Zoe Jane

Our sweet baby girl is here! She was born Tuesday September 6th, 2011. For me, going into labor on my own instead of being induced (like I was with Zander) was SO MUCH BETTER. I started having contractions on Sunday night around 10pm while I was working. Luckily, they weren’t painful…I could just feel the tightening. Around 3am I decided to go get checked in labor and delivery because I was GBS positive this time and needed antibiotics prior to delivery. I was afraid that I was going to wait too long and that there wouldn’t be enough time to get the antibiotics before she was born. The midwife got me all hooked up to the monitors and I was definitely contracting about every 5 minutes. She checked me and I was only dilated to 1cm. She had me go walk around the hospital for a while and then checked me 2 hours later. I hadn’t dilated more and my contractions had pretty much stopped, so she sent me home. I was feeling a little bummed because I had completely worn myself out by being up all night and doing all of the walking and knew that I still had to go home and watch Zander all day. Adam left for work like usual but came home an hour later. He hadn’t realized that his work was closed for Labor Day. I was so happy that he was home and that I would be able to get some rest. Unfortunately, I had trouble sleeping for very long so I decided to get up and do some laundry. Our washer and dryer is in the basement and I was carrying our comforter downstairs to be washed. My feet somehow slipped out from under me, and I fell down the last 6 or 7 stairs. I hit my tailbone first and then slid the rest of the way down on my back. I landed at the bottom on the concrete floor. I was in such shock all I could do was sit there. Luckily, Adam heard me fall and came running. If he hadn’t been home to help me up, I don’t think I would have been able to get off of the floor on my own. It was awful! I drank some juice and lied down on the couch afterwards because I wanted to be sure that I felt Zoe moving enough to know that she was alright. She was moving plenty so I decided not to go and get checked out in labor and delivery. I took some Tylenol, put an icepack on my tailbone and tried not to wonder how in the world I was going to have a baby in the next few days. I really hurt, bad! When I went to bed that night, I realized that I hadn’t felt Zoe move in at least an hour. I drank some more juice and waited to feel her move. But, there was nothing. Adam and I talked to her and I changed positions but still nothing. By this point I was feeling panicked and was regretting that I hadn’t gone into Labor and Delivery to be checked out after I fell. We called someone to stay at the house with Zander, while he slept, and we hurried to labor and delivery. It was about 10pm by this time and I started having frequent contractions just as I had the night before. As soon as they hooked me up to the monitor, Zoe started moving. Little stinker! I was just so relieved that she was alright! Since I had fallen and was now contracting, the hospital wanted me to stay overnight to be monitored. My contractions stopped around 3 or 4am, and I was able to get a little sleep. I felt like I would for sure be getting released that morning, so I sent Adam home around 6:30 so he could get ready and go to work. Around 8am I started having contractions again, and this time they were somewhat painful. I was in complete denial that I wouldn’t be going home again until we were discharged from the hospital with our new baby. I hadn’t finished packing my bag yet. I called Adam around 9 to tell him that the contractions were really starting to hurt and that I needed him there for support. He left work and stopped at home to get my bag and the rest of my things. In the meantime, the midwife came to check me. I was dilated to a three and as she was checking me, my water broke. My nurse started my IV and antibiotics and moved me to a different room. There wasn’t a room with a bathtub available at that time, but they said that as soon as one became available, they would move me. This was great because I was planning on having an unmedicated labor and delivery and thought the tub would help keep me more comfortable. I was hoping that the midwife that I had been seeing throughout my pregnancy would be able to deliver me, but I knew that Tuesday was her only day in the clinic seeing patients, and that she wouldn’t be available. She had been out of town for the weekend and so I had been telling myself that Zoe just had to wait to come until Wednesday. Silly me…I should have known that Zoe had her own agenda. We went over our plans for the labor and delivery with our nurse and then with the midwife that would be delivering me. Her name was Celeste and she was great! During this time, I was so focused on communicating my wishes for the labor and delivery, that I didn’t really feel that uncomfortable even though I was having contractions every 2 minutes. Earlier that morning, I had been given a clear liquid diet for breakfast. I was feeling really worried about not having had anything but a glass of apple juice in over 16 hours. I had no idea how I was going to have enough energy to deliver a baby if I hadn’t had anything to eat. The midwife totally read my mind and when she found out what I had had to eat, she ordered me a real breakfast. Luckily, my IV antibiotics finished just as the contractions started to get really painful. The nurse was able to saline lock my IV and everything was looking great with Zoe, so they disconnected the monitors so that I could get up and move around. The midwife left to check on some other patients and let me labor for a while. Things got pretty intense very quickly. I remember saying to Adam that I thought a natural labor was supposed to be less painful than labor with pitocin. I was really hurting. I kept having to go to the bathroom as well. I would hurry into the bathroom after a contraction was over and just finish using the bathroom as the next contraction was starting. This went on for about 10 minutes, and I kept thinking about how awful it would be to deliver a baby accidentally in the toilet. I called my nurse and she and my midwife came. I explained to them what was happening and the midwife tried to calm my nerves about the likelihood of delivering a baby in the toilet. She said that she could check me to give me some reassurance as to how far along I was in the labor process. To our surprise, I was dilated to 9 1/2cm. They quickly got the room ready for delivery. I couldn’t believe how fast everything was happening and that Zoe would be there soon. I’m not exactly sure how long I pushed for, but it was definitely no more than 30 minutes, even though at the time it seemed like an eternity. I remember thinking that I just wanted her to be delivered and that I never wanted to do this again. At 12:55pm, after not even 5 hours of labor, Zoe Jane Jensen, was born. It was the perfect delivery. It was so completely opposite of how everything went when Zander was born. It was just the midwife, the nurse, and Adam and I. I never once felt scared or worried or that everything was out of my control. I never once felt like the pain was too much or that I wouldn’t be able to do it. The midwife was very capable and I trusted her completely even though I had just met her. It was exactly the type of labor and delivery that I needed to get over the disappointment I felt after my first labor and delivery. I had such an incredible feeling of accomplishment afterwards. Zoe was beautiful and so alert. We are so grateful to have this sweet little girl in our family. She is an angel and we love her very much.