Annie's Here!

Anna Bloom Miller is finally here! Isn't she adorable! I just can't get enough of her, and she's so cuddly. She was born at 9:10 pm on Thursday, May 10th at 7lbs 12oz and 20 in. long.


It's been a crazy few days. We knew Wednesday morning, May 9th, that Annie was coming soon, because Kara started spotting and had random contractions throughout the night. Wednesday afternoon we went in for the ultrasound to check on the baby, and they told us discouraging news: the amniotic fluid was low and she wasn't very responsive. As a result, our doctor told us to go to the hospital right away so she could be monitored. Fortunately, we were allowed to run home first to get some stuff together and prepare for the most taxing two days of our lives.

We left the house at around 4:00 pm. That was the last time Kara would eat until Friday morning! The trip to the hospital was a mix of nerves and excitement. Our baby was coming soon, but we were anxious about her health. By 4:30, Kara was hooked up to the baby monitor and had an I.V. line, which was rough; she got stuck four times before it was in right. The baby's activity was not reassuring; she didn't have the accels in heart-rate that indicates robust oxygen supply. Sometimes older placentas of late-term babies aren't as efficient; the baby minimizes movement to conserve energy. So there is a higher chance of a still-birth with late babies.

Kara was already having contractions, but by 9:00 pm the doctor wanted to give her pitocin to increase the contraction frequency and strength to see how the baby would respond to the stress of labor. Our birth plan was already out the window.

It was a long night. I underestimated how exhausting it would be. It was hard seeing Kara go through so much pain. And it was my job as a coach to keep her relaxed through each contraction. I found myself battling anxiety because of negative thoughts that crept up. But Kara was doing an amazing job staying relaxed and focused.

By 2:00 am, we convinced the nurse to turn the pitocin off and let Kara's contractions continue on their own. At 4:00 am, the nurse checked Kara's cervix. She was only at 4 cm, a disheartening 1 cm advance from where she started at (as of Tuesday, she was already at 3 cm and 85% effaced). Fortunately, when 7 am rolled around, our favorite nurse was back. We were really blessed to have her; she was such a comfort to us. She was a doula for seven years, and it showed.

The tricky part about being hooked up to all the monitors - lack of mobility. It was an ordeal to get Kara from the bed to the bathroom because you had to unplug three different things and roll the IV thing along with her. We wanted to avoid having a contraction on the way, so we'd have to time it right, "okay, contraction's over, let's move! Unplug this and that, grab the IV pole, now go go go!" While she was in the bathroom, she'd have another one, and then we'd "hurry" back to the bed.

At one point in the night, Kara was showing signs of transition: throwing up, shaking, contractions right on top of one another, but she was only at 5cm. Eventually, she regressed back into a first stage pattern. By noon on Thursday, Kara was really having a rough time. She was starving and exhausted. No matter how much I pleaded with the nurses, they wouldn't let her eat anything to avoid extra risks in the event of a c-section. By now she was at 6cm. That's almost 16 hours of labor for a 3 cm gain. It was so disheartening that we discussed getting an epidural to ease the pain. We decided that if she didn't make significant progress after an hour, we would get the epidural. Sure enough, 1:15 pm rolled around and Kara progressed to 8 cm (2 cm in 1 hour versus 3 cm in 16 hours - that' significant). It was a bit of a doubled edged sword, we were getting much closer but no meds. She's almost done then right? Wrong. And it got much harder.

By about 4:30 pm (the 24 hour mark), Kara was almost fully dilated and effaced, but the baby still had not dropped down and was stuck at station -1. We agreed to let the doctor break her bag of waters to help the baby drop down. There was maconium in the fluid, indicating stress to the baby, not uncommon in late-term babies.

Not too long after, Kara started having back labor. She was struggling through excruciating pain. They restarted the pitocin to try and progress the baby down, but it just made things more painful. Kara was on the verge of a breakdown when we convinced them to turn the pitocin back off. The back labor cued our doctor that the baby had recently spun around and was posterior (baby's back to mom's back), not the best position for delivery.

When the doctor checked Kara's cervix again at 7:00 pm, he found that Annie's head was turned sideways, presenting the side of her head instead of the back. Annie was really fighting the birth canal. She did not want to come out. The one upside at this point was that Annie moved her head a bit against the doctor's finger while he was checking her. Not that she was moving to the right position, but the movement told the doctor that she was still doing okay. He said, "I've been on pins and needles all day and that movement is the first time I've been reassured." I'm glad he didn't tell us that before - I can't even imagine how we would've felt if he said at one point - I'm not sure the baby's going to make it.

It was then our doctor dropped the C bomb - that is, a c-section. But Kara and I wanted to discuss other options. After about 27 hours of labor, Kara was wiped. So we thought we could get an epidural for the pain and try to move the baby using different laboring positions. The problem was, the positions needed to move the baby, they found, had an adverse effect on the baby's heart rate. The doctor was adamant about getting the baby out. The risk at this point was simply too great to attempt a vaginal delivery. There we were, now 28 hours of labor and no vaginal delivery. But by then, we were just glad to get it over with. Although surprisingly, I was a bit more bummed about it than Kara was.

They whisked her away to the OR for prep while I waited outside in my oversized sanitary duds. Before they went in I told the doctor, "take care of her." It seemed like forever before they called me in for the surgery. Kara had received a spinal (one shot epidural to numb the lower half of her body) for the c-section. She was fully awake during the procedure. I stayed on her side of the curtain and held her hand until the baby was out. The surgery only took about 10 minutes. When they took the Annie out, they discovered that the cord was wrapped around her neck. She could have died had she come out vaginally!Somehow Annie knew not to come out that way. It's amazing. We thank God for His protection over her.

I first saw Annie while they brought her over to the table to check her out. I was so thrilled because to me she was perfect. They had to get a bunch of junk out of her throat with suction tubes because she had swallowed some maconium. The whole time I was thinking, "take it easy, that's my girl your messing with." The whole time she had her little hand wrapped around my finger.


Meanwhile, Kara was getting stitched up on the OR table. I looked over a couple times to see her abdomen opened up. Fortunately, I'm not the queasy type. It was a bit sad though, I couldn't be with her because I was with the baby. One of the doctors would give Kara updates. "How much longer?" she asked. "Well right now they are stitching up your uterus while it is lying outside on your stomach." "Okay", she thought, "Maybe that was more than I wanted to know." The hormones of labor caused Kara's arms to shake during the procedure. So, she laid there with her arms flapping, while getting updates on the surgery.

Annie was breathing pretty good on her own after a few minutes, and she turned a bit more pink, a good sign. Then they put her on the scale, she was 7lb 11.9 oz.

Finally, I got to hold her. It was amazing to feel the weight of God's creation in my arms, knowing that she was mine.

Then I gave her to Kara to hold as they wheeled her out of the OR to the recovery room.

Even after 30 hours of labor and a c-section, Kara still looked beautiful.

We arrived at our room and all was well. I saw the doctor, and he said, "It's good to see you smile again." Kara got Annie breastfeeding by about 11 pm. Being settled in the room and having the baby with us was surreal. It felt like some kind of dream world. Wow, this little person is a product of both of us, and now she's ours.

Kara's sister, Kim, and her little girl, Aleah, showed up not long after. Aleah was so excited to meet her little cousin.
We probably didn't get to sleep until about 3:00 am Friday morning. At around 11:00 am, Grandma and Grandpa (Kara's parents) showed up to see their new grandbaby.

Friday night was long. Annie was up most of the night crying. She has her nights and days mixed up. Even in the womb, she moved around the most at night.

Saturday, Kara finally had the IV removed. Freedom, at last! Kara was starting to feel more pain from the wound, but for the most part she was doing fine, especially with the prospect of going home soon. Uncle Tim (Kim's husband) arrived Saturday and enjoyed meeting his new niece.We finally got to leave the hospital Saturday afternoon. We even managed to figure out the car seat. And we emerged outside into a beautiful day.

Kara watched after Annie during the ride.

The ride home was a bit rough for Kara; the bumps in the road caused some pain. I tried to drive as cautiously as possible, and took personal offense to the crazy drivers around me. We were welcomed by the family as we pulled into the driveway. They had written welcome signs with sidewalk chalk. We were finally home.

What a crazy journey. Along the way, I found myself respecting Kara more than anybody else in the world. She will make a terrific Mom. Not to mention, she's the toughest woman ever. I mean, 30 hours of labor without medication. No one can ever say we didn't do everything possible to have a natural, vaginal delivery. In the end, we feel the grace of God: Annie and Mom are both healthy.