Steph+Lars=STARS: Liv Joy Barlow Birthing Story

We had another baby. Here is how it happened...

At 36 weeks I was dilated to a 2

At 37 weeks I was dilated to a 3

At 38 weeks I was dilated to a 4

SOOOOOO ready to have this baby!!!!

Here I am Christmas Day!

This is me on my last Sunday preggers. Totally dropping it like its hot!!

This is me on my last day of work. 12/30

I even did a dance video at work to get things moving.

So as you can see from the pics I progressed pretty well. Everyday I kept thinking today is the day or WOW things are moving a long much further than when I was pregnant with Roan. I had always felt that things would go fast with Liv because you know what they say, "Its your second kid so you won't have to push for that long...blah blah blah." It made me nervous because I was very worried about getting Roan to a sitter and making it to the hospital on time. I had contractions from 36 weeks up until the end. However the contractions never got going long enough to warrant a hospital trip. At 37 weeks my doctor suggested we set an induction date. I was hesitant because I wanted things to progress naturally without intervention but after weighing the pros and cons with Lars and our doctor we felt good about scheduling and induction date. Our hospital has a rule that you cannot be induced until 39 weeks (unless there is an emergency). So we set the date at exactly 39 weeks, 12-31-15.

Lars and I were pleased that there was a possibility to have our baby before the end of the year so we could have a tax break and hopefully not pay as much because we had met our deductible too. No pressure right...wrong. I felt SO much pressure from myself, from a few family members, and from random people with their silly unsolicited comments and opinions. Some of the things people told me to do were hilarious and/or dangerous. I tried to laugh it off but it was difficult and really annoying to deal with and really made me stressed out, which didn't help. I wanted so bad to not bring a baby into my life while feeling stressed. I wanted everything to be happy and work out and yet I had no control over it. And I knew it but couldn't shake it. After a few pep talks with some close friends, lots of tears, a pep talk with Lars, and then finally a priesthood blessing I was able to relax and let things go and just enjoy the final days of being pregnant. I was still hoping things would just take off on its own but even if it didn't it was nice to know that there was an end date.

We thought she was going to come on Christmas Eve but like always before, the contractions would settle down. We called Lars' Mom and asked her to stay with us the last week just in case things picked up again. Each day the contractions told us a different story but would end the same with me still being pregnant. Finally the induction date came. We had to wait for the hospital to call us because all the other women going into labor naturally had priority. ;) I called them twice to see if they had any openings because I couldn't sleep and had been up since 5 am. I was also having some contractions and discomfort in my lower right hip and abs. (come to find out later that was Liv dropping the rest of the way) At last they called me at 9:30 am and we were on our way to the hospital after a family prayer and hugs and kisses with Roan.

We got to the hospital around 10 am and skipped triage and went straight to the delivery room. They got me all hooked up and then broke my water at 11 am and things progressed pretty well. They said if things slowed down then they would put me on pitocin, which we never did. I was already at a 4.5-5. According to their machine I was having some hardcore contractions but I am apparently immune to them or built up a tolerance from the pain. (maybe I could have come to the hospital sooner on my own had I clued into the pain more LOL) Then the contractions got super strong within an hour. I mean like really strong. I asked for an epidural but the anesthesia guy was in doing a c-section. They said he would be an hour. Sure I could wait. I even joked with the nurse about how late was too late for an epidural. LOL! That hour turned into an hour and 20 minutes and counting. They checked me and I was at a 6. They offered me something to take off the edge but I was nervous to take anything that would make me groggy. I wanted my head in the game and didn't want to slow my progress (which I realize an epidural probably would have done).

So I got up and walked around, went potty, moaned through some hard painful contractions while hanging onto Lars so I wouldn't fall. Then 10 minutes later asked for something for the pain, no I begged for something, it was crazy painful. They got me back in bed and gave me fentanyl and a minute later I felt like I had to poop so they checked me and I was at a 10 and ready to push. Things started to move really fast. The nurse called in extra nurses and the back up doctor (my doctor was on call and on his way) They barely got doctors and nurses in there. My mouth was dry and I asked Lars to get me some ice. He was hesitant to leave but wanted to make sure I was comfortable.

I was curled up on my right side because I wanted to hold the rail through the pain. My head was a little dizzy from the pain med. I thought I heard the nurse ask me to hold my own legs up (which I don't think they did) I kept saying "I can't hold my legs up alone." When Lars quickly returned I had one nurse holding my left hand, another nurse holding my right leg while my left leg was propped up on the bed, my right hand was glued to the bed railing, and Lars started stroking my head while giving me ice chips. Then I started to push because I couldn't help it anymore. They told me to just push if that is what I felt. I was so scared it was going to be an hour of pushing with all that pain but the nurses kept telling me I was almost there and that I had great control of my pushes and to scream if I needed to. I remember just trying to breath and grunting. The nurses were super nice and encouraging and kept telling me to push through the ring of fire. 3-4 pushes later I threw my head back to rest and they told me to look down as they put sweet baby Liv on my chest. She was purple like a grape and grunting quietly. My normal doctor got there just in time to get the placenta out and stitch me up. Which was a super easy task because I had no tearing at all. I held my daughter on my chest and then I was up and walking within 30 minutes. It was so amazing and empowering!!!! The nurses were so encouraging and really helped me believe in myself. I can't believe how fast it went and how great I felt afterwards. It was awesome to be able to go natural even though it was unplanned. I got to experience both ways.

She was born on 12-31-15 at 1;31 pm. 7lbs 6 oz and 19.5 inches long. Lots of blonde hair with the most plush lips and long eyelashes.

The recovery has been amazing. Everywhere I went in the hospital people kept telling me I looked great. I felt pretty good. I still had that feeling like my guts were ran over by a train but my tailbone was intact. The easy recovery has been a huge blessing because I have needed my strength to manage Roan as well as Liv on such little sleep. We love that she is finally here. She is beautiful and perfect and a really good and easy baby, like Roan was. Getting into a new routine with two kids has been rough. I do have the baby blues but at least this time I am more prepared to deal with them. I cry at least once a day and have learned the importance to try and get some me time, even if it is only for 10 minutes. I try and shower in the morning and get one afternoon nap in and I haven't been afraid of asking for help, even when I don't want to I make myself ask. I have also learned that we are just doing things we need to do to survive. I have been fixing to journal this for weeks while it is fresh but it is hard to do anything because I am either nursing Liv or caring for Roan/Lars or sleeping or eating (oh man food taste amazing after delivering a baby). So all the cute baby announcements will not happen because at the end of the day just trying to live well is gonna have to do. (Side note, we did take newborn pics and they are super adorable. I will share them on here and probably FB and maybe print a few for her baby book but all the other fluff just doesn't matter anymore because there is no time and I wanna soak in this phase for now).

So there ya go. Now enjoy some Hospital pics