Lilly's Birth Story

One last belly picture. This is taken Sunday, August 15th

Sam's mom, Me, and my mom.

(Her face was really bruised, especially her nose and upper lip, so it kind of looks like she's not breathing, but I promise she was just fine.)

Lilly Sue Balukoff was born 8/18/2010 at 2:57pm. She weighed 7lb 15oz and is 20" long. Her height and weight were exactly the same as Grace's! How crazy is that? Also Lilly has a full head of brown hair, although it's not as long as Grace's was.

I went into the hospital at 8:30am and was induced with prostaglandin gel at 9:40. Until the Dr. recommended using the gel, I had never heard of it before. But it's just a gel he put up around my cervix that put me into labor without me having to be constantly monitored and tied down to the bed. So I was able to spend a lot of time in the jacuzzi, and on the birth ball. This really helped me in achieving my goal of having a natural labor and delivery.

Before I was induced I was already dilated 2 cm. and 70% effaced. At noon I was dilated to 4 cm. and the Dr. broke my water. By 2:00 my labor was VERY intense with back to back contractions. I asked the nurse to check me again, and I was only dilated to 5 1/2 cm. I did a "no-no" and started doing "labor math" in my head. Figuring that it had taken me 4ish hours to get the 5 1/2 cm, that it would probably take at least another 3 hours to get to 10, and the pain was so horrible I knew there was no way I was going to last that long. So I asked for some pain relief. I chose to go with some medication through my IV because I figured it would work the fastest and I didn't need all the pain gone, I just needed the edge off so I could manage it again.

The nurse gave me the medication, and 2 contractions later I asked when it was supposed to kick in, She told me it already was. NO IT WASN'T!! I swear, cross my heart, that there was no relief whatsoever. My theory is that the pain was too intense, and rapidly getting more intense that the medicine couldn't keep up. This is why I'm still counting this birth as natural. Believe me, at this point I didn't even care about my goal of having another natural birth anymore, I wanted the help from the narcotics, but I didn't get it.

Maybe 15 minutes after I got the IV drug, I realized it was never going to kick in, and it was suddenly very clear to me that I was going to die if I didn't get some help. So I asked the nurse if it was too late to get an epidural. She smiled and said no, she would go order one.

When she walked out the door my mom said that I should get checked again when she got back, just to make sure I wasn't close to pushing. She was sure that I was very close, but didn't want to say it out loud in case I really did have hours left.

I agreed with my mom, although I was sure I was going to be in labor for the rest of my life. With the next contraction, maybe 30 seconds later it hit. I HAD TO PUSH! My mom went and got the nurse, who was a genius and had everything set up way in advance. She checked me and I was at an 8. 2 more contraction, and I was at a 9. These were the longest contractions of my life. Trying not to push when my whole body was telling me to push. After the next contraction the Dr. was in the room and checked me. I was 10 cm. dilated and he told me I could push. He didn't have to tell me twice, I practically already was.

I can't remember exactly but I think 2 pushes and the head was out, but then the shoulders got stuck. The nurse laid the bed down flat, made me turn on my back, I had been on my side, and made me pull my knees up to my earlobes. Then with the Dr. and another resident pulling the head, and me pushing my guts out Lilly was born, followed by a huge gush of fluid.

The Dr. put her on my stomach while he cut the cord. (If you know Sam at all it will not surprise you to know that he wanted nothing to do with the cord.) It was such and amazing experience having Lilly to hold the second she was born. My heart was instantly filled with so much love, and I bonded with her immediately.

When Grace was born, she had swallowed her meconium, and they had to take her instantly to pump her lungs and get x-rays. Then they had her under oxygen in the Special Care Nursery. Because of this I didn't get to see her for hours after she was born. And even when I could see her I wasn't allowed to hold her for a day or so because she had IV's in her. It took me longer to bond with her, and to actually feel like "Mom", instead of "Babysitter". So it was wonderful having Lilly right away.

(Check out my face in this picture. Something they gave me...I'm guessing the pitocin after I had Lilly to make my uterus contract down to size better made my face break out in hives, and totally swell up. But nobody said a word about it to me, so I was living in sweet oblivion for a whole day. Good thing it went away pretty fast.)

I also need to mention how amazing Sam was through the whole labor and delivery. He was right by my side the whole time. Always telling me how good I was doing, and how strong I was being. He is so supportive of me and my decision to not get an epidural, and he does everything he can to help me with the pain. I would not have been able to get through it without him.



I am just so in love with my two little girls and my amazing husband I can't believe that one person is allowed to have this much. God has blessed me more then I could have ever imagined. My cup runneth over.