Staci Cooper Photography

Mae Kathleen Cooper | Born 4/9/2016 at 8:07 pm | 6 lbs 4.5 oz | 20 in Long

Written 4/16/2016

PREFACE

The wait time for our sweet baby girl was a bit longer than I had anticipated. Her due date was Tuesday, March 29^th but we soon saw that day come and go as we awaited her arrival. At my 41 week check up I had a non-stress test to make sure that baby was still nice and cozy in hotel uterus. I never thought I would end up going to my 41 and 3 day (4/8/2016) appointment on Friday but alas, I found myself heading into DC to talk to my midwives about an induction date and to get a repeat non-stress test. At this point, my patience was at zero and I felt discouraged that my body may not be ready to bring this little life to us. My midwife and I, talked about getting induced on Tuesday the 12^th and went over the different steps involved with that. I left that appointment planning on getting induced BUT I still had a bit of hope that she would make it here before then. I heard from my midwives and a few others that acupuncture is a safe way to induce labor so I scheduled acupuncture for that afternoon as well as another appointment for the following morning on the 9^th. If anything, I figured that it would help me relax.

Kraig was still going to work, but luckily he would get off at 2pm so we could spend the afternoons together. He worked really hard to try to maintain a positive energy, which must have been difficult with all the negativity I was radiating. I was a GROUCH. I let myself be sad and cry for about ten minutes a day and then I continued to do everything in my power to get my body ready for this little one to join us.

SATURDAY APRIL 9^th, 2016

My wake up time was around 7am. That morning Kraig [all of a sudden] wanted to end his hiatus from exercising and asked if I wanted to go to the gym with him. I was feeling a bit crampy, so I declined. Around 8 I started going through my morning routine, but noticed that instead of just feeling crampy, I would get crampy back pains that would come and go. After breakfast I decided to start timing them, because they seemed to be coming fairly close together. They came about every 3 minutes, but they were still very bearable. Since most of the information I read, and was given, said that contractions started 15-30 minutes apart and then became progessively closer, I was a bit confused. So I called the midwife on duty at the hospital and it turned out to be Jenna, who was the midwife I saw at my appointment just the day prior. When I told her who it was she said, “how serendipitous! All we had to do was schedule your induction!” She told me that sometimes first time moms will have irregular contraction patterns and to not drive myself too crazy. She also said it would totally be fine to go to my 11am acupuncture appointment if I was feeling up to it.

My contractions became more painful, but still manageable so I decided to go ahead with acupuncture. I think my acupuncturist was a little nervous that I was having contractions during the session, but she helped me time them and they spaced out a teeny bit. The sessions usually last 20 minutes so it was a good way for me to practice my breathing and relax through contractions. When we got home, Kraig gave me a blessing. Kraig has always been an awesome priesthood holder, but those few weeks leading up to this day, I felt like his spirit had become more aware of the events that were upon us. I could not have asked for a better partner to take on this new adventure with.

I ate a small lunch, to give me a little bit of energy. I decided to rest in bed and then Kraig started a bath for me. I hopped in the bath and shifted between my left and my right side, figuring out what felt most comfortable. After spending about 30-45 minutes in the bath, the contractions were really picking up. Kraig came in to check on me periodically and to bring me sips of Gatorade. The last time he checked on me I had my strongest contraction yet and I decided it was time to head to the hospital (2:30pm). I totally lost my mucus plug and had a lot of show. I gave Jenna (midwife) a call to let her know that I was on my way in. Kraig had previously loaded all of our stuff into the car so all we had to do was hop in. He had been preparing for this moment for months now, and while I always teased him for being over-prepared, I was thankful in that moment for having everything ready.

Since it was midday on a Saturday we didn’t run into any traffic, which was something we worried about when deciding to deliver at GW. I popped my headphones in and tried to relax my jaw and muscles throughout the car ride. We arrived around 3pm and headed up to labor and delivery where they took us back to triage. While in triage, my water broke, the ‘trickle’ kind of break. It was probably 20 minutes to a half hour before Jenna was able to come and see how far I had progressed. Finally, the verdict was in-- I was 4 cm dilated, 75% effaced, and baby was at a -2 station. They prefer you to be at 6cm before you are admitted, but since my water broke and had meconium in it, she decided it would be best to keep me.

We settled into our labor and delivery room. I laid on my left side while we waited for a break in contractions in order to insert my Hep lock. I needed to get an IV of Penicillin because I was GBS+. I was unable to be mobile until my bag of medication was empty, but it only took about 30 minutes. During this period, It seemed like my contractions were almost getting easier to breath through, BUT I think that laying on my side was slowing things down so I was anxious to get more upright. My midwife suggested that I try out the birthing ball. The end of the bed had handles, so I was able to sit on the ball and hold onto the bed’s handles during contractions. The ball felt really good on my back and hips, and I was able to do hip circles when I felt up to it. By this point the pain of the contractions were concentrated mostly to my back. I felt little to no discomfort in the front of my tummy/uterus. Since baby was not posterior, this back labor was a bit confusing for me, but so were the close together contractions that I experienced right out of the gate. This little lady was throwing me for a loop already. I did not have any vaginal exams after my initial exam. The Midwives would come in periodically and observe how I was coping with the contractions. At one point I told Kraig to turn on my music, but less than a minute later, I told him to shut it off. The room was dimly lit and quiet. I heard Kraig snacking on goldfish and told him he would have to leave if he wanted to keep eating them. He stopped. During contractions I focused on my breathing, even breaths in and out, as well as relaxing my face and jaw. Low moans felt good and helped me deal with the increasing discomfort.

After a while on the birthing ball my midwife suggested that I try the shower. I really wanted to get into the birthing tub, but they kept saying that I needed to wait a little longer. I sat in the shower and Kraig would spray my back during the contractions and then my chest during the breaks. I wore the monitors in the shower and every now and then the nurse had to come in to adjust them. This is when my contractions really stepped it up a notch. After a half hour, Kraig needed a little break so my mom stepped in. While Kraig thought he was settling in for a long night [and was stuffing his face with beef jerky] my contractions started to double peak and overlap with each other. I felt like I had no breaks in between. It seemed like one minute I was coping with the contractions and the next I was going through transition. My moans turned into yells and I knew this was it. I remember saying, “I can’t do this” and “I can’t breath”.

After about 5 minutes, I felt like I needed to push. BAD. The nurse kept asking me, “do you feel pressure to push only during the contractions or all the time.” And I kept saying “I don’t know, I don’t know.” Then it was inevitable, my body started pushing without me even trying. I couldn’t NOT push. This was around 7:30 pm. Since this was right around shift change, the new midwife had not even come around yet. The nurse had to page her to get into our room quick because baby girl was on her way OUT. The new midwife was Hannah.

Aside: I saw Hannah once during my prenatal appointments and that was one of the appointments that Kraig came with me. We both remember leaving that appointment saying “I would love for Hannah to deliver our baby.”

She greeted me in the shower and told me to relax my shoulders. She helped get me out of the shower and into the bed. I was still having a hard time breathing at this point. I have NO idea how I made my way onto the bed. That part is a total blur. I settled into a position that was on my right side with my left leg/knee pulled back. I was given an oxygen mask because I was struggling to control my breathing. It helped a lot, and I was able to calm down. Then it was time to push. No one told me when to push, It was all self directed. When I felt up to it, I pushed. At this point I wanted that baby out, so I was determined to push like there was no tomorrow. Hannah used mineral oil to help get things lubricated, and I got a lot of positive talk from those surrounding me-- Kraig, My mom, Hannah, and Vanessa the nurse (basically an angel sent from heaven). I touched baby girl’s head when she was beginning to crown. Towards the end, I found myself pushing when I wasn’t even having a contraction. I needed to be done and needed to have that baby in my arms. After 20 minutes of strong pushes, our sweet little Mae Kathleen came to us at 8:07pm. She was beautiful and perfect! She opened her eyes within seconds of coming out and cried shortly thereafter. They laid her on my chest and I just remember saying “oh my gosh” over and over again. I could NOT believe it. After all this time, this little spirit was now here with us. Just like that. There are no words.

I was able to do skin to skin with Mae on my chest for almost an hour and half while I delivered the placenta. Kraig cut the cord, and they sewed me up. Mae was so pleasant the whole time, we even got her to nurse a teeny bit. After my placenta was delivered, Hannah gave us a quick tour of it, she flipped it over and back, showing us the tree of life, and telling us about how placentas calcify, as they get older and older. It was amazing.

They took Mae to get weighed, measured, and checked out by the pediatrician. She weighed in at a whopping 6 lbs 4.5 oz. and was 20 inches long. Just a skinny little peanut. The pediatrician said she was perfect! They bundled her up while Vanessa helped me get cleaned up. We wheeled ourselves to the recovery room and settled in. My mom snuggled baby Mae before she headed back to our apartment. Hannah came by to check on us, and had a moment with Mae that I will never forget. She went over to her bassinet and rubbed her little cheeks and nose. It was so tender. She then set a pillow up on my lap and handed Mae to me so that we could just enjoy each other for a bit. I still could not believe she was ours— the best gift I’ve ever received. How was I supposed to sleep after all this excitement? I didn’t. I woke up to every little squeak and sound that Mae made and nursed her in between. It was pure heaven.

The next day and half in the hospital was everything you would expect it to be. Mae was such a peaceful baby during this time. She mostly slept and tried to nurse every couple of hours. Before I knew it, it was Monday afternoon and we were getting discharged. This was it, we were leaving the hospital bubble and stepping into the real world to share every moment with this little one.

AFTERWORD

While re-reading this today, I feel blessed to have had a safe and healthy delivery as well as a happy and healthy baby. Women’s bodies are amazing. No matter how a woman brings life into this world, it is truly a miracle. There has never been a time in my life that I have felt more confident in my body than when I was pregnant and even during post-partum. Heck, I just grew a baby in my tummy, it’s the most beautiful / alien-ish thing in the world. So shout-out to all mom bods everywhere—you are perfect.