Henley's Birth Story

It's been one month (and 3 days) since little Henley Reese came into our lives. I've gotta say, life is good right now. Yes, it's completely crazy & sometimes I dunno how I'm awake at all. For the most part though, it is such a happy place to be in.

Right now, my MIL has Davis with her, and Henley is sleeping away, so I have a free hour to write about her birth story...so I better take advantage of it before I completely forget all the details! :)

With Davis, I was a week late & had to get induced. I wanted SO BADLY to try and wait it out this time and not get induced. But I was in soooo much pain. I couldn't stand the thought of waiting it out another week or two. So, we made the hard decision to get induced again. It actually turned out to be a good thing. We could at least plan a little, and have a place for D while we were at the hospital, etc. It was nice for my OCD mind to have a little control over the situation.

So, on November 14, we went in to the hospital at 7 am and got the ball rolling. I was dilated to a 2 1/2 by the time we got there (I had been at a 2 for the last month). At about 8 am, I got started on the Pitocin and we were off! I had steady pains for about three hours, then they started getting really intense. The nurse asked me if I wanted to get an epidural...but I could tell she was not a fan of epidurals...she was more for the "natural approach." I wasn't really sure WHAT I wanted to do this time. Last time, with Davis, the epidural only ended up working on my left side and by the time I was pushing..AND the doc had to do poke me THREE times before it actually took. I could feel EVERYthing anyway. Needless to say, I wasn't the biggest fan of epidurals.

After much back & forth about if I was going to get an epidural or not, we decided to get one. I really wanted to try and hack it out as long as I could (call me crazy), but in the end...the pain was too intense for me. This time, it worked like a charm!! YAY! I was really numb, but I was just so dang happy that it had worked this time AND that the pain had gone away that I couldn't care less how numb I was!

I was still progressing pretty slow, so by about 4pm the nurse checked me again. I was at a 4. The babies heartbeat had been going up & down and so I had to keep switching sides and moving as much as possible to try and regulate her heartbeat. The nurse said the the umbilical cord was probably wrapped around her somehow. Either her leg or arm or head. Which FREAKED me out. I just wanted her HERE already.

At about 5pm, my awesome doctor came in again to check me. He said I was at an 8! I was like say whaaat? That was fast!!! He said, "Yup..I'm gonna say this baby will be here by 6:00." And he was right.

At about 6:00, I was at a 10 and ready to push. I pushed once, and the doc said, "Ohhh she has dark hair!" I was like, WHAT?? You can see her head already!? And she has dark hair!!?? Second push, third push, and SHE WAS HERE!!!!!!! Wam bam. Totally easy. Haaaaa. It is true what they say about the second baby...it was much easier than the first one! But it was still childbirth...so don't get it twisted. :)

The cord WAS wrapped around pretty much her whole body, and some of it was around her head. She had her little hand up by her neck holding onto the cord though, so it wasn't wrapped tightly - thank goodness!! Tyler cut the cord, like he did with D, and his face was priceless. He was my champion the entire time...I couldn't have asked for a better partner in there!

She did come out with dark brown hair, which I was completely shocked about!! I thought if she had hair (Davis was a little baldy), it would be blonde. We did NOT expect brown! Plus, she was so tiny (D was 8lbs, 3oz) at 6lbs, 10oz! No one in our families have babies under 8 pounds! So..it was a double shocker.

She was healthy, crying, and beautiful. We couldn't have asked for a better birth story. I held her, and just stared at her. I couldn't believe I had my little girl - finally! Ty cried as he looked over at us - which he only does at births I swear - and so of course I cried. It was a beautiful, perfect moment. Just me, Ty and baby Henley.

Davis got to come and see her later that night, but he wasn't really that interested in her. Then, she "gave him" a new car. He got way excited, and then petted her head & gave her a kiss. I died from the cuteness. I had waited for that moment for 9 months.

THE END .... and the beginning! :)

Oh! A lot of you have asked me where we got the name Henley from. It was after a movie we saw, "Now You See Me." So random, I know. But Isla Fisher's character was named Henley in that movie, and we both loved it!!!
Pin It