rylie’s birth story

I had my 39 week doctors appointment on Monday, November 7th in the morning. Everything looked great and my doctor said I was 2cm dilated, which was great. But she did send me over to ultra-sound to check my fluid level. She said if it was more than a 5, we could continue to let my body go into labor naturally, but if it was less than 5, I would need to be induced that night… so I went over to ultra-sound. After they checked me out, they gave whatever results to my doctor. Shortly after, I walked back over to my doctor’s office and after a few minutes, she walked in and said, “okay, a decision has been made for us. You’re having a baby tomorrow!” “Uh, what!?” “Your fluid is a 3, so we have to induce you. Your baby is fine, we just can’t let you go into labor naturally. Come back tonight to Labor & Delivery and we’ll get you started on pitocin at midnight.” We talked over a couple more details and I left with a list of things to do before I was apparently going to have a baby within 24 hours.

The rest of the day, my brain was distracted and I was consumed with mixed emotions. Obviously, I desperately wanted to meet my baby girl, but I also was overwhelmed and all I could think was “oh my gosh – this is really happening!”

Aaron and I got to the hospital at 9pm and checked into Labor & Delivery. Because I was being induced, they were expecting me and had my room ready. After I changed into the gown, I got one last picture with my bump.

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They put in my IV around 10pm and right at midnight they gave me pitocin. It was a pretty sleepless night for me, and at 5:30am, a doctor came in to break my water. At this point, I was 3cm.

My doctor told me getting to 5cm was what would take the longest, and by 7am, my contractions kicked in full force and slowly got more and more intense.

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I was so hot, even with the room temperature down (anyone who came into my room would be shivering). Cold water is what calms me down, so Aaron got me a washcloth and stuck another one in the fridge that was in our room, so when I needed a fresh one, he’d grab it from the fridge. It really calmed me down and I found myself wiping my face and neck pretty much between every contraction.

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Aaron was amazing! He held my hand through each contraction and reminded me to breathe.

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The next time the nurse checked me, I was 6cm. To be honest, everything after that point is kind of a blur. I remember being in a crazy amount of pain but I was determined to go all natural like I had planned. My contractions were 3minutes apart and Aaron faithfully reminded me to inhale through my nose and exhale through my mouth with every contraction that came.

Suddenly, I felt a ton of pressure down there and I looked over to the 2 student nurses who were monitoring my contractions and talking about what they wanted for lunch and said, “I feel like I need to push.” Their eyes got big and one of them went to go get the nurse that had been assigned to me that day. She walked in casually and checked me. She very quickly said, “oh, yup! You’re a full 10cm. I’m going to call your doctor.”

By this point, when a contraction came I naturally started pushing – I couldn’t control it. By the time my doctor arrived, she was scrambling to get her gear on so she could help me get the baby delivered. In the meantime, numerous nurses were running around the room getting stuff prepped and getting me in the proper position to push.

4hours and 25minutes of labor and 12 pushes within 3 contractions later, at 11:25am, Rylie Annalise Shaver was born.

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It was by far the most painful thing I’ve ever gone through, but I was so happy to have her finally in my arms!

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After the nurses cleaned her up and Aaron & I felt like we got the family time we wanted, Aaron went out to the waiting room and told his mom, dad and sister that they could come in to meet Rylie.

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I texted my mom, dad and brother a few photos as well announcing the birth of our sweet girl.

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Because I went all natural, the hospital took my IV out once things had died down. They also told me I could go to the bathroom and walk around as long as I kept it slow.

By the late-afternoon, we were ready to introduce our new addition to the Shaver Crew to the world.

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Rylie Annalise Shaver
Born at 11:25am on November 8th, 2016
8 pounds 9 ounces
19 inches long

God is very, very good & faithful! We are over the moon.

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The title “Daddy” looks so good on you! I have no words to express how much I love this man! He was there for me during the most painful experience of my life & he graciously walked me through every step until our beautiful daughter was born. I thought I had maxed my capacity to love him when we were dating, then engaged, then married, but nothing can compare to how much I love him now, holding our Rylie.

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We are so in love with our little angel. She is a true gift to us and we cannot be more thankful!

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I took some random video clips throughout the days that we were at the hospital welcoming Rylie into the world.