Introducing...

Sabrie Anne Lyman

November 2, 2012, 10:27 a.m.

8 lbs. 9 oz. 19.25 in.

Here is the story of how our 3rd baby came into the world. WARNING--this is the long version for posterity, so only read if you like lots of details. If not, you can always just view the pictures. First I'll take you back to October 19. I was just over 37 weeks, which is considered full term. Hoyt was born during my 37th week, so I was hoping this baby wouldn't wait too much longer. That night I tried to go to bed, but I was having regular contractions every 7-8 minutes, and after a few hours they were every 4-5 minutes. The contractions started at 10 p.m. and by 6 a.m. they weren't going away and were actually getting closer together and stronger. I called my Dad to come get the kids so we could go into the hospital. We went in around 7 or 8 a.m. and they checked me and I was dilated 3+ (not much past what I was at my appointment 3 days earlier). I was frustrated because my Dr. was out of town and his partner was filling in for him. They hooked me up to monitors which showed my regular contractions, but after an hour I hadn't progressed enough for them to be able to keep me so I had to go home. I was still having regular contractions that wouldn't stop no matter what I tried and around noon I started shaking uncontrollably and was bleeding so we went back in and stayed for another hour and even with all that was happening to me, I wasn't progressing enough so they sent me away again. The entire experience was way frustrating because I know if they had given me a small dose of pitocin I would have had the baby that day and she would have been fine. But new hospital regulations do not allow for the use of pitocin until 39 weeks, and I didn't have my regular Dr., just his partner who never even came in, he just talked to them on the phone and didn't act liked he cared one bit about what was going on. After over 16 hours of painful, regular contractions they became sporadic. 

My kids stayed with my parents for a few more days to see if I would actually go into labor on my own again. I kind of knew that it wasn't going to happen because with both labors I needed some help  to get my contractions strong enough to make progress. It was nice to have a few days alone with Bryan and it was perfect timing because Lexie was out of school for fall break that Monday. I spent those days getting the house ready for the baby while Bryan worked and we were able to go out to eat a couple times to places we hadn't been in a long time. As I said in my October post, at my 39 week appointment on Halloween, Dr. Sanders stripped my membranes which immediately made me dilate to a 4 1/2 and he was sure I would go into labor on my own that night. Just in case he told me to come in the next day to get stripped again, and if that didn't work he set me up to be started Friday morning. After trick-or-treating, my Dad again came to get the kids while we waited to see if anything would happen...it didn't. Thursday we again went in and he was sure it was going to work that day because right after I was cramping really bad. But after walking around a lot, it was obvious I wouldn't be going in until my induction.

Here I am around 3:45 a.m. on Friday morning. I got probably 2 hours of sleep that night and was anxious to go meet our baby girl! The last 2 weeks I really felt like I got huge as you can see.

Here is a not-so-lovely shot of me hooked up and ready to go. We got checked in to the hospital just after 4 a.m. A nurse put in my IV and started the antibiotics I had to be on for Strep B. My Dr. wanted me to be on the antibiotics for at least 2 hours before they started the pitocin because he figured I would go fast and you have to get 2 rounds of the antibiotics (which takes over 4 hours) to make sure the baby stays safe. We sat there and I filled out the paperwork and tried to rest. The nurse shift changed at 6 and I got a really cute nurse named Annie who helped with the rest of the process. They started the pit around 7 and things started happening...finally! Soon after 8 I was already dilating good so we decided to get the epidural going before he broke my water just in case things went even faster. So the anesthesiologist came in and hooked me up and after a few minutes I was feeling much better! Around 9 the Dr. broke my water and by 9:30 I was about a 7, and not even 1/2 hour later I started having a sharp pain in one spot on my belly that the epidural wasn't touching. The nurse came in and said I just had a "hot spot" where the baby was pushing on a nerve as she moved down and the medicine wasn't working there. She tried having me move more on to my stomach to try to move the baby enough to relieve the pain, but just as I was turning the Dr. came in and asked what was going on and said the pain was probably because I was in transition and ready to push. He checked me and sure enough I was at a 10 and ready to go! 

  They got everything set up and after just one push the pain went away because she was off that nerve. Just a few pushes later at 10:27 a.m., out came our sweet baby girl! The Dr. and nurses commented that she was a pretty good size and she was: 8 lbs 9 oz. I had one tiny tear, but other than that, it was by far the fastest and easiest delivery so far! My first glimpse at our baby...she is so beautiful!

 So excited to finally meet sweet Sabrie Anne!

 I do love how they handle deliveries now, keeping the baby in the room for everything. I like being able to nurse babies right after they are born when they are alert; it really helps them learn to eat so much better! She is proving to be a champion eater for sure. After feeding her for a while, they gave her a bath and got her all cleaned up.

 Daddy loves his sweet baby girl. The minute she started crying he was in tears too. Such a sweet guy and an amazing Daddy. I am so grateful to have him right there with me through the entire pregnancy and delivery process. The nurses were amazed at how well Bryan took care of the baby, changing her diapers, etc. Yep, I got the best husband ever! I did enjoy the new hospital room service where you could build your own meal and decide exactly what you wanted to eat. I even had steak for one of my meals!

 And once again the first visitors to see the baby were my Grandma and Grandpa Mickelson. As soon as they got word she was born, they just had to rush over and meet their new great-granddaughter! Mickell also dropped by to visit, but I forgot to get a picture. We are grateful to have such a supportive family.

 I don't like staying too long in the hospital because I hate people coming in and out checking on us, and I just enjoy being in my own house doing my own thing. Plus, I hate spending that kind of money so since everything was good with me and the baby I told them to release us ASAP so at the 24 hour mark we were ready to get out of there. Here is our cute Sabrie girl in her newborn outfit which ended up being almost too small for her.

And here she is in the car seat all ready to go home. We are so happy to have the newest addition to our family here safe and sound! 

We had Saturday and Sunday at home with just the baby while our kids spent a few days at Grandpa and Grandma's house. It was nice to have that time to get some rest and bond with our baby. I think that is the end...if anyone read this entire post I am impressed.