Katherine's Birth Story

We are overjoyed to have added Katherine to our family. The day of her birth is a precious memory that I'll never forget.

I was induced with Katherine which was a first for me after going into labor on my own with my three previous babies. The decision to induce was a conversation Matt and I had off and on for weeks, and in the end we didn't ever make a final decision, ha! The conversation of induction started when my doctor told me she would be out of town for four days across my due date. She offered induction as an option before she left town, and Matt and I discussed it, talked with friends, prayed about it, and finally made the decision that we did want to induce because having Dr Sanders deliver Katherine was important to us. She had delivered all of my babies and is known for her skill in the delivery room. My recoveries had been so good with all my births, and I knew that if I ever needed a good recovery it was when I had three other children at home to care for. It also seemed nice to have a date for when she'd be born so we could prepare the kids and have everything ready. My labors have gone pretty quickly (and I was positive for Group B strep and needed antibiotics that took awhile to infuse), so there was a bit of worry of making it to the hospital on time with time for antibiotics and an epidural :) and still getting the kids and everything taken care of (Elisabeth's birth probably contributed to that worry too, ha!) So, we had a decision.

Then I went back for another appointment, and Dr. Sanders told me her plans had changed and she wasn't sure she'd be gone for the weekend of my due date. That threw us off guard because we had made up our mind, had a plan and were preparing for an induction. She went ahead and put me on the hospital schedule to induce Tuesday, September 26 and told us we could cancel it if she ended up not leaving town. She also told us that Katherine was measuring big and she wanted me to have an ultrasound to check on her size. Fast forward another week and I went in for the ultrasound. Turns out Katherine was not big at all but was actually measuring three weeks behind. Matt and I figured since she wasn't big that our decision to induce would be based solely on Dr. Sanders travel plans. When we went to my appointment on the 25th, Dr. Sanders told us that she wasn't leaving town and asked us what we wanted to do about inducing. Matt and I sort of just stared at each other because we didn't know what we wanted to do, ha! I desperately wanted to have a baby that week for lots of reasons, some silly (October is a busy month with lots of Fall activities, and adding a birthday party into the mix every year didn't seem convenient, ha!) and I was just really tired of being pregnant. I think in my head as badly as I wanted to have a baby, I would have decided not to go forward with the induction without a good reason. Then Dr. Sanders looked at my ultrasound results and told us that we did need to induce since Katherine was measuring small. She said a three week delay is concerning and we needed to go ahead and get her out. I was grateful that she made the decision for us, and it wasn't left into our hands. She told us to be at the hospital at 6:00am the next morning to have a baby!

We went home and told the kids that they would have a baby sister the next day! I had planned a special dinner just in case it ended up being our last dinner as a family of five. We celebrated with yellow dip and chocolate (according to Samuel who requested that meal several times in the last few weeks). We all shared what we were most excited about having a new baby

Nathan: playing with her
Samuel: changing her diapers
Elisabeth: feeding her milk
Daddy: rocking her
Mommy: holding her for the first time

Then we cleaned up, finished packing, bathed the kids and took them over to my parents' house.

Matt and I tried to sleep Monday night, but neither of us got much sleep. Matt actually had to go to work from 9:00-Midnight that night. I slept some but woke up in the middle of the night and never really got back to sleep. We woke up early and got ready to head to the hospital. We stopped for breakfast along the way knowing we wouldn't be able to eat once we were at the hospital.

We checked in and were immediately taken to a labor/delivery room (already so different than when Elisabeth was born :)). They started my IV to give me antibiotics for the Group B Strep. They also gave me a dose of Cytotec to help prepare my cervix for the induction. Then we waited. We needed to wait four hours after my dose of Cytotec before starting pitocin and breaking my water. We slept a little early that morning.  We also watched some of our shows on our kindle and just relaxed. Dr. Sanders had told me that there was a possibility the Cytotec alone could put me into labor and that's sort of what happened. Four hours after they started the Cytotec I had progressed from a 1 to a 3 and was having regular contractions. We were excited that maybe we'd have a baby soon, but what really happened was that progression probably delayed my delivery. At that point the nurse asked when I wanted my epidural. She said I could have it at any time that there was no reason I should be hurting and encouraged I get it before the doctor broke my water because things could go too fast to get it after that point. I was feeling some contractions and a tad uncomfortable, but I wanted to go ahead and get it while I could before things got busy. I got it about 11:30. It was nice to not be in active labor when I got my epidural. I remember how hard it was to keep still during contractions in my previous labors when they were giving me the epidural.  Dr. Sanders came by a little before noon to break my water and start pitocin but when she saw the progress I had made, she decided to hold off on starting any other interventions to see how I continued to progress on my own. She really didn't want me to deliver for a few more hours so it didn't mess up her office schedule for the day.

After Dr. Sanders left we continued to just hang out and wait. We watched more shows and just relaxed. It was a weird feeling to just be hanging out in the hospital- almost like a date, but not really, ha! The nurse checked me again an hour later and I hadn't progressed any more, so she started Pitocin at that point, and we continued to wait. Two hours later, I had progressed to a 4. At that point, I started to feel a little let down. In my head, I assumed my labor would go pretty quickly (based on my previous labors). I knew it would take longer being induced, but I still thought I'd be holding a baby by late afternoon. Then we could have a bit to ourselves with Katherine and then let the kids come meet her at a decent time and still allow them to make it home for bedtime. It all played out perfectly in my head. But at 3:00 when I had only progressed to a 4, that didn't seem likely anymore. We continued to wait. We had brought a card game from home and we played that a few times. The nurse probably thought we were a crazy couple playing games while I was in labor, but it helped pass the time. At 4:30, Dr. Sanders came back and checked me and broke my water. I was still stuck at a 4. The nurse said she'd come back and check me at 6:00. After that I got really grumpy and depressed. I figured that it would be late that night before we had a baby, and I knew the kids were desperate to meet their sister and would be upset if they didn't get to meet her that night. I also hadn't planned on having a baby late at night and was a little upset that things weren't going according to plan.

After my water broke I started feeling more pressure but didn't think much of it. Then about 5:10, the nurse came in to check me because she was noticing changes on the monitor. I was shocked when she told me I was fully dilated when 40 minutes before I was only at a 4. It was crazy, and I was so relieved and excited. The problem now was that Dr. Sanders had left the hospital and was a twenty minute drive away. The nurse called her right away, but I could tell she was concerned that Dr. Sanders wouldn't make it in time. She came back and told me that another doctor was ready to deliver if Katherine couldn't wait any longer. That was so comical to me, because we had all these conversations and decisions to make just to ensure Dr. Sanders would deliver this baby and then it might end up that she wouldn't even deliver me because she was a few minutes away. The nurse checked on Katherine though and told me that we were going to be okay and that we should be able to wait for Dr. Sanders.

Dr. Sanders came in a little after 5:30 (in her workout clothes, ha!) and we got ready to have a baby! The room filled with people and equipment and we got so anxious to meet our girl! When everyone was ready,  I pushed one time and Katherine came out! That was crazy too. As I was pushing, Dr. Sanders told me to look down because Katherine came out face up! I didn't see it, but she also said her arm was sticking up by her head when she came out too. Later the nurse told me that babies usually have a hard time coming out in that position, so I was grateful she was small enough that it wasn't an issue. I couldn't believe she was here after thinking just an hour before that it would be midnight before I delivered. She just slid out. I didn't even have to push to get her shoulders out. She came out crying and pink and beautiful. I'm not sure why but throughout my whole pregnancy, Matt and I both worried about her health (the little spot on her heart contributed to a bit of it), but we were so relieved and grateful that she seemed perfectly healthy. They took her to the bed to clean her up and assess her, and then things got crazy again.

Dr. Sanders said I had a small tear (probably from a previous delivery). Once she stitched that though, I was still bleeding a lot. I could tell she was concerned that she didn't know where the blood was coming from. The nurse came to hand me Katherine back, but Dr. Sanders told her not to give her to me yet until she could take care of the blood loss. She told me she found a big internal tear that had hit a blood vessel causing the bleeding. Thankfully she found the tear quickly and stitched it quickly, but I had still lost a lot of blood which was everywhere. I never was too worried about the bleeding. I trusted Dr. Sanders had it under control. What I remember most during that time was watching Matt across the room loving on his new daughter. He commented once that she was holding his finger, and he just was over there admiring her, taking pictures, and talking to her. It was super sweet even when I was dying to get my hands on that baby! Finally, everything was taken care of and they brought me Katherine. We snuggled and nursed and loved on her while the nurse and Dr. Sanders worked on cleaning up the delivery room. I never really saw how much blood I lost, but Matt said that it was a lot. Thankfully, Katherine kept him pretty distracted during the whole ordeal.

After everything was cleaned up and we had had some time with Katherine, we let the kids come meet their sister. They were adorable and so excited. Their smiles were bigger than at Disney World. They all got to hold her (multiple times) and give her the bear they made for her. They were sweet moments as a family of six. I was so grateful they got to meet her the night she was born (and weren't up way too late past their bedtime).

After they left I was still processing everything that happened and that Katherine was really here. I still couldn't believe that after I assumed she wouldn't be born until late in the night that she came so quickly and suddenly. Her birth story is such a precious memory, one of the best of my life. I treasured each moment even more knowing that I was experiencing it for the last time. We are continually praising God for the miracle of her life and the gift she is to our whole family.