Kennedy is now almost 6 weeks old and it’s taken me awhile to write this because we have been busy over here with our sweet newborn. I really wanted to make sure this post goes live so we can share our story, but really so I don’t forget all the little details. This blog has been a little journal for me, and I love looking back and reading special posts over the years. I’ve heard parents tend to forget what actually happens in the hospital, but I don’t want to forget a single thing. Ok, maybe the pain of giving birth can escape my memory especially one day if we are blessed with another little one. I never want to forget the other little details.

I had a pretty average pregnancy. I was sick the first trimester with morning sickness, the second trimester I felt amazing and then the third I was very uncomfortable and counting down the minutes to give birth. By the end I was so ready for her entrance into the world. My due date was October 29th, but I had a gut feeling she would come sooner. The day before I went into labor we took a day trip to Petaluma to get out of the house (for what I thought would be one of the last times). We went to lunch, then a brewery and stopped by a cheese shop on the way home. I thought to myself, this could be our last outing the two of us for awhile.

The next evening I woke up in the middle of the night feeling like I needed to go to the bathroom to relieve some cramps I was having. In the back of my mind I thought it was weird that these cramps are not going away. I always heard contractions would feel like intense cramping but it didn’t really hit me at that point until they started getting stronger. That’s when I woke Jeff up and apologized to him just in case it was a false alarm and I was being overly dramatic. Soon after I walked into the bathroom again, my water broke as I was standing at the sink. I was sure my water broke and when I went to tell Jeff he said ‘well I guess it’s happening!’. A very small percentage of women experience their bag of water breaking so I was surprised. The doctor told us if that is to happen, not to labor at home but to head to the hospital right away to avoid any infections. I had some stuff already in the car, but packed one more bag and we were off to the hospital. It was exactly 3am when my water broke (I remember looking at the clock) and a few weeks earlier our OB Dr. DeMuth told me it will most likely happen at 3am as that’s very common. He was right on. I remember being so nervous on the way to the hospital, but I managed to take a quick video on my phone on the way there and texting my Mom and Dad to let them know where we were headed.

We arrived at Marin Health and they took me to Triage. My contractions were getting stronger but I knew I had a bit of time so they didn’t rush me, but I remember leaking everywhere as I walked on the way (sorry if that’s TMI). We arrived in our Triage room, I got hooked up to an IV and we waited there breathing through contractions as they got stronger. Jeff got a little faint while I was getting the IV in my arm, the nurse worried he would pass out but after a few minutes he was ok. The doctor came in to check on me but I was only 1 centimeter dialated so we waited a bit longer until we moved to our labor and delivery room.

Once in the labor and delivery room, I opted to hold off on the epidural for a bit longer. My contractions were getting stronger and stronger so I labored on a medicine ball which was the most comfortable position for me. As they came on I remember grabbing Jeff’s hand each time and squeezing. He was so patient with me. I tried laughing gas but that didn’t really do anything for me. Then after quite a few hours of laboring with no drugs I couldn’t take it any longer and asked for the epidural. Contractions were INTENSE at this point.

The epidural was painful, but SO worth it. I felt a huge sense of relief and was able to lay down and get semi-comfortable. At that point I didn’t have any pitocin but so much time went by, nurses had shift changes and my labor was taking way too long. We were going on maybe 20 hours of labor at this point and the nurses decided we needed to speed it up with pitocin. I also needed to keep the epidural going so we ‘topped off’ a few times with additional medicine to relieve some of the contractions I started feeling again.

We listened to music, and watched the monitors for hours and both my and babies vitals were looking good, with the exception of a few times where babies dropped below the average range. I moved positions from side to side which helped get us back on track.

About 27 hours of labor later, it was time to start pushing although I was still progressing slowly. I had no idea what I was doing but the nurses led the way and explained everything to me. Jeff held my leg for each contraction and the nurse the other leg. I pushed for 5 hours! 5 freaking hours. It was crazy. The time went by so fast for me, I don’t really remember pushing for that long. I wasn’t in too much pain at this point thanks to the epidural but it was exhausting. I was starving (no food allowed with an epidural) and physically and mentally burnt out. We were getting closer, but the babies head was slightly tilted to the side which is why it took so long and was so hard to move forward. We kept the course, and finally the nurse told me to hold on pushing for 1 contraction as she was calling the Doctor to join us. At that point there were maybe 10 people in the room looking over me, but I didn’t even care at that point. No shame here. The nurse saw the babies head and asked Jeff if he wanted to see. I was surprised that he did, and he told me that she has a lot of dark hair! I was not expecting Jeff to look, but he watched the entire thing and has said it was a beautiful experience.

Doctor Brown arrived right as the baby was ready to come out and at that point I was in an insane amount of pain. They call it the ring of fire as the babies head comes out. I didn’t think I could do it. It was the most intense pain I’ve felt in my life. Due to her head tilt and her size, the baby was getting stuck but I managed to finally push her out. After 32 hours of labor and 5 hours of pushing she was here.

Kennedy was placed on my chest and it was the best feeling in the world. My baby was here. She let out a cry and Jeff cut her umbilical chord. I shortly after delivered the placenta, and the doctor stitched me up as I had a second degree tear. I barely felt anything at that point. I think I might have been in a fog or delivery bliss or something!

As Kennedy was placed on my chest, she pooped all over me so they took her away to clean her up, weighed her (where she pooped again on the table), then brought her back to me to breastfeed. Jeff was able to hold his sweet daughter and my parents were able to come in the room shortly after.

We stayed 2 nights in the hospital and were blown away by the sweet nurses. We met so many incredible human beings. So caring, so helpful. We couldn’t have asked to be surrounded by better staff who quickly became more like family. They were all heaven sent.

Kennedy Leigh Bottom

Welcome to the world my sweet girl. Born October 25, 2022 at 10:58am – 7lbs 9oz, 21 inches. Our hearts are exploding, she’s everything we’ve dreamed of and so much more. Your mommy and daddy love you so so much.