Lily Virginia's Birth Story

Last week, I announced the birth of our daughter Lily. Today, I want to share her birth story as it is kind of a crazy one!


Lily's birth started with a medically scheduled induction on 7/9. I had velementous cord insertion which is a concern with the the way that the umbilical cord goes into the placenta. During my pregnancy, starting at 32 weeks, I went in for twice a week non-stress tests and 1-2 times a week ultrasounds to monitor her growth, amniotic fluid levels, movement and heart rate. All was good during the pregnancy with some concerns about her being small and lower fluid levels.


At my 39 week appointment, my doctor decided to induce me so that they could monitor the labor closely the entire time at the hospital with the big concern being that if her heart rate dropped during the labor, I would be given an emergency c-section. On July 9th, Troy and I drove to Ascension St. John Hospital at 6:30 PM to start my induction.


I was checked for dilation and was only at 1 cm. At 8:40 PM, a balloon catheter was placed to start dilation and I was told to get some sleep. I am awful at sleeping and was up all night! I was so bored and anxious waiting for things to start. Contractions started around 12:30 AM and they were painful but not too bad.


I was GBS positive again and needed antibiotics as a preventative measure and the first dose of that was started at 6 AM. At 6:30 AM, Pitocin was started slowly and contractions picked up. My dad stopped by for a little while to hang out and it was a good distraction. We chatted for awhile while I was having moderate contractions.


They waited until the 12 hour mark (8:40 AM) of the catheter going in to take it out and found out that I was 5 cm dilated. I was so, so excited because they thought I was only going to be 3 cm dilated. My water was then broken which was no big deal at 10:05 AM.


I was very concerned that I was not going to get the epidural with enough time since Oliver was born so quickly (read his birth story here) and I felt quite a bit of pain that time. Well, the doctor decided that was not what he wanted to do and had them break my water first, then wait at least 20 minutes before getting the epidural.


It took 45 minutes to actually get the epidural and contractions were quite a bit stronger at that point but manageable. I got the epidural at 10:49 AM and had 6 contractions during the epidural process while having to stay still which was tough. My nurse had me lay on my side and told me to relax for awhile.


That's when things got CRAZY!!! I was laying on my right side and should have felt the most pain relief there and instead, felt the worst contractions that I had felt at 11:30 AM. They kept coming and coming too.


My nurse said to give it 10-15 minutes more. The pain got stronger and stronger and I had my husband call my nurse. She checked me and I was 8 cm dilated. She could tell that things came on quickly and set the room up for birth and called my doctor.


The anesthesiology person came back but said it was probably too late to do anything about the pain. They didn't know if the epidural wasn't placed right or if I just got it too late to do anything.


Even though just 5 minutes had passed since I was checked and was at an 8, I knew that I had instantly progressed to 10 cm dilated. I could feel the baby's head starting to come out and there was nothing that I could do about it. I couldn't believe it! I was laying on my right side with my eyes closed and breathing through my contractions. It was all I could do at the point. My husband was rubbing my head, my back and feeding me ice chips during the contractions.


In came Dr. Chen (who also delivered Adalyn and I just love!), checked me really quickly and said that I was at a 10 and that the baby's head was right there and it was time to push. He quickly put on his gloves and such and on the next contraction, I was pushing. When I moved from my side to my back, I did have a little pain relief which was amazing since I had felt the worst pain of my life just minutes before (moms-to-be- please don't be freaked out by this- it was 100% worth it and it won't last forever!).


I started pushing at 12:03 PM and Dr. Chen told me that if I didn't have scar tissue there, the baby would have literally come out on the first push which is just wild. My body was trying to get that baby out! I told him that I didn't want an episiotomy if possible and that I wanted to pull the baby out myself once her head was out.

I pushed with all of my might after the amazing encouragement of my husband, nurses and doctor. My husband held my legs back, fed me more ice and cheered me on the whole time. He was awesome! I was doing 3-4 pushes that were 10 seconds each during each contraction and could see her head coming out each time. I was in pain and tired so I gave it my all and her head came out. I was able to pull the rest of her body out myself which was something I will never forget. I am so happy because Troy took a video of this part and it is one that I will treasure forever and ever.


At 12:10 PM, after just SEVEN minutes of pushing, Lily Virginia was born. They placed her on me right away and she had a nice strong and healthy cry. After months of worry and concern, everything was okay. Her weight was fine after worrying she may be too small. The placenta didn't look that bad after so many worries with the umbilical cord. No emergency c-section. We were so, so relieved!!!!


She was 6 lbs 10.6 oz and 19.5 inches long. She is the smallest baby that we have had but very healthy and so amazing. I can't believe how quickly she was born once labor truly started and am a little ticked that my epidural didn't work (again!) but it all worked out okay in the end.


The completion of the Hernandez family making us a family of 5 is here and we couldn't be happier. Adalyn has been my rock during this pregnancy taking care of me every day, praying for her sister and talking to her in my belly all through the day.


Her Lily is finally here and she is of course, proving to be the very best sister in the world (just like she was for Oliver). Oliver is now a big brother and while we are teaching him how to be gentler with baby, he is showing nothing but love to her.


I'm sure life will be crazy with three kiddos but we are so happy and Lily Virginia is the perfect addition to our lives.