Our girl

Our sweet girl, Hayden Noelle Copeland, made her debut into this world at 11:24am on Friday, February 7, 2020. She weighed 7 pounds 1 oz and 20 inches long. It’s been over a year since I have made a blog post, and I apologize to all my readers. So, I hope you enjoy reading my birth story. I just love birth stories because every story is so different and unique. I’m so thankful that S was able to make the birth of Hayden. So here it goes……

On Wednesday (before she was born), I felt water and it was on my sheets. I immediately tell S, “I think my water just broke.” He hops up and starts to get excited. I had been longing for my water to break as you see I was 39.5 weeks at the time and literally so miserable as in aches and pains (thank goodness for prenatal massages and Dr. O’Quinn at Resolution Chiropractic). I carried Hayden so low and everyone kept saying she won’t be much longer your carrying so low. Boy were they wrong!!!!!!!! We start getting ready, and I call my mom to let her know we are going to drop Sutton off at school then go check in. I get checked in and the nurse checks to see if my water broke, and she says she doesn’t think it did. The doctor on call comes in and says, “Nope, your water is still in tacked but that doesn’t mean you won’t go into labor later today.” I asked what was the liquid then and they said it was just third trimester discharge (WHAT?! OK!). He said to not come in unless my water broke or my contractions are 6 minutes apart for an hour. Also side note: I had been having Braxton Hicks contractions on and off almost every night.

That night, I started having Braxton Hicks again. I didn’t sleep at all because they were on and off all night. I charted the times in my phone, and they never were consisted enough to go in. I woke up the next morning and they were gone. I had a doctor’s appointment that day, and I was going to tell my doctor that I’m just so ready. At this point I was almost 40 weeks, and I knew she was ready to come, but my body just couldn’t regulate the contractions (I needed a little help with meds). I was going for a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean). My doctor supported me 100% and said I was the perfect candidate for one since Sutton was breached. Hayden had been down in the canal for awhile, so we knew she was head down. Dr. Bethea saw me early Thursday morning and said, “Let’s have this baby and check you in tonight. Since you are doing the VBAC, I don’t want you going pass 40 weeks.” (I would be 40 weeks on Monday). RELIEF, JOY AND EXCITEMENT came over me as I thought about how I would meet my sweet girl the next day!!!!! The last week or so had just been an emotional rollercoaster thinking she was coming and then crickets. We talked about in my Fitness for Two class how even though we are so miserable at the end, to be thankful we carry our babies as long as we have. I love this perspective Mrs. Madalene gave us during class because it helped me push through.

I called around 7 to see what time I needed to come in and by that time I was already having contractions. They started getting closer and closer together. My parents came to keep Sutton around 6 so thankfully they were already there. S was giving pitching lessons and wasn’t suppose to get back until around 8:30. I text him to let him know I was in labor and he needed to rap it up!! I laid down until time to go and that seemed to help with the contractions. S came home quick, and we headed to the hospital and the contractions kept getting closer.

We checked in at the hospital and I thought I was supposed to get a pill to help soften my cervix but I couldn’t because I was doing a VBAC. Also, I was already in labor and didn’t need it. I asked for the epidural at about 3cm, and I was surprised they gave it to me. The pain was pretty intense, and I believe every woman’s body does labor differently. (Kudos to the women who have natural births. I was struggling at a 3). I slept through most of my labor on and off. My water broke around 3am, and Dr. Bethea came in around 6 to check on me. She wanted to speed the process up a bit, and administered Pitocin. When you’re having a VBAC, they put a camera in to monitor your uterus. Finally around 11;00, it was time to push. They called my doctor to let her know. I pushed for roughly 30 minutes. I’m so glad I went for the VBAC because it was more intimate. Having S there made such a big difference.

Before Hayden came out, the CNP told me that there was meconium. She wanted me to be aware and not thrown off guard if they have to suck it out of Hayden’s lungs. Dr. Bethea arrived, and I pushed once and there she was! So many emotions hearing her cry and knowing she made it out. I got to hold her for a bit, and S cut the cord. However, she had to get her lungs suctioned, and there was a lot of meconium. They put her on oxygen as well. They brought her over to me for a picture and had to bring the oxygen with her. I didn’t get the “golden hour” with my daughter, which was something I was looking forward to since I had a c- section with Sutton. They had to immediately take her back and get her on oxygen. I held her for maybe 10 seconds and that was that. I’m so thankful Forrest General was on top of it and made sure Hayden was safe. I couldn’t have asked for a better staff to care for her.

S went back to check on her and a guy I went to high school with, James Presgraves, was doing his residency. Dr. Presgraves assured us that Hayden would be fine. He explained that being born is a traumatic situation for babies, and they have to adapt. Hayden just needed time to learn to breathe on her own. The nurse came in as asked me to pump out the colostrum for Hayden because she couldn’t breastfeed at the moment. I held back tears. They had her under a globe/oxygen dome looking thing pretty much the entire day monitoring her breathing. I got moved to a room and had to get my blood drawn. My sister and brother in law came into town to see us. While my blood was being drawn, my sister went back to check on Hayden. She came back and said, “Her breathing is stabilizing and staying between 95-100. She is doing so well!!” After that, I wanted to see my daughter again. I went to see her and she automatically looked up at me like she knew exactly whom I was. She took her colostrum from the syringe and breastfed like a champ. The nurse said that she needed a bath and if she passed this test she would be able to spend the night in the room with us. She took her bath and did excellent!!! However, they did recommend 48 hours of antibiotics just in case. Therefore, they had to put in an IV to administer it. I was so thankful she was able to stay the night with us. They monitored her for 48 hours and her test came back negative for any growth infection in her lungs.

You know the song by George Strait “I Saw God Today?” Well let me tell you I saw God working miracles in that hospital. The doctor on call told us it wasn’t looking good that Hayden would probably be going to the NICU and stay on oxygen. My God said nope I’m going to answer this prayer and she will be a warrior like her mama! I will never forget the doctor walking in the next morning saying, “Hallelujah, I can’t believe it!” I told her that’s the power of prayer! We spent 4 nights in the hospital and when I saw Dr. Dillon on Monday and she said, “Are you ready to go home?” I said yes mam I can’t wait to go home! It was such a relief when I saw her walk through the door with Dr. Presgraves.

Giving birth doesn’t always happen like we think. Every story is so different and unique. Birth is such a miracle from God. I honestly don’t know how anyone could not believe in God after seeing and experiencing birth. I’m so thankful for my two babies and the fact that I was able to experience both a c-section and a vaginal birth. I feel like I’m part of a club or something for getting to experience both.