Lyla's Birth Story

Unlike most people, we were able to actually plan when our daughter's grand entrance into this world would be.  Knowing that we would check in Tuesday night at midnight, we had a set plan that kicked off Sunday afternoon with the arrival of my parents. Being the amazing parents that they are, they used that time to clean house and give Jeff and I our time together. Since Monday was the 4th of July, me and Jeff decided to have one last special date just us before making the big transition into parenthood. As many of you know, this was so important to me to have this time with him and it couldn't have been more perfect! 

We decided to go see a movie since it was raining. 

We had a great meal at Outback Steakhouse (Jeff cleaned his plate) 

Then we took in the fireworks for the 4th. (so happy the rain cleared up)

On the way home I got pretty emotional about everything and so we decided not to head straight home. Instead we went and parked down by the lake and just talked and prayed together.  I had such a peace about everything when the night ended. I love my husband so much!

Tuesday was mainly spent resting and getting a few last minute things together. Once Jeff got home from work, my nerves really kicked in. We decided to head out for one last meal since rumor has it you can't eat anything while in labor. Unfortunately, there isn't an IHOP (I really could have gone for some pancakes) or a denny's (again, I had pancakes on the brain) where we live, so we hit up AppleBees at 10 Tuesday night. I really didn't think I would be able to stomach anything (besides those pancakes of course) but I really surprised myself and shared a sampler appetizer with Jeff, AND got a fried chicken salad with a side of loaded mashed potatoes. (I was trying to store up for the big event) It was so nice to unwind a bit before actually heading to the hospital. 

Once we got there, we started unloading the car...seriously looked like we were moving in for good. 

Once we got there, the process started immediately. They had me use a bath scrub just in case a C section was in our future and started the IV. I must admit that I am a BIG baby when it comes to getting stuck with a needle. It is strange because I can take a shot with the best of the them, but try and draw blood or stick an IV in and I literally get all light headed. As they were putting the IV in, I remember thinking "seriously, I am about to pass out, and the labor part hasn't even started yet" Mind you, at this point, Jeff is literally fanning me down and has a cold compress on my forehead. Looking back, it is kinda funny, but that IV was so not funny then. I barely slept that night because of said IV. 

Once all of that was settled down, they started the cytotec tablets that would soften my cervix. (we ended up doing two rounds of this) They woke me up around 5:30 to start the second round and I was awake for the rest of the day. At this point I was having mild contractions and the nurses seemed really pleased with my progress. Around 10, they came in to check on us and discovered that Lyla was very, very low and I was dilated to 4cm. I am certain that if they had waited another few minutes, my water would have broke on it's own, but they decided to go ahead and break it themselves (such a weird feeling by the way!) and start the pitocin. At this point, my doctor informed me that it was about to get serious and that if I wanted an epidural, now was the time to let them know because it takes a little while to get it. (umm...yes, I want one!) From that point on, she was not kidding when she said things were about to speed up. Contractions hit pretty hard almost right away. I was so thankful for my amazing husband who stood by my side the ENTIRE time and let me squeeze the ever loving stew out of his hands. (He had to switch them up a bit) My mom was also in the delivery room with us and encouraged me the whole way through it. I must document that I did not say one mean thing to Jeff through the whole thing. (I asked him if he was disappointed because I think he thought he'd be reliving the movie "The Exorcist". There was one point, however, that he kept telling me, "You're doing okay, you're doing okay" and I asked him to please tell me I was doing great or wonderful, terrific even...okay wasn't working for me.) But that's about as violent as it got. 

The contractions stayed strong for about an hour an a half and they ended up taking me off the pitocin because I was contracting on my own- Such an answered prayer because I really wanted my body to be able to respond to this induction as naturally as possible. Finally,  the epidural arrived. I was so relieved to see the anesthesiologist. The actual epidural wasn't bad, other than the fact that I was still having horrible contractions while they were trying to do the procedure. Once all was said and done though, I was feeling good....

...So good that my dad and Elaine got to come in and see us before the real show started. 

I quickly dilated to 7 cm and around 3pm the nurse came in and told us that I was "complete" and it was time to start pushing. It took a little while for the doctor to get there because she was delivering another baby at a neighboring hospital. They put me on oxygen in the meantime and Jeff alerted our parents-who had literally spent the entire night in the waiting room sleeping on the floor and in the chairs. (They are such troopers)

Once the doctor arrived, they geared up and the pushing began. I did not realize how hard this actually was. The movies make it seem so glamorous and of course, I was thinking since I had the epidural that the hard part was over. This pushing business was no easy task and I truly admire those who stay in this stage for hours. I pushed for about 30 mins before Lyla made her grand entrance into this world at 4:11pm on July 6, 2011. 

**(hats off to my mom for taking these priceless pictures for us) 

Lyla Rae Graves weighed 6 lbs 10 oz and is absolutely perfect. I could not believe how beautiful and alert she was. People are so right when they tell you that you forget all of the pregnancy/labor pains the moment you hold that precious gift from God. 

We are so in love...

...and are looking forward to starting life as a family of 4 now (you know we have to include Diggs):)