Welcome, Sweet Lilly.....a birth story

On Thursday, October 29th, Mehdi and I welcomed Lillianna Makenza to our family. She weighed 7 pounds 7 ounces, and was 21 inches long.

I had no idea when I went to the Hospital for my second Non-Stress Test, that I'd leave the hospital 4 days later with this sweet bundle of joy in my arms. I thought I'd be going to Rubio's after my test to enjoy a late lunch.

After 2 hours of observation, my NST revealed two things: the amniotic fluid levels were VERY LOW, and the baby's heart tones were not as reactive as my doctor would have liked. Thus, she decided to admit me to the hospital and induce our birth. Mind you, at this point I still had not fully effaced and was only 1cm dilated, so we knew we had a very LOOOOONG night ahead of us. My Doctor had advised me on the phone that I was high-risk for a cesarean, based on my NST results, but she was willing to let us try for a vaginal birth, and she'd continue monitoring me from home.

Well, after a few hours on the Pitocin, and no change in our progress, my doctor walked in the room. I said, "Hey, you're not supposed to be here yet." She smiled, and started to advise us that it was time to perform a cesarean.

She had been monitoring me from home, and wasn't pleased with the babys' heart tones. Her concern was that I still had so much birthing ahead of me and didn't think the baby's heartrate was strong enough to endure what lied ahead. Additionally, the amniotic fluid levels were so low, that I was running the risk that the cord would crimp at some point in the birthing process, and cut off oxygen and blood supply to the baby.

Within an hour, I was geared up and ready to welcome our baby to the world. Mehdi joined me in the Operating Room, and within a few minutes cried into my ear "we have a little Lillianna!" I was so overwhelmed with joy, and just loved the sound of her cry. I couldn't wait to hold her.

A few minutes later, I was presented with our baby, where we bonded for about an hour before we went to our room for recovery. It was the most special time in my life- just being there with Lilly and Mehdi....as a family. There's nothing to describe the joy we had that night.....we had such a hard time sleeping because we couldn't take our eyes off of her.

Four days later, we came home with Lilly. It's taken a while to recover from the surgery, but I'm happy to be home with her. Mehdi and I are constantly amazed that she's even ours. She's so beautiful!!!

She's our little blessing from God. We love you, sweet Lilly!