Rebecca Paige Smith
We really struggled with agreeing on a name again. We each had several we liked, but only a few were mutual: Katelyn, Hailey, Jacey (only if middle name was Elizabeth) & then Rebecca. I hadn't considered many classic names, this one being very common in the 90s, but when I heard the name at the temple, it felt right. I went there with two questions in mind, and felt that one had been answered. We are studying the Old Testament in Sunday School. I came home and told Mr Smith and he just said "I'll call her Becca". He then told me Lexi had told him the name Paige that same day, and I said the two sounded perfect together.
Details
7lbs 13oz
20 inches long
14 in head
lots dark brown hair
light eye lashes
Birth Story
Friday, 4/20 elective induction (4/22 due date) - I had GroupB strep for the first time. I had not planned an induction until this added stress, which meant I needed 4 hours on antibiotics before delivery. I was worried I'd have the baby too quickly. I stopped worrying about the baby size. She was measuring right on, and I felt good by the end of this pregnancy, even smaller (although same weight gain). I also liked having a full week between the girls' birthdays & being at home before family came, but I still questioned another induction. I had really hoped to avoid petocin this time around. I wanted a different experience.
7:30 AM check-in, 3 cm 60% -3 posterior position (no change since my doc apt 2 days ago)
10 AM antibiotics & low dose petocin. I cautioned the nurse about my veins & she got the best nurse for the job. Still painful, but they only stuck me once.
1 PM 4cm 70% effaced -2 mid position, contractions 2-3 min apart, but not challenging. Attempted water rupture - I cried, the resident was most likely touching my urethra and not able to break the water after 3 separate attempts.
1:45 PM water broke with glove method (not the hook) I tried bouncing on a birthing ball while finishing my latest quick read "Orphan Train"
4 PM convinced of epideral with planned increases of petocin - I cried half due to fear, half due to nerve pain. I was able to eat light snacks and move around until then.
5 PM still 4cm! -2 position! Starting to question the epideral & the induction; but the epideral ended up working this time! Due to the curve of my back, he placed the epideral about .5in to the left side. My left leg, therefore, took a lot longer to come out of the numbness.
6 PM chills, 18 petocin level, feeling more pressure, 2nd dose of antibiotics
6:30 PM only 5cm, but completely effaced, still posterior
7:00 PM maxed out petocin level of 20. Pelvic bone pain on right side. Severe chills, but still 5cm! At some point around this time it was noted that the baby had pooped after my water broke. So an additional nurse was there to handle potential complications.
7:15 They were trying to change shifts & she was updating the oncoming nurse. She made sure to tell her I go from 5-10cm quickly, but even I wasn't sure anymore. This was lasting all day! But my body was definitely in transition. My nurse predicted I'd have the baby within the hour.
7:20 After hitting the epideral drip, the nurse flipped me on my right side with a ball in between my legs. Pain gets worse. She applies counter pressure through the contractions and it eases the pain, but
7:25 they decide to flip me to my left side. I'm not feeling as much pressure, but all of a sudden I yell "I feel pressure now!: and...
7:30 I felt a sort of pop; the nurses hear crying and they lift up the blankets. She was born without the doctor in the room and without me pushing. It was a first for the nurses and a little confusing for us all.The end happened so quickly. 12 hours in delivery, 9 hours only going from 3-5cm on petocin. 5-10cm in 20 min. My longest delivery, but it's most likely due to the need for antibiotics; I wasn't maxed out on petocin until the end. She was very alert for several hours before the nurses finally let her sleep.
Of course I just couldn't stop crying because I was in shock. I kept asking if she was ok because they didn't pick up the baby right away. They called the doctor in and assured me everything was fine. We are very grateful she was! Their policy was skin to skin for a full hour, before weighing her or bathing her. She nursed after 30 min and with her shallow latch, the new nurse got hands on with trying to assist, but otherwise, she was a zero complications baby and we were able to leave after 24 hours.
However, since she was born after 7 PM, Mr Smith had to go fetch us a Cafe Rio dinner while they transitioned our room.
I was grateful to the nurse, Leisl (pictured right), who stayed with us the full 12 hours and as a certified doula, really tried to explain things without making me feel small. You don't remember everything each pregnancy. She did caution me against a natural delivery since I seem to suffer with pain vs become empowered by it, ha! I feel that was accurate though. She stopped in the next day for a visit, which Mr Smith thinks was to confirm we were okay with what happened & rehash some of the details. She had asked a doctor if there was something else she could have done to slow delivery. The working theory is that delivery stalled due to her posterior position, but once we rotated me, she moved and transition was extremely quick. Maybe maxing out on petocin wouldn't have been needed if baby rotated sooner.
I still had a second-degree tear, but recovery has been easy going. I haven't felt much vaginal pressure during recovery. Bleeding has been mild. If I walk or stand, or twist awkwardly for a bit I can begin to feel some aches, but the worst of the uterine contractions ended by day 4. I lost 15 lbs coming home from the hospital, but Lexi still asked me if I had another baby coming.
I felt like I forgot a lot of the nursing details this time around. Nursing Dallin seemed easier even though we had his slight tongue tie snipped, but I had immediate stresses with Rebecca's latch. Perhaps previous mastitis had me paranoid. She does have a tight bottom latch, but it's easing up and usually no longer hurts after the initial latch. She isn't so much a comfort feeder either which is nice. She slept just fine in her bassinet at the hospital & didn't spend her nighttime crying like I felt our other children did if they weren't nursing. She only seemed disgruntled when we unswaddled her. She took to a pacifier, bottle & nursing. We made sure to supplement this time around after a few nursing sessions. She left the hospital at 7 lb 7 oz.
Her siblings loved her before she was born, and we had them in the hospital room the following afternoon. They spent Thursday & Friday night at Eric's uncle's house (Bill & Del Lou). They adapted a lot better than I expected. Lexi wants to hold her all the time and Dallin points out all her facial features and pats her head "softly" but I'm still on edge with that one. He has tried grabbing at her a few other times.
I'm still thinking she might be my best baby yet ;) And in a way, I'm grateful I still got a "different" induction story.
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