First Comes Love: Caroline's birth story

Now that I have a free moment and have slept a little bit I'm going to write out Caroline's birth story before I forget any of the details.

On Saturday, March 1st, my mom, Michael and I spent the day out in Seoul walking. My very pregnant and swollen self walked all over the city and I was quite exhausted on Saturday night. When we finally got home Saturday night all I wanted to do was sleep so I promptly got into bed around 10pm. At 2:30am I woke up to a warm gush and I really thought I might have just peed my pants in bed. No, it had never happened before but at this point in my pregnancy anything was possible. I quickly got up and went to the bathroom to see what happened and I still wasn't sure if it was pee or if my water had broke. It was early and I was exhausted. I went back to my bed to see the spot and it was just too big to be pee and it didn't smell like pee either. Yes, I did smell it.

I woke Michael up and told him that I think my water just broke. He jumped out of bed so fast you would swear the house was on fire. I told him to calm down and start getting ready. I then walked down the hall to my mom's room and told her the news and she got excited and started getting ready to head down to Seoul. I jumped in the shower at this point. After the shower I finished packing my bag and Caroline's bag in preparation for the hospital stay. I called the labor and delivery ward at the hospital and told them we were coming. I was so excited but also really nervous because my life was about to change in a big way in just a few hours, or so I thought.

I always thought that when my water broke I would quickly go into labor and start feeling contractions just like they show you in the movies. I was surprised when there wasn't even a cramp to accompany my water breaking. I was sure it would start happening soon afterwards but nothing happened. When we were all ready to go we finally started heading towards the hospital at around 4am. It took about an hour to get to Seoul and into the hospital on base. Traffic is amazing light at 4am and that's a good thing because I was just sure that my contractions would start at any minute and I'd be telling Michael to hurry up and get me to the hospital. Nope, it just didn't happen like that.

When we got to the hospital the nurse got me set up in the triage room and checked me to see if my water actually did break or if I just peed myself. I was really hoping that I wouldn't be embarassed by just peeing myself. I was not embarassed and was told I was going to be admitted to wait out my baby's arrival. At this point I was not dialated at all and my cervix had not even started thinning out. It was going to be a long wait.

My mom and me in the triage room after being told I was being admitted.

I got my first dose of Cytotec (to thin out my cervix) at 8am. It takes six hours for the medicine to work and from that point on I was not allowed to eat anything but liquids. Good thing I grabbed a quick breakfast before leaving for the hospital. At around 2pm the nurse came in and checked my progress and my body had done nothing. NOTHING!! Another dose of Cytotec was administered to try again and there was no solid food allowed again. I was really hungry at this point and kind of annoyed at my body. After another six hours past the nurse checked me again and at this point there was some thinning of my cervix and I was only 1cm dialated. Things were not moving very fast.

I was so hungry at this point so I asked the doctor if I could eat before starting another round of meds. She said I could and I got to eat chicken and potatoes and veggies for dinner. It was soooo good after being famished all day. After dinner they decided to pull out the big guns in induction. I was going start a pitocin drip and they were going to insert a foley bulb to help with dilation. This baby had to come out somehow and I was not happy about the possibility of a c-section.

Enjoying my last meal before the pitocin drip started. My mom and doula hanging out watching TV with me.

At around 8:30pm they started the pitocin and the bulb was inserted. Things started moving much quicker at this point. I started feeling contractions for the first time and they were not too bad at first but quickly became intense. I hired a doula to help me get through labor because I was determined to go med-free and all natural if at all possible. When those contractions started picking up I was so grateful for my doula. I was really hurting and she was there to help me through each contraction and helped make them a bit more bearable.

I labored for around three hours med-free. The pain was so intense and I couldn't get any rest between contractions. I needed some relief and some sleep because it was almost midnight and I hadn't really slept since I woke up at 2:30am. I called the nurse and finally asked them to get me the epidural. The doctor that would give me the epidural was at home sleeping so they had to wake him up and have him come in so it was about a half hour later that I finally got some relief. I said I didn't want an epidural but after I got it I couldn't imagine not having it. It was so nice to be able to relax and finally sleep without the pain of contractions. Everyone settled in for the night and got some rest because the next day Caroline would be born one way or another.

My mom comforting me while I go through a contraction.

Finally getting some relief with an epidural.

After a night of often interrupted sleep I was up for the day at around 6am. I was anxious and excited to meet my baby girl. I had no idea what kind of progress was made while I slept but I was hoping that it was enough that the doctor wouldn't suggest a c-section. The doctor was going home at 7:30am and wanted to check me one last time before going home to tell the next doctor my status. When she checked me at 7am she was shocked and told me that Caroline's head had crowned and it was time to push her out right now. I couldn't believe it. It was all happening so fast. The nurse and doctor started getting everything prepped and I started to freak out a little. I was so nervous. I was worried that I would tear and I'd be in a lot of pain afterwards. I worried that I wouldn't be able to push her out and have to have an emergency c-section. A whole bunch of things were going through my mind but I didn't have time to really think about them too long because before I knew it I was being told it's time to push.

At 7:15am my mom had one of my legs in her hands and the nurse had my other leg in her hands. Michael was at my feet preparing himself to see our baby girl be born. It was all pretty amazing and exciting for him. I was told to take a deep breath in and push with all I had on my next contraction. I did as I was told and after two contractions my sweet Caroline was pushed into this world. She came out screaming and was placed immediately on my chest. I couldn't believe I was finally a mom and just how beautiful she was. I was so happy and in love at first sight.

Michael got to cut the cord and got to be with Caroline when she got weighed and measured and then cleaned up and brought back to me. Funny story: After I pushed through the first contraction Caroline's head popped out. All of a sudden I hear Michael let out a big Woohoo as if he did something to make it happen. I thought it was really funny that he was just so excited that she was finally being born and that he got to witness it all happening.

She was born at 7:20am weighing 7 pounds 2.3 ounces and 19.75 inches long. She has a little bit of light brown hair on top of her pointy head and big blue eyes just like her daddy. She is pretty alert for a newborn and is breastfeeding like a champ already. Being a mommy is so amazing and I just can't get over how much I love her and happy she makes me. Seeing my husband as a daddy is pretty special too. Life is so good!!