Our birth story

Just wanted to put our birth story on here so everyone knows how baby Lilly came into the world. It all started late on a Sunday night when Joe and I were headed to bed; I stopped by the bathroom on the way to bed and then on my way into bed i felt a pop and whoosh and I was covered in liquid and so was the bed! I looked at Joe in total amazement and said, in a relaxed tone, I think my water just broke. The last thing I wanted to do was scare Joe or get myself worked up! In total shock we called the midwife and because I was only 36 weeks and one day I had to finish packing and Joe went and got gas so we could head to the hospital. My mom came over and the three of us headed to French to see what was going on. After a seven hour stay and three tests to determine if it was amniotic fluid and a blood panel the staff came to the conclusion that it most likely was my water that broke but they couldn't get the tests to come back positive and I didn't think to bring my pants so they had no choice but to send me home on antibiotics because I was strep B positive.


For the next four days I took it easy and relaxed but every time I laid down to nap I would leak and have to get up and change my clothes!! They did another ferning test at the doctor's office on Tuesday and still I could not get a positive. By this time they came to the conclusion that I must have a leak somewhere but no one ever bothered to do an ultrasound to make sure the baby had enough fluid. The midwife did look concerned thinking it was a matter of time before I went into active labor so she called the specialist and moved my 38 week ultra sound to that up coming Friday morning. All of us hoping that I made it that far; we didn't.


Thursday at about four in the morning I woke up to some pretty good contractions but tried to change positions and walk and take a bath, anything I could think of to see if they would stop. Joe got up for work at 5:30 and I told him that I had been having contractions and that he might want to stay home and time them. We kept an eye on them and decided about ten that we should call the doctor's office and see what they thought. The doctor told us to go in and get checked so we headed out with our bags in tow. we got there and they decided to check to see if my water had ruptured; of course I told them that they could try but to not hold there breath because we could never get the test to come back positive. About 10 minutes later the midwife came in and said well you are ruptured this time. Her thinking was that the contractions were causing the fluid to finally leak out in a constant flow and not leak and stop causing the tests to come back negative. At that point she checked me and said I was 1cm dilated and 50% effaced and decided that we would start with a cervadil to soften and ripen my cervix to get things moving. The cervadil takes 12 hours to work so we knew we were in for a long haul. We had till 2 in the morning for something to happen. As soon as they put the cervadil in my contractions stopped! At about 10 pm that night the doctor came in and said we might want to consider a c-section because she looked big and her shoulders might be too big to pass. In unison Joe and I both said no. We had our birth plan and a section was not on the list. So we decided to wait on the cervadil and see what happened. Well after on and off labor till 2 am we found that nothing at all happened. I was exactly the same as I was at 11 that morning when we came in and got checked!! Because nothing happened pitocen was a waste of time because I wasn't ready for it yet and that it most likely wouldn't do any good because I wasn't progressing and the baby wouldn't drop at all. 
Another round of 12 hour cervadil was our next step!  On and off labor again for 12 more hours and finally at 3 in the after noon after 33 hours of being checked and 8 IV attempts, because i was so swollen and my blood pressure was out of control and 2 blood tests so make sure I wasn't pre-ecclampsia (which I wasn't) and IV antibiotics every four hours and still at 1 cm and 80% effaced Joe and I looked at each other, me in tears, decided it was time to call the doctor and get the section under way. 
I kept thinking I was taking the easy way out.  All I wanted was a Bradley birth and to have the perfect experience, I finally came to the conclusion that a healthy baby was the goal and if she wasn't dropping after 33 ours there had to be a reason and that I needed to pay attention to my body and make a very hard decision.  i wish I could say I didn't over think it and that I didn't cry but i was exhausted and emotional because I felt like my body was betraying me.  I knew deep down that I couldn't have asked my body to go any further, that we gave it our all and I was one of the people that had to have a section.  because we were ruptured I couldn't go home for risk of infection to my baby and I might not have gone back into hard active labor for days and after the two days we already had been there I knew I couldn't keep going through all that for another few days.  So at 7pm on Friday the 13th they wheeled me on a gurney to the operating room.  I tried to be strong but was still a little angry and very scared.  You go in with just the nurses and doctors and your support system waits out side until you are numb and on the table. 
I was nervous about the epidural and it going into my spine, but honestly it wasn't bad at all.  He did hit a nerve but I did get lucky and he got it right the first time, I guess sometimes it takes them a few tries before they get the needle in just the right place.  after that they lay you down fast and start to get you ready for the surgery.  Joe came in soon after they started my section and he video taped the whole thing.  to me the whole felt like 10 minutes because I guess it was more like an hour from start to finish.  Finally the doctor said are you ready to meet your baby and i think i was so excited I yelled YES!!  about 5 minutes later and a lot of rib tugging, because she was so high, he held my baby girl over the curtain for us to see.  Joe and I immediately started to cry and squeeze each others hand.  She was beautiful and screaming with a head full of red curly hair.  they checked her and laid her on my chest while they closed me up.  I held her until my blood pressure dropped and then Joe took her to meet my mom and they gave me something to raise my blood pressure and combat the nausea.  I was then wheeled into recovery where Joe and Lilly were there to meet me and I got to breast feed her.  They told me then that she was 9 pounds and her head was 14 1/2 inches and her chest was 15 1/2 that there was a good chance she would have gotten stuck and that both of us could have gotten injured. 
when all was said and done I got a healthy baby girl, who only had a little problem with her blood sugar because of my gestational diabetes but was back to normal in a few hours and three days later we were discharged.  I realized that a section is not the easy way out because my baby will be two weeks old in about half an hour and I am just now able to do most things I still have some trouble using my abdominal's to do things due to the burning I still feel and the feeling that is finally coming back into my mid section is like reawakening the soreness all over again.  would I do it this way again absolutely, because i know we tried for that birth and at least there was medical intervention for us because we are the few that needed it.

Baby Lillian Sarajane Bingham

proud papa

Lilly and her cousins

 After a long labor and lots of emotions we made the very hard decision to have a c-section.  Although scared it was how she had to come. And at 7:37 pm on Jan13 Joe and I got to meet our 9 pound 21 inch baby girl.  Then finally after 5 days in the hospital we made it home and the little family of 3 are figuring things out quick.  I am going to send out announcements soon so bare with me they are on the way.

my darling baby girl

that hair cracks me up!

In her robe after her bath

my favorite, Lilly and daddy taking a nap