Kaylins Birth Story

Our sweet girl is 10 days old today!

I wanted to write down her birth story before I start forgetting things. Everything happened so fast! My due date was Nov 29th but that day came and went with nothing more than a few random contractions. Never very strong, in fact, I could barely feel them. On Monday Dec 1st I had steady contractions all day, I started timing them out of curiosity Monday morning and they started out about 15 minutes apart and got all the way down to 5 minutes apart and a minute long. Justin went ahead and came home early from work, the contractions were about 3 minutes apart around 4pm. We decided to go walking at the mall(it was cold outside) and since the contractions were still consistent we decided to head to the hospital. I kept having this thought in the back of my head that the contractions should be stronger(I could still talk through them) but I also kept thinking that if they were 2-3 minutes apart then it had to be real labor. So we got to the hospital and they hooked me up to the monitors and checked me, I was at a 2 and 70% effaced. They said they would monitor me for 2 hours and then check me again. After the 2 hours she checked me again and said I hadn't changed. So they sent us home. I was so frustrated! I just knew that our sweet baby girl was coming and to be sent home was so upsetting. They told us it was probably early labor and to come back when the contractions were much stronger or my water broke. That night I went to bed, still hoping/thinking that labor would progress and we would head back to the hospital. But I slept all night and the contractions were pretty much gone when I woke up Tuesday morning. Throughout the day Tuesday and Wednesday I just had a few random and not strong contractions and same on Thursday. Thursday night after we ate supper I noticed the contractions were getting stronger and closer together. I started thinking this could be labor, but because of the false alarm on Monday I didn't make a big deal of it. We went to bed like normal around Midnight. I woke up around 2:15am with contractions and couldn't go back to sleep, I got up and started walking around because that made the contractions easier. I also got the birth ball out of the garage and took it  to our room and sat on it awhile. I was beginning to think this was real labor so I started making notes on my work phone for Kaleigh. Around 3 I realized the contractions weren't going away or getting any easier, so I brought the birth ball in the living room and started watching Friends episodes, started a load of laundry and washed the dishes. Justin woke up around 4, I told him I was pretty sure this is real labor but he could go back to bed if he wanted. He stayed in the living room with me but fell asleep on the couch around 5. At 6 my water broke, I woke Justin up, Annie was up and getting ready for work. We packed up our hospital bags and loaded the car. Annie called my mom for us and we headed to the hospital. We got to the hospital around 7, checked in and they hooked me up to the monitors, then checked me. I was at a 3 and 80% effaced. I knew at this point that this was real labor but was worried we had come to the hospital too early(I wanted to labor at home as long as possible). We stayed in the observation room until almost 8, the contractions kept getting stronger. I was up walking around because it made them a little easier. Around 8 they moved us to a labor and delivery room. They told me that my Doctor had a C Section at 8 and would come check me when she was done. At that point I mostly stayed sitting in bed, I tried standing/walking but it didn't really help. The hospital has a birth ball you can use and I wish I had asked for it but everything was moving so fast I didn't think about it. The contractions started getting very strong, I was assuming at this point I was at a 5 or 6 but they hadn't checked me since we first got there. I was starting to think if the contractions were going to keep getting worse and labor was going to last awhile longer that I would have to get an epidural. Right about that time I felt like I needed to push. I told Justin and he said "Are you sure?" I said yes and he went to get the nurse. About 4 of them came in, one checked me and said "yep your at a 9 and 100%!" This is where it starts to blur :) my Doctor walked in a few minutes later, she must have come straight from her C Section. I started pushing and sweet Miss Kaylin was born at 8:59sm on 12/5/14. She weighed 7lb 13 oz and was 20 1/2 in long. Exact same size I was when I was born.

My mom and sisters got there a few minutes later. Then Annie and Justin's mom shortly after that. 

We stayed in labor and delivery for a few hours just holding her :)

Around 11 they moved us upstairs to a regular room. Mom ordered pizza, a Zesch family tradition after babies are born :) then everyone left so Justin and I could nap. But all we did was sit and stare at our sweet blessing. 

Kaylin we love you so much! Can't wait to watch you grow and change.