Our Birth Story – Welcome Sofie Elizabeth!

Thank You For Sharing!!

I always dreamed of being a Mom and that dream came true when we had our son in 2014. We recently welcomed a little girl into our family, Sofie, and I’m excited to share our birth story!

I’ve always known that I was meant to be a mom! When we had our son, Liam in 2014, it was truly a dream come true. Although his delivery didn’t go as I always planned and imagined, he was here and we were both healthy.

When we announced that we were expecting our 2nd baby, we had already scheduled a repeat c-section and were watching her growth extremely close due to our history of intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) with Liam. Thankfully, it didn’t look like the IUGR was reoccurring with this pregnancy.

As the pregnancy went along, we continue to track her growth and prepare for the repeat c-section scheduled for 12/4/20. I knew, once again, that this was NOT how I wanted my births to go but I had accepted the fact that it is what it is and as long as we were healthy that’s what mattered.

Spinal Fusion in 2013

In 2013 I had a spinal fusion and while I am glad that I got that done, it caused some issues in the effectiveness of the epidural for Liam’s c-section and I almost had to go under general. I was scared to death that would be the case in Sofie’s birth, and had numerous dreams about it.

I was constantly searching what would happen if I went into labor before my scheduled c-section date. I also searched to see if I should attempt a Vaginal Birth after Caesarean (VBAC). With Liam, I wasn’t able to birth him vaginally and ended up in a c-section because of that. I had just assumed it would be the same case with Sofie even though she was destined to be small like Liam was (yet not IUGR).

November or December Baby?

Another thing to note is that Garrett always said that Sofie was going to be a November baby. We were due 12/7/20 and our scheduled c-section was 12/4/20 so I assumed she’d be a December baby.

When I started to have contractions that didn’t feel like Braxton Hicks, I had thought that maybe Sofie would join us before December. My coworkers even said that they thought Sofie would arrive the week of Thanksgiving!

What an Exciting Surprise!

Friday night, 11/20/20 I was having some mild contractions, but I just assumed they were Braxton Hicks because I was 37w4d pregnant. At 36w, my OB checked me and said that my cervix was long and closed so I just assumed – okay, we will make it to the 12/4/20 date.

The morning of 11/21/20, I was woken up by contractions around 4:30am but again assumed they were Braxton Hicks as they were ALL over the place with mild intensity. As the morning went on, they didn’t subside with a change of activities, hot shower, etc. I did 2 loads of laundry, some deal sharing and ate some breakfast.

Around 11am I decided to call my OB and see what she thought. She was off that day but agreed to meet me at the hospital in about an hour. We gave my in laws a call as they had agreed to come stay here with Liam and the dogs while we had Sofie. They arrived, Garrett rushed around getting things packed, the car seat base installed in his car and some other things together.

We arrived at the hospital at 12:30pm, they did a urinalysis assuming that maybe I was just dehydrated and hooked me up to the monitors. The nurse said “oh wow these are too close together to be dehydration, let me get the doctor.”

My OB came in and checked me. She said “wow, you’re 7cm dilated, you’re having a baby today!”

COVID-19 Birth Experience

Because of the current COVID situation, Garrett had to wait in his car until they agreed that I was being admitted. So, I was texting him saying “I’m 7cm, we are staying.” He was able to make ONE trip in with all of our stuff including all of our bags and the car seat for Sofie.

He made phone calls to our family members. The only ones who knew that we were there were my in laws so everyone else was very surprised/excited.

I had to wear a mask but not the entire time, thankfully. My doctor and nurses were in N95 masks and cloth masks and were very careful in caring for me.

Vaginal Birth After C-Section (VBAC) Decision

My OB came in and said “you’re over 1/2 way there, do you want to try vaginally?” I looked at her like she was crazy, but agreed to think about it for a few.

When Garrett arrived, I let him know that I had 2 options. I could either go into an immediate c-section or I could try for a VBAC. My doctor and nurses were wonderful, they went over my previous history and encouraged me that I was over halfway there and I should try.

I got an epidural around 8cm, my OB broke my water around that time too as I had decided to go forward with a VBAC attempt. The contractions were intense and to be honest, the epidural was a waste of my time as it didn’t actually help much!

VBAC Process

Around 3:30pm, my OB said I was fully dilated and it was time to push. I had no clue what I was doing but I was determined! After about 1.5 hours, my OB said that she would take me to a c-section if I wasn’t successful in the next 30 minutes.

Well, I made enough progress to have her continue to let me try for a VBAC. They turned off my epidural and gave me Pitocin as the contractions had slowed and I wasn’t able to feel what I needed to feel.

Sofie’s Here – Our Birth Experience

At 5:18pm after almost 2.5 hours of pushing, Sofie Elizabeth was born! She was immediately placed on my chest and I just kept saying over and over “you’re so little!” She was here and I had done it!

As reluctant as he was, Garrett cut the umbilical cord and Sofie was skin to skin for 2 hours. During this time, we tried to get her to nurse but she was just wanting to see the world and be content.

The nurse came in after 2 hours and weighed her and she came in tiny, as expected for being 37w4d gestation! She was 5lb 6.2oz and 18″ long. Her APGAR scores were good at 1 and 5 minutes too! They did a blood sugar test because she was so little and that was a good result!

We are Blessed

Sofie is a great addition to our family. We were in the hospital for 2 days and then released to go home. It was such a blessing to have my in laws here with Liam and the dogs.

We’ve been home for a little over 3 weeks now and it is hard to believe that Sofie will be a month old soon! Time flies, for sure!

As I reminisce on my birth story, I am still amazed at how it all went to plan! I never thought I’d be able to have a vaginal birth, let alone one without meds! Yes, it was painful but it was SO worth it.

Thank You For Sharing!!