Hayward, Party of THREE! - Hayley's Birth Story

Happy due date Hayley! Here's your story.... It all began at 5:00 AM on July 11. I had been having some pretty gnarly back pain all day Friday, and I wasn't going to get my hopes up too much that it was a sign I'd go into labor because I'd been having false labor for over a week, but it was all day long instead of just sporadic. So I woke up to use the bathroom and felt my first contraction. I wasn't entirely sure it was a real one until I got another and another. I woke Dan up just to let him know what was going on and I started timing them. At first they were about 5 minutes apart and stayed that way for a while but then they got slower and then they went back to 5 minutes apart. This lasted all morning and into the afternoon. We didn't want to head to the hospital until they got to at least 3 minutes apart because it was close and I wanted to labor at home as long as possible. So Dan took a test in the morning (all the time I was praying that my water didn't break or my contractions didn't speed up because I didn't want him gone when that happened). When he got back we played some UNO, and watched White Collar on Netflix until I started getting antsy around 1:00. My contractions were still about 5 minutes apart but I wanted to go to the hospital anyway, I just had the feeling.
We arrived at Ogden Regional around 1:30ish and got admitted around 2:00. I was dilated to a 7 and 100% effaced, thank goodness. The next 8 hours kind of all just ran together. My Mom, Dad, and Nikkole came up and were there most of my laboring time. We got to our room and I continued to labor in all sorts of different positions and places: on a birthing ball, in the amazing bath tub in our room, in my bed, standing up, you name it I probably tried it to try and get somewhat comfortable. I have to thank the amazing nurses who helped throughout the process, they really know their stuff. They suggested different positions and ways to relieve the pain a little and they went above and beyond to make me comfortable. I heard that some women get cold when they are laboring and for me it was opposite. The nurses had to bring me a fan because during my contractions I would get hot flashes, it was weird. Around 6:00 I was only at a 9 and the nurse suggested having my water broken to possibly speed things up. Finally around 7:30 the doc came in and broke it. She was at a -1 station and just breaking my water put her at a +2. The contractions got a lot more intense after that and then my body wanted to start pushing. In my Hypnobirthing class we learned to just breathe the baby down and out but I have no idea how women can do that because my body was saying push. There were moments when I couldn't stop myself from pushing. My doctor was out of town so the on call doctor, Dr. Bierer, was the one who ended up being there. He came in and we began the pushing game. I felt like it took forever to push her out but it was only about 20 minutes. Dan got to receive her, Dr. Bierer even gave him his protective gown, so my Mom and Nikkole were up by my head to continue giving me support there, which I will be forever grateful for! Once Hayley was out Dan immediately put her up on my stomach, and eventually remembered to check her gender ha. I was beyond relieved it was all over. Hayley Hayward was born after 16 hours of labor at 9:00 PM and she weighed 8 pounds 1 ounce and was 20 inches long. I cannot explain what it was like to finally meet this little baby, I get teary eyed just thinking about that moment. It was the hardest thing I've ever done, but it was all worth it.

Waiting to see if we get to stay or not.

Just breathing through a contraction.

Dan helping relieve some of my pain.

I could not have done this without him!

Dan ready to receive Hayley.

Beyond happy my baby is here.

Love at first sight!

Hayley Hayward.

Unfortunately I did tear, but I wasn't surprised because of how big Hayley bug is. It was a second degree and Dr. Bierer said that was normal for first time Moms. I could feel him stitching me up a little bit, the topical anesthetic hadn't kicked in yet or something, and that was almost worse than giving birth. The nurses got Hayley all cleaned up and then I got to hold her and really meet her. I am so in love with my little girl. After I had my time we had all the family come in and meet her. It was nice of them to all come to Ogden and I'm grateful she has such a great family surrounding her. While her family was meeting her I was in layers of blankets because I had so much adrenaline that I was shaking pretty hardcore. The nurses were seriously so good to me. The only thing I did not like that they had to do was push on my abdomen about every hour or so to get the blood out and make sure my insides were shrinking back down. That was painful for the first day and then didn't hurt so much the next.
We stayed in the hospital until Monday afternoon and then brought our little girl home! It has been an adjustment for sure but one I wouldn't miss out on for anything. And, like always, I have to thank my amazing husband for being my rock through all of this! There were moments where I really didn't think I could keep going and wanted to give up but he would give me pep talks and help me in any way he could to make me more comfortable. I am so grateful he was there by my side and that we could bring our daughter into this world together.

I love my beautiful family!

My heart is so full.