Lucianna's Birth Story

It has been forever since I last wrote... but for all those who love birth stories (I'm one of those people!), I figure it is never too late to tell Lucie's! For those of you who do not want to know all of the nitty-gritty details of her birth 6 months ago, just know I had a baby un-medicated, she was a 9lbs 4oz, clam, sweet little girl with tons of hair.

Lucianna’s Birth Story

Sunday a week before she was born I started having contractions. I really, really thought I was going into labor. I’d had Braxton Hicks contractions here and there with both Hazel and Lucie, but had never experienced them this deep, painful and consistent. I was so sure that I panicked and tried to get everything done I’d wanted to do before the baby came that night. I fell asleep exhausted. The contractions went away, and I woke up and started moving around and they started again. I told Jon I was pretty sure she was coming and to tell work to keep him close to Sacramento because I was having a baby any hour. This went on all week. On Friday I was so sick of it that I decided to go on a run in an effort to really get labor started. I put on my workout gear and ran sprints up and down the hills by our house. Three cars stopped to ask how far along I was… obviously they thought I was nuts running around when I looked like I could pop. One of them told me I should be resting... And really, honestly they were right.

This was for sure before the run.

I was convinced that it worked because the contractions got consistent and stayed consistent for a few hours. When they went away I was sad at first, but also exhausted and relieved I was not on my way to the delivery room. I slept well that night and woke up at 7:30 before our alarm was set because the contractions started again. This time they were deeper and burned, I started timing them, but they were inconsistent, every 2-5 min, and varying lengths. We were supposed to go Easter egg hunting with little miss Hazel at a community center and I debated going because I might be in labor. And then I had a breakdown because I was sick of my life being ruled by contractions that never produced a baby, and I was sick of people thinking I was crying wolf (because I HAD been every day for a week). After I dried my tears, I decided we’d get dressed and go. I mean, if it was really labor I’d just be sitting around at home having contractions, I might as well be having them in a park, while helping an adorable toddler look for plastic eggs RIGHT?

So we went. The contractions were still coming, still intense and still not really consistent - 2-6 min apart, 30 seconds to 90 seconds long. Hazel had SO much fun looking for eggs, I was really happy that I did not wimp out, and I was certain that this was the real deal. They had some music playing and some carnival type games, so we let Hazel do them, and we danced around all excited that baby girl was coming! Since Hazel was dressed up so nice and being so sweet, we decided to take her to the mall to get her picture taken with the Easter Bunny. We arrived at 10 and it turned out Easter bunny pictures did not start until 11 even though the mall open, I debated going home to labor there, but then decided that walking the mall might be good for me. So Jon and Hazel waited in line while I walked the mall, stopping every few min to let the contraction pass. Sometimes people would ask me if I was ok, It was fun to see the look on their face when I told them I was having contractions. There eyes got wide and they all wondered why I was not in route to the hospital. I bought a couple of bows for the baby’s head and went to go stand with my family in line. The Easter bunny pictures turned out REALLY good. So good that they asked us to sign a release so that they could use them in their marketing. I’m like yeah, quick though because I’m like really, really having a baby any hour! We decided to take Hazel straight to my parents’ house so I could labor some more at home before going to the hospital. We got home around noon and got out the exercise ball and heated rice packs and I tried to watch the last episode of season 4 of Downton Abby (I’d been binge watching when I could not sleep at night). It was getting so unbearable that I could not pay attention- and that is when I knew it was time to get everything together to go to the hospital even though the contractions were still varying lengths and between 2-5 min apart.

We got there at around 3:30 but we did not know where the valet parking was for expecting mothers so we parked on the maternity floor of the garage. Turns out it was MILES away from Labor & Delivery. OK, it really was not miles, but it felt like it to me- it was up some stairs, across a sky bridge, up and elevator, and then down a couple of halls…. 

We got checked in and I don’t think they thought I was very far along. I do the labor thing really well…. Until my water breaks, then it all goes to crap. So we are telling them I’ve been in labor all day, but I went Easter egg hunting and to the mall and watched an episode of Downton Abby and they are looking at my like GURL you are not in labor… then they checked me and I was at 6 centimeters with a “bulging bag of waters”. They admitted us and asked if I would like tell the dr. to come break my water because it would go faster. We debated a bit and decided we wanted to get this show on the road. So the Dr. was called and we went to choose our room. It is a nice brand new hospital with rooms with views. Of course they were busy and the two rooms with the worst views were the only ones available. So I got a nice view of the freeway.

The nurse was really nice and had been working for Sutter for 30+ years. We figured out that she could have been the nurse who delivered me! I was born at the old Sutter downtown hospital. She said that she thought I would probably have the baby by the end of her shift at 6:30. That got us REALLY excited.. just a few hours more!  She was great, except she could not get the IV in, and nobody wants to have somebody digging around in their arm multiple times while having strong contractions. After she got it in, I told her I would drink lots of water if she did not hook it to anything so I could be free to walk around and move and try out some of the positions we learned in the last min refresher birthing class we went to the week before. Jon was a great coach, he guided me though the positions and breathed with me. We brought the picture of Hazel and the Easter bunny to be my happy place and when they got bad he would hold it in front of my face for me to look at. He gave me foot rubs and back massages, and rubbed oils on me even though he thinks they are dumb. They did not have tubs at this hospital, but they did have a shower I could go into and it was nice… but not as nice as a tub! 6:00 came and I started to stress out that the Dr. had not come to break my water, and I was not going to have this baby with the nurse that I liked, and I was bummed about it. 

The new nurse came about the same time as the Dr. around 7:00. I asked her to check me, certain that I must be like a 9… she said I was only a 7! Three hours of work and only one centimeter! I told her to go ahead and break my water, and then I regretted that decision because things got SO much more intense. I was wishing I would have gotten an epidural and wondering if it was still possible if I was only at a 7. The new nurse looked me in the eyes and said that she knew I could do it, that I did it once and I could do it again, and the more I work against the contractions the worse they are, and she could tell that it was going to go fast. That was just what I needed to hear. So along with that bit of encouragement and Jon really stepping up his coaching game, I stayed in control and continued to breathe through contractions (I struggled with that last time). The nurse also said that her head was right there and she thought I would dilate really fast. About 30 min of thinking I might die later- I force her to check me because I feel like I want to push. She did and said that there was just a little rim left and to wait 5 more contractions and she would get the Dr. in. 

Since nobody thought that I would dilate those 3 centimeters in 30 min, she was delivering another baby. I think when I found out she was not coming I said a curse word. LOL. I told the nurse that I was going to start pushing after 5 contractions, Dr. or not and she said that she just delivered a baby yesterday and it would be OK if I did. Right after the 5^th contraction a lady comes running in the room, they put my legs in stirrups and my nurse tells me to hold my legs myself and I go to do that but my hands are paralyzed and I can’t get them to open, I tried to show the nurse how they are stuck like lobster claws, but the contraction came, so I did the best I could with them and start pushing. I decided that the first push was kinda week and I should bare down more, so I did and then I felt the familiar feeling of a head in the birth canal. I remember thinking while pushing “Yeah!  I’m doing it right, I pushed 45 min for Hazel, maybe I’ll push only 20 min with this baby”, and before I even finished that thought I felt a huge release of pressure and the nurses were frantically telling me to stop pushing. I was really confused, then I realized that she came FLYING out and they had to adjust her shoulders to get her all the way out! 

 As soon as Jon saw her he said, Man! That’s a BIG baby! She did not cry, that had every one a little worried, but our nurse kept saying, yeah, but her color is perfect there is nothing wrong. After a few min everybody decided she was OK and put her on my chest. I told the nurses, “We did not even need  Dr.!” The lady who delivered my baby looked at me really confused in a thick Russian Accent said, “I am DR. See look at my badge!”. The whole time (ok, all 2 min 20 seconds of pushing) I thought she was a nurse who came into help. But she was an on call DR. who flew in at the last second. My Dr. (well the Dr. from my group who I had not met yet) came in and was surprised I’d already HAD the baby. She stitched me up and I held onto that big baby of mine for dear life, my hands were still not working quite right, but they were coming back to life. Of course the first thing I noticed about my beautiful new babe and her was her long dark hair and calm demeanor. She snuggled right up, so chill, like nothing happened. Such a little sweetheart! They let us soak her in for a bit, daddy took some pictures, then they took her to be weighed and measured in our room.

Lucianna May Hoof

Born March 26, 2016 - 7:39pm

9lbs 4oz