On April 22, 2014 my life was changed forever. Bringing
Stella into this world was the most joyful and spiritual experience I have ever
had. There are no words for me to
really express how I felt this day.
I have always dreamt of the day I was to become a mother and not even in
my dreams could I have imagined it going more perfect than it did. I feel so incredibly blessed to be
Stella’s mother and can’t wait for this journey of motherhood ahead.
Tuesday morning, around 5 a.m. I had gotten up to go to the
bathroom for the second time throughout the night. This was totally normal for me throughout the end of my
pregnancy, but there was a third time this morning that I had to get up, and
for a good reason! Around 5:45 a.m.
I felt some leaking while I was lying in bed. It took me a minute to realize it because I knew I hadn’t needed
to go to the bathroom. So as quickly as I could, I got out of bed and ran into
the bathroom. But as I was
running there, I’m realizing that I am leaking all the way into the bathroom. I
yelled out to Matt and told him I thought my water had broken and to come into
the bathroom quick! I don’t remember what his exact response was, but I do know
that he was shocked as well and questioned me at first asking me if I was sure
it was my water. I was pretty sure
because I had absolutely no control and I was defiantly leaking a lot! However,
Matt was taking this more seriously than I was. I feel like I knew that my water had broken and that we
needed to head to the hospital, but I was in denial! Stella wasn’t supposed to come for 3 more weeks! There was no
way that I was going to deliver early with my first baby. I had put this thought through my head
because everyone kept telling me that you never deliver early with your first
baby!
Matt frantically ran to the bathroom because of course, he had to
shave! He knew we’d be taking pictures if this was for real and he wanted to be
looking his best! (That’s why I love him.) As for me, well I was still in shock
and kept saying things like, “Well, I guess I’ll just act like I’m getting
ready to go to work and if I start having contractions, and I have no idea what
those are supposed to feel like, then I won’t go in today.” Matt kept telling me that I was not
going to work today. I really
couldn’t believe it was happening.
So I started putting makeup on (as I continued to leak) and threw my
greasy hair into a bun on top of my head.
I knew I should have washed my hair the night before… oh well. But as I stood there getting ready,
Matt kept telling me we needed to go to the hospital and I kept saying that I
didn’t think we had to go until my contractions started, and I really wasn’t
feeling anything. I was determined
that if we showed up to the hospital that the nurses would turn us away and
tell me to go home until I was having contractions or something and I did NOT want
to be turned away after getting there!
I messaged Dr. Kasteler right away telling him what had just
happened and he got back to me within about 15 minutes and told me that my
water had probably broken and that we needed to head straight to Lakeview
Hospital. He said to check into
labor and delivery and they would check to see if it was amniotic fluid, and if
it was than I was going to have a baby today! Are you kidding me?! I could not believe it!
At about 6:15 a.m. I called my parents and my dad answered
the phone. They were obviously
still sleeping because my dad sounded really tired. I asked for mom and told her that I was pretty sure my water
had broken. I mentioned that I
messaged Dr. Kasteler and that I was waiting to hear back from him and she just
told me that if my water had broken then we needed to be at the hospital. She couldn’t believe it and was also so
excited for us! I could hear my dad in the background agreeing that yes, we needed
to head to the hospital and that they were both anxious for me to let them know
what the nurses say! So we decided
to head to the hospital, and me being so prepared had already packed my
hospital bag for me and for Stella.
I had actually done it a few weeks ago because I was so excited about
it, but I’m so glad I did! It made
my morning much less stressful and I could head to the hospital feeling
SOMEWHAT prepared. I would have been
a wreck otherwise!
By the time we left the house it was close to 6:45 a.m. We were still anticipating this being
an all day adventure and that we wouldn’t be having a baby quite so soon. During the car ride to the hospital all
I could do was stress about who was going to substitute my classes at school! I
hadn’t called anyone yet because I was so afraid that for some reason, we would
be sent home on a false alarm, so I didn’t want to tell my bosses that I was
headed to the hospital because I “thought” my water had broken. I wanted to be
100% certain when I text or called them that for sure I wouldn’t be coming in
because I was having my baby. Matt
kept laughing at me saying, “Hayley, you’re not going in to work today!” But
still, I was in denial!
We got to the hospital and headed to the second floor to
labor and delivery. I got there
and told them that I was pretty sure my water had broken. There were about five or six nurses
standing at the entrance and they were all so sweet! They told me to give my
insurance card to Matt and that he would go check me in and get everything
settled, and meanwhile my nurse Kim, who was honestly the best nurse ever, took
me and said we’d go find out if my water broke! We walked down to room #2. Little did I know that I wouldn’t be
leaving that room until after I had a baby! She told me to put on the nightgown and then to get into the
bed and that she would be back in a second to check me. As I laid in the bed I kept looking
around the room in disbelief that I was actually there. I was also praying that at this point I
really was going to have a baby today and that I wasn’t going to have to go to
work later. Matt met me back in
our room a few minutes later and offered to give me a blessing that everything
would go well and that Stella would make it here safely. I am so incredibly grateful for him and
that he was able to do that because it really did calm my nerves. It was such a
sweet moment for me. I will never
forget it.
The nurse came back and put a monitor around me and around
my baby belly to monitor baby’s heartbeat and my contractions. She asked me how my contractions were going
and I told her I didn’t know I was having them! I had kind of had cramping when
I was at home before I left the hospital, but I didn’t think it was anything
and I was to frantic and excited to worry about it. The nurse told me that I was defiantly leaking amniotic
fluid, that I was having contractions, and that I was dilated to a 3! I was here for good. Once she told me this, I decided to let
work know.
At this point it was about 7:15 a.m. I called my work and told them I needed
a sub because I was in the hospital having a baby! This is the funniest part
yet. I told the lady on the phone
(who is from the district and I’ve actually never met her because I’ve never
needed to call for a sub) that my water had broken and that I was in the
hospital about to have a baby. This was her response, “I AM ALL OUT OF
SUBS. I’ve had people calling and
texting me all morning and I really don’t have anyone else! Who is this again? They
never told me you were pregnant! You were supposed to call for a sub an hour
ago!” Me, not even knowing how in the world to respond just said, “Well, I’m so
sorry! I didn’t know I was going into labor today! She is coming three weeks early
so we were not expecting this, but I could ask the drama teacher to see if she
could cover for me?” After this
awkward and extremely ridiculous conversation, she asked me to send her the
drama teacher’s phone number and that she would contact her for me. My nurse could hear her on the phone
and could not believe what she was saying and said it took everything she had
to not take the phone from me and just give this lady a piece of her mind. Did
she honestly expect me to teach while going into labor? So ridiculous yet so
funny at the same time. So after
this stressful situation, we all laughed for a minute and then I had Matt text my
two bosses to let them know what was going on and that I wouldn’t be in to work
today. I knew they would understand
and actually be excited for me!
Sure enough, everything went just fine and they said not to worry about
it and that they had it covered.
At this point Kim (my nurse) was getting my IV ready. I had never had one so I was kind of
nervous, but it was fine. After I
had the IV is when I actually started to feel nauseous and it was suddenly hard
for me to take deep breaths without feeling like I was going to puke. My nurse ended up giving me some oxygen
to help me breath better because I honestly thought I was going to be sick. I’m sure the stress and te nerves were
just getting to me but after some slow deep breaths and some self-talk, I was
totally fine. Matt went and got me
some ice chips and a little cup of water to help ease my nausea. He really was amazing
to me throughout this entire experience. I’m so lucky.
My doctor came in around 8 a.m. to see me and said that they
were going to start me on pitocin and that he would be back during his lunch
break to check on me. I couldn’t
believe what he was saying! We let family know that today was the day, but no
one anticipated that it would go as fast as it did! After I had been started on pitocin, Matt and I had some time
in the room just us two. We took
some videos to help remember this special moment and we both kept saying how we
couldn’t believe this was happening.
At this point I had started feeling my contractions more intensely and I
would watch on the monitor to see when the contractions would start to peak so
I could brace myself for them. They
were still bearable at this point, but I could definitely feel them now. I wasn’t planning on holding out
until the last minute to get the epidural, but I was doing OK at this point
that I didn’t want it just yet.
Around 10:00 a.m. I had dilated to a 6 and my contractions
were getting pretty painful. I wanted the epidural ASAP. The anesthesiologist had been at the
hospital earlier, but left to go to the gym because he didn’t think that I’d
need the epidural for a while. The nurse called him and said that I wanted it
now so he turned around and came back to save me, literally. No one anticipated things to happen so
quickly, but those 30 minutes
before he got there felt like an eternity! My contractions had gotten to the point where I thought I was
going to throw up again, so the nurse gave me some morphine to take the kick
out of the contractions until the anesthesiologist got there. It helped a little, but at this point
my contractions were 2 minutes apart and I was in a lot of pain. As soon as he got there I felt so
relieved and whatever pain I had to endure to for the epidural, it was going to
be worth it! He came in and got everything ready and told me to sit so my legs
were hanging from the side of the bed and to round my back over. Matt stood in front of me and held onto
my legs as I rested my hands on his shoulders and braced myself for whatever
pain I had to bare. Honestly, I
hardly felt a thing. It was over
in 5 seconds and it wasn’t even bad.
I don’t know what all the horror stories are about! After the epidural I felt like I could
just relax and enjoy the rest of the labor experience until it was time to
push. It was such a relief to
watch the monitor now and watch it spike up during a big contraction and for me
not to feel a thing. It was a
suddenly a completely different experience and I was so content and relaxed. I was on “cloud 9.” After the epidural
we called and text family to let them know where we were at in the process.
At 1:00 p.m. Dr. Kasteler had arrived to check and see where
I was at. Sure enough, I was at a
10 was ready to push! I was in shock, everyone was! Matt’s mom, Cindy had been at the hospital anxiously awaiting,
but my mom was watching my nephew Kaden and really didn’t anticipate me
progressing this fast so she called my sister-in-law Natalie to let her know to
come pick him up so she could be at the hospital! Luckily Natalie had just gotten there after I hung up the
phone because we didn’t have much time until this baby was going to be here! Apparently the epidural was working
great because I could not feel my left leg whatsoever. But at this point, I was just grateful
to not be feeling any pain.
It was around 1:10 p.m. when I started to push. I pushed for 15 minutes and at 1:25 p.m.
our lives were changed forever.
Our sweet little Stella Ann was born and it was by far the most
incredible feeling I have ever experienced. Right after she came out they showed
me that yes, she was a girl (it had been a little joke) and then they laid a
blanket down on my chest and wiped her off right in front of me. I couldn’t help but cry in disbelief
that this little baby was mine and that she had finally made it here! She was perfect in every way. Matt cut
the cord, which I have no memory of because I had been starring at this amazing
little thing in disbelief that she was here and that she was ours. She weighed 6 lbs 6 oz and was 18 inches
long. I have never loved anything
so much! I was able to do skin to skin with her after they checked her out and
wiped her off and I just held her there right close to me. For a minute, my world stopped. Nothing
could ever beat this moment. It
all the sudden hit me. I was a
mom, and a mom to this perfect little girl who we had been blessed with from
our Heavenly Father. I wish I
could relive this moment over a thousand times. It was amazing and better than I ever could have
imagined.
Shortly after, they weighed and measured her and cleaned her
off. I was able to watch them the
entire time, which I was so grateful for. I loved hearing that newborn baby cry
and I couldn’t help but think of where she just came from, and the people she
said goodbye to before she came to us.
I don’t think that I will ever forget the details of this
day. My entire hospital experience
was wonderful. I loved my nurses,
my doctor, and most of all, Matthew. He is so sweet to Stella and they have a bond in which
I have loved watching. His
fatherly instincts kicked in the moment he held her and I could not possibly
love him more. He is an amazing
husband and father and I cannot wait to raise Stella with him. What a truly incredible
experience this was and one that has strengthened my testimony of family and
the reason we are here on earth. I
will never forget this day and I will forever be grateful that Heavenly Father
sent us Stella and that she chose us to be her parents. We love you Stella Ann!
