Birth Story #1

I have been inspired by Design Mom's on going theme of sharing birth stories. I seriously love birth stories. They are all so unique and amazing. If you haven't been reading the posts over there, you need to start, because they are great. I am sure some people are grossed out by birth stories. And if you are, you need to stop reading here. But I am doing this for my babies', because I would love an accurate play by play of how the day unfolded written down for my kids somewhere! And I can feel the details slowly slipping away from my memory. I am going to do my best with Abby, she is getting the foggiest for sure! Most of these stories are going to be laced with great inaccuracies, because of the length of time that has gone by, but, perfectly true or not, I think the essence will be preserved.

Abby's official due date was August 7th. She was frank breech. Which means, that she was in a pike position head up. For those of you that don't know. There is no Dr. (in their right mind) that will deliver a breech baby. There are just too many complications with the head coming out. If that head doesn't come out first, you are in big trouble. After all, it is the biggest part of the baby. If it comes out first, you are. . . well, there should be no problem with the rest of the baby.

Abby was (is) a stubborn girl, and decided that she was going to stay that way. I even attempted to have her "turned" by the Dr. Which, in short, was the most painful thing I have done to date. Yes, including child birth, and I am not gonna lie. My Dr. crawled up on the table I was on and clamped her hand on Abby's bum and tried SO HARD to get her out of my pelvis, but it was too late, she was wedged in there, and she was good and happy.

I was scheduled for my c-section a week later. For July 30th.

I was devastated.


If you know me, you know that I am a bit of a control freak (may or may not be an under estimation) and that I like things to go exactly as planned. EXACTLY. Abby being a C-section was DEFINITELY NOT in the plan. But I think this was just ONE of the countless experiences that I have had that has not only taught me patience, but just a tad bit of flexibility. I am not going to say that I am sooooooooooooooooo much more flexible now. But I am weathering storms better nowadays.

I cried some tears over the fact that my baby girl was not going to be delivered in the way that I wanted, and wondered if I would ever be able to, since vaginal births after c-sections are risky and frowned upon as well. With the rupturing of your uterus and all. Meh.

Abby's birthday is the day before Peter's and since she was the biggest birthday gift he has ever received, it was fun to have a little "Birthday Party" for him. It was kind of anti-climactic to "set your alarm" for the birth of your first child, but that is what I did. I am not sure that I got a very good night's sleep. I was pretty anxious to meet this child that had ALREADY rocked my entire world. We got up at 6:00 a.m. I was going to shower and get all ready because since I wasn't going to be be working very hard to deliver this baby, I wanted to look good in my pictures!

We arrived at the hospital for our scheduled c-section time at 7. However, they don't tell you that they are in NO BIG HURRY to get you on that table. First, they check you in. Take all your vitals, ask you a million questions, put you in a room, make you change out of your clothes, hook you up to monitors, give you an ultrasound to make sure your baby is still wrong side down (YUP!) Honestly, it took forever, and I think that was AFTER we waited in the lobby for an hour. THEN they hook you up to an IV. Give you a spinal block so you can't feel anything from the waist down and THEN wheel you into the delivery room at NOON.

Yes, I said, NOON. FIVE HOURS after I got to the hospital.

And you know how long it takes them to "deliver" that baby? She was born at 12:05. It takes all of 5 minutes to cut that belly open and pull her out. I even have video of it. ew. Believe me, it wasn't intentional, but my nurse, whom we told to "FILM THE BABY WHEN SHE COMES OUT" did just that and more. She filmed that baby COMING out, and it is gross, for sure.

Her legs were so stuck up by her head that it took her a while to "let them down" and Peter was a little worried about passing out with all the gore, so, he kept his head behind the curtain with mine. The second she was born, he got to bring her up to my head, and I got to take a peek at her. But what was more fun, was to see Peter's response to this little miracle that he had dreamed about. HE. WAS. IN. LOVE. And it was awesome.

The unhappy truth about a c-section is that you are on the table for at least 30 to 40 more minutes while they are sewing layers of your body back up. (So fun) and while you are stuck there, your husband gets to take in the precious first moments of your babies life while you get to lay there and wonder what it is like.

After that, I was wheeled back into a recovery room while Peter got to bring Abby in in her bassinet. All clean and snuggled up, and he held her like this. For hours.

See that look on his face? Does he look like the happiest person alive? That is because, he was. There is nothin' better that a man, holdin' your baby with all the love he has. AM I RIGHT? I am pretty sure I am. Because even though I didn't get to hold her or pick her up much after my surgery, I sure loved watching him go crazy all over her. They have been tight ever since.

Abby's name is no coincidence either. Abigail means, "Father's Joy" in Hebrew. And she absolutely was.