Samantha Jean aka "Sammie"

We welcomed Samantha Jean into our Family March 22nd at 11:35pm. It was a long day and we are so glad that she is here. Here is a summary of our day, if you don't want to read about the labor feel free to skip ahead to the cute pictures.

I had a doctor appointment that morning and found out that I had dialated to a little over a 4 and was about a 5 during a contraction. She stripped my membranes again and said that she thought it would put me in labor. My contractions became regular around 1pm and started to pick up around 4pm. Paul, my midwife, said to come in when they got regular and she would break my water so we could have a baby. My mom took the boys and Adam and I headed into the hospital. We got checked in around 5:30-6 and I was still dilated to a 4+. The baby's heart rate was not accelerating the way it was supposed to during contractions and after an hour I had progressed to about a 5 but when she checked me she couldn't quite tell what she was feeling but she knew it wasn't just a head. The nurse was guessing it was a hand or maybe an ear and said if it was an ear they may have to do a C-section which I was not excited about. She called Paula and Paula said she couldn't get there until about 8:30 so I got to keep hanging out for another hour. Adam was doing a good job of helping me relax during the contractions and I was feeling pretty optimistic about going natural.

When Paula got there around 9pm she checked me and thought she was feeling a face rather than a head after a good 5+ minute cervix check. It hurt pretty bad, with everything getting poked and stretched out up there during contractions and then they brought in an ultrasound machine to double check her position. The scan verified that our little girl was presenting face first, rather than head first.

Here is a picture of the way our little girl wanted to meet the world.

Looks awful huh? So instead of her head pushing down and helping me dilate and get complete her little nose and mouth were paving the way. Paula explained that it would be a harder delivery and that it would be longer and most likely more painful. She also said that because this was my 4th and I have successfully delivered my big babies without any problems that she had no doubt I would be able to deliver her, but if it was my first or second baby they would have to do a section.

They had to start pitocin to get the contractions to last a little longer because she was having a hard time descending with her head tilted and that was able to drop her down so they could break my water. That also involved a long check where little Sammie bit Paula through the sac. Kinda weird.

To quickly sum up the rest of the labor it was long and very painful. It took a long time to get complete and Paula and the nurse stayed with Adam and I the whole time trying to help me relax and get through the contractions. Paula was a lifesaver and kept suggesting different positions and talking me through my contractions. The last hour I was begging for meds through each contraction but it was going to take the anesthesiologist 20 minutes to get there and Sammie's heart rate was still pretty flat so they didn't want me to get any meds through my IV. Finally they gave me a half dose of fentanyl but I was in transition and it didn't take away any pain just helped me relax during my 45 seconds between contractions.  She check me again and I was at a 9 but didn't seem to be getting rid of the last part of my cervix so during a contraction she pushed it out of the way and her head slipped through.

Luckily she tucked her little chin as I pushed so the actual delivery was a little easier. I pushed through 3 contractions and that is quite an experience without an epidural. She came out fast and I made it though another delivery without any tears which has made recovery so much easier.

We love having her here and even though labor was awful I'm pretty impressed with myself for making it without an epidural. Here is our beautiful little girl with her poor bruised face. Her nose still shows a little bruise but the bruises on her upper lip and chin have already faded. I'm still shocked that we have a baby that is small enough for newborn clothes and we can't get enough of her.

Here she is with her proud big brothers. They are all so cute with her and Gideon is very concerned when she doesn't have her plug (pacifier) in her mouth.

Here she is with Adam, sorry I couldn't get the picture to turn. One thing my midwife told me today about him was during the hour when I was asking for meds during every contraction Adam started laughing at me. I was pretty zoned out and had my eyes closed while Adam pushed on my knees to help with the pain. I accused him of laughing because I could feel him shaking but he denied it and Paula backed him up, probably to avoid me flipping out more than I already was. I still can't believed her laughed, but he really did such a good job and I couldn't have done it without his help.

Here are a couple more cute pictures at home, I love the little clothes, it makes me sad how fast they outgrow them.