Quick addendum to the birth story

So here's my comparison of epidural vs. natural for those of you readers who wanted it, and I of course want to give the disclaimer that this is only my opinion based on my experience.

LABOR: Here's Lily's birth story, if you care to read it. I was in labor with her for about 30 hours total, and the worst part of that labor was throwing up once I got the epidural. Otherwise it was great - my epidural was perfect and everything went very smoothly. I was really tired, obviously, but once I got the epidural I was able to rest a little bit. I was in labor with Josie for 8 hours. I think I was probably in early labor with her for weeks before having her, especially since the Tuesday before the Saturday that I had her I was already dilated to a 4. 8 hours of labor with half an hour of pushing was completely doable. I felt pretty strong because I wasn't exhausted, and I think that and having relatively short contractions helped a lot. It was nice not throwing up and having a shorter labor, although at the peak of the really strong contractions there were times when I thought I was going to throw up.

RECOVERY: Ugh. I wish I could say that the recovery was so much better. It's entirely possible that I am a total wimp about recovering after childbirth, but I really hate everything about that stage other than the adorable baby part. Recovery was about the same, maybe slightly better just because this was my 2nd baby, but not by much. It was nice being able to walk after delivery, but everything else still sucked. Also...due to certain circumstances that probably no one wants to read about, I had to have a catheter after having Josie. I had one after Lily as well but didn't feel a thing thanks to the epidural. Boo.

WOULD I DO IT AGAIN: I think so? I mean, if things went similarly and were moving right along like they did with Josie, I could do that again. It was, in a weird way, kind of exciting to be aware of the whole process and to really be able to tell that I was progressing and getting closer to meeting my baby. When you have an epidural you're just kind of passive, hanging out. Which can be a really nice way to get through labor because you're relaxed and not in pain, but it was a unique experience to be aware of what was going on. I will say that I felt more confident this time around because I'd already had Lily and knew my body could do this, and that made a big difference for me in that I wasn't as afraid.

Birth story

And nearly a month later, I give you...Josie's birth story! Warning: this is a birth story! It is messy! It is painful! I talk about the dilation of my cervix! Jump on in!

I was starting to feel like this baby was never going to come out on her own. My goal was to deliver naturally with as little medical intervention as possible so I really didn't want to be induced, but I was also really done with being pregnant. I had an induction scheduled for July 5th as a last resort.

My decision to try to "go natural" wasn't made based on any real hard and fast reasons. I first started thinking about it because our maternity coverage is crap and I saw that if I did get an epidural, none of it would be covered. Then I did a little research and started feeling more confident that I could actually do this. I had an epidural with Lily and had a great experience, but I was curious about how things would go without an epidural, or pitocin, and I kind of wanted to test my limits and see what my body was capable of on its own. I readily admit that I would have considered this crazy talk when I was pregnant with Lily, but there you have it.

So! Back to being far too pregnant. On Saturday, July 2nd, I decided that I was going to walk 3 miles, and if that didn't get this baby out I was going to lay around and pout and eat until I was induced. Dirk and I did our walk, and then we took a family trip to the community pool. I was having some contractions at the pool but was unimpressed; I'd been having erratic contractions for the last couple of weeks. We all took a little nap, and around 2:30 pm I started noticing that the contractions were getting more regular. By 4:30 it was time to farm the children out, and some awesome friends kindly took Lily and Dirk off of our hands.

I had decided to pay for a doula to help me out because, let's face, neither Tim nor myself knew anything about natural childbirth, and I wanted an expert around. I called the doula around 5 pm and she said I didn't sound like I was in active labor yet and advised me to come in after shift change at 7 pm. We arrived at the hospital around 7:15 and, nerd alert! I proceeded to have a long, in-depth conversation with my nurse about The Lord of the Rings, in between contractions.

TIM'S TAKE ON THIS MOMENT: "The best part is that the guy [the nurse] kept looking at me like I had any idea what you guys were talking about, and I definitely didn't."

The doula came in and made more comments about how I was probably still just in early labor. I told Tim I didn't think anyone was believing that I was really in labor, and maybe I needed to be more dramatic? Finally the nurse got around to checking me and said, "Well, I wouldn't have guessed this, but you're at a 7." Hallelujah! That got everyone moving real quick to get us admitted to Delivery.

The contractions were definitely more intense at this point, but they seemed pretty short so I was managing the pain much more easily than I thought I would be. Once I was admitted I was able to get into the bath tub and that was great. Tim and the doula hung out in the room chatting while I was in the bathroom with the lights off, chilling. A little bit before 10 pm the contractions started kicking it up a notch, and the doula came in to talk me through them. She was saying some pretty hilarious stuff like, "This is the last time you're going to be able to bond with your baby in this way. Guide her. Parent her." At that point I asked her to get Tim so that a) he could hear what she was saying and we could laugh about it later and b) she would stop. Pretty soon I was feeling like it was time to push, so the nurse, the doula, and Tim all tried to help me get out of the tub.

TIM'S TAKE ON THIS MOMENT: "I really didn't think we were going to get you out of the tub in time."

It was hard to move because the contractions were much more painful and coming more quickly. It was at this point I realized why there are so many pictures and videos of women delivering naturally while buck naked. It's because when you get to that point, you really don't care. Who needs a gown? Who cares? There's a baby coming NOW! This is why we don't have any pictures of me post-delivery with Josie in my arms. Well, that and the fact that I couldn't stop shaking and shivering and it took them a little while to clear Josie's lungs out and get her screaming properly. Wait! Back to getting out of the tub.

So Tim, the nurse, and the doula were helping me make my way to the bed and right before I could get onto the bed I told them I had to push. They had me put my hands on Tim's shoulders and the nurse got underneath me in the event that a baby came out and then...my water broke and I splattered that poor woman with amniotic fluid. Sigh.

TIM'S TAKE ON THIS MOMENT: "I've been needing new shoes anyway."

Then friends, things got a little crazy. I screamed and yelled as I have never screamed and yelled before. I kept screaming, "Get her out of me! Just GET HER OUT OF ME!" I only pushed for half an hour and I really have no idea how women do that for longer, because it was crazy hard and I kind of thought I was going to die. It was pretty crazy having my whole body completely focused on only one thing: just getting that baby out.

TIM'S TAKE ON THIS MOMENT: "Everyone kept looking at me to make sure I was ok. And I was ok."

TIM'S TAKE ON NATURAL CHILDBIRTH: "If it were up to me, you'd be induced and get the epidural right away. Just sayin'."

Then Josie was born, and it was amazing, just like it was amazing when Lily was born, because there was this little person that I'd been waiting so long to meet, finally in my arms.

Feast your eyes on some baby goodness

I am going to be posting like mad this morning to update everyone on all things Baby Josie. First, here's me in labor. No really, I'm in labor right there.

I guess my babies like to cook a little longer so they can come out nice and big. Meet Josie Anne Rauch, born July 2nd at 10:30 pm. She weighed in at 8 lbs and measured 20.9 inches long. Lily was 8 lbs 3 oz and 20 inches, so pretty darn close in size to each other at birth.





Me with my girls.



My mom loving on sweet Josie.

Lily getting to hold Josie for the first time.

Josie throwing up peace signs.

Lily hasn't said "Josie" yet, but she does say, "Baby, baby, awwww."

Lily's been having fun with Grandma and has spent much of her time out in the backyard, buck naked, playing with water.

Oh look, there went my due date again

Yep, still pregnant over here. 5 days overdue. Remember that time when I went a week over with Lily? Me too. Ah well. We are healthy and doing fine, and hopefully having this baby a little later will mean she gets chubby legs right off the bat just like Lily.

So back when I posted the picture of me pregnant with Lily at 40 weeks + 1 day on facebook, I have to tell you that my favorite comment and the one that still makes me laugh is from our friend Jeff, and it was, "That ain't right." Still laughing right now about it. And I'm completely aware that he was referring to my belly being crazy big and not that it ain't right for women to go over their due dates. Anyway, I will post a picture soon so you can satisfy your morbid curiosity, but for now here are some pictures we took a couple of weeks ago of Miss Lily, who discovered a strawberry hat.

She loves playing on the dog bed, which means she often smells like the dog.


Playing around in the baby's room.

She also loves to play in the baby's crib. This is my favorite funny face that she makes.