I had a pretty good idea of how I imagined Penny’s birth would go: I was to labor slowly at home and arrive at the hospital 10cm dilated and deliver without an epidural, just like I did with Betty. Well..that’s not exactly how things panned out.
The 3rd week of December was when I was sure our little one would arrive. Each day that she didn’t — drove me absolutely up the wall! I was already 5cm dilated but wasn’t in active labor so my doctor made the decision to have me induced that Friday.
December 20th, Friday morning:
9:00am Eddie and I made our way to the hospital for me to get induced. I remembered that with Haddon, it took over 4 hours for me to go from 5cm to 10cm so I was preparing to be in labor and pain for a good few hours. When we met our nurse, the first thing I told her was my birth plan.
My Hippie-ish Birth Plan for Penny
- No epidural (I feel present during delivery and recovery for me is way easier and quicker)
- Delayed cord clamp (More blood from the placenta to the baby)
- Keep my placenta (Well, I ended up not keeping my placenta this time around, story for another day ;))
- No immediate bathing of the baby (Give baby all the extra protection and nutrients)
11:00am The nurse started me on pitocin (the meds that force your contractions) and gave me a membrane swipe (which I totally forgot HURTS) to jumpstart labor. She also told me about this really cool option where I could have bluetooth enabled stickers on my belly to monitor the baby’s heartbeat which meant I didn’t have to be tied down to my hospital bed — HALLELUJAH! (But really, technology can be so great!)
12:50pm At this point my contractions were so minor and bearable that Eddie and I decided to start watching The Witcher, aka I was bored and needed something to do. About 5 minutes after I turned on my laptop, my OB came in and told me she wanted to pop my water! I was a little shocked since I was just about to start watching Netflix and veg for a few hours but nope — she had my pitocin levels turned up and said “let’s get this baby out” before she left the room. Basically…we never ended up watching The Witcher.
1:10pm I started feeling painful contractions. They were bearable but I was alarmed at how quickly the pain level went up.
1:20pm Contractions were SUPER painful. I was barely able to talk or walk and I started to really freak out.
1:25pm Somehow at this point Eddie and the nurse got me onto my knees on the labor bed. When I started to tell everyone that I REALLY needed to push and that the baby was going to come (like now), they told me I was turned the wrong way. I flipped over onto my back and started to….SCREAM. My screams were so ridiculous that my OB heard me from outside my room and came running in from across the hall to barely deliver the baby.
1:42pm My sweet Penelope Eunice Park was born. 🙂
(You guys, may I pause briefly and just express HOW PAINFUL labor was?! I mean, so much excruciating pain!! I can vividly remember feeling every limb exiting my body.)
1:47pm After I gave birth to Penny I was hoping my contractions would subside but NOPE, the contractions kept coming and 7 minutes after I delivered Penny, I delivered my placenta. Yup! People don’t tell you that you have to deliver your placenta after your baby, and that yes, it hurts. Even after 2 babies, I totally forgot about this. At this point, my nurse told me that from the time they popped my water to Penny arriving was 47 minutes! Fastest and craziest delivery of all 3 of my kids.
Finally in the midst of trying to catch my breath, I heard the sweetest little newborn cry. The nurse brought little Penny to me and I fell IN LOVE! Like, IN LOVE PEOPLE! She was finally here — all 7 pounds 4 ounces of her!
And that’s how our sweet Penny girl came to join us. So many people ask me all the time -would I do it again without an epidural? My answer is a huge YES! There is something really special about being SO present and FEELING every moment of bringing a baby into this world, pain and all.
As I reminisce through laboring and bringing Penny into this world, I am reminded of how strong women are, and specifically how strong I am! I am proud to be a woman and proud to be a mother.
<3
I wanted to end with sharing that it’s been a little over 2 weeks since Penny has been born and I am absolutely smitten with her. There is something so special about this newborn season (maybe cause she’s my last) and I’m enjoying and savoring every single second.
My dear friend and fellow mama Sunny Kim came over to capture this special time for me and my heart wants to burst just looking at these photos. Newborn sweetness captured. Snuggles with older siblings captured. <3 (Thank you Sunny, I will cherish these photos forever!)