You're here. You. Are. Here.
Even after the first 30 days of your life, I'm still having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that I'm the daddy of an absolutely beautiful baby GIRL! You are more precious than I ever could have imagined and I didn't know I could love something so tiny, so much.
Your name is Nyla Joy...and this is the story of your birth.
It was an early Thursday morning, around 3:15am, when Mommy woke up. She normally gets up to go to the bathroom at least twice during the night, but this time was different. She starting having contractions that were very uncomfortable every 5 to 7 minutes. At first, she didn't think much of it. After all, we went to the doctor just the day before and she told us Mommy was still only 1 cm dilated and 50 percent effaced (meaning how thinned out the cervix is). We thought for sure you wouldn't be gracing us with your presence until after your due date (Mother's Day, 5/13). But Mommy couldn't get back to sleep because the contractions were so painful. So she went downstairs and kept herself busy - unloaded the dishwasher, wiped down countertops, checked her e-mail, and picked up things around the house.
When I woke up around 7:00am, Mommy's contractions were getting so uncomfortable that she had to stop what she was doing and wait for them to pass, usually 30 to 45 seconds later. I was very concerned about going into work that day, but Mommy insisted that I go because she didn't think you would be coming for quite some time still. So, I went to work and tried to concentrate on my meetings and spreadsheets, but couldn't. I couldn't stop thinking about how you might be coming this day! I went home at lunch time to find Mommy in even more pain during contractions, which had still been occurring every 4 to 7 minutes. At this point, we were finally coming to the conclusion: this is the real deal! I let work know I wouldn't be coming back in the afternoon and ran a quick errand to pick up your cloth diapers from Elegant Mommy, a local baby store in town. Mommy was still in a lot of pain during contractions, but was OK in between. Here's a picture of Mommy on the "birthing ball," which helped relieve pressure on her back.
I kept bugging Mommy that we should probably go to the hospital. After all, she had been having regular contractions at this point for over 10 hours and the classes we went to told us to watch for the 5-1-1 Rule: contractions 5 minutes apart, 1 minute long, for over 1 hour. I was nervous that you would come too soon and we wouldn't be ready. But Mommy is a Labor & Delivery nurse and didn't want to go too early because it's more comfortable to experience "early labor" at home than in the hospital.
Between 1:00pm and 3:30pm, we took several walks around the neighborhood block, trying to enjoy the beautiful weather (70's and sunny) and take our minds off the contractions. Mommy and I got emotional during the walks thinking about how much our lives will change in just a matter of hours, and how long we've waited to meet you. You truly are a gift from God! We didn't walk very far, because Mommy's contractions kept getting more painful.....
Finally, around 4:15pm, Mommy agreed that we should go to the hospital. We had already packed our hospital bags weeks prior, so I gathered them together and loaded the Highlander. Mommy called ahead to her co-worker friends to let them know she was coming. They very kindly told us to just come on up to the floor, rather than checking in through the hospital main entrance. I was preparing myself for a long night, and asked God for His strength and protection over you and Mommy.
We got checked in to the "Triage" area around 5:00pm. Our triage nurse, Connie, was coincidentally the mom of someone who works with my friend, Kraner, in St. Louis. In Triage, they put in Mommy's IV and hooked her up to monitors to watch your heart rate and the contractions. Preliminarily, Mommy was concerned we went in to the hospital too soon because she said the contractions were still too far apart (5 to 6 minutes) and the contraction pattern strip "looked pathetic." But Connie checked Mommy's cervix and it was 4-5 cm dilated, 90% effaced with a bulgy bag of water! This was good news that labor was progressing and they decided at this point to admit Mommy to the hospital.
I would guess around 6:15pm, we were admitted to our labor and delivery room. It was fun walking to our room because Mommy ran into all of her co-workers who were excited that it was time for you to arrive!
The bag of fluids hanging by the bed was penicillin being pumped through Mommy to protect you during delivery. Not everyone has to have this, but Mommy tested GBS positive, which can be very harmful to you during delivery if not treated with antibiotics first so that its not passed on to you. (For more info on GBS, click here). Also, the big ball on the bed is what Mommy leaned on during contractions for support. I pressed hard on her hips from behind to relieve some of the pressure and pain.
Around 8:00pm, our nurse, Amy, checked Mommy's cervix to see how much progress had been made. She was 7-8 cm and with the bulgy bag of water right there! This was great progress, considering Mommy still felt pretty good in between the contractions, which were still 5 minutes apart. Mommy decided she wanted to try and ease some of the pain by getting in the jacuzzi tub in the bathroom. So I got the water ready and Amy and I helped Mommy into the tub. Within minutes, Mommy had another painful contraction and I was getting ready to send out text messages to all our family members to let them know about being in the hospital....until this exchange took place:Micaela: "I'm sorry Amy, but I really feel like I need to push."
Amy (after coming in the bathroom and looking in the water): "Um, yeah...don't do that. There's a bulgy bag of water hanging out between your legs."
I watched as Amy left the bathroom and quickly got on the phone to "get the team ready."
So much for texting family.
So just like that, around 8:15pm, after only being in the tub for about 5 minutes, Mommy got back out of the tub. And right when she stepped out, her water broke all over the floor. Amy helped Mommy waddle back towards the bed, just in time for another painful contraction. By this time, the contractions were so strong that Mommy was yelling in pain. I can only wonder what people walking passed our room must have been thinking!
The next 30 minutes were a blur. Dr Meghan McGowan came in pretty quickly after Amy made that phone call, along with two or three other nurses. Around 8:25pm, McGowan checked Mommy's cervix and felt that it was completely dilated and ready to begin pushing!! Everyone got into position to get ready for the next contraction. I stood close to Mommy's head near her left shoulder and helped keep a cool wash cloth on her head. My heart was beating so fast and I was so nervous about what was about to take place, knowing full well that it was about to change our lives forever.
During the next four to six contractions, Mommy pushed with all of her might. What was very encouraging was that we could see progress being made during each push. After the second contraction, I could begin to see a head of dark hair! There was a large mirror behind the doctor so that Mommy could watch, too.
At 8:47pm, after over 17 and a half hours of labor, less than four of which were spent in the hospital, you arrived. Mommy calls this picture "the ugly cry." I call it one of the most beautiful pictures of raw emotion that I've ever seen. This was taken just seconds after you were born.
Mommy was looking at me in this picture. And since you can't see my face, you should probably know that I was crying, too. We were both so emotional because we waited so long to be parents and we couldn't believe you were finally here! And right before the picture was taken, I got to announce to the world that, "IT'S A GIRL!" Shortly thereafter, the doctor let me cut your umbilical cord. For the next 10-15 minutes or so, the doctor and nurses worked on getting out the placenta and stitched Mommy up from a 2nd degree tear.
For the rest of the night, we were absolutely in awe of what just happened. You came into this world faster than we anticipated and to us, you looked absolutely perfect. Your Apgar scores were 8 and 9 and you sure let us know you had a healthy set of lungs!! Here are a couple other pictures from shortly after you were born.
Eventually, we called all your Grandparents and Aunts and Uncles to share the wonderful news. Since we never called or texted anyone before hand, everyone was very shocked! Grandpa Larry and Grandma Margo came to the hospital that night along with Uncle Landon. Aunt Megan was still in Lincoln, NE wrapping up her semester at Union College and all of Daddy's side of the family was in St. Louis when we called them. Everyone was so excited and couldn't wait to meet you!
After awhile, we were moved upstairs to our recovery room. Mommy's co-workers made us feel very welcome by decorating the door and baby crib, and making us a "diaper cake," seen behind the crib in picture below.
Needless to say, we didn't get much sleep that night. Part of that was due to the huge adrenaline rush we had of being new parents and also being in awe of how beautiful you were. But another part of that was due to the fact that you wanted to eat NON-STOP! One of Mommy's concerns during pregnancy was that you wouldn't learn how to breast feed and would have problems latching on. Well, you QUICKLY put that concern to rest because you eat like a champion! We even tried having the nurse take you to the nursery around 3-something in the morning, but she wheeled you back 30 minutes later because you were very fussy and acted really hungry again. (It seemed like you were literally attached to Mommy's chest for the first 4 days, until Mommy's milk started to come in more).
Friday was a day filled with nurses, doctors, lactation consultants, friends, and family members wishing us congratulations....and us trying to get extra sleep in between. On Saturday, we were technically supposed to be checked out of our room by 11:30am, but we were in no hurry. And there was one big reason we definitely couldn't leave the hospital yet....we still didn't have a name for you!! Mommy and I brought a list to the hospital of about 9 girl names and 4 boy names and because of all the visitors, doctors, and sleep in between, we really didn't have time to even talk about it until Saturday.
After a lengthy discussion, we decided to name you Nyla Joy. We liked how the name Nyla was short and sweet, a unique name that wasn't on the most popular lists, and that you would also share Daddy's initials. We didn't put tremendous stress on the name's meaning when making our decision, but depending on where you look, the name Nyla means successful, champion, or winner. The middle name, Joy, seemed so appropriate because 1) of the tremendous amount of joy you have, and will, bring to our lives, and 2) it will continually remind you of the abundant joy that you have through our Savior, Jesus Christ.
We didn't leave the hospital until after 5pm on Saturday after sneaking one last meal from The Bistro food court area. Those 45 hours in the hospital after you were born went by way too quickly...and with such little sleep. The ride home from the hospital was very emotional for us. (Mommy bawled the whole way). Will we be good parents? What is in store for us in the coming days, weeks, & months? Will you remain healthy? How will we adjust? How will this impact our marriage?
Despite these questions, one thing we knew for sure is that we were so thankful for God blessing us so greatly by bringing us you - a beautiful, healthy baby girl, and it's our prayer that He would walk beside us, wrap us in His love, and guide our steps as we learn to be parents, to love you unconditionally, and to raise you as best we can.
Mommy and I love you, Nyla Joy! Welcome to the world!
Always,
Daddy
