"No love in mortality comes closer to approximating the pure love of Jesus Christ than the selfless love of a devoted Mother has for her child." -Elder Holland
I seriously can't believe that our little Harper is finally here! The day started on Friday July 8th which happened to be my due date. I couldn't sleep the night before, I don't know why other than the fact that I knew something special was going to happen in the next day. We had a doctors appointment at 9:30am and honestly I wasn't expecting much. You see the week before I wasn't even dilated, and only 3 days before I was at a 1. We got to the appointment and Dr. Craig checked me and surprise surprise... I was still at a 1 almost a 2! Did I want to hit my head on the table? Absolutely. Dr. Craig than gave us some options on inducing me, she said she could do it anytime in the next week and honestly we were just ready for our little lady to get here! So we decided to run home, pack up our things, shave my legs, and come in that afternoon to get induced. Kyler asked what I wanted for my "last meal" (like I was dying) and we decided on Panda Express which was right across the street from the hospital. We finally made it to the hospital at 2:00 where they gave me my gown to get into which obviously called for a selfie. :)
Sana would come check me every half hour to see if my contractions were progressing. And every half hour was disappointment! I wasnt feeling ANY contractions, in fact the only way we knew I was having them was from the monitor. We kept upping my pitocine to the absolute "limit" where they couldnt give me any more. And I still wasnt feeling a thing. In my head I was seriously thinking "Gosh, this labor thing is eaaasssayy!" but after checking and checking I had only dilated to a 2. At 8;00 Dr. Craig came to break my water hoping that would get things rolling, I remember her pulling out this big long chop stick looking thing and I asked her "Is this going to hurt?" She shook her head no not at all.
She was... wrong.
As soon as she broke my water all hell broke lose as well! Suddenly I was feeling EVERY contraction and not only that, but was feeling them at maximum pain! My nurse described it as going from 0-60 in five minutes. The pain was unbearable, and I wasnt getting any relief from any contraction. Just constant pain. My new nurse Susie sent for Dr. Daines the anesthesiologist. He was in my room by 8:30 and I had my epidural by 8:45, all I remember during this time was trying not to cry and Dr. Daines telling me to crouch over like a Halloween cat (like what?!?) and hold as still as possible, which was almost impossible giving how much pain I was in. By 9:00 the epidural had kicked in and all was right in the world again. In that hour they checked me once again, and I was only at a 3! All that pain to just dilate to a 3! I couldnt believe it. Dr Daines did come back in the room a little later to see how I was doing where I stated "I could just kiss you." But really this guy was my new best friend.
The waiting game continued into the night where none of us got much sleep. Harpers heart rate would drop then come back up with how much pitocine I was being given, so we would lower the dosage until she wasnt in stress anymore, then raise it again. It seemed like we just went back and forth all threw the night. They decided to put a monitor on her head inside of me just so they could track her better. There were times in the night where my oxygen was low so I needed a mask to help me breathe. I also was having HORRIBLE heart burn, and those who have followed my pregnancy know I have had heart burn the whole 9 months, but this was out of control. I remember taking tum after tum just to try to get some relief. Susie even brought me some medication they give out for heartburn that was the nasiest thing I have ever swallowed in my life, which is why at around 3;30am I think I started throwing up. Good thing Susie was quick to grab me a barf bag because I almost had it ALL over her. That was fun. Through out the night I would ever so slowly progress but it wasnt very quick at all. I had dilated to a 7 but stayed there for about 3 1/2 hours. The "joke" was we had to have this baby out by 6:00am because thats when Susie was off from her shift and I would get a new nurse, but 6:00 rolled around and I was still only at a 7. At this time my epidural was starting to wear off, and I was feeling those horrid contractions once again. We called my best friend back and he came to give me another dosage.
My new nurse came in who's name was Aubree and she was an absolute angel. When she came in at 6 she just looked at me and said "You look so exhausted, we are just going to let you sleep for a half hour. We will shut the door so nobody can bug you and you can just SLEEP!" And honestly that is exactly what me and Kyler needed. I remember starting to dream I was on a beach, and that half hour nap felt like 5 hours. She came back in at 6:30, checked me and suddenly said "You're at a 10! Its time to start pushing!" I thought I was still dreaming and that she was joking, after being at a 7 for so long I honestly didnt feel like we would have this baby till Christmas.
So then the fun started happening! Pushing as Aubree counted "1,2,3,4 good job hillary keep it up! 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 okay breathe!" At this point breathing was becoming hard again so they put the oxygen back on me. Pushing is so hard to do when you cant feel the bottom half of your body. My mouth was also sooooo dry and Kyler was right there with a cup of water so I could sip in between pushes. Every strain of pushes continued to get harder and harder and I felt like I was going to pass out. I had absolutely no energy. I remember Dr. Craig saying "She has hair! Do you want to reach down and touch it?" No I didnt, I just wanted her OUT! Finally after 45 minutes of pushing, Harper Kate Webb made her debut at 7:50am.
6 pounds 9 ounces of pure perfection, and 19 inches long.
Skin to skin was incredible and I just couldnt believe she was finally here.
We decided to just have "family time" with the three of us for about an hour before we let the rest of the family come in to meet our sweet girl. And they all completely fell in love.
I only became a mom 10 days ago, and its amazing the transformation I have personally seen in myself, in our home, and in our marriage. I can't believe how something so little and so pure can teach me so much about the way I look at life, and whats really important in this world. It makes sense to me why having children is part of The Father's plan. Since becoming a mother I feel things deeper, think less selfishly, and have a greater appreciation for Heavenly Fathers love for us. I constantly keep asking Kyler how we made something so perfect, and its still a mystery to us. The love we already have for Harper is just over flowing, and we've never been happier.
Thank you to my amazing cousin Conna Ripplinger for taking our Birth Story! They turned out absolutely perfect! :)
