A Zoe Story....

Zoe is here. She arrived on Saturday morning at 2:55 a.m.  She was 7 lbs 7.9 oz and 21 1/2 inches long.  Some of the details are a bit blurry to me, but I will do my best to recount them to you. Here is her story....

Friday morning I woke up around 5:30 having contractions. They were about 10 minutes apart.  I had been having contractions off and on for a while, so I wasn't sure whether or not they were the real deal.  We decided to go walking at the Y to see if things would start moving along. After walking for an hour or so, the contractions were coming three minutes apart.  We came home for lunch and called the doctor. They said to head to the hospital whenever I wanted to, but recommended that I walk as long as I could. So we headed to the mall where we met our friend Deb. She was a tremendous help when I was in labor with Josiah, so we asked her to help me during labor with Zoe as well. She walked with me at the mall while Steve (who had been having a "rough day") took a break.  After a while, we decided to go ahead to the hospital. When we arrived, they sent me to triage. When they checked, I was only dilated two and a half centimeters.  That was what I measured at the doctor on Wednesday. I have to admit I was pretty disappointed that all the walking and contractions hadn't done anything.  They told me to walk for an hour and they would check me again.  Still no change.  The doctor prescribed me a sleeping pill and they sent me home, telling me that in the morning when I woke up the contractions would either be harder and I would come back to the hospital or they would have gone away.  We finally left the hospital around 7:30.  This is where things start to get blurry for me. The sleeping pill had already started kicking in. We stopped at Kernel Kustard's drive-thru on the way home (where else??).  I got a cheeseburger and fries which I ate on the way home.  We then stopped at my parents' house to get Josiah. They were playing outside.  Apparently Steve suggested to me that I should wait in the car. I assured him that I was okay. He had to hold me up to keep me from toppling over.   Once we got home, I put on a t-shirt and shorts and went to bed. This was about 8:30 or so. Around 9:15 or so I woke up out of sleep with a hard contraction. I let Steve know that it was a pretty strong one.  It wasn't long after that, 15 minutes or so, I was up out of bed with contractions that were four minutes apart and getting stronger and stronger.  We called our friend Robin who was coming to stay with Josiah and my parents to come wait until Robin got there. We also called our friend Deb.  We left for the hospital around 11:00 pm stopping in Clemmons to pick up Deb at the KFC. 

 When we got to the hospital, they put me back in triage. It was super busy. (I found out later they delivered 28 babies on that day).  They put me in the last available room. It was quite a while before the nurse was able to come check me. Meanwhile I was still having strong contractions that were four minutes apart. After about 40 minutes or so, the nurse came to check me. Once she did, she immediately got a panicked look on her face, got on the phone and told them that they needed to do something quick because the girl in the room was dilated 9 centimeters! At first I could hardly believe she was talking about me. After all, I had been two and a half for two weeks.  How in the world could I get to a 9 in a matter of a few hours? They began unhooking me and quickly wheeled me to a birthing room.  Now it is just a little bit past midnight.  I continuted having contractions for a couple of hours, but just couldn't manage to get past nine and a half centimeters.  I was very hot.  Steve and Deb were kind enough to keep me supplied with ice chips. Steve also scrounged around until he found something to use as a washcloth to wet with cold water and put on my head. (Take a good look at the picture.  See if you can guess what my "washcloth" really is.  The answer will be at the end of the post.)  

They both did such a great job of encouraging me to breathe in my nose and out my mouth. I definitely could not have done it without them.     They paged the doctor to see if there was anything he could do to help me get past nine and a half. He said he was going to do something and if it worked he would tell me right away to start pushing. It worked, I pushed, and he said he thought we were getting ready to have a baby.  He told me to push on the next contraction. I did and Zoe's head came out halfway. He told me to stop right there because he needed to put on his gown.  Which he did and also the booties over his shoes and a few other things. Meanwhile, I am laying there with Zoe's head partway out. I find it rather humorous! :)  I pushed again, her head came out. Then one more push and there was baby Zoe! It was 2:55 a.m. 

 

Through all of this, I am so grateful to God for so many things- first of all for baby Zoe! Her name means "life" in Greek.  She is definitely a gift from God.  I am also thankful that he allowed her to come before Monday. I was going to have to be induced if she didn't come by then. I was really nervous about it. I had pitocin with Josiah and was really hoping to avoid it with Zoe.  And I did! :)  I am also thankful that he allowed me to do it without an epidural. I really do not like needles and especially the thought of one going into my back.  I prayed hard that I would be able to do it without one, and I did! :) Since I got to the hospital so late in the process I didn't even get any pain medication at all. I am also thankful for Dr. McCunniff.  He delivered Josiah almost two years ago. We were very grateful for him to be able to deliver Zoe also! I know that so many people were praying for me during this time. I am so very thankful to all of you for that. God answered your prayers!! How awesome is that!!

 

So did you figure it out?? What was the "washcloth" that Steve put on my forehead.  Here is another picture of it up close. 

   

Yup, that is right.  Underwear.  You know those disposable, stretchy, mesh underwear they give you right after birth.  That was it.  I do have to say, it was rectangular in the cupboard and Steve had no idea that was what it really was!! He was just trying to help me be more comfortable.  Thank you so much, sweetie. I love you!! :) Besides, it makes a great story!! :)