Lucy's Birth

The end of my pregnancy was rough. I was officially diagnosed with preeclampsia at 34 weeks, even though we knew I had it long before that. Each day my body got more sick. It was really hard, but we made it to 37 weeks after a scare at 35 weeks. Finally, April 9th came, a day I honestly wasn't sure we were going to make it to!

We checked into the hospital at 6:15 for my induction. Keisha and Annette were my nurses that day, and were waiting for us ready to go when we got there. I LOVED them both. For some reason I passed out before we started anything around 7. They said I was probably laying too much on my back, even though I was propped up, but this caused my blood pressure to drop, which was actually great, since the preeclampsia had made my blood pressure rise so high, it felt nice to have low BP for a while!! I was already dilated to a 3, so we were hopeful it would go pretty fast. At 7:30 the doctor came in and broke my water, they started the pitocin about five minutes later, and I had my epidural before 8:00! It was a breeze, and I never felt a real labor contraction!

My mom and sister showed up around 9, which I am so grateful for. They make labor so much more pleasant and I can't imagine doing it without their company! We just hung out until I dilated to a 5, and then they brought in the peanut exercise ball that worked so well when I was in labor with Lyla. I was dilated to a 10 just over an hour later. The doctor made it back in and it was time to push.

The doctor had told me that I was ready but that her head was still a little high so it was going to take some time while pushing. At 1:51 he told me to push for the first time, and I didn't give it my all, because he had told me it would be a minute to move her down. The next contraction came about a minute later and her head was already out! Lucy Lou was born at 1:54 pm April 9. She weighed 7 pounds and 1 ounce and was 18 and a half inches long. The moments after she was born were so peaceful and spiritual. I literally feel heaven in those first moments with a new baby and I absolutely LOVE it. I also felt so so relieved that she was here, crying, and healthy and that we made it through this pregnancy that was so hard.

Lucy has been so fun to have with us. Lyla just adores her and loves to hold her and she cannot stop kissing her! I am so excited to watch her grow and to watch these two darling sisters develop their relationship!

Lots of love,
Brookeydee

Lyla Jayne's birth story

LYLA  JAYNE  DELAHUNTY
June 20, 2017
5:05 pm
6 lbs. 12 oz.
20 in.

At 33 weeks, my doctor diagnosed me with preeclampsia. My lab work showed that it wasn't causing imminent danger to me or the baby so I went in twice a week for monitoring and lab work.

Week after week things were looking good. Just a few days before I hit 37 weeks, I noticed Lyla wasn't moving as much as she normally did. She was still moving, thankfully, but just nothing like normal. I also noticed a sudden increase in my symptoms. It was the weekend so I just had to wait it out until our appointment on Monday. At my appointment on Monday, I went in and told the high risk nurse, who was very familiar with me by then, that something was wrong. I explained to her my symptoms- I was seeing spots, having a super strong headache that wouldn't go away, I had been vomiting, and I just felt tired. She hooked me up to the non stress test and Lyla's heart rate was within normal range, but was about 25 beats per minute faster than it had been for months. She also barely moved in her NST which was out of the ordinary for her. The nurse went to talk to a doctor and they decided to induce me the next morning at 37 weeks. 

I walked out of the office and got in my car and started crying. I was so worried. I was worried something would go wrong that day, I was worried her little lungs weren't fully developed or that something else would go wrong during labor and delivery. That was a long day full of nerves and stress. I was so grateful for a priesthood blessing from Mike, my dad, and brother that night. The blessing talked about me having the faith and courage of Nephi as we went in the next morning to deliver the baby. It was one of the most powerful blessings I have ever received. 

On Tuesday morning June 20, we got to Mountain Point hospital at 6:30 am. We got all checked in and went up to our room- which was huge and beautiful! (I love Mountain Point!!!) After we fully checked in and got adjusted the nurses came in and started prepping me for everything. They started the pitocin around 8 am and Dr. Bean came in to break my water around 8:30 am. Things really started moving after they broke my water. The contractions were coming about every 2-3 minutes and they were lasting at least a minute each. I was really happy when the anesthesiologist came in at 9:30 to do my epidural. Once my epidural was in life was GOOD! I only felt the really strong contractions a little bit after that. The only problem with the epidural was it made me super itchy. I started to really get uncomfortable around 2:30 pm and I was only dilated to a 5 at that point! Thankfully I had Mike, Mike's mom, my mom, and my sister there to help distract me. We watched Beauty and the Beast, The Incredibles, and played Charades to help pass the time. Finally around 3:30 I had dilated from a 5 to a 9 in 45 minutes (thanks to my amazing nurse Paula and her peanut exercise ball)  At 4:30 I called the nurse back in because I was feeling a lot of pressure and thats when it was go time. I was at a 10 and they could see sweet Lyla's hair on her head!! 

The nurse explained to me  that it normally takes a first time mom at least an hour to push so to really prepare myself for an hour to an hour and a half of pushing. If only she could hear what I was saying in my head. I thought to myself- I was blessed with the courage of Nephi, AND I AM NOT pushing for an hour! haha!! I pushed with the nurse for 10 minutes before she told me to stop because the baby was crowning! We had to wait 5 minutes with no pushing for the doctor to show up while she was crowning. I was so mad. After about 4 minutes of waiting I yelled- "Where the freak is doctor Aagard?!" just as he was walking in haha! He was probably so annoyed with me, but there was a lot of discomfort from the baby crowning in my southern region... so who can blame me? It was less than 5 minutes later when I was holding little Lyla. 

I get emotional just thinking about those first moments with her. They were electric. The spirit was so strong and I just felt so much love and relief that she was finally here! Heaven was incredibly close and it was a moment that I will never forget. It is amazing how love (and God's divine plan) can create life! All I wanted to do was hold her. I didn't want to share her with anyone. I am so grateful that she is here and so healthy. The whole day was so special. I am so grateful that the Lord has trusted us to be her parents. She is such a joy already!

lots of love,
Brookeydee