The Green's Gable: Happy BIRTH-Day SeAnna Hope!

Finally, I have a minute to post about SeAnna's birth ... two weeks later!

SeAnna was due on September 27th, which happended to be a new moon, as my mom informed me regarding the old wives tale of babies being born around the pulls of the moon. Which proved to be true, for me!

On Friday the 23rd, my doctor said I was still dialated to a 2, and had been since the prior week's doctor appointment, and her head was down. The doc said she was ready to come any day now. Because I had an ultrasound at 8 weeks along, the due date was quite accurate. Lucky for me, mom and dad left Utah this day to make the 3-day drive.

Saturday the 24th I spent all my energy getting my house cleaned for company. Bending over was not very easy, and cleaning the bathtub felt like a gymnastics work-out which I was quite sure would get labor going, as I was already feeling close to it and having my womb tighten up quite frequently. To finish up my hard day of cleaning, Seth and I attended a Morehead State Volleyball game and then went grocery shopping. I was exhausted Saturday night and ready for sleep, but I didn't get much as I started to have cramps about 12:30 am.

Sunday the 25th, I went to church, and talked to my friend who informed me that the cramps were really contractions (so that's what they feel like)! When we got home I started to time them, but they were very irregular, so I guessed it must be false labor. I tried to take a nap at 4 pm, but didn't get much sleep due to the discomfort, so I decided I had better finish packing my suit case, just to be safe. Later that evening, Seth obliged me and we went for a slow walk as I waddled down the road. We didn't get too far into our walk when we met my parents around 6 pm. I was feeling very relieved that they had left Utah when they did, as I had told them they didn't need to arrive for a few more days, as I thought the baby would come late. After my parents arrival, my contractions became more intense and closer together.

By 9 pm the contractions varied between 3 and 5 minutes apart and were getting painful, so we decided I better get to the hospital! We arrived a bit before 10. (I am proud to say I didn't use a wheel chair to get to the delivery room!) The nurse checked me and all 3 of us were very surprised I was dilated to 6 cm and 80% effaced. She figured we'd have a baby by morning. I sat on a birthing ball to help with the contractions and to speed up the process, which it did. By midnight I was dilated to 9 cm.

Earlier that week I watched a documentary on Netflix called "The Business of Being Born". I am so glad I did, as I learned that I did NOT want any pitocin or any IV drugs for pain as they all slow delivery down. I was still undecided about an epidural.

I guess 9 cm is too late for an epidural, but the nurse said I could try an interthecal, so wishy-washy as I am, it was still a major decision, I decided to get it.

Monday, September 26th, 1 am. The nurse anesthetist administered the interthecal. I begged the nurses to let Seth hold me as it was administered. Three quarters of the way through it, Seth almost fainted, and had to sit down and have a drink of juice. The nurse said "that's why we don't like spouses to be in the same room." Well, it helped me to have him there!

1:30 am, the Doctor on call at the hospital that night happened to be lady. What luck! I was so glad to not have a man deliver my baby. The doctor checked and said I was a half a centimeter away from being fully dilated. Because of the intertecal I had to stay on the bed, laying on my sides, and to get the baby to drop further down. The interthecal did not relieve the contractions, and they became quite severe.

2 am, the nurse anesthetist came back in to see if I wanted another interthecal as it was not helping with the contractions. I told her no thank you, I've had enough of those needles! I was afraid getting another one would ruin my spinal column as it's impossible to hold still when you are writhing in pain during a contraction. Looking back, I wish I had just been brave and had the baby with out the interthecal, as it has effected one of the nerves endings in one of my toes.

2:30 am, I had endured the contractions as long as I could on that hard delivery bed, which seemed to make them worse. At that point I demanded "get me out of this bed!". I felt that I could endure them much better on the birthing ball. So the nurse decided to check me again before they let me out of the bed. Thankfully, she said I was fully dilated and was ready to push. She called for the doctor and I began to push. Pushing was so much easier than enduring the contractions.

3:07 am, SeAnna took her first breath and cried. That beautiful cry will forever be ingrained in my memory. Even though the interthecal did not alleviate the contractions it did help with the rest of the process.

Finally, our little miracle is here to hold and love.

The nurses guessed that SeAnna would have light brown hair with red highlights. Seth and I both figured she would have dark brown hair, and that there was no way it could be red. Well, we were surprised! The nurses were right, in fact upon my first inspection it looked to be the same color as my hair.

Before they took SeAnna to weigh her, Seth was holding her and I asked him how much he thought she weighed, he guessed about 7 lbs, and I guessed 6.5 lbs. Well, Seth won, SeAnna weighed in at 7 lb. 1 oz! She was 20 and 1/4 inches long.

I am so grateful that I was able to have a short labor, especially after the horror stories I've heard. SeAnna and I were both blessed to have made it through delivery healthy and normal.

How wonderful it was to have my parents arrive in the nick of time to tend their grand-pup, my dog Mazie, and then take care of me and Seth for 2 weeks.