Presley's Birth Story

Ahh it feels so nice to be back behind this white space and communicating with the outside world! Presley and I are finally getting in some sort of a groove over here and for that I am so grateful - I will have a whole other post on post partum soon. Let's just say...it's no joke!

On Monday, August 18th around 9pm David and I headed to the hospital because I was having contractions about 2-3 minutes apart. They weren't particularly painful but they were coming regularly so I decided to call into my doctor who told me to head to the hospital. When we checked in I was at 2.5 centimeters which really didn't mean much as I had been at 2.5 for 2 weeks. They decided to keep me for 45 minutes while they monitored me. After 45 minutes the contractions were still close together so thy had me walk around to try and get labor actively started.

After being at the hospital until midnight with no further dilation they decided to let me go home. At first I was worried that I wouldn't be able to fall asleep but surprisingly when I got home I slept like a baby (which is an ironic figure of speech)! Turns out that was for the best as it would be my last night of good sleep for some time.

When we got discharged the nurse said sometimes false labor is brought on by dehydration so we chalked it up to that and made sure I was well hydrated the next day. I also had a doctor's appointment the next morning and they said if I was dilated more at the appointment they would admit me. Well at 10am I was still at 2.5 and all day the next day I had maybe a total of four contractions all day long so I figured it wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

That evening I climbed into bed and was just browsing on my phone when I heard and felt a rather large "pop". I immediately stood up thinking that my water had broke but there was nothing. I decided to head over to the bathroom. It was here that I discovered the pop was me losing my mucus plug and almost as soon as I realized that the contractions hit me like a ton of bricks.

Not wanting another false alarm David was convinced I was still under hydrated. So he drew me a bath and filled my camelback. I couldn't stay in the bath for long as my contractions were getting stronger and stronger. After sitting on the bathroom floor for over an hour David tried to get me to lay down in bed so he could rub my back. So reluctantly I left the safety of the bathroom and attempted to lay down. As soon as I was in bed I began to feel sick and ran to the bathroom. Which is where all the contents of my camelback came roaring out of me. It was also at this point that my water decided to break!

So it was decided we were headed to the hospital again. Luckily we only live about two miles from it! When we got to the parking lot I could barely exit the car, I was doubling over from the pain from the contractions; which in comparison to the previous nights contractions were a joke! Riding up the elevator seemed like it was taking forever and when we finally arrived on the labor and delivery floor I could hardly step out of the elevator.

We checked in at 1:30 and the nurse asked me to disrobe, which I couldn't do, the pain was blinding. I also proceeded to get sick again in a barf bag - lovely.

When they came to check me I was told I was at a 3. She asked me my level of pain and I said "10! I want the epidural NOW!" Smart decision making on my part :)

Once the anesthesiologist administered the most perfect epidural. (I could feel my legs and toes but no contractions) I was able to go to sleep and when the nurse came in again at 4am I was already at a 5. Awesome - back to sleep I went. When they came back in at 6am I was surprisingly at 10!

We were so shocked at how quickly I accelerated we hadn't even called David's parents yet who had a two hour drive ahead of them! She said at 8am we are going to begin pushing, so I started making the call to my parents to let them know Presley was well on her way!

Turns out little miss was more than ready to have a birthday party. We began pushing at 8:22 and Presley came into this world at 8:57am!

A perfectly happy and healthy baby and just like that our little family of three became a family of four.
 Savannah Guthrie I am not...

24 comments

  1. So sweet! I am so sorry that you were as sick as you were, but what a quick delivery you had! Amazing!! You all look perfect and happy! Congrats!

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  2. Aw I'm so glad the labor went pretty quickly for you! I hope mine is like that! That's so crazy you were getting sick, pregnancy is so glamorous, right?! Presley is so perfect, so happy for you all!!

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  3. WOW! I'm surprised they didn't have a wheelchair ready for you when you got to the hospital!! Sounds like it happened fast. Did you get an epidural!? CONGRATS!!

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  4. So sweet! So glad you got a perfect epidural and had a safe delivery! Congrats on your new family of 4!

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  5. Sounds like a pretty smooth and lovely delivery - maybe that is the perk of having to go over 40 weeks???!!

    Either way, so happy for your sweet family and can't wait to follow along!

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  6. The whole labor and delivery plus postpartum is really no joke!! What a blessing to have such a wonderful epidural!! I am totally jealous. :)

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  7. PRECIOUS and PERFECT! She is gorgeous!

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  8. One of my friends had the same throwing up water and water breaking at the same time thing! Sounds like a relatively uneventful birth story which is awesome! Glad you and little miss are settling into a routine! The first few months are tough but then it gets easier!

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  9. Aw, welcome back! What a stunning family you are and Presely could not be more perfect. I am so, so happy for you all! XO

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  10. Oh I'm so happy that you had a smooth delivery! Can't wait to read more on your little girl

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  11. Awww, love this! Sounds like a rather quick labor and delivery, glad for you! I love reading birth stories, always makes me tear up! And Presley is so adorable! Love all the IG pictures, looks like Finn is the best big brother!

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  12. You only pushed for 40 minutes?! Lucky you! haha It seems like you had a very fast but pretty smooth delivery so congratulations :) You're baby girl is adorable and I can't wait to read about your post partum adventures.

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  13. So glad it was a quick and smooth delivery!! And I don't know what you are talking about, you look absolutely gorgeous after giving birth! Can't wait to read more and see more pictures! :) xx

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  14. Oh Laura, this story is beautiful!
    SO happy that you have a beautiful & healthy baby girl.

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  15. So nice to see you back on the blog! Glad you were able to have a pretty smooth labor (well at least after you got that epidural). All that getting sick before hand must have been awful. Congratulations, Presley is precious! Can't wait to see your first family photo with Finn :)

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  16. So sorry you were so sick, but that is awesome she came so fast! You look beautiful and glowing in that pic by the way!

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  17. Yay! Sounds like it went pretty well other than getting sick (I got sick with my first baby too in labor and up came my dinner...ugh). Glad she is here and healthy!

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  18. Loved this! So happy she is finally here! An epidural definitely sounds like the way to go, haha thank goodness for a pretty easy delivery afterwards!

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  19. What a beautiful birth story! I had the perfect epidural too, in that I could feel my legs and feet, yay for small victories! I agree that postpartum recovery is no joke and I can't believe people don't blog/talk more about it! I hope you're feeling better and better every day :-)

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  20. Sounds like Presley was more than ready to get here! 30 minutes later and bam! So glad you shared this story with us pretty mama!

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  21. Love love!! What a beautiful baby girl!!

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  22. Glad to have you back in the blog world! Love this post. Good job on pushin Mama, you handled birth like a champ! Can't wait to hear your take on Postpartum! <3

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  23. Awwww! What a memorable birth story! Glad to hear everything went well! :) Such a precious babe :)

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  24. Wow! So fast! (I definitely felt a tear coming on!) So happy for you and your new addition!! xoxo

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