Conley's Birth Story

Conley Leona

7 lbs 5 oz 

20 inches long

born @ 9:23 am on September 30, 2013

September 29th was my due date and I was still feeling great. My preterm labor had ceased and I didn't feel my body or baby were anywhere near ready to go into labor. We went to church that day and after church we went to Mission Viejo to have dinner with family at my grandma's house. We returned home later that night and as I was walking into our room to take my prenatal vitamin I felt like I was peeing my pants. I tried to hold it, but liquid surged out in a huge puddle on the floor all around me. Jesse was in the bathroom(shocker) so I yelled to him that my water had broke and he scrambled out and started getting our last minute things together. I wrapped up in a towel and we headed off to the hospital. At the hospital they confirmed that my water had broke and they admitted me. It was about 9:30 pm, I was dilated to a 3, but having no contractions yet. Once contractions started I lasted until 2 am and then decided to end the unnecessary suffering and get an epidural. I was blessed to have an amazing anesthesiologist who worked wonders and I didn't even feel the epidural go in and it numbed me up real good. After this birthing experience I am definitely pro-epidural. I slept the rest of the night while my mom and Jesse were restless and taking turns sleeping on the extra bed. I proceeded to dilate really quickly after having the epidural and was ready to push by 6 am. The pushing phase was really hard and I wasn't really getting the hang of it. I ended up having to push for three hours because our baby's heart rate would dip dangerously low after contractions and they were gauging whether I would need an emergency c-section. I would have to push for one contraction and then wait for the next two to make sure her heart rate went back up. They had to attach a device into the baby's head to more precisely track her heart rate. By the end of the three hours of pushing my epidural had worn off and I could feel everything so my doctor had the anesthesiologist come back in and give me more, which numbed me completely. Thank heavens for modern medicine and skilled doctors. Our baby arrived at 9:23 am and I whimpered and tears filled my eyes as she finally came out and was placed on my chest. She had dark hair, full dark eyebrows, deep navy blue eyes, defined little lips, and the most perfect tiny nose. I couldn't believe how gorgeous she was. It was almost an out-of-body experience. I was exhausted and everything still felt surreal as Jesse and I looked teary-eyed at one another and I felt such a sense of gratitude and relief that we had finally gotten our baby. I immediately saw Jesse in a new light, as a dad, and I felt instantly like a mom. Even during the most painful and exhausting parts of labor I knew I wanted to do this again and again and again. I'm trying to convince Jesse to let me have eight kids now. . . he says he only agreed to four prior to our marriage. My mom took pictures and captured such sweet moments that I will cherish forever. I get choked up looking at these pictures and watching us become parents for the first time. I'm grateful we decided to have my mom in the room with us to celebrate this special experience. We named her Conley after my maiden name and chose Leona for her middle name because we wanted her to share the same middle name with my grandma. We are so blessed to have Conley as our baby and she has instantly changed our lives for the better. I feel so lucky to have this beauty all to ourselves, forever. Conley's birth was heavenly and like I said I'd do it a million more times.