Lenna's Birth Story

Holy crap you guys....I'm a mom. A MOM! I've only been dreaming of this my entire life. Just about a full week in, and I'm still like...pinch me! Although waking up every few hours to feed her is exhausting, I almost look forward to it. I love just holding her and staring in amazement at how incredible it all is. It's a total miracle what our bodies are capable of!

The evening before our lives changed forever, we were out celebrating Dane's birthday (June 19th). We had joked about he and Lenna sharing a birthday, but I really didn't think my body was prepping for labor yet, and her due date wasn't until June 28th. In all honesty, Dane had bought me a June birthstone necklace for Mother's Day in celebration of our sweet baby-to-be, and so I was really afraid she'd be out in July. So we took my doctor's advice and headed downtown to Broadway Oyster Bar to have some cajun inspired foods, hoping to speed things up. 

Right before bed, Dane had put his mouth to my belly and told Lenna that she was being evacuated. We both had a pretty good laugh and then got into bed. About 2:30 in the morning, my water broke. The feeling woke me from a dead sleep and I tried to get out of bed as quickly as I could, hoping not to make too much of a mess of the sheets. I woke up Dane -who immediately asked if I was sure I hadn't just peed myself. I reminded him that I had been on earth for 29 years and pretty much knew that wasn't what peeing felt like. Lol. 

Strangely enough, neither of us panicked. It's like a sense of calmness came over us. In my mind, I thought I would just grab everything I had and rush to the hospital. But instead, I went to the bathroom to take a shower, while Dane cleaned the sheets and called our parents. We tidied up a bit and I think left the house around 5am?

I wasn't experiencing contractions as they were described to me. But OH MY HECK my back hurt! I had been warned about back labor, and I guess I should've seen it coming. My pregnancy was so easy, something was bound to break my streak. I think I asked for drugs the second they put me in my labor room. Like, immediately. The anesthesiologist was my new best friend. ​

A few minutes after the epidural was administered, my body started shaking, I threw up, and then Lenna's heart beat dropped. The alarms started going off, and it seemed every nurse on the floor was in my room. 

This was BY FAR the scariest moment of my life. 

They gave me oxygen and tried a few different positions until her heart beat was brought back to a safe speed. You guys, this happened again. Finally, they had to stop administering. Yeah, also scary. But really, by that point, I just wanted her out safely, no matter what my body had to endure. Turns out Lenna was facing up and wasn't able to extend her head from under my pubic bone. I'm not going to go into too much detail here, I'll just say.....manual rotation. Mkay?! 

Annnnywayyy....I pushed for a little over an hour and our sweet baby girl was here. I remember the pressure going away and Dane saying, "She's here! She's here!". She was definitely a nice shade of purple, but you guys, my nurses were amazing. Lenna cried almost immediately, but obviously needed help. My nurses worked so quickly to get her the oxygen and attention she needed, all while complimenting how beautiful and perfect she was, and how great I did. They did an amazing job at making sure I didn't totally freak. 

Dane and I spent a few hours alone with our newest addition while my legs got their feeling back, and then we welcomed our families in to meet her. It was a beautiful day. 

Lenna Christine was born June 20th at 1:23pm. 6lbs, 5oz and 19 inches long. 

XO -Heather