Annabelle Grace Lane

This post is mostly for Annabelle's birth story. So if you don't want all the details, don't read! There is even one picture from right after the waterbirth. I don't think it is a gross picture, but you have been warned because I was in my bra!

On New Year's Eve morning I started having some crampy contractions around 4AM. Emma Catherine was a bit restless that morning, so we dozed off and on together. The contractions finally fizzled out after a few hours. For the rest of the day I just didn't feel quite right, so I took it easy and rested when I could. However, we did make one trip to the park that afternoon.

My niece Rachel was a HUGE help with Emma Catherine!


I just love this face =)

Last picture of Amelia and me pregnant together.


Emma Catherine loved the slides!


40 weeks pregnant!

Around 7:30PM I lost my mucus plug. By 8PM the contractions started back up again and they were 5-7 minutes apart. Around 9PM Bo and I took Emma Catherine downstairs for bedtime. I figured it would be the last time with just the 3 of us. After I left the room, Emma Catherine told Bo, "I don't want you to go to the hospital." Smart girl! I hadn't even told anyone I thought I was in labor =)

Around 10PM I asked to ride over to the hospital just in case. I was positive for group B strep at 37 weeks, so I had been told I would need one round of antibiotics before getting into the birthing pool. Which meant I needed to get to the hospital early. I wasn't sure I wanted to birth Annabelle in the pool, but I had been told about how the pool could speed up active labor and ease pain so I decided to at least labor in the pool.

My contractions started to space out in the car. They were about 10 minutes apart by the time we got to the hospital. So we walked around for about 30 minutes and my contractions started to pick up again. This time they were about 3-5 minutes apart.

Around 11PM I decided to check in at labor and delivery. I knew the nurse would have to do a 30 minute strip and I wanted to get that done before the pain level picked up. Of course when I checked in and laid down in the bed my contractions started to space out again. I was only 2cm when the nurse checked me at midnight. She told me to walk around for an hour and after checking me again she would "decide if they wanted to keep me".

At 1:30 AM I was 4cm, so they checked me into a room. My midwife (Kay) had shown up at that point and started to fill up the birthing pool. I was violently shivering at this point and the contractions were starting to feel "very productive" as my doula (Annette) would say. So Bo helped me shower off with antibacterial soap and I got into the birthing pool.

My first contraction in the pool was like HEAVEN. No seriously, I thought my labor had stopped. I told Annette that I wasn't sure I was in labor any more. And I remember her saying, "no sweetie, that is why they call it the midwife's epidural." She wasn't kidding! We timed my contractions and they were still 3-5 minutes apart, so I was definitely still in labor.

I "labored" like that until 4AM when my water broke. I felt the same "pop" sensation that I felt when my water broke with Emma Catherine, but this time I felt my body kind of bounce up, the water (completely clear thank goodness) rushed out, and it felt like Annabelle's head was pressing down harder. I was in the middle of a contraction and the difference was immediately noticeable. It actually hurt again and I definitely knew I was in labor. It was a manageable level of pain, so I still didn't think I was very far along.

I labored like that until 5:15 when my nurse came in and said she wanted me out of the pool at 6AM for another strip. I told her I would rather die =) and I meant it at that point. I remembered what the contractions felt like before I had gotten into the pool, and that was before my water broke. I had started to feel the urge to push, but I wasn't quite ready yet. I felt like the pool was too big for me to get in a good position. It was like I was a few inches to short to get the back support and leverage I needed for my legs. So Annette talked to me about a couple of options and I decided to have Kay check me to see what my dilation was at that point.

When Kay checked me she said I was basically ready to push except for one spot, so on the next contraction she helped me push past it, while Annette, Bo, mom, and Kathy supported me. Debbie took pictures - for better or for worse. And four very painful contractions later Annabelle was born at 5:45AM on New Year's day.

Okay, here is the right after picture (the white stuff in the water is the stuff that is on a baby's skin while she is in utero):

Gotta love that cone head! Annabelle's head was EXTREMELY molded. She has a large soft spot on top and now you can feel the gap between the two plates from one soft spot to the other. When she was born, you could actually feel how the two plates overlapped.

So I have decided to add in one more detail about the birth. I did actually reach down and pull Annabelle out of the water myself. I hesitate to add this part because I know how weird and granola it sounds. In the past I have read stories about doing this and it just seemed so strange to me. But during the delivery those last four contractions were so painful because all my concentration was lost, I just got to the point that I wanted Annabelle out. After her head was out I had one more contraction and I remember Annette saying, "Emily, reach down and get your baby." I remembered from Bradley class that I could just hook one finger underneath each armpit and pull her up, so I did. It just happened. It honestly just seemed so natural and not strange at all. Now when I look down at her sweet face, all I can think about is the fact that I was the first one to hold her and look down at that precious face. It was honestly one of the coolest moments in my entire life and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

After this I held my sweet girl for at least 20 minutes =) Then I got out of the pool for the afterbirth, while Bo had some time with Annabelle. I did ask for Motrin very soon after this because the afterbirth pains kicked in immediately and they were so much stronger than they had been with Emma Catherine. Many people warned me the afterbirth pains (cramping and such) would be more painful, but man they weren't kidding! I felt like I was having labor contractions again - this time without the nice warm water.

After that I nursed Annabelle for over an hour before the nurse came in to weigh her and give her a bath.





Thank you crazy nurse lady for my girl's first (and hopefully last) mohawk...


Crazy nurse also made Annabelle stay under the heating lamp for about 45 minutes which I still think was just crazy. Annabelle's temperature was fine when I gave her to the nurse. All she had to do was give my baby back and my body would have warmed Annabelle back up while she nursed more. Trust me, I was warm enough for the room full of us!

After shift change we were moved to the postpartum room and in flooded the family visitors!

The next morning we were given permission by my midwife and Annabelle's pediatrician to be released. But we woke up to a call from mom saying Emma Catherine had spiked a fever over 103 during the night. My sister Debbie was taking care of her at my brother's house in Woodstock. Mom came back to the hospital since she had only been in Woodstock to sleep that night and had not really been exposed to Emma Catherine. And the rest of the story most of you already know from my previous posts.

Here are a few shots of us getting ready to head home from the hospital.









Overall the experience was way better than Emma Catherine's labor and delivery. North Fulton is a very good hospital. I didn't love my labor nurse, but I do understand she has to follow hospital protocol. I'm just glad my midwife and doula were there to stick up for me. Like when the nurse said I needed to get out of the pool so the guy from the lab could draw my blood. I was completely covered up with towels in the pool, but the guy felt uncomfortable. So Kay walked out and asked him to please send a female lab tech if he felt that uncomfortable. He did.

Later my pool water got up to 106 degrees and against the nurse's wishes, Annette placed ice just around me so I could cool off. And she proceeded to take control of regulating the water for the rest of the labor. The nurse was only supposed to let the water get to 101. When the temp gets too high during a water birth it can elevate the baby's heart rate and make it appear to be in distress.

Before getting into the pool, Annette showed Bo a counter pressure technique for my upper hips that worked wonders while I labored on the birthing ball.

I was also quite nauseated for most of my labor. Once again Annette saved the day. She used peppermint essential oil from her bag to give me a head and jaw message. This helped relieve so much tension and the scent eased my nausea. She kept a washcloth corner soaked in the oil and placed on my head for the rest of my labor. And she did countless other things to offer support. As Bo said, "It was money well spent. We would have paid a lot more for her help and knowledge." She was awesome!

We were very blessed by many supportive hands throughout my labor. My mom, Kathy, and Debbie were also there helping with many different things along the way. Bo and I feel so blessed to have been surrounded with such support. We are grateful for a safe labor and delivery. And most of all we thank God for our precious little healthy bundle of joy, Annabelle Grace =)