Below is Ruby's birth story. At 2.5 weeks out, I have already forgotten some of the details, but I tried to document everything I could remember, even though it may seem mundane! I have loved reading back over what I wrote for my other 2 deliveries, so I wanted to do the same this time!
My 38 week appointment was relatively uneventful. I was 3 cm
and 50% effaced, had gained 14 lbs overall (not that that was important here-I
just finally asked and wanted to write it down so I could remember!) and Dr.
Murray said I could go at any time! She said she was on call Friday and
Saturday, so to do some walking, because those would be great days to have a
baby! This kind of got my hopes up, so when nothing happened all week, I was a
little disappointed. At my 39 week appointment, I was hoping for more progress,
but was still 3 cm and 60% effaced and had lost a little weight. She basically
said the same thing, and that she was on call all weekend, so to stay in touch.
She also said that she would be in the office all day Friday, and that if I
began to get totally miserable and wanted to induce, she could do it then. I
really did not feel miserable-not any more so than at any other points during
this or any other pregnancy-so I didn’t envision wanting to do that-especially
since I had not even hit 40 weeks yet. I did not feel any different from 38 to
39 weeks, so I had resigned myself to being late rather than on time or early.
Henry was 2 days early and Annie was 2 days late, so there was really no reason
for me to think baby #3 would come early, but once people start asking and the
doctor says “any time!” I just couldn’t help but feel antsy. That was actually
my main complaint about the end of this pregnancy! I am a planner, and with it
being summer, I kept wanting to make plans, but didn’t feel like I could with
an eminent delivery, so I felt like a sitting duck…a ticking time bomb…a
watched pot?! And with the other two babies, I worked up until I had them, so
time went by more quickly. I was more distracted and could not think about my
due date as much. It was different with a summer vacation baby!
I had had a to do list looming for weeks, and we were
chipping away at it slowly. On Friday, July 8th, the kids and I
stayed at home all day. I was trying to have quality time with them and not run
errands and drag them all over the place which is hard for me! I really like to
stay on the go. The kids slept in late (we had been out late at the Athens Kiddie
Carnival the night before) and we stayed in our PJ’s half the morning, made
banana bread together, spent time outside, etc. I finally pulled out the infant
car seat and washed the liner, and when Steven got home he installed it along
with Annie’s new diono. I don’t really remember, but I think we ran a few
errands and got dinner when Steven got home?? The afternoon is a blank for me!
I do know that we went out back in the evening and took some maternity
pictures-another thing on my list! And I’m SO glad we did! After that, we swam
together and put the kids to bed. Another thing on my list was to finalize my
birth plan and print it. It was up on the computer and Steven saw it and
suggested I just go ahead and get it done. I guess I’m a procrastinator at
heart. I’m so glad I did! Evidently we were prepping for #3’s eminent arrival
and didn’t even realize it!
At about 3:30 am I woke up with light, inconsistent
contractions (I couldn’t really call them contractions at the time-it was just
low cramping). I had woken up like this several times in the past 2 weeks or so
just wondering if these low cramps would develop into something more, but then
they never did. They always stopped on their own. After these didn’t let up,
Steven could tell I was awake, and I told him I might be having contractions. He
said, “I was wondering!”. I still didn’t know if this was the real thing, so I
got up and finalized packing my bag just in case. I was curious if getting up
and walking around would stop them or cause them to further develop. After
about an hour, I started using the contractions timer app on my phone just to
see if there was a pattern. Even though they were inconsistent, the main thing
was that they did not stop. I decided to shower, and Steven was getting stuff
prepped, too. He kept wanting to leave right away for the hospital, but I wanted
to make sure this was real before we left. Once out of the shower, I told him I
thought this really was labor, but I just didn’t know how early on it was. My
contractions were not painful, but he was chomping at the bit to go, and my
plan was to go earlier this time as well. There were two reasons for this.
Number 1-Annie came in literally 5 hours from start to finish (we were at the
hospital for 1.5 hrs before she came), and if this baby was anything like that,
we needed to get to the hospital ASAP if we wanted to deliver there! We had
been warned over and over that a third baby could come even faster. Number 2-I
tested positive for Group B Strep and needed to get IV antibiotic during
delivery-ideally 4 hours prior. These two things coupled with the fact that at
the hospital we could totally focus on labor whereas at home our kiddos would
be up soon and we would be dealing with them, was enough to spur us to head on.
Steven called our next door neighbor Mandy who answered right away and came
over at about 5:10 am. She was so sweet and happy to come-even if it was a
Saturday morning and her 3 kids were still going to be in bed for hours yet!
She prayed with us before we headed out. Later when I was thanking her for
coming so early, she said, “It was a God thing! I woke up and was lying in bed
wide awake for about 10 minutes, then I looked over and saw my phone was lit up…and
saw it was you guys…the sound was turned off. It’s like God said, ‘wake up! Time
to go!’”
I only had a few contractions on the way to Madison hospital,
and I ate some Greek yogurt and drank a bottle of water. I also only had a few
in the waiting area before going up to the second floor. Steven and I had normal
conversation the whole time. I was able to talk to the nurse about my prior
deliveries while she walked us to the elevator to go up. Her name was Julie,
and she got us all settled into our room and was very accommodating (received my
birth plan gladly, got me the birthing ball, ice chips, etc). My contractions
were slow, but steady. I was able to talk and fully focus on what she was
asking me (totally different than with Annie!!).
Once we got all the preliminary stuff out of the way, she
checked me and said I was between 5 and 6 cm. I wanted to walk to see if I
could get things going even more since I was coping fine with the contractions
at present. I stayed put to get my IV antibiotics. They actually caused me to
feel a little nauseated, so they slowed the drip and got me a cool washcloth
for my forehead. I was happy when that was over and I could get up and move
around. Nurse Julie switched out to nurse Lauren at 7:00 am, and we were free
to walk around the L&D and postpartum halls. I was monitored 15 minutes out
of every hour and only had a saline lock in case of emergency. Steven texted
close friends to update them that we were at the hospital and to ask for
prayers. I called my folks early and let them know, and he had been in touch
with all of his family to update them as well. We had called his mom when we called
Mandy, so she was on her way to the house to take over the kids as soon as she
got there.
The halls were quiet
and Steven and I were able to talk and walk…I monitored my contractions on my
phone app again and they were coming every 2 minutes and lasting about 25
seconds. As long as I was walking, they were coming, but as soon as I sat down
they stopped!! The entire 15 minutes I was sitting on the bed and being
monitored, I literally had only a few contractions. The same was true of the
birthing ball. When I sat on it-nothing! I felt like I had to justify myself to
the nurses and told them-I promise I really am having contractions while I’m
walking around!! It was so weird! Dr. Murray was on call (yay!), and she was
getting reports from the nurse via phone. She suggested that she could break my
water to get things progressing, but when the nurse checked me at around 8:30
am, she said I was 7 cm, so Dr. Murray said that was great since I was
progressing on my own-we would just let me continue. I wouldn’t have agreed to
have my water broken anyway, so it was a good thing!
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| At Madison Hospital waiting room-about 5:30am. |
I also texted friends during this time (while being
monitored since I wasn’t having contractions anyway!) to keep myself
distracted-Robin Busch, Jessica Zorio, and talked to sis-in-law Heather on the
phone. We walked and walked, and Dr. Murray came in and talked to me but did
not check me. The people in the halls got familiar with us…a new dad said, “Keep
it up, guys!” and several of the cleaning crew spoke to us once we saw them
several times! We got reports from home that the kids were awake and were super
excited that they were going to have a baby sister today! It was neat because
Steven said when he put Henry to bed the night before they re-capped what would
happen when the baby came (we would go to the hospital, Grandma would come be
with him and Annie, and bring them to meet the new baby at the hospital where
mommy and daddy were). Both other babies were born in the middle of the night,
so seeing daylight and everyone being available to communicate on a Saturday
morning was different!
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| I went into the bathroom to change into the hospital gown, then came out for Steven to get one last pregnancy picture! This is 39 weeks + 5 days. |
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| Still feeling good! The sun is up...getting ready to go! |
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| Ready to get out in the halls and get walking in this pic after putting on my stylish gown! |
At about 10:30 (I’d guess??) my contractions got more
painful and I began to feel the dread of what I knew was ahead. I was having to
stop a lot while walking and was feeling a little self-conscious with more folks being in the halls. We went back
to the room and I talked through some of my anxiety with Steven, then I decided
to lie down on the bed-that seemed most comfortable, although my contractions
were coming strong and steady in that position. I held onto the bedrail and
breathed through them as best I could. Steven had some music playing and helped
however he could. The room was quiet and calm. The nurse asked if I was feeling
pressure, but I wasn’t at the time. They started another round of antibiotics
since it had been 4 hours, and it was at the end of those that I felt a bit of
pressure. The nurse came in to take care of the IV, and we told her. She
quickly went to get Dr. Murray who checked me. She unintentionally broke my
water with her fingertip (her words) and said I was fully dilated and that she
was going to get dressed and be ready. She was very calm and almost whispering.
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| Lying on my right side once contractions got stronger. |
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| Getting prepped for delivery...serious face now! |
There was a rush of preparation-baby nurse, the nurse who’d
been monitoring me plus one other, Dr. Murray and her tray of tools! When I saw
the tools I said, “Whoa! That’s a lot of stuff!” She said she’d only use about a
tenth of them, but the rest were there just in case! They broke the bed down,
and I kind of sat up to get ready for the next contraction. I was getting in
the same position I had been in to deliver my other two babies. Well, the funny
thing was that just like the rest of my labor, nothing happened when I was in
this position! I just sat there and everyone just kinda stood around! I was
certainly in an awkward position, and I felt totally clear headed and was in no
pain. I kind of chuckled and was like, “Well…!” Steven says that it was like
this for about 5 minutes, but I really don’t think it was that long. It
certainly FELT like a long time…so awkward!
Anyway, I suggested laying back on my right side since that’s
how the contractions were coming before. Dr. Murray said, “If that feels good
to you, do it.” She did not make any suggestions or push me to do anything I
didn’t want to do. Before I even could lie all the way down, a contraction
started, and I felt pressure. I was kind of waiting for the doctor and nurses
to tell me to push like they did with my other two deliveries, but I just
followed my body’s own natural urge because they weren’t saying anything at
first! A nurse was holding my left leg while I was in the side lying position. After
pushing a time or two, I could feel her coming out, but I asked for some
direction, so then Steven was behind me saying, “You’re doing good, babe! Keep
it up!” and stuff like that. I then heard the nurses saying, “You’re doing
good, Mom!” and “Yes, that’s it” and stuff like that. I was just needing some feedback,
so it was good to hear that. She came very fast-within a few pushes-and I was
so relieved! Just like with Annie, I just felt SO, SO happy that it was all
over. The pain, pressure, pushing is intense, but just as quickly as it is
there, it is over (in my case). The relief is immediate and so gratifying! She
was born at 11:25 am, so from start to finish my labor/deliver was 8 hours.
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| Evidently Steven to a pic during the awkward waiting period just prior to delivery...he certainly had time! |
They immediately put baby girl on me, and she was precious,
of course. She had lots of dark hair-and while it was wet it looked curly. I
had such bad heartburn the whole time, so seeing all that hair made the old
wives’ tale seem all the more true. She cried for just a minute, then settled
right on me. She was warm and calm and sweet. We talked about her and how I
thought she looked a little like Henry. I didn’t see Annie at all at first. I
nursed her right away and she had a serious suck-nothing lack luster about
that! The hospital’s policy is not to do anything with the baby until mother
and baby have had at least an hour skin to skin and a first feeding, so we were
in the room just us for what felt like a long time just getting to know her!
Steven was wanting to get his hands on her, but I kept her until after that
first hour.
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| First glimpses |
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| Lots of dark hair! |
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| This is what total relief looks like! So glad it's over and she's here safe and sound. |
It was during this time that we finally finalized her name.
We had a short list for a while, and I knew my top pick and Steven knew his. We
even talked about it a little while walking during labor, and then again once
she was born we told our three picks to the doc and nurses and got their
feedback. Once she was actually here, Steven must have felt more lenient toward
my pick I guess, so we decided to name our third born Ruby Jane Hough! What a
blessing to have a healthy, perfect child. Thank you, God, for our sweet baby
girl.
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| This is the picture Steven texted out to family-it was everyone's first glimpse of Ruby! This face really reminds me of her big sister. |
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| Lots of sweet skin to skin time! |
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| Calm, warm, and sweet! |
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| First feeding-she was a champ from the start. |
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| Thank you, God, for answering our prayers for an easy delivery and a healthy baby. How can you have a baby and not believe in a Creator? It is truly a miracle. |
