The Birth Story of Everly Quinn

On Friday the 13th at 2:30am, I woke up to go pee. As I was peeing, I realized much more was happening than just pee-my water had broken! It was such a strange experience as this had never happened to me before so I was in complete shock. It kept going and going and going that eventually it woke my husband up. We realized it was GO time! We got the rest of our packing done and loaded up the car to make the journey to the hospital which was 45 minutes away. I wasn’t have any painful contractions at this time so it was a breeze. Here are a couple of my last bump photos PRIOR to my water breaking.

We arrived to the hospital where a nurse checked me and sure enough, my water had broken. The biggest thing I noticed after my water broke was how small my tummy was-it was mind blowing how much water actually accumulates inside your uterus throughout your pregnancy.

I was admitted instantly at 4:00am and was checked for dilation-3cm at the time. We relaxed and played the waiting game.. I was dilated to 4cm by 7ish, but the painful contractions were far and few in between so my doctor asked if I would allow Pitocin to speed things up. I said yes! So, they started an IV of Pit around 8am and gave me a bouncy ball to rock & labor on. This allowed the baby to completely turn into the best position possible for birth since she was so up high in my pelvic. I first rocked on my hands and knees while in the hospital bed and then started bouncing on the birthing ball as the Pitocin kicked in. The pain started getting worse so I requested my epidural around 9:00 am before things got worse. I made sure I was done with all of the swaying, rocking, and bouncing before being given the epi because after that you are confined to the bed until birth.

The epidural went so smoothly and as soon as it kicked it, I was able to nap a bit and to relax. Before I knew it, it was time to push as my body had been laboring the baby down naturally. I could not believe it was time! After all, my first labor lasted 22 hours and we were only 9 hours into this one. I was given a mirror so I could watch my progress and my husband was right there beside me for support while wearing our two year old on his back-yes, my son watched the entire thing and it was awesome having him there to be a part of it all! I pushed once and was told to take it slowly-which is a first since with my son it seemed as if I could not push hard enough! I saw dark hair-and lots of it. It was so neat being able to watch the whole thing, though it happened very fast because with my second push, she was out! My baby girl was born at 11:49 am at 38 weeks + 4 days gestation. She weighed 7lbs & 8.6 ounces and measured 21 inches long.

She was given immediately to me and placed upon my chest as they wiped the vernix off. I could not believe she was here. She was absolutely perfect.

After being weighed and measured, she was handed back to me where I got to feed her for the first time and it was super successful as she was a champ!

Greyson got to meet his sister and he instantly fell in love by showering her with hugs and kisses. My husband Grady was so in love as well! Our family felt complete.

Recovery was amazing. I was actually very shocked by it. I was able to get up and walk within an hour of my epidural being disconnected. I had miminal tearing so going to the bathroom was easier than with my son’s delivery. He was born 8lbs 7oz at 40 weeks + 1 day gestation so he was a BIG baby. It makes me wonder how big she would have been if she would not have been born a week and a half early-though I am totally not complaining 😉

A lot of you had asked if I would post an immediate postpartum photo so here it is. I took both photos after one day of giving birth. In the first image below, I am wearing my trusty Belly Bandit BFF postpartum girdle. I wore this with my last delivery and I already knew-hands down-the affect it can have at reducing tummy swelling and the dreaded tummy pooch after having a baby. I will be wearing my girdle for the next 8 weeks until the hormone Relaxin is well out of my system.

I am so complete-words do not even come close to describing how happy I am now that my daughter has made her way into this world. My labor and delivery could not have gone any better and I am so excited to see what is in store as my family gets used to our newest addition.

Everly Quinn Cooper

May 13th 2016 @ 11:49am

7lbs 8oz

21 inches

Your trainer and friend,