Definitely Unexpected

It's now April 4, 2011. Layla was born March 25, 2011 at 2:49 pm.

I'm writing the specifics mainly because I want to remember all the details about her birthday years down the road.

I had a doctor's appointment Thursday morning the 24th bright and early at 7:45 am. They wanted to do a biophysical sonogram to check on Layla and all her movements. I had heard a lot of people say that during the last weeks or so, the movement decreases mainly due to lack of room for the baby, but Layla definitely hadn't ran out of room. If anything, she was more active that last week. At the sonogram, however, she was as still as could be. The woman doing the sonogram was quite excited that she got to be part of one of Layla's first "milestones" because she "failed" the test. Due to lack of movement, they hooked me up to the NST (non-stress test) to check her heart rate, movement, and look for contractions. (still NO contractions at this point)

The NST apparently didn't satisfy Dr. Paicurich, so she decided we would induce that evening. This was one of the things I was really hoping to avoid just because of the increased risk of having a c-section and even the chance that it would likely increase my desire to get pain meds. I was really hoping to do all this naturally, and I knew being induced decreased those chances. Dr. Paicurich had been extremely understanding and helpful up to this point. They normally don't allow women with gestational diabetes to go past their due date, but because Dr. P knew what I wanted and up until the 24th, there was no medical reason why we should induce, she just let me keep going hoping for labor to happen naturally.

My grandparents had been in Stephenville camping out for at least a week simply because they didn't want me to be by myself if I did go into labor, which was a relief. I immediately texted my mom and told her we had to be at the hospital at 4. She was at work in Houston, so she had to find someone to take her place. Zach immediately left and headed to Stephenville, and even with getting a flat tire on the way, he made it in time to eat some Mexican food and help me get the apartment in order. :-)

We got to the hospital around 4:00 (okay, we were ten minutes late because we forgot about the clothes in the dryer at the laundrymat and had to go back). By the time we got checked in and everything, it was probably around 5:30 pm. The nurses started the cervadil and then Dr. P came in around 6:00 to insert the balloon. Dr. P did both the cervadil and the balloon because she was hoping those two together would cause me to go into labor and we could avoid the pitocin. (didn't work) When I went to bed, I had dilated to a 3.

The next morning, the nurses came in around 5:30 am to start the pitocin. I honestly, do not remember a great deal about the details of this day. Zach knows more about it than I do. People would ask me if I was having a contraction, and until they got just really bad, I honestly had no clue if they were contractions or not. Mom gave Zach and I a brief lesson on what a contraction is. lol. Once I started feeling the contractions, they were almost completely in my back. I'm pretty sure I could have handled them otherwise. Zach was amazing throughout the whole thing. He could tell as soon as a contraction was starting and would immediately start massaging my back, which helped a great deal. I want to say I was dilated to a 4 when I started contemplating pain medication. I definitely did not want an epi, so mom suggested Stadol. It basically is supposed to take the "edge" off. I decided to "give in" and let them hook me up. It was only in my system for about two hours, which was honestly perfect timing. It COMPLETELY knocked me out. I would wake up for a contraction and then fall back asleep. I think they started the stadol around 11 or so. By the time I was a bit coherent, the nurse checked me and I was at a nine. I told Zach to get mom (up until this point, I had only planned on Zach being in with me, but I guess I had a sudden change of mind.) I want to say Dr. Paicurich got there maybe 20 minutes before Layla was born.

I remember being in the middle of pushing and thinking to myself "I can't do this!" Then I heard Zach whisper in my ear that he could see her. Oh my goodness. If he hadn't said that, it probably would have been a bit longer, but knowing she was so close gave me enough "want to". The most beautiful thing I have ever done. She is perfect in every way, and I definitely can't imagine her any prettier or happier.

Layla Ann Leonard was born at 2:49 pm on March 25th, 2011.
Weight: 7 lbs 8.3 oz.
Length: 19 inches