Vivianni's Arrival

Here we go... the long awaited arrival of our sweet Vivianni. On May 30th, the morning was spent with my friend Erica who took belly pictures for me.

Then, that evening we spent at my parents for a Memorial Day BBQ. I was having contractions throughout the day, but nothing too close together. Then bedtime came and I wasn't able to sleep very well due to the contractions happening every 15-20 minutes. By 4:00 am, I woke Daniel up and let him know that the contractions were getting closer and that I needed him awake now. He started helping by timing them and helping me breath through them. We called Shari (our Doula) at 4:30 to let her know the contractions were about 5 minutes apart. By 7:00 am, we headed to the hospital. What a strange sensation that was, knowing we were going to the hospital to bring Vivi to this world.

(Me in triage waiting to get admitted)

At the hospital, I got checked and was at a 2, but 90% effaced. They checked me in and we went to a LDR room (Labor, Delivery and Recovery room). We had chosen to go natural (meaning no medications), and the nurses were so considerate regarding this. I spent the next 3 hours basically on the side of the bed with Daniel in front of me. He would stand up and hold onto me when the contractions came and help me stay calm and relaxed through each one. They checked to see where I was at and I was now at a 6. The thought came to me, "I don't think I can do this for hours. I think I need the medication." I shared this with Daniel and both he and Shari reminded me that I needed to just focus on the next contraction instead of the "hours" ahead. So we kept at it.

I tried some other laboring positions: the tub was awkward for me and I only spent a short time in there. Then we tried the shower, which was the best for me. Daniel sang through the rest periods and would hold me during the contractions. I would rest my head on the side of the shower wall and almost fall asleep between contractions. I held the shower head by my pelvis area and it helped so much. I think I liked this most also because it was just us - no nurses, doula or mom present.

The contractions were getting stronger and I moved back to the bed. The nurse checked and I was at a 7. My water had not broken and the doctor offered to break it for me. Pros- she would come faster; cons - the contractions would be much more intense. I chose to not have it broken. However, I threw-up shortly after and when she checked me a short time later, I was at a 9. My water still had not broken. We tried a hands/knee position with a "peanut" ball. This was to get her to move down more and hopefully break the water on her own. But nope. The doctor came and checked me and I was a 9.5. At this point I had him break the water. The term "intense" does not describe what I felt. I started pushing right after this. He had left to quickly help another patient. However, by the time he got back (about 15 minutes) Vivianni had already arrived!

I won't go into all the details of what it feels like to give birth to a 8.11 pound baby with no medications. However, I will say that it was unlike anything I have ever experienced, physically, mentally and spiritually. The nurse put her on my belly and we just stared at each other. I think I kept saying things like, "Oh my goodness!" "I can't believe she's here!" "She's so big!" I didn't know how big she was until about an hour after she was born. The nurses wouldn't take her away from me to weigh her until I was ready - so cool, right.

We spent our first night with her in the recovery room with us. She slept pretty good, and Daniel was so sweet to get up with her. The second night, however, we were both pretty exhausted and sleep deprived. We had originally said we wanted her in the room. However, about 11:30, when she started to cry, we called the nurse and said, "We changed our minds. Can she still go to the 'Cottage'?" (that's what they call the nursery). So off she went for her first sleep-over. And mom and dad were able to get a little sleep that night.

(After her first bath.)

What an amazing experience. It already seems like forever ago. Here we are and she's going to be two weeks old tomorrow! We feel so blessed to have this sweet little angel in our home. She has been such a joy and we are loving every minute (even the sleepless ones!) of being parents .