and then there were two...

Lilia Amy Gerster

December 29, 2009

10:06 AM

8 Lbs 20.75 inches

The story:

Months prior, we had scheduled to be induced on December 29th at 8:00 PM. December 23rd came, I wrapped up things at work and got ready for Christmas and maternity leave. As Christmas came and went, we got more and more eager thinking "maybe it will happen tonight" fully knowing (in the deepest part of my mind) that the 29th would be the day.

At 3:00 AM on December 29th, I woke up with a sharp contraction. WOW! It took my breath away. From there I began timing them, but with only a slight consistency to them, I just wasn't sure. My moaning must have been pretty dramatic because it woke Casey about 45 minutes later. For another hour we "watched" the contractions, Casey rubbed my back and helped with my breathing as the intensity continued but the length between varied dramatically. Then, it came; a contraction that made me feel like I needed to push. I looked at Casey and said, "We need to go now!"

We added the last minute things to our bags and then woke Mia up to take her to Grandmama and Papa's. Even though it was 5:00 AM, Mia was so hyper as she chanted "Lilia! Born! Soon!" It made my mommy heart smile so big as we anticipated our new little addition!

After dropping Mia off, we arrived at the hospital at about 6:00 AM. I was a definite keeper in triage as a checked in at 4 cm and couldn't talk through the contractions when they hit. Labor and Delivery was really busy that day, so we waited for about 45 minutes to get a room. Once my room was ready, the got me up to walk over there. After pausing once for a contraction, my water broke and left a trail from where I was walking. Let me just say, it was nice to get back in my bed.

Because I was progressing so quickly, they decided to give me my epidural right away. At this time I was at 5 cm and the intensity of the contractions continued to grow. However, because my contractions still weren't consistent, the gave me a small dose of pitocin to "jump start it" as my doctor put it. My epidural went well, but after they gave it to me I started having problems breathing and my blood pressure started going down drastically. They ended up needing to give me ephedrine for my blood pressure because it wouldn't stay at a normal rate, and they put me on oxygen.

The intensity of my contractions continued, though I could only feel the pressure through the epidural. About 45 minutes later, I had a contraction that made my body feel like it needed to push. My doctor checked me and I was already at 9.5 cm.

Five minutes later it was time to push. Taking my time, we started delivering Lilia. Ten minutes later she entered the world! What a precious time it is when they put your baby on your chest and you see the sweet face for the first time.

Though very healthy, she was dramatically quieter than Mia, much like I had expected after her performances (or lack there of) within the womb. She aced all her tests and performed magically on her urine and bowel movement performances, so we were able to go home in the afternoon the next day.

Because of the H1N1 going around right now, Mia was unable to visit us at the hospital, so her first introduction was at home when Grandmama brought her in. The scream of excitement still echo in my ear as she ran toward Lilia exclaiming "Lilia. Here!" There was so much joy in our house that day! What a beautiful memory.