It was a typical Tuesday morning. I was still pregnant. This particular Tuesday, I happened to be 39 weeks and 3 days pregnant. I remember waking up frustrated that another day had come and gone and this baby was still inside of me. Overall, I love being pregnant, but this pregnancy was much harder than my first. At 7 weeks, I started experiencing nausea and vomiting, none of which I had with Oliver. Thankfully, I was still able to workout and walk the majority of my pregnancy-I even ran a 5K at 31 weeks pregnant and came under 30 minutes. But by the end of this pregnancy, I was super uncomfortable and done.
Perhaps, it was the fact that since it was winter, the days felt so long and I felt trapped inside. I remember telling Eric my life felt like the movie Groundhog’s Day. Every day was the same, and every day I had to wake up and care for a toddler while being 9+ months pregnant. I also think a big part of my angst was the fact that since 36 weeks, I had been 2 cm dilated. My doctor kept telling me: “wow, she’s low. You will definitely go before your due date and it will be fast.” Since I had Oliver at 38 weeks and 1 day pregnant, I had never experienced what it was like to be this close to my due date.
This particular Tuesday, I had my 39 week appointment. I was looking forward to checking my progress, seeing a doctor I hadn’t seen in a while, and potentially getting a membrane sweep. While a lot of women have had success with a sweep before, I was not getting my hopes up, because I did not want to be disappointed. So I headed to my appointment and it was pretty much like every other one I have had up to this point. Urine and blood pressure looked great. Baby was moving great, and her heart rate was perfect. The only change was that I was now 3 cm dilated. The doctor performed the membrane sweep, which was mildly uncomfortable. I thanked her and mentally was planning to show up next week for my 40 week appointment.
The next few hours I felt very uncomfortable. I know that membrane sweeps can make uterine cramping worse, and mine certainly did. While I usually walked in the afternoons while Oliver napped, this time I didn’t. I decided to lay down for an hour, and I’m glad I did because Oliver’s nap was very short that day. He woke up and I decided to take him to the library to kill some time before dinner. I was progressively getting more uncomfortable, but also didn’t want to get my hopes up as these did not feel like contractions yet. We came home from the library and I made dinner.
As we were eating dinner, I decided I was in fact experiencing contractions. I texted my mother-in-law and best friend to give them a heads up, but told them it probably was nothing and to not plan on coming over unless things changed. We put Ollie to bed a little before 7, and then I took a long hot shower, still even wondering if I was in fact experiencing true contractions. It’s funny how I forgot what contractions felt like, even though it hadn’t been that long ago that I had Oliver. After I got out of the shower, I told Eric I wanted to chill, so we sat on the couch and turned on an episode of Castle. By then, I decided to start timing my contractions for the heck of it.
As I started to track my contractions, they were coming on as fast as every 4-6 minutes. Then I had a few that were every 3-4 minutes apart. But I was able to breathe through them pretty easily, so I did not think much of them. Throughout the episode, the app I was tracking the contractions on kept telling me over and over to pack my bag and head to the hospital. I kept telling Eric, “they aren’t severe enough and I’ll just end up getting sent home.” He was a lot more stressed than me. At one point he got up, got changed, and packed his bag.
The contractions continued to get closer and closer together, so I decided to call the doctor a little after 8:30. It was an on-call doctor I had never met before. She sounded very relaxed and said it wouldn’t hurt to head to the hospital and that she would notify them I was on the way. In the next few minutes, I texted my best friend (who was coming over to be with Oliver), got changed, and made sure I had everything I needed in my bag. Contractions were very close together, but I was still able to breath through them.
We arrived at the hospital around 9:45 pm. Once we got down to labor and delivery triage, I met my nurse Elizabeth. She was actually the nurse I had when I was pushing Oliver out (since of course I pushed right at change of shift). We were chatting in between my contractions, as she got all of her documentation done. She then checked me and I was already 5 cm dilated and 100% effaced. She quickly got moving and got me into a delivery room. This room was the same room I delivered Oliver in a year and a half prior.
The next few hours were the fastest and slowest of my life. Elizabeth put my IV in and she hooked me up to the wireless monitor. The doctor was on her way in to see another patient, so I would meet her soon. I quickly took my last bump picture, and then contractions started to get really intense. I walked around the room for a little bit, but I was most comfortable sitting on the birthing ball. Elizabeth hooked me up to my first dose of antibiotics (I needed them because I was GBS positive), and then told me to call her if I needed anything. I also had crazy heart burn, and took some TUMS to try and get relief.
The doctor came in shortly afterwards to introduce herself. I thought she was one of the nurses at first, but I remember immediately liking her because she was really calm. Elizabeth told me that she was very chill with allowing me to be in whatever position I wanted to be in when it was time to push. The next hour or so was a blur. The contractions became very intense very quickly. I spent most of the contractions sitting on the ball next to the bed with my eyes closed, trying to breathe and telling myself the contraction was almost over. Eric was very supportive, and sat on the other side of the bed, ready to jump in if I needed anything.
As the contractions continued, I started to get nauseous. I told Eric to call Elizabeth, and she brought me Zofran. I told her Zofran doesn’t work, but she needed an order from the doctor to bring Reglan. It ultimately did not matter, because I proceeded to throw up even after receiving both medications for nausea. I think I threw up about 5 times, always at the end of a contraction. When I was in labor with Oliver, I remember asking for the epidural shortly after I started vomiting. This was the case again this time. Elizabeth said she needed to give me a fluid bolus before anesthesia could come in, so she got that started. She asked if she could check me, and at that point I was already 9 cm. She told me I could make it without the epidural, but I told her I didn’t know how much longer I could do this.
I’m not sure how much time passed, but all of the sudden I started to moan and yell very loudly. The doctor and several nurses immediately ran into the room and began to prep for delivery. I believe the baby was crowning, as I also started to feel pressure, and I knew it was going to be time to push soon. The doctor checked me and I was 10 cm, and she told me I could push anytime. My water broke on the next contraction as I was sitting on the side of the bed. I remember yelling, “ah my water broke.” They assured me everything was okay, especially since the fluid was clear. They told me to flip over onto my hands and knees since I could not tolerate being on my back.
The next 20 minutes or so was the most pain I’ve ever experienced in my entire life. I told Eric it felt like someone took an iron out of a hot fire and stuck it up my rear-end. I remember screaming into my pillow as I was pushing, “please, make it stop. I can’t do this anymore. Get her out!” Even though it felt like an eternity, I don’t think I pushed for more than 20 minutes. I remember them saying, wow look at her hair, and in the moment I did not care because I was willing to do anything to make the pain stop.
The next thing I knew, she was out. They told me to flip over and to take my baby. I wish I could have recorded everything I felt and experienced in that moment. I remember still feeling an excruciating amount of pain, but also less pain now that she was out. I heard her crying and as I flipped onto my back, they handed me my precious, baby girl. My beautiful daughter Addison Grace Diewald. She was finally here, and she was perfect! I could not believe the amount of super dark, thick hair she had on her head. The next few minutes the doctor was focused on getting the placenta out and making sure my bleeding was controlled. My labor with Addi was much messier and I definitely had more bleeding with her than I did with Oliver.
As I hugged my precious baby onto my chest, the doctor said that I had a peri-urethral tear and that I would need to be stitched up. She then said it would be in my best interest to let her insert a foley catheter, as she was concerned the area would swell and that I would have issues with voiding. When she started to insert the foley, I thought she was numbing me with lidocaine, because it felt like I was getting stabbed with a needle. She told me she was just inserting the foley, and I told her it hurt a lot. Thankfully, she got it in, although the next 10 minutes were very unpleasant as she stitched me up. Elizabeth suggested I start nursing Addi, but I told her I wanted to wait until the doctor was done so I could enjoy that time.
Finally she was done, although I was still in a lot of pain from the uterine cramping. Elizabeth said it gets worse with each pregnancy, but that most of the cramping should go away in a week. The next hour was pretty great. They cleaned off Addi, Eric cut the cord, and then I started to nurse Addi. She was hungry and crying the second she came out of me. After a really great first nursing session, I passed her off to Elizabeth to get measurements and for her to be assessed. Addison Grace Diewald was born on January 22, 2025 at 12:33 A.M. She was 7 pounds, 14 ounces and 19 inches long. She was born with the most beautiful brown hair and blue eyes. She was perfect!
Before we headed up to postpartum, Addison wanted to nurse again, so Elizabeth focused on getting me cleaned up and also brought me some crackers and juice. Most of the time in the hospital, I had the shakes, and they were really bad the first few hours after Addi was born. Elizabeth assured me that was very normal, as my body was adjusting to the major hormonal changes. In addition to taking her first pictures, Eric got to hold her for the first time. He said this time around was a lot more emotional for him. He also said that he felt very helpless this time around, as he has never seen me in that much pain before.
We spent the next 36 hours in the hospital. Eric went back and forth from the hospital to home, and I sent him home to sleep the first full night we were in the hospital, which was technically night number 2. Sleep was very rough for me this time around in the hospital, but thankfully the nurses were super helpful, and even took her for a few hours so I could sleep. Every pediatrician that saw her said she was perfect, and she passed her newborn screening with flying colors.
Some things that I learned about our Addi Grace those first 36 hours is that she is already a drama queen. When she gets upset, she goes from 0-100% super fast. The first time I took a shower after having her, she was all snuggly in her bassinet and content. I believe I had just nursed her, but the second I got into the shower she screamed bloody murder. She also does not like to be put down. I spent the majority of the first week with her on me, as that was the only way I could get her to sleep. She also has quite the pair of lungs. She makes it known that she is upset when she is crying. She also doesn’t want to miss out on anything and will fight sleep when that’s the case.
Addison Grace Diewald, we are so in love with you and we thank God for you every day! As I finish writing your birth story, you are 10 days old, and by some miracle are sleeping soundly in the glider next to me. Your big brother loves you so much, although he definitely does not love having to share mommy. God knew you needed to be a part of our family, and we are so grateful He gave us you. We pray each and every day that we would have the wisdom and grace to raise you and Oliver up in the Lord and in what is right. I absolutely love the bond we already have through me nursing you, and I pray that I can nurse you a full year like I did Oliver. We love you so much, precious girl, and pray that you would come to know and love the Lord from a young age. Thank you for making me a girl mom Addison, and I can’t wait to watch you grow up!
Professional photos taken by Hannah Zel Photography.
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