PHILOMENA'S BIRTH STORY

2 days old!

We're home and Philomena is now six days old and kind of a dreamboat of a baby. I had to get my her birth story down quick before I forgot any details...so here it is.

On Tuesday, December 22nd I had a checkup appointment and a stress test since I was a week overdue. I was feeling really crappy and cranky and in lot's of pain. My sciatica at that point was out of control and I had been experiencing contractions for over a week. It was literally to the point where when I felt consistent contractions, we were just whatever about it. 

5 cm dilated!

Me, my husband and Penelope all headed to my appointment and I went in alone to do my stress test. They hook you up to all this stuff and monitor the baby's heartbeat as well as your contractions. Funny story, while in there talking to my nurse she asked if my husband plays for the NFL and I laughed and said no, but we get that all the time. The funny part is she wasn't convinced I was being honest and actually said "Are you sure? Because our VIPs many times use aliases so the press doesn't know they are here" and then proceeded to ask me more questions about it. I thought it was hilarious she didn't believe me. Anyway, at the end of the stress test I asked her how it looked and she hesitated while looking at the paper then told me it looked great. But right after, she said she had to go have a doctor look at it. Immediately I got concerned, because the doctor looked at it and said he was going to run over and talk to my regular NP. Then my NP walked in about five minutes letter and walked me over to her office at which point I was kind of freaking out. She said that they found that Philomena's heart rate was irregular and dropping sometimes so they were going to induce me.

After squeezing me into their induction schedule my husband and Penelope came with me into labor and delivery. The nurses were super sweet to Penelope and she was so curious about all of the tools and gadgets, and as always talking talking talking! After my best friend came and picked up Penelope it was already around 6pm and the nurses hooked me up to Petocin. Ornan and I sat there waiting overnight and while we were in one room, his best friend was waiting on their baby to come in another room a few doors down. I thought it was pretty amazing that they got to be each others support while we waited our new little babies out. Sometime in the early morning they checked me and I was six centimeters, a few hours later I was eight centimeters. After I was 8cm for awhile the nurses suggested I break my water. I did the same with Penelope's birth so I was comfortable with it but SO scared of the pain. So they broke it and from there it's kind of a blur.

After they broke my water I started feeling really intense contractions and I was terrified of the transition stage. Since I went without drugs before I knew what that felt like. I finally decided to get the epidural and I was super scared that it would paralyze me...lol I don't even know where I heard that from. So I stayed rock still until it was in and let me tell you...that stuff is LIFE CHANGING. Holy crap! After that it was only about another two hours and I was ready to push...with no pain whatsoever. I could not get over the fact that I needed to push and I was just laughing and talking with everyone. I pushed for a really short period of time... I wanna say 20 minutes if that, and then Philomena came out. I remember in one of my last pushes the nurses called Ornan over and said "Look at all that hair!". She came out eyes wide open and they immediately put her on my chest. It was exhilarating and a moment full of joy to have my husband next to me and our newest addition to our family. I wished Penelope could be there in that moment but I knew that seeing the labor might have not been the best idea.

Weighing her and measuring

Daddy and Philomena

I was able to breastfeed her and snuggle her for a long time and then Ornan got to hold her for the first time. It was so cute when the nurses tried to take her for a second, she immediately started crying so they gave her back to me and she stopped right away. I ended up confirming her name right after she was placed on my chest, which I joked with my friends would happen. We weren't sure all the way up until that point, but literally when she was laying on my chest I just knew her name was Philomena. 

Ornan left the hospital and took Penelope home so she could get back to her regular schedule and sleep at home. I stayed overnight with Philomena and I had such a difficult time with learning how to breastfeed correctly. I had multiple lactation nurses coming in and trying to teach me different things, but it kinda left me more confused then the beginning. I remember at one point in the night specifically, I couldn't sleep and I got really sad when I thought about me and Penelope's bond being changed forever. I started crying and getting nostalgic about everything us two have been through together. Even though I obviously loved Philomena, I felt like my dynamic with Penelope was going to be ruined forever. I even felt a little guilty like having another baby was selfish of us. But after my good cry, I told myself that this new little girl is a blessing for not just us but also for Penelope. It's normal to have these feelings and I'm sure I'll have them again at some point but it hit me full force specifically at that moment.

My two girls :)

We got our little girl's name from an amazing movie called "Philomena". It's about an old woman who had horrible injustices done to her. You see through the entire movie though that she never wavers in her faith, she is kind to everyone and her positivity inspires people around her. I thought the name was beautiful and told Ornan a couple of years back that I wanted to name our girl that. Her name means "loved" and was very popular way back in the old days but kind of non-existent now. 

When I was pregnant her name went from Olivia, to Philomena, to Rose to Delilah. We just couldn't choose...so it was pretty amazing that the certainty came right after I gave birth to her. 

My recovery was only overnight and I was able to go home the next day. Such an easy labor compared to Penelope and so happy to be home with my family for the next three weeks. Philomena so far has been an absolute dream and my husband has been superman of the year with helping out with everything. Honestly, so blessed!