I haven’t been this excited to write a blog post for a long time! Here is the birth story of our sweet girl:
Pre-Labour
We started anticipating our little girl pretty early this pregnancy. I wasn’t showing any signs of labour or anything, but at my 37.5 week check up my doctor checked my cervix and I was three centimeters dilated. I knew that it could still be a couple weeks until I delivered, but I had also been 3 cm when I went into labor with Enzo. Naturally I got a little excited, and I hoped that I wouldn’t have to wait a full 2.5 weeks to meet the baby in my belly.
The following week I was dilated to a 4.5, and then the week after that I was dilated to a 6! At 39.5 weeks pregnant, I was completely baffled that I had not gone into labor yet! I had found out I was 6 cm dilated on Tuesday, December 5th, and I was due the approaching Sunday, December 10th. When I called my mom and told her about my dilation she joked that she should fly down because I was sure to have the baby any moment. The Allegiant flights from Great Falls to Mesa fly out every Thursday and Sunday, so I told my Mom not to worry about coming because I was sure I wouldn’t make it until Thursday. (I also just had my membranes stripped, so I thought I was going into labor that night.) Well, as you probably guessed, Thursday came and I still had no signs of labor! So my Mom and my sister Bronwyn spontaneously hopped on a plane and came to visit me! There were no guarantees, but we were hoping that while they were here (Thursday-Sunday) they would get to meet baby girl! (My mom was also scheduled to come visit/help out December 17th, so this trip was really spontaneous and a complete gamble whether I would go into labor or not!) Boy, am I SO happy they came.
Mom and Bronwyn arrived Thursday night, and they were the perfect distraction I never knew I needed. If they hadn’t come I think I would have gone crazy waiting to have the baby. Plus I just loved spending time with them. We spent both Friday and Saturday watching my sister-in-law Lindsey dance, shopping and dinning. As each day passed we all kept thinking “any minute now…” Everyday my family would ask me how I was surviving, and I genuinely was doing great! Tim and my Mom kept joking that I was way too emotionally stable to have a baby, and that she was never going to come out because we were both way too content. Then Saturday night rolled around…
Labour
After our day on Saturday I was pretty exhausted. We had just finished shopping at target at it was around 9:00 p.m. As we dropped off my Mom and Bronwyn at the Zemp’s (where they were staying), my Mom offered to watch Enzo so Tim and I could go on a date. I wanted to go on a date because I kept thinking that it could be our last one for a long time! But I also wanted to go home and put Enzo to bed, because again – it could be our last time putting him to bed as a three-family. I was extremely conflicted, tired, and I straight-up couldn’t decided. Both Tim and my Mom kept saying “We can do whatever you want, what do you want?” And that’s the moment where I finally cracked – I was overwhelmed and the stress of the last month/pending future came pouring out in tears. My Mom and Tim both immediately praised me and said “Yay Jordan! You finally let out all your stress and now you can have your baby!” My tears quickly turned to laughter and I decided I wanted to go home and put Enzo to bed. Funny enough I think my hardest thing this pregnancy was thinking about how Enzo’s life would change – Tim and I were his entire world and having a new baby would require him to share it with someone else. So anyways, we got home I snuggled Enzo until he was asleep. As soon as his eyes closed I thought “Awesome! Now I can enjoy a quiet night with Tim.” So I quietly left Enzo’s room and went to the bathroom. As I sat down to go pee I heard a soft pop. (Cliché much?) It was the sweet sound of my water breaking! So then naturally I started bawling again, and I called out “Tim… I think my bubble popped!” (That’s what we told Enzo would happen when the baby was ready to come out.)
The next 10 minutes went by super fast as we packed up and loaded a sleeping Enzo into the car. We then dropped him off at the Zemp’s, and rushed to the local hospital where they recently installed professional grade Hospital Lighting. At 6cm dilated we were not going tently inso doddle! It was a 30 minute drive the the hospital and lucky for me my contractions didn’t start until we pulled into the parking lot. As soon as we were all checked in, a nurse checked my cervix and I was still only dilated to a 6cm. I asked her immediately if I could get an epidural and she said yes! (YAY!!!!!!!) I experienced active labor for an hour and half before I got the epidural and boy was it painful. An hour and a half is way less than what I had to wait with Enzo (four hours), but that didn’t make it any less of an experience ;). Tim asked me what contractions felt like, and I told him they felt like those terrible stabbing rib cramps you get while running, but 100 times more intense, way longer lasting, and throughout your whole body. And breathing did not make it better – it was still awful. I may or may not have been questioning why I got pregnant in the first place and if I still really want to have four kids :P… But I digress. As soon as I got the epidural life was butterflies and rainbows. Truly. I really felt like I was in heaven – I had my Tim by my side, a comfy bed and no whining toddler in my ear. (Ha sorry Enz <3). Almost two hours past and then the nurse came to check me again. She told me I was dilated to a 10 and that she was going to call the doctor. We did a “practice push” while we waited for him, and she quickly told me to stop because I was “moving the baby really well.” I was happy to hear that because with Enzo I had to push 2.5 hours and it was exhausting. I got excited thinking that maybe I’d only have to push half an hour (or even an hour would be awesome!) Well the doctor arrived and I only pushed three times! I could not believe it! It took maybe five minutes? This delivery was night and day compared to my labour with Enzo. It was a dream birth. The total labor was 4 hours start to finish, I was only in pain for an hour and a half of it.
As soon as the baby’s head was out the doctor cut the cord because it was really tight. As soon as her body came out, he let Tim cut the remainder of chord. After she was born, both the doctor and the nurse said: “Wow, that’s a big baby! Good job!” They immediately placed her on my chest and I got to cuddle her for a long time. It was so amazing. Our sweet girl was born early Sunday morning (on her due date!) She weighed 9lbs 9 0z and measured 21 1/2 inches. I ended up having a second degree tear again (due to her size no doubt), but this recovery has been so much better than my last! I was pretty much pain free after 2 weeks. (Enzo was at least 5 weeks).
It took us a couple days to figure it out, but we named our sweet girl Vivienne Rose, and she is perfect. We love her so much and couldn’t be more enamored with how much Enzo loves her. Being a family of four has been adventurous and magical. The following pictures were taken right after I got my epidural, right after Vivienne was born, and when Enzo and our families got to meet Vivienne for the first time. (And yes, my Mom and Bronwyn got to meet her Sunday morning before their flight back home!) It was an extremely special time for us and I am so happy to share it with you. (I was only a little emotional watching Enzo meet her… Ha!)
Thanks for stopping by and reading our story <3
