mollie's birth story

Well, 6 weeks later, better late than never right?!?! Here is Mollie's birth story ... all 5 days of it :) Like my labor, this story will be long!

Thursday January 27, 2011

Over the past few days I had been having an achy lower back when I woke up in the mornings. However, when I took a shower they went away. But this morning when I got out of the shower, they did not go away. I went about my morning as usual and headed to school.

When I got there I noticed that the aches seemed to be getting stronger and then going away and then getting stronger again. I asked another teacher about it and she said it might be the beginnings of labor ... and boy was she right!

By lunchtime, the pain was getting stronger and I decided to head home to try and rest.

That night Bret and I went to the Quad Cities to do some final baby shopping at Target and BabiesRUs. The pain was not going away.

When we got home we called the hospital and they asked how many cm dilated I was at my last appointment and I told them that the Dr. did not check me. So they suggested that I try to sleep and call them when the contractions were 5 minutes apart. So off to bed we went!

Friday January 28, 2011

I woke up at about 5am and was still having contractions and called the hospital again. They said to take a bath and if I am still having them in 1 hour to come in to the hospital.

So at 7am, we drove to Iowa City. They checked me and I was only 1cm :( So we waited at the hospital for a bit while they watched my contractions on the monitor. They settled down and then we went to my regularly scheduled appointment that day. She suggested I go home and rest. She said she was on call Monday and she hoped to see me then.

We came home and I spent the afternoon sleeping and Bret went back to work.

Contractions started coming again that evening, but there was nothing regular about them. So off to bed we went, again.

Saturday January 29, 2011

Bret's best friend from college, Dave, and his wife, Natalie, were planning on coming to visit on Saturday. I was still having contractions that morning so I spent some time in the bathtub. That seemed to space them out, but for the first time they were making me stop in my tracks and breathe through them.

Dave and Natalie arrived at 11am and we spent the next 11 hours timing and breathing through contractions. By 10pm they were 5 minutes apart and painful. So Bret and I left Dave and Natalie at our house and headed to the hospital.

We arrived and the nurse hooked me up to the monitor. We could see the contractions on the monitor and the Dr. came in and checked me ... still only 1cm. I almost cried. The nurse suggested we get in the whirlpool tub and see what happens to the contractions.

They spaced out a bit, but were still strong. So back to the bed I went and the Dr. suggested I get some drugs to help me relax and sleep for a bit while they monitored the baby and I.

Sunday January 30, 2011

At 6am the Dr. came in and checked me ... almost 2cm. I cried this time, I thought for sure I was further along than that. They sent us home :(

I went straight to bed and slept until 1pm. The contractions woke me up. They were a lot stronger than before. So, into the tub I went. After several refills of warm water I got out and tried to sleep. I had to call Bret every time I had a contraction because they were so strong. I was in A LOT of pain. And his hand could attest to that. I felt like I could crush the bones in his hand from how hard I was squeezing it.

At 9pm we went to bed to try and make it through the night. We were very hesitant to go the hospital because we didn't want to get sent home ... again. From 9pm to 2am I was having a contraction every 5 - 8 minutes. They were lasting about 1 1/2 minutes. My legs were shaking uncontrollably and I was EXTREMELY uncomfortable.

Monday January 31, 2011

At 2am Bret said it was time to go to the hospital. 45 minute car ride + REALLY painful contractions = not fun.

When we arrived and checked in, one of the nurses greeted us with "Are you the mom from Muscatine?" I said yes and she said the golden words, "We are keeping you this time"

Hooked up to the monitor, IV in, 4cm dilated, and attempting to walk through contractions in the hallway.

After 10 minutes of walking, the Dr. asked if I wanted my epidural ... YES I do!!

We called our parents and texted our siblings to let them know what was going on.

45 minutes later, at 4am, I was sleeping pain free with pitocin working its magic on getting my contractions closer together.

My Dr. came in at 7:30am and checked me ... 9 1/2cm!!! She was going to put her makeup on and come back at 8:15am to start pushing. I was tempted to ask her if I could use her makeup too!

Adrenaline took over and after 45 minutes of pushing Mollie Avonell Euken made her way in to the world at 9:02am. The details are fuzzy, but I remember saying over and over again, "She is so tiny". Bret cut the cord, she was weighed (6lbs 11oz) and measured (19 & 3/4inches), and by 9:15am we were alone as family of 3. We were in love!

After a long stay in the hospital (Monday - Thursday due to a blizzard that dumped 18 inches of snow in Iowa City and 16 inches in Muscatine) we finally went home to begin our lives together as a family of 3.

We are so thankful to God for the blessing of Mollie.