Welcome to the World Sawyer Denise Crowson

Sawyer Denise Crowson
April 2, 2018
8:41 AM
7 Lbs 7 Oz
20 Inches

We have a daughter.  I'm looking at her beautiful face, and asking myself how we got here. Daniel and I feel like we are living in a dream. Sawyer's birth was the single most amazing experience of my life. I have never felt so strong, loved, and confident. The term "Mom" has so much meaning to me now. God created this little baby for us to cherish, protect, and raise to love Him. I am so thankful that God has blessed us with Sawyer Denise Crowson.

   

Due Date

My due date was originally April 17th, but we found out that we would probably need to deliver early at my 34 week appointment. Sawyer was measuring large from the very beginning, and the last thing we wanted on our hands was a 9 lbs baby. I love chunky babies, but the idea of delivering her that large seemed impossible. Especially being my first baby. Sorry if that sounds terrible, but it's a scary thought. My doctor suggested inducing a little early to prevent the possibility of needing a c-section if she was past her due date. We set her induction to April 15th, but I prayed that she would be here earlier.

The dates say so much about our sweet Sawyer. April 17th is her cousin Claire's birthday, April 15th is her Uncle Mark's birthday, and April 2nd is her Aunt Allie's birthday. Sawyer was very determined to steal someone's birthday. We have a drama queen on our hands.

At our first OB appointment I told my doctor that we were going to have an Easter baby. She said she ALWAYS delivers a baby on Easter Sunday. I obviously had no idea when we would have our little girl, but it's so funny that it ended up being so close to the day I said we would.

Day Of

April 1st was Easter Sunday, but Daniel was working at the fire station so we had already gone to church on Good Friday. I spent the morning resting, doing chores, and enjoying my day off before I had to head back to work on Monday. I had talked to Daniel about trying to induce labor starting on April 6th. All the normal methods that people swear by. I planned a pedicure, induction massage, reflexology foot massage, and a few other things. I also planned on doing some hardcore cleaning to get things going. I even have a post that I was going to share about the last few weeks of pregnancy. I really didn't think I would actually be holding my sweet girl this soon. I hadn't intentionally tried to induce labor, but looking back it seems like I was!

That Sunday I really felt the need to get everything done to prepare for Sawyer. I scrubbed the shower, tub, toilets, floors, and did three loads of laundry.... I even bought some red raspberry leaf tea to prepare for labor and drank my first cup of it that morning. I was oblivious to the fact that all of these things could definitely help labor move along, but now it seems like I did everything I could to go into labor without even realizing it. Hindsight is 20/20. I even filled out the third trimester section in my baby book that morning! 

Labor

Being a first time mom, I had no idea what to expect from labor. Check out my post about why I didn't have a birth plan to see my heart behind labor and delivery. It took me a solid seven hours to realize that I was in real labor. Sometime on Sunday my water broke.... not really sure when because it was just a slow leak all day so at 37 weeks I didn't think much of that. Again, hindsight is 20/20 because that is an obvious sign of labor. 

I continued with my day like normal thinking that if it was real labor then I would know. I was having Easter dinner with my husband's family about 35 minutes away even though he was at work. So I had to drive there by myself. This is the first time I started timing my contractions because it was really the first time I sat down that day. They were 12 minutes apart. In my mind that was nothing to worry about, because they could easily go away. I enjoyed Easter dinner, and didn't mention the contractions that were getting stronger and closer together. I didn't want to be the boy who cried wolf, or get anyone excited for no reason. 

By the time I started to drive home at 7ish my contractions were 9-10 minutes apart. I still wasn't sure if they would stop or continue getting closer together. I went ahead and let Daniel know that we could be having our baby on Monday or Tuesday, but not to worry about leaving work yet because it could be a while. He was so excited, and definitely would've left work as soon as I asked him to. I was really worried that it would be false labor, he would leave work for no reason, and I would feel super dumb. Daniel assured me that it wasn't a big deal, but I still told him to wait.

I took a warm bath, and started watching American Idol thinking that I could distract myself. As I started timing my contractions more closely, I realized that they were getting closer and closer together. I thought that contractions were consistent with no pain in between, but mine were completely different than that. By 9 pm I had constant lower back pain and cramping then contractions every 4-8 minutes. This made me wonder even more if this was real labor because it was nothing like what people had described to me. You should see my google history from that night because I was so unsure. Daniel's google history probably looks pretty similar because I kept texting him with a million questions. Everyone always said if you can talk or walk through contractions then they aren't real labor contractions. This was not the case for me. The only way I could get through them was by walking and moving. 

At 10 pm, I realized I needed to have Daniel head home from work because my contractions were consistently 4-6 minutes apart. Daniel headed home, turning a 45 minute commute into 25 minutes. When he got home he asked if he had time to take a shower, and of course I said sure because I wanted to labor at home as long as possible. We finished up getting all our bags together and prepared to head out. Daniel was the one who made the decision to head to the hospital. I know how hard it was for him to watch me in so much pain, and not be able to do anything to stop it. 

We arrived at the hospital a little after midnight, and they brought us into labor and delivery triage to make sure that I was actually in labor. I was 4 cm dilated, and my water had indeed broken. My contractions started coming every 2-3 minutes, and it was pretty unbearable. Daniel coached me through breathing, pushed down on my lower back during contractions, and just continued to love and support me. Daniel has a lot more experience in the labor and delivery field than me. He's delivered and seen quite a few births because of his job as a firefighter/paramedic, while I have seen zero. I'm so thankful that he knew what to expect once we were at the hospital.

We finally got to our delivery room, and I requested an epidural at 3 am when I was 5 cm dilated. Which was the absolute coolest part of the whole experience. The lidocaine burnt as they numbed my back, but it was incredible to feel the whole process of the epidural without any of the pain. As it started to work I could feel my contractions less and less, but still knew what was going on and had pressure. Daniel stood in front of me to brace and comfort me through the entire epidural. He kept telling me to breathe and stay still, and telling me how awesome I was doing. Daniel made me feel like the strongest woman in the world. 

I was finally able to rest, and Daniel fell asleep immediately. I was too excited to sleep for very long. I laid there in the dark staring at Daniel reminiscing on our last three years of marriage. I love him so much, and felt so close to him during labor. Our rest was cut short when 6 nurses ran in our room because my contractions began coming too close together. I dilated from 5cm to 8cm in 45 minutes. This caused sweet Sawyer's heart rate to drop way too low. The nurses immediately moved me to my side, and gave me Terbutaline to slow down my contractions so that Sawyer could get a break in between. They also began monitoring Sawyer's heart rate internally to keep a closer watch on her. Praise the Lord that her heart rate regulated, and we were able to slow things down. As a first time mom I expected labor to go super slow, but things were moving along so quickly. 

Daniel and I wanted it to be just us during the labor and delivery. We also wanted some alone time as soon as she was born. Honestly, we made the baby, we wanted to deliver the baby. Labor is such an intimate experience that Daniel is the only person I wanted there. We made sure to tell our families this ahead of time so there was no day of drama, or hurt feelings. This is a personal preference, I know lots of people want their entire families in the room. I ended up letting my mom, dad, and sister come in and say hi for a few minutes about an hour before we started pushing. 

Even though I was 8 cm, we waited to push until my doctor got there and made her rounds.
Next to the epidural, this was the BEST part of the whole experience. I had no idea what to expect, and wasn't sure how much I would feel. Our doctor is so fun and we both get along with her really well. We both feel really comfortable being ourselves in front of her. We spent the whole "pushing" part cracking jokes and making movie references. I kept referencing the office, and even brought up the part in Talledega Nights where Ricky Bobby stabs his leg because he says he cant feel them. That's what an epidural is like. I literally could've stabbed my leg. The nurse asked me to please not stab my leg... I don't think she's seen Talledega Nights. Daniel even played the theme song from Indiana Jones because of some inside joke with our doctor. I looked over at one point and Daniel was taking selfies with me.... legs in the stirrups and everything. I never expected to say labor was fun, but it was the best!!!! I am so glad I had an epidural because I know the experience would've been very different if I was in constant pain.

 At 8 am we started pushing, and by 8:41 am Sawyer was here!!!! We were both crying, and praising God for our sweet daughter that He entrusted us with. I felt so calm and confident through out the entire experience. God truly gave me peace that surpasses understanding. 

First Hour

As they placed her on my chest I couldn't help but cry from the joy of her birth. I thought about all the time I'd spent praying, preparing, and planning for her. All of the pain and exhaustion were worth it. I held her and cuddled her and soaked in every second of her. I fed her pretty quickly after she was born for almost an hour, and it was like she already knew exactly what to do. I couldn't believe that bond that we already had. This precious little babe that I had carried for nine months.

Daniel was so in love with her. I know he wanted to hold her the entire time, but gave me time with our daughter. I had never felt so loved by him before. It was like bringing a child into this world together completely changed our relationship in the best way. It was no longer selfish, but selfless. We both immediately realized that so much more mattered than just ourselves.

Sawyer is the greatest thing that has ever happened to us. We can't wait to watch her grow, and encourage her to be exactly who God has created her to be. Sawyer is perfectly loved by a Savior who died for her. I will never be able to love her like that, but I look forward to sharing the love of Christ with her throughout her life. 

We are officially Crowson Party of Three!

xoxo,

kelsey