Avery Kate's Birth Story

Yes this is long! but I'm a "details" kinda person and I never want to forget any of these details.

At 9:45 pm Aaron and I were watching tv and I said "hang on. I need to pee real quick." While I was peeing it felt like I peed an air bubble which felt so strange. After wiping I realized I still felt "wet" and there were 2 drops of fluid on the floor. So I called Aaron in the bathroom and said "I think my water might have broken? But I'm not sure because there wasn't a gush like there was with Peyton?!" So he suggested to call Karen, my doula. She said it's possible I had a high break and baby was acting as cork keeping the rest of my bag of waters intact. She suggested to call and at least let my midwife know what was going on. Titi was the midwife on call and she suggested the same thing and to stay home until my contractions started. We called our neighbor Erica, Lillie and Eli's mom, at 10 pm so she could come get Peyton. She was here for about an hour while we packed the car up and got everything ready for when we needed to leave. Still no contractions at this point. I took a shower and got dressed in the skirt and shirt I wanted to labor in. Finally around 11 we woke up Peyton so she could go to Erica's. She knew that when she was going to a sleepover at Ms. Erica's house it was because mommy and daddy were headed to the hospital. But she was in such a deep sleep it didn't seem to register so she wasn't worried like we anticipated. She was pretty groggy but excited to have a sleepover! 

My contractions started about midnight and were about 7 minutes apart lasting 40 seconds. I had laid down in our bed and was able to actually breathe through them and rest in between. At 1:15 I got up to pee and a blood clot fell on the floor then 2 more in the toilet. Called Titi back and she said "oh ok. Well given you have a 45 minute drive and your last labor was quick... Go ahead and leave your house within the next 10 minutes." So 1:30 we headed to the hospital! Contractions on the way to the hospital were about 5-7 minutes apart and I was still able to intentionally breathe through them. 

Once we got to triage I still had some bleeding that was a little more than normal so they ran some blood tests just to make sure I didn't have pre-eclampsia. I was dilated to 5 almost 6, 100% effaced and Avery was at a -1 station. Titi said she could feel her head very nicely. She also said she could feel a bulge in my bag of waters which meant my membranes hadn't officially ruptured! Praise God!!! We were in triage for what seemed like awhile. Contractions were still 5-7 minutes apart but were a little bit of a challenge because I was propped up in bed. The pain was at about a 6 and I was very mindful that they weren't as bad as they were going to get. I was still in a mindset where I didn't need to put my whole focus on relaxing in between contractions. My shaking was minimal but I did have to focus on staying calm and not having a fan blowing on me.

Once we got into labor and delivery, Aaron worked hard to get everything all set up: my music with my birth playlist, getting out my scriptures to remind me my strength was coming from God, keeping up with our belongings and setting up my family photos for inspiration. He was also very vigilant on keeping my water bottle full. The nurse said that because of the bleeding I needed to stay on the monitor. I was able to sit on the ball to help with contractions instead of lay on the bed while they hooked up the monitors. Avery  was so low it was tough to get an accurate reading with the monitor especially sitting on the ball. But I really appreciated everyone trying hard to honor my birth plan request of letting me labor how I wanted to, when I wanted to. The position that helped the most with contractions was laying over the ball placed on the bed. Then when the contractions started to pick up in intensity Karen and Aaron started putting counter pressure on my back and that was a lifesaver!!! At this point I was pretty focused and serious but wasn't easily bothered. 

About 4:00 am I was swaying back and forth on the ball (still placed on the bed) and I felt my bag officially rupture and the gush of water hit the floor. Titi said "lets go to the bathroom just to make sure there wasn't anymore bleeding." While I was in the bathroom I felt my whole mood change. I was getting strong urges in my back and I started moaning during contractions. I was easily irritable. I could hear Aaron playing with a tennis ball in the room and I got pretty annoyed. (He didn't know it though until much later we were talking through everything!) Once I got back into the L&D room they wanted me to lay in a side lying position on the bed so I could get Avery into position. I was miserable and noticeably in transition. Luckily for me, transition only lasted about 15 minutes. In between contractions I was shaking a lot. It felt very similar to my labor with Peyton. Which confirms for me that once my membranes rupture my contractions get really intense and my adrenaline gets crazy! I felt like a caged animal because I felt like there had to be a better way to handle my contractions and laying down wasn't helping! Then I heard this noise that sounded like a drill and I snapped "what is that noise?!?" Aaron let me know it was the midwife getting the light from the ceiling ready because we were about to have a baby." I said "are we really that close?!" Titi said "well momma you tell me. What do you feel?" I replied "I don't know but I HAVE to push right now!" 

Titi checked my cervix and I was 9.5 cm dilated! I said "oh come on, Avery! I'm ready!" The rest of the .5 dilation was a cervical lip. So Titi put her fingers in it and I just had to push her fingers out and I was at a 10! At 4:23 Aaron sent out a text saying "we're minutes away." Which was when Titi was pulling down the light and I started pushing. Avery was born at 4:35 am. The time between my membranes rupturing and hearing Avery's first cry happened incredibly fast! Much quicker than I ever dreamed! The pushing though was so hard. For whatever reason I felt like I was pushing and nothing was happening. I had this irrational fear that I was going to be a "2 hour pusher." (Which was irrational because I only pushed for 20 minutes with Peyton. There was no reason to believe Avery's birth would be any different!) At one point I said "I can't do this" and Aaron said "Lauren, look down at your prize." Avery's head was completely out and I only had one more push. So one more gentle push and she was completely out. They immediately handed her to me. Aaron pulled up my shirt so I could put her on my chest while we waited for the cord to stop pulsing. Then Aaron cut her umbilical cord which was so special to watch. Aaron, Karen and Titi did such a great job reminding me not to push too hard or too fast. Aaron's voice is the one I heard the most and because of him I only had a 1st degree, very minor tear. 

Right away we could tell Avery was going to have a pretty soft cry. They were even trying to get her to cry a little louder just make sure she was ok! We did skin to skin immediately but she wasn't interested right away in nursing. It took a few minutes before she was ready! We were in the L&D room until about 7:30 and then we headed up to post-partum. We were exhausted. I could hardly keep my eyes open!

Avery's birth was exactly what we had prepared and hoped for! The contractions didn't feel out of my control. It's crazy to think back on it and how different it was from Peyton's birth. Obviously the outcome with a perfect little baby was the same. But I loved how alert and active I was during labor. Aaron was a rockstar because he knew much more about what to expect and was equipped to know what I needed. Having a doula was amazing. What mattered the most and where she was worth gold was how at ease she made Aaron feel which made me feel at ease. It was definitely the right choice for us to see a midwife, have a doula, take 12 weeks of Bradley Method classes and deliver at Texas Children's Pavilion for Women. For Peyton's birth I prepared by eating healthily, taking time for myself, reading books, taking the classes at the hospital and made sure she had everything she would need once she got here. For Avery's birth, I still did most of those but the difference was I prepared my body physically, spiritually and I made education about the birthing process a priority! 

It would have been nice to have the same birth for Peyton as I did Avery. But P's birth will always have such a special place in my heart too because at 9:54 am on 1/30/13 was the first time I had ever felt that kind of love!!! Both girls are completely different so it's only fitting they each have their own unique birth experience and entrance in this world! 

Last picture of Avery in my belly! Taken around 10:15 pm!

Arriving at the hospital.

 In triage.

I printed off some pictures that inspire me. Peyton, Avery, running the Houston Half Marathon and of course my biggest cheerleader, Aaron. It helped that he was wearing the "Drop the Hammer" shirt! :)

 Breathing through a contraction.

The counter pressure on my lower back.... game changer.

Letting Avery finish getting into position...

Pushing!

 

She's Here! Avery Kate Fry 8 pounds 2 ounces, 20.75 inches born at 4:35 on 6.23.2016

We did it!

 So thankful for my doula, Karen!

The wonderful team God used to help me through my natural labor and delivery! Karen (doula), Aaron (awesome coach), Titi (midwife), Rachelle (nurse)!

 

 Nursing Avery for the first time!

My absolute favorite... His love and tender heart for our girls is a beautiful thing.

If you made it through all of this....bless you! xoxo Lauren