Miss Joy's Birth Story

At 33 weeks pregnant I found out that Baby Sis was breech. Her head was up and her little tush was down. I was given all sorts of different tips of how to flip her on my own but I decided to just let it be and put it in Heavenly Father's hands. He knew whether she could safely flip at that time.

At 36 almost 37 weeks along we checked again and she was still breech...that little stinker! :) Dr. Young gave me a few options. He could send me to a specialist right away and they could flip her then. ( I felt very bad about this one so it wasn't an option really). Dr. Young didn't like that option either because of the possible complications and stress it puts on the baby. He heard of 2 cases in our county alone where they flipped the baby and two days later they couldn't find the heart beat. The next was that I would wait until 38 weeks and then if her lungs were mature he would check me into the hospital, give me an epidural and flip her himself. If she flipped they'd immediately induce labor and if she didn't then they'd immediately do a c-section. Either way I would have her then.

The last option was to simply wait and see if she flipped on her own, which wasn't very likely since the longer I waited my chance of having a c-section increased. I didn't feel good about the third option either and I felt very good about Dr. Young flipping her. 

So Tuesday the 21st I had one more ultrasound to see if she had flipped on her own...she hadn't. The following day I was scheduled for an amniocentesis test. It's where they stick a LONG needle inside of my stomach to get a sample of my amniotic fluid. She was SO squirmy (she still is)! From that sample they were able to tell if she was mature enough to be born...and she was. So they told me to be at the hospital at 6am the following morning! I got all prepared the night before. 

The night before

On the morning of Thursday, February 23rd we got all ready to go. I got a nice shower and PJ got up too. We think he knew something was up. We left for the hospital around 5:15am. We got there a few minutes before six. It was freezing outside and still dark. PJ stayed with Tutu and Papa and we went to the hospital. 

We got all checked in at the front and the escorted us to our room. 

It was a huge room and even had two beds. The lady that checked us in told us it we be a few minutes so we were able to get settled in and I got changed into my gown and got into bed and waited. About 10-15 minutes later, our nurse came in. She was such a fun, friendly, sweet lady named Raiden. I loved her! She got us all set up with our bracelets, useful information, etc. etc. She was really good at keeping us posted on what was happening with Dr. Young, the anesthesiologist and triage. Dr. Young wanted to get started on me early in the morning but they tried to flip a set of twins and that ended up needing to be a c-section and there was also a more pressing labor that might have ended up being an emergency c-section, and both of them needed to be taken care of before anesthesia could come in and do my epidural, then Dr. Young could come in and get started. Raiden guesstimated that around noon we'd get started.

Dr. Young (who is amazing by the way) came in and said "Hi" to us around 7:40/8:00. Actually he really walked in and said, "Could you hurry up and wait?!" :) I love his personality! He kinda gave us the heads up like Raiden did. We started to watch a few of the DVD's that I brought. First we watched "Mean Girls", which isn't nearly as funny as it used to be, so we turned it off and started "An Affair to Remember". Around 9:30/9:45ish the anesthesiologist came in. Which was way earlier than I had expected. He was awesome! He put in my epidural and stuck around a few minutes to make sure it had worked. Before the anesthesiologist came in Raiden brought us all sorts of awesome goodies. She was so sweet. She said she felt bad about us having to wait but I really didn't mind. 

After my epidural had time to kick in, the anesthesiologist came in and checked again. Dr. Young came in (around 10am). They give a higher dose when they are going to flip the baby than they normally do.

Flipping/Version's is a very uncomfortable procedure. I'm SO glad I was numb for it! Dr. Young strategically mashed on my belly while Raiden held the ultrasound so he could see where Baby Sis was. I got so very nauseated and dry heaved a few times (you're very welcome for that visual). Good thing my stomach was empty! (I hadn't eaten or drank anything since before midnight). He successfully flipped her on the first time! Raided had already had my IV in and everything all set up so they hooked up the pitocin, broke my water and labor was induced! It was now a waiting game! I have IV fluids, pitocin, and nausea meds all going through my IV. It made my hand painfully cold so they had a mini heat pack on that. I was comfortable yet nervous. I didn't want her to turn back! Dr. Young and Raiden and everybody else that came into our room LOVED our movie selections. :) I did too! :) 

After the epidural and her getting flipped I was finally able to rest! After "An Affair to Remember" we watched "Sleepless in Seattle", then it was time for "My Fair Lady" and then it was time to meet OUR little lady! 

My labor progressed nicely. Towards the end of my labor I could really feel a lot of pressure and some of the contractions! So I got a boost to my epidural, I sure am glad that I did! I could tell when I was having a contraction and when to push, but it wasn't painful. Thank goodness! I did tear but I only needed on stitch so that's good. By 5:50pm it was time to push. I pushed a total of 8 minutes/three contractions. At 5:58pm Baby Sis was born.I cried. She was very quiet for what seemed like hours. When I heard her first cry, I cried again. My heart was so full of happiness and joy! 

It turned out that the chord was wrapped around her neck (scary). The breathing specialist had to spend some time with her because she had some fluid in one of her lungs. But she was ok! She weighed 6lbs 10oz and was 19.5 inches long. She had a whole head of dark hair and big brown eyes. She was SO alert! Her Daddy took lots of pictures for me! :) 

The very first time I got to look at my baby girl...and she got to look at me. 

 The first time Daddy got to hold his Baby Girl. So beautiful.

Tutu and Papa brought PJ that night to meet her!  He loved her SO much! He ran right in to see her and gave her a sweet kiss in her head. He has since asked to hug her and hold her lots! He smiles and laughs everytime he sees her!

This is the first time PJ saw his Baby Sis. The next day he saw her. He just loves giving her kisses and loves!

Welcome to the world Baby Sis! You have a big brother that loves you dearly and is going to look out for you! And a mother and father who will do the same! 

Isn't she so beautiful!