Lucy's Birth Story

After a long night and going through the day with really short naps, Lucy is finally in a deep sleep. So I decided now would be a good time to write about my labor and delivery while it is still fresh on my mind.

Lucy Edith Howe came into the world exactly one week ago. It's amazing to think that she's already been here a week, but at the same time it seems like we've always had her.

Zach came up with the name Lucy and I loved it. We wanted her to have a name where she could draw strength from and decided that Lucy would be perfect because my 5th great grandma is Lucy Mack Smith (the mother of the prophet Joseph Smith). Lucy was strong and full of faith.

Edith comes from my Grandma Edith Sharp (my mom's mom). She is the hardest worker that I know...even at the age of 95. She is loving, creative, and adventurous. When she was little there were some boys who were being mean to her friend and she punched them. Haha, go grandma.

Lucy was born Tuesday, October 6th at 6:41 a.m.

She weighed 9 lbs 6 oz and was 20.5 inches long.

But lets rewind a little bit...

Friday, October 2nd was my last day teaching my cute little Kindergarten and First Grade class. It's a darn good thing that that was my last day, because I had a doctors appointment on Monday and was told that I was dilated to a 3 and was 80% effaced. So, naturally I went home and started helping Zach deep clean our car so that we can sell it. I also packed my hospital bag and organized baby's room. 

Apparently all of that walking around and busyness helped things progress quickly because Monday night/Tuesday morning I woke up to contractions. I'm not sure exactly when they started, but I think around 1 a.m.

I kept tossing and turning and at about 2 or 2:30 I decided to wake Zach up. I told him that I was having contractions and I didn't know if they were the real deal or not.

I asked him to give me a priesthood blessing. Once he did I felt comforted and I knew that everything would be okay. I tried to breathe and relax, while Zach helped by rubbing my back.

I've heard about some people having contractions and then them going away and coming back a week later, so I had no idea when or if we should go to the hospital. We tried looking online for some helpful info but it was cut short when I went to the bathroom and saw some bloody show (a sign that the cervix is thinning). I didn't want to look online anymore. I just wanted to relax, so of course, I put on my soothing music and tried blocking out the pain. 

All of the sudden.....I felt a gush of fluid. My water broke!!!

I got anxious and a little grossed out, but Zach reassured me that everything would be okay and that it's a normal thing. 

I washed off in the bathtub and changed my clothes while Zach grabbed everything that we needed and put it in the car. 

In between contractions I was fine, but when a contraction came I would buckle over and couldn't talk. 

Zach texted our moms to tell them that my water broke and that we were headed to the hospital. We started our drive at 3:30 and got there at about 4. The windows were foggy but Zach let me blast the air conditioning anyway. That's true love. I was so so hot and the a/c helped immensely.

We drove to the ER because the entrance was closed. Zach parked the car as I sat in a wheelchair. The nurses started asking me a billion questions. Didn't they know it's almost impossible to speak during a contraction??? I was not in a state to be answering these questions. I just wanted Zach to come back. He was my strength and I needed him. He came running in and I immediately felt better.

They wheeled me into a delivery room and I changed into the stylish hospital robe that has no back and I sat down on the bed. Zach was right there with me the whole time. Breathing in and out so that I would copy him and remember to breathe, fanning me with a piece of paper, and putting a bag of ice on my forehead. I don't know what I would've done without him. 

I was dilated to a 7 when we first came in. The contractions started getting closer together and every time one would start I would brace myself. I can't describe the pain, 

(INTERRUPTION!!! Lucy just hershey squirted sooo loud! Hahaha! Time for a diapie change.)

Okay, I'm back. Zach offered and I gladly accepted.

Contractions are powerful suckers. My lower back would ache and my stomach would cramp tighter than I ever thought it could go (but really I don't know how to properly describe the feeling). At one point I felt like I was going to throw up, but I didn't...thank goodness. 

The pain was so much that I would whimper and cry, yet Zach kept telling me how amazing I was doing and he told me that Jesus has felt the pain that I'm feeling right now. The feeling of peace that I got when he told me that was so comforting, but then another contraction came and it was so hard to focus on that peaceful feeling.

[A few months before giving birth I was told by my sister-in-law that Hypnobirthing helped her to give birth naturally. I decided to check the book out at the library and see what this was all about. I loved the book and got super into it. That's when I decided I was going to give birth naturally.]

The pain started to get more than I could bear and I told Zach that I wanted an epidural. "I do I do I do I do!", Zach continues to remind me that that's how I asked for it.
He went to tell the nurse who had left to get the doctor. The nurse came in and was about to get things set up for the epidural when my body started to push. It felt like gears grinding the wrong way and I made all sorts of weird noises (Zach reminds me about that too and we both laugh about it).
I told them that because my body was already pushing I probably shouldn't get an epidural. The nurse checked to see how much I was dilated and I was at a 9 and a half. Yeah, I didn't want an epidural then. I was nervous it would slow things down and I was almost there. The light at the end of the tunnel!

So, I kept making weird noises and then the doctor came in and told me to start pushing. Pushing was exhausting, but it was so much better than the contractions. I kept asking how many more pushes I would have to do before she was out. The doctor and nurses obviously didn't know but they said that I was doing great and to just keep pushing. Well, I pushed and pushed for maybe a half an hour or 45 minutes (time is hard to keep track of at times like these). 

The doctor told me that they could see her crowning and I heard Zach crying tears of joy. (Later he told me that when he saw her head he thought oh my goodness, look at that tiny little baby. Then, after, when she came out he was so shocked with how big she was. He said it was like a magic trick. Haha.)

 I was closing my eyes to help me relax so I didn't see her head, but they told me to feel her head. Once I touched my babies head I got an extra surge of energy. I could do this! She was so close! I pushed with all of my might and finally they told me that she was out. I opened my eyes and with relief, joy, amazement, and more love than I can describe I saw our baby for the first time. I cried tears of joy along with Zach. She was perfect. It was all worth it. They put her on my chest and clamped her cord. Zach cut it and out came the weird, huge placenta. The doctors did what they needed to do (sewed up my first degree tear and cleaned me up) and then it was just me, Zach, and our precious daughter.

I don't know exactly what heaven will be like, but I felt heaven that morning in the Hospital. I'm so grateful for our sweet Lucy girl and the absolute joy that she brings to our new little family.