Story
I suppose it is time to find time to get back into this. A good friend of mine is excellent about updating her daily blog so her extended family can follow along in the lives of her two beautiful children and since everyone on my side of the family lives hours upon hours away I suppose I should follow her lead. I have changed the title of my Blog from Quest for a Baby since we have our beautiful daughter. The next several posts will be mingled with others to catch everyone up to date. Below is the birth story of my sweet baby who is now 15 1/2 months old!
Reagan Emily - December 3, 2008 - 3:53 am - 6lbs 4 oz - 19 ½ inches long
Reagan was due November 26th and being the birth mom’s (BM) 3rd baby in 3 years, we were convinced that she was going to be early. Obviously Reagan had other plans. The birth mother spent most of November contracting but never dilating more than 3 cm and the pre-labor always subsided. First we thought her birthday was going to be November 18/19 but the progression of labor stopped and stalled. Then we thought for sure she was coming November 21 because the contractions got to 2 minutes apart and seemed to be staying in a pattern but they too stalled after several hours. So, her due date came and went and we were starting to wonder if she was going to show up on her own.
On December 2nd, the midwife visited the BM and I suggested they strip her membranes to see if that might get things started. Throughout that day the BM contracted a bit harder but not with any consistency and dilated to just below 4 cm. It was anybody’s guess on what would happen next. I spent that evening at home cleaning and organizing and not able to relax. Finally around 1 am when I hadn’t heard anything I decided to go to bed. At 2 am my phone rang and the BF said the contractions were right on top of each other and I should get there quickly.
I jumped straight out of bed and spent a few minutes confused on what I might have forgotten to pack for her before I reassured myself that I had forgotten nothing. I threw my keys at my DH and told him to warm up the car (it was the coldest night of the year to date – down in the high 20s which is very, very cold for Florida). He stood confused asking me why and it took me a few minutes to finally tell him that we were having a baby that night. He kept asking me if I was serious as he ran out to start the car. (He did not attend the birth out of respect for the BM’s personal parts privacy.)
I got settled in at the BP’s house by 2:30 am and the midwife said she had dilated to 7 so labor wasn’t going to stop this time. We all settled in around the bed and talked quietly while the BM labored. Every so often they would check Reagan’s heartbeat and the BM’s blood pressure but overall it was just everyone sitting back. The BM labored very quietly and had herself very relaxed and in a zone and she did her thing. The room was kept quiet and dimly lit and soft music was playing in the background – a very relaxed setting.
At 3:46 am the BM lifted her head and informed us that her water broke. The midwife and her nurse then jumped into action. The nurse checked Reagan’s heart rate again and the midwife checked the amniotic fluid for signs of blood and by the time they finished that, Reagan’s little head was crowned. The BM has delivered all the children very quickly after the water breaks – we joke that the babies surf out. A few pushes later, Reagan was born at 3:53 am. The nurse had me call the birth time which is a nice memory.
Reagan came out with her eyes wide open and a not so happy look on her face. She cried right away but soothed rather quickly even with all the poking and prodding. I got to cut the cord and then she was all wrapped up. The BP’s spent a few minutes with her and Reagan was making it clear that she was hungry so they handed her over to me to feed her a bottle. She took ½ an ounce down rather quickly and snuggled away.
After a bit the midwife repeated her Apgar (10 again!) and gave her the Vitamin K shot and the eye antibiotics. Then she got her first bath and I dressed her in her first outfit. We hung around for a bit and then at 4 ½ hours old I brought her home to meet her Daddy – who has been wrapped around her little fingers from that first moment and both of us are completely in love with this beautiful little person.
The most amazing part of all this is how much my heart knows that this is the child I was meant to have. I always knew I would love an adopted child just as much as a bio child and I never doubted our decision to adopt but I did not know of this entire other, deeper, more intense level of feeling of that place waiting in my heart that matched her precisely and how powerfully right and good it feels to have her as my child. We are just so unbelievably blessed and forever grateful for the wonderful gift her birth parents have given us.
Reagan Emily - December 3, 2008 - 3:53 am - 6lbs 4 oz - 19 ½ inches long
Reagan was due November 26th and being the birth mom’s (BM) 3rd baby in 3 years, we were convinced that she was going to be early. Obviously Reagan had other plans. The birth mother spent most of November contracting but never dilating more than 3 cm and the pre-labor always subsided. First we thought her birthday was going to be November 18/19 but the progression of labor stopped and stalled. Then we thought for sure she was coming November 21 because the contractions got to 2 minutes apart and seemed to be staying in a pattern but they too stalled after several hours. So, her due date came and went and we were starting to wonder if she was going to show up on her own.
On December 2nd, the midwife visited the BM and I suggested they strip her membranes to see if that might get things started. Throughout that day the BM contracted a bit harder but not with any consistency and dilated to just below 4 cm. It was anybody’s guess on what would happen next. I spent that evening at home cleaning and organizing and not able to relax. Finally around 1 am when I hadn’t heard anything I decided to go to bed. At 2 am my phone rang and the BF said the contractions were right on top of each other and I should get there quickly.
I jumped straight out of bed and spent a few minutes confused on what I might have forgotten to pack for her before I reassured myself that I had forgotten nothing. I threw my keys at my DH and told him to warm up the car (it was the coldest night of the year to date – down in the high 20s which is very, very cold for Florida). He stood confused asking me why and it took me a few minutes to finally tell him that we were having a baby that night. He kept asking me if I was serious as he ran out to start the car. (He did not attend the birth out of respect for the BM’s personal parts privacy.)
I got settled in at the BP’s house by 2:30 am and the midwife said she had dilated to 7 so labor wasn’t going to stop this time. We all settled in around the bed and talked quietly while the BM labored. Every so often they would check Reagan’s heartbeat and the BM’s blood pressure but overall it was just everyone sitting back. The BM labored very quietly and had herself very relaxed and in a zone and she did her thing. The room was kept quiet and dimly lit and soft music was playing in the background – a very relaxed setting.
At 3:46 am the BM lifted her head and informed us that her water broke. The midwife and her nurse then jumped into action. The nurse checked Reagan’s heart rate again and the midwife checked the amniotic fluid for signs of blood and by the time they finished that, Reagan’s little head was crowned. The BM has delivered all the children very quickly after the water breaks – we joke that the babies surf out. A few pushes later, Reagan was born at 3:53 am. The nurse had me call the birth time which is a nice memory.
Reagan came out with her eyes wide open and a not so happy look on her face. She cried right away but soothed rather quickly even with all the poking and prodding. I got to cut the cord and then she was all wrapped up. The BP’s spent a few minutes with her and Reagan was making it clear that she was hungry so they handed her over to me to feed her a bottle. She took ½ an ounce down rather quickly and snuggled away.
After a bit the midwife repeated her Apgar (10 again!) and gave her the Vitamin K shot and the eye antibiotics. Then she got her first bath and I dressed her in her first outfit. We hung around for a bit and then at 4 ½ hours old I brought her home to meet her Daddy – who has been wrapped around her little fingers from that first moment and both of us are completely in love with this beautiful little person.
The most amazing part of all this is how much my heart knows that this is the child I was meant to have. I always knew I would love an adopted child just as much as a bio child and I never doubted our decision to adopt but I did not know of this entire other, deeper, more intense level of feeling of that place waiting in my heart that matched her precisely and how powerfully right and good it feels to have her as my child. We are just so unbelievably blessed and forever grateful for the wonderful gift her birth parents have given us.
Comments
much love to you and your family!
-Foxy