Final, Sophia knows best!

Sophia LeeAnn Smith

December 3rd, 12:57 pm

19 3/4 in

7lb

So here's the story of the day Sophia decided to join us. It was absolutely PERFECT!!

It was NOT at all how I always imagined it would happen, but obviously, Sophia has done things her own way all along.

After having contractions all week long I began to wonder if I would EVER know when to go in, OR if I'd ever even go into labor at all.

Thursday I was feeling pretty miserable and grouchy. I was having contractions all day long and throwing up. Despite how I was feeling, we went and got our tree in the evening.

After getting home we went to bed but I could not sleep. By midnight, it was snowing. At 2 AM contractions were 5 min apart and although I have never gone in that early, we decided to go in.

After getting to the hospital I was put on the monitors and I was having some contractions, but dilated only to a 4 so I had to walk all around the hospital for an hour. I threw up AND passed out in the bathroom so we went back. Contractions were closer, but I was still only a 4. I got in the bath for an hour and all that did was make more nauseous. I got back on the monitor and was still having contractions, but still only dilated at a 4 ( I guess that you have to be over a 4 to be admitted).

It was almost 6 am. I had been there about 3 hours and hadn't progressed at all so they told me that I was going to have to go home and come back in the afternoon for my appointment that was already scheduled.

VERY embarrassed that as a fourth time mom I was in there for false labor, I kept saying,

"I'm so sorry, this has never happened to me. How am I supposed to know when I should go in now....Is this not labor?!?"

The nurse said she had no way of knowing, but she thought I was in the early stages of labor and could possibly go into active labor in the next 45 min, but there was

"NO WAY OF KNOWING, so go home and see if I can make it to my afternoon appointment."

WHAT THE HECK!!!! Does this pregnancy HAVE to be totally and completely different til the very end?!?

Just as Scott and I were getting ready to leave, the phone rang and the nurse left the room. She came back and said that Dr. West was on the phone. He had gotten up and checked his computer and noticed that I was in labor and delivery and wanted to see how I was doing. She told him that I was only at a 4 so she was sending me home. He told her to check me one more time. She came in and checked me again (10 minutes after the last time when I was only a 4).

Miraculously, I was a 4 1/2.

Dr. West told her to go ahead and admit me because he wanted to make sure I had plenty of time to get the antibiotic IV and he didn't think it was safe to drive all the way back home. ( He was probably right. I don't think I would have gone back in there unless there was actually a baby coming out of me).

At around 6:30 AM I was admitted and IV was started. As you can see by the monitor, I was having contractions that were very close together.

By about 10:30 AM I had the full dose of antibiotics. DR. West came and checked me and I was only dilated at a 5 even though my contractions were so strong (they were off the chart on the monitor. Luckily I got an epidural this time so I didn't feel them except for the 10 min. I had break through pain, that was intense!!). I was so shocked by this extremely slow labor process.

Dr. West decided to break my water to speed things up. When they came to check on me again about an hour and a half later I assumed that I would probably only be at a 6, but to my surprise, the nurse said, " oh, her head is right there!" She paged Dr. West to come over right away.

I prepared myself for a long hour of pushing because that is how it usually happens with me. Dr. West said push, I pushed and Scott said,

"There's her head!"

I pushed again and out came the little head. Dr. West told me to stop pushing because the chord was around her neck. with some fancy twisting he got it loose. Two pushes later I had little Sophia in my arms. It was amazing!

I mentioned to the Dr. West and my nurse that this was so different than any of my other kids because the labor part was so SLOW. My sweet nurse said,

" I think it was meant to be that way this time. If you'd gone as fast as you normally do, you would not have had enough time to get the antibiotics for your baby."

I realized she was right. After I was completely done with the IV, everything went super fast.

Little Sophia was just waiting 'til it was safe.

I am so grateful to Dr. West, who gets up before 6AM and checks the board to see if he happens to have any patients in labor and delivery. I don't know if that is something that he ALWAYS does, or if it was just a coincidence, but I am so grateful it happened just minutes before we went home.

And, I am so grateful that Sophia knows best!!!!