Preslie Kait - Birth Story
Kaitlyn was due to be induced at 7:30 AM on November 1st. She progressed slowly until 12:45 when she was at 3cm and 90% effaced and they broke her water. An hour later she was at a 5 and still 90% effaced, but since they were delivering at Baptist Hospital I got in my car and wasn't even to the interstate yet before she was a 6! She was progressing at a full centimeter every half hour so I expected her to be at an 8 when I arrived at 4 pm and sure enough, she was. Now, you'd expect with this kind of progression for things to go super fast but this was their first child so I imagined it would take a little while of pushing still even after she got to a 10, but I certainly never expected that I wouldn't leave the hospital until 1am!
She continued her pace of a cm per half hour until she got to 9 3/4... not kidding. SO CLOSE! There we stalled out for an extra hour and she was a 10 at 6pm. Next they did something I hadn't seen before called "laboring down". It's when the mother is 10cm and fully effaced but the baby needs more time to casually get closer to the exit before pushing.
An hour later (7pm) the nurse said it was time to start pushing! Kaitlyn was doing great and had lots of energy... for the first hour. After the second hour she was incredibly frustrated, in pain, and wanted to quit - and that's when the second nurse (we had a shift change) said that Preslie wasn't even in the right position for the whole first hour and that all the pushing and hard work had been for nothing. Can you imagine!?!? Preslie would get so close that Phillip could even see her head and then she'd hide back away.
After ANOTHER hour (yes, 3 whole hours of pushing) Kaitlyn was so tired, so drained, so frustrated, and honestly without hope since she had been told the first hour was for nothing and then only the slightest measurement of progress since then - the doctor came in and explained the options. She could continue pushing, which would take at least another hour, or he could use a vacuum to help Preslie move down. I'd never seen this done, but her doctor was masterful and the vacuum wasn't nearly as scary as I thought it would be. It really just looked like a thick sponge in a very flexible cup with a cord. Finally, at 10:20 pm, Preslie Kait Price made her way out into the world weighing 7 lbs 6oz and measuring 19 inches long. The umbilical cord was wrapped around so I wasn't permitted to take images until she was in the clear, but as soon as she was ready she let us know! Preslie came out very irritated that she had been removed from her comfy home :) Only 2 minutes old and a master of the pouty-lip!
Kaitlyn and Phillip had an army at the hospital to help welcome Preslie into the world, so we got a shot of everyone who was able to stay until 11pm. Since Preslie had been through a tough few hours the staff recommended that she not be passed around for the first hour or so.
After all the visitors met miss Preslie she had to go back under the warmer for a while to make sure all her levels and temperature stayed were they needed to be.
When her temp was where it needed to be they gave Preslie her first bath.
And then she warmed up for a little while longer :)
This was the first time I'd seen a hospital use a newborn shirt upside down as pants, but it made sense to help her warm up faster!
Kaitlyn and Phillip, thank you for letting me be a part of such a special day! Newborn previews coming soon ;)
-T
