Miss Zoe Renee Merrill was born on Monday June 9, 2014 at 9:18 am. She was 4 weeks early just like big brother Zander.
During my pregnancy I wondered how the birth would go. Would she come early? or would she make me wait until her due date in July? Should I do another C-Section? or attempt a VBAC? I was anxious and didn't know what to expect. I did know that this last week felt different to me and I was having lots of Braxton Hicks contractions. I thought that maybe I was pushing myself too hard with all the events of the past week - we celebrated Zander's birthday and had a birthday party, my niece graduated from Jr. High, and my nephew graduated from high school. There was lots of celebrations going on amongst still working a full 40+ hour a week job. I kept saying "this is the same week of pregnancy that I had Zander." but thought I was in the clear by the time Saturday came around. While Devin was on a camp out (thank goodness I didn't go into labor on Friday night while he was gone), I traced around town with Zander getting the last minute baby items I needed. I bought my diaper bag and burp clothes. I also finally purchased the fabric needed to finish the ottoman for the nursery. It was a regular weekend. Little did I know that Miss Zoe would be joining us soon.
Sunday was a normal day. We went to church. I got my visiting teaching done for June. We went to family dinner at the Merrills. We had planned on taking maternity pictures that day too, but due to the heat decided to postpone our pictures to the following weekend. (Dang!) When we got home that night, I went into nesting mode. I took out chicken to marinate so we could cook and use it for the entire week. I cut up fruit and got our smoothies ready to make on Monday morning. I made Devin lunch and snacks for Monday. What a waste! I definitely didn't go to bed that night thinking that we'd have a baby the next day.
A short time after midnight I woke up. I felt wet. Walking to the bathroom I looked at the mirror and noticed that my underwear was soaked wet and they were red. I sat on the toliet and started freaking out a bit. There was more fluid coming out. I couldn't even stand up at this point. Contractions had started. I stumbled out of the bathroom to the hallway and called downstairs to Devin. He had fallen asleep on the couch that night watching a movie. I told him that I was in labor. We called the doctor and they told us to go to the hospital. Thankfully we were more prepared this time around. My bag was semi-packed already. I added some more things and packed a bag for Zander. We dropped him off at Devin's parents house and made our way to Mercy Gilbert Hospital. By then my contractions were 3 minutes apart.
We met Devin's mom at the hospital and I headed to triage. The fluid was still leaking out and the contractions were steady. I was 2 cm dilated and 80% effaced. While the nurse was ready to admit me, the doctor on call was not. She wanted me to prove myself since my water had not broken yet. Really? The first hour wasn't bad. I was joking with Devin. We were watching tv. The pain was manageable. When the nurse checked me an hour later, I was 3 cm dilated and 100% effaced. This still wasn't good enough for the doctor. They wanted another hour of observation. The pain got more intense within the next hour. The contractions were still steady and I threw up all over the floor. I made Devin get the nurse. She checked me again and I was close to a 4. The doctor finally admitted me to the hospital.
When we got to my room, I was ready for an epidural but had to wait until I got some blood work and have an entire bag of fluid go through my IV first. This was the longest wait ever!! I was a little unpleasant. I didn't want any one touching me. I didn't want the tv on. I didn't want the lights on. I wanted it to be silent so I could breathe through my contractions which were really intense. I got an epidural around 5 am. I was much happier after that point, hence the big smile on my face in the picture below. I was around 6 cm dilated.
Time flew by after the epidural. I was able to watch tv and get some rest. The labor and delivery nurse put a giant peanut between my legs to help with labor. It worked great as I could feel the pressure and by 8:30am I was dilated to 10 cm. It was time to push! Having a C-Section before I didn't know what to do. The nurses and Devin's mom coached me through the whole thing. The last few pushes were very emotional for me. I was so excited to finally meet my daughter and I couldn't stop the flow of tears. This was the moment I had been waiting for since we decided to expand our family back in June 2012.
It only took 30 minutes of pushing and she was here at 9:18am. 4 weeks early. 6 lbs. 6 oz. 19 inches long. A full head of brown hair. I was instantly in love.
