Ryan-Kate's Birth Story

by - Friday, December 02, 2016


In honor of it being RK's Birthday month, I thought I would share her birth story. She was born December 26th, the day immediately after Christmas. Which means that she will forever be living in the shadow of Christmas.
Thanks a lot Jesus. 
Just kidding.
Several days before Ryan-Kate was born, I had a doctors appointment to see how my final few weeks of pregnancy were going. I was about 38 weeks pregnant with a tired body, swollen feet and hands, and (im)patiently waiting to meet our baby girl. When I went in for my checkup, the doctor checked my blood pressure which seemed higher than average. I was told to make another appointment for a few days after to make sure I wasn't going to have to be induced because of my stress levels. The next couple of days my blood pressure went back to normal.
Close call.
Within those days, I felt normal. I noticed my ribs had more room like she dropped, which doctors confirmed at my appointment. Other than that, I had no idea when she was going to come because I was still 38 weeks pregnant, with two more weeks to go until my due date. We had family in town because I couldn't travel for obvious reasons. We celebrated our Christmas Eve by opening presents and then attending a Christmas Eve service at church. Just very normal stuff.
It was around 8pm, everyone was eating dinner, and I decided not to eat because I still felt full from lunch. I decided, instead, to put together a gift that Andrew got me. It was a poster with the quote "If you want to change the world, go home and love your family." By Mother Theresa. As I was getting the poster in a frame, I sort of accidentally peed myself. I remember thinking, this can't be my water breaking, right? I just didn't know what to look for- I felt so unprepared. I decided to empty my bladder and change my shorts, but then it happened again, and I had to change my shorts. Again. Yet still I was unsure if my water had just broke. It was nothing like the movies. 
Meanwhile everyone decided to watch a movie while I laid down upstairs. I told Andrew I was pretty sure my water had just broke but I didn't feel anything different- some just decided to wait for a bit. I didn't have much knowledge about bitting a life, but I did know that it could be a long process and we didn't want to excite them incase I was really in labor or it would be another 10 hours or something.
8:30pm- My contractions start. At this point I am pretty sure I am going into labor. They were so far apart, but I knew we would have to get to the doctor when they started getting closer. 
9:00pm- I start to panicky text my sister and mom letting them know what is going on. The contractions  are closer. I also start to google lamaze classes and breathing techniques. You see, I never even took a class. 
9:30pm- Contractions are about 15 minutes apart. I tell Andrew we need to go, and he asks me if he can finish his movie (a movie he had already seen several times, mind you). I say yes. I do my makeup and finish packing. 
10:15pm- The movie finishes an we get ready to leave. Andrew's parents decide to tag along. My contractions are now10 minutes apart. 
10:45pm- The nurse confirms that I am in labor and I get moved to another room. My contractions are so painful, it hurts to think. 
11:30pm- A nurse checks me again. RK wasn't all the dilated, so I was told walking around helps. I don't even make it to the door, my contractions were so bad. On top of that, I have already thrown up all over the floor. 
12am- My contractions are so bad that I think I might die. I tell Andrew several times that I don't think I can do it- that it is too painful. 
1am- I get the epidural. 
My epidermal finally kicks it, and I can start to feel the pain dull. At this point I was so exhausted that I start to fall asleep. In between dozing in and out my beautiful nurses check in on me and are so helpful and kind. My room feels peaceful and quiet. Andrew is sleeping on a couch next to me. Neither of us knew what was about to happen or how our little girl would change our lives. We were excited and scared and anxious and nervous and all sorts of emotions. 
6am-  a nurse checks me and lets me know that the baby is fully dilated. She told me to hang tight for one more hour to see if the baby drops any more.
7am- Nurses and doctors are in the room and it's time to start pushing. So I push and push, and until..
7:45am- They tell me to stop. I can hear her. She's on my chest, crying. I start to talk to her and she quiets down. She recognizes my voice. I'm overwhelmed and Andrew can't stop crying.
Ryan-Kate Justice Nemeth
5lbs 15oz
Born on December 26, 2015 at 7:45am

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