The Larson Family: Baby #3 has arrived!

Baby #3 was due Wednesday, December 16th but followed after her siblings and made me wait a few extra days. It was starting to feel like an eternity but once my labor finally started things moved quite fast.

M had been invited to a birthday party for one of his Kindergarten classmates on Saturday so he was in luck as I was still pregnant and he would be able to attend. Erik took him to the party at Jungle Jims and I arrived with J after having lunch with a friend. The plan was to swap so Erik could head home to watch the BYU vs Utah football game, but about 10 minutes after I arrived we were watching the kids and suddenly I turned to Erik and said “I’m pretty sure my water just broke!” Since I was wearing black pants it wasn’t obvious to anyone else what had just happened but I told Erik that I was going to head home and that he could stay and let the kids play for a bit.

I called the hospital and talked to the midwife who gave me the option of waiting 24 hrs or coming in right away. I decided to try and take a nap and wait for contractions to start. Well it didn’t seem like things were really progressing that afternoon. I would have contractions maybe once an hour but nothing out of the ordinary and I was starting to feel impatient. After dinner I was definitely feeling cranky and annoyed that things weren't picking up. We took the kids on a walk around the block that evening and dropped off a Christmas card at our neighbors. Then we got them bathed and in bed about 7:30. I was starting to have contractions a little more frequently but still not very predictable. I laid down next to J for a bit and waited some more hoping that things were indeed picking up.

After a bit I went into my bedroom and wrote a few quick emails for work. Erik and I checked the bag I had packed earlier to make sure we had what we wanted. At 9 I decided to take a shower and just like that I started having contractions every 5 minutes. I asked Erik to call his sister Lisa and see if she would be willing to come spend the night with the kids if needed. A very short time later I suggested that she come over at 10. He thought that seemed a little early but of course he wasn’t about to argue. Erik called the doula as well and she arrived about 10:15.

With Lisa and Angie both arriving my contractions slowed considerably and I sat on the couch having a pretty normal conversation. Lisa went downstairs to sleep and I decided I’d try and lie down as well. I remember thinking… "well this is a little awkward. Angie is probably wondering why I asked her to come over at this point." But soon after that things picked right back up and started feeling more intense like actual labor. It all felt very manageable but I brought up when we should time leaving for the hospital. It felt a little premature when I brought it up but I also felt like I wanted to allow plenty of time to get to the U of U hospital and also to make sure that the tub was ready as I was hoping to do a waterbirth. I wanted to avoid driving during the really intense portion of labor as well.

I woke Lisa up about 11:45 who seemed surprised that we were leaving already. Once we got in the car I felt like Erik was going too slow and I urged him to pick up the pace. En route I started to have some very strong contractions and was feeling some pressure as well. I was nervous and starting to wonder if I was going to have a baby in the car! I felt like I might throw up and started to feel a little panicked that we might not make it in time. Frankly, after things had gone so slow all day I was surprised that suddenly they were going so fast! Angie rode in the car with us and called the midwife to let her know that things were progressing quickly. We drove into the parking garage and parked as close as possible to the entrance. I had another strong contraction and Erik kneeled down for me to lean against him during it. We rushed to the elevator and I felt like I was walking down a tunnel. Everything in the periphery was blurry and I was just focussed on making it to labor and delivery as fast as possible!

We walked straight to the room and almost immediately a nurse came in and said I needed to go to OB emergency first. I told her I didn’t think I could make it and that I was already feeling pressure. Then I threw up in the sink and I guess that was sign enough because they let me be. The midwives came in and I got in the tub. The water felt soothing and mentally it was a relief to get in but the pressure was getting intense and I could tell I was almost to the pushing stage. I remember thinking that things were probably close but also a little worried how long this stage would last because it was challenging and I felt a little panicked about being able to make it through it.

The midwives asked me to get out of the tub because the baby's heart rate was quite low. I got out and went to the bed. A few minutes later I had a baby in my arms and was so happy! They had put her right on my chest where I held her for about 10 minutes before turning her around and us finding out that we had another baby girl.

She was born sunny side up with the cord around her neck which explained the low heart rate but was doing very well. The midwife said it was probably a good thing she was sunny side up as it generally takes a little longer and I had cut things pretty close making it to the hospital in time.

Little M weighed in a 6 lbs 6 oz and 20 inches making her our smallest babe but she is growing and doing great!