Kate Sophia

Kate Sophia came on December 15, 2012 at 5:47 p.m. 

She was 5lb 9oz and 17in.  

 

She came tiny but oh so perfect.

 

 The 9 months of carrying this girl and the 13 hours of labor was so worth it.

 Holding her for the 1st time was emotional; instant love.

 

  

Kate's Story

The morning of December 15th at 4:30 I started having contractions.  I kept track of them on my phone.  They were about 20 minutes apart.  When a contraction would come on I would hop out of bed and lean against it and start swaying.  I had a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions during my pregnancy but these contractions were not Braxton Hicks.  They were in my back and somewhat painful.  After a couple hours of this, I had a feeling Kate would come that day.

Already posing for the camera.

 I labored at home during the morning and early afternoon.  Around 2:30 I called the hospital to see if I should come in because the contractions were between 3-6 minutes apart.  My pain level was pretty low still (I have a high pain tolerance) so I wasn't sure if I was really in labor.  I thought the pain would be a lot worse (the pain did get worse).  The hospital said I could come in or stay home to see if my contractions would become more consistent.  I stayed home a little longer until my contractions became harder.

Nate and I arrived at the hospital a little after 3.  They hooked me up to some monitors to check Kate's heart rate and to see how close my contractions were.  The nurse then checked my cervix to see how dilated I was.  We were shocked to find out I was dilated to a 6 and found out Kate was coming that very day!  Nate and I became pretty emotional. We couldn't believe Kate was really coming.  I think I was a little nervous too.  I wanted the delivery to go well and wanted Kate to be healthy.  I also wanted to go natural and I was worried the pain would become worse and would overtake my mental toughness.

 Once we got to the labor and delivery room, everything seemed to go fast.  I was hooked up to an IV to get some fluids in me.  For a time I was hooked up to the monitors.  I sat on the yoga ball and Nate pushed against my back when I would have a contraction.  My water broke a little before 5 and then I got into the jacuzzi tub.  In the tub the contractions started to be really strong and painful.  At this point I thought about getting an epidural because I didn't know if I could handle the pain for very long.  But there would be no time for an epidural.  I was in the tub about 10-15 minutes when I told Nate I felt like I needed to push.  The nurse then came and checked my cervix and I was dilated to a 10!  Kate was on her way!

Daddy loves his little girl!

Grandma missed Kate's birth by 5 minutes.

No one expected me to have her so fast.  When we first got to the hospital the nurse said maybe around 9 she would come.  It was after 5 and Kate was ready to make her appearance.  My room wasn't even ready for delivery so a couple of nurses had to make a mad rush at getting everything ready.  Luckily my doctor was across the street so he rushed right over.  While everyone was getting things ready for delivery I had to breathe through the urge to push(so not fun).

It was hard to judge how long I pushed for but I probably pushed for 30 minutes.  It seemed to go fast.  Towards the end my doctor said Kate's heart rate was going down because her umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck.  The nurse told me Kate might need some help breathing when she came out.  When I heard this it made me want to work even harder to get her out.  My doctor wanted me to push an extra 8 secs the next go around and I knew I had to to get her head out.  The extra pushing worked!  I pushed a little more and the next thing I knew Kate entered the world!

  Kate cried soon after so there was no need for her to get help breathing.  I was so grateful because I was able to do skin to skin immediately.  It was a special bonding moment and I will never forget holding her for the first time.  She was so itty bitty but so perfect.

I am grateful I was able to have Kate natural.  I am glad there was no time for an epidural because I was seriously thinking about getting one.  I think I was able to really control my pushing and able to push harder when I needed to by going natural.  Of course I don't know what it would have been like with an epidural but I feel I was able to have Kate faster because I could feel how hard I was pushing.  I really felt like I was in control of my body especially when I knew Kate needed to get out.  I feel like there could have been complications if I had gotten an epidural.  It was a blessing that things progressed fast.  It allowed Kate to arrive healthy and strong.  

Now I wont say it didn't hurt because it did.  The pain and burning was pretty horrible but I would not change it for the world and I pretty much have forgotten what it felt like:) so I will probably do it again.

Who needs a pacifier when you have a finger?

We love our tiny Kate! We are so glad she came 11 days early.  It was the best 

early Christmas gift we could have asked for!