Jeff and Jenn

Chloe's Birth Story

We decided to blog about Chloe's birth story so that our little lady will always know what happened on her birth day!  This is for Jeff and I to preserve all of the memories of that day.

My original due date was July 9th, which came and went.  I probably watched 4 movies a day waiting for her to come, I carried my iPad around with me while I walked on the elliptical and did every craft I could come up with and watched movie after movie.  I didn't want to go outside because it was the middle of summer and even opening the front door sent me flying to turn the AC cooler (our utility bill was insane).  At this point it got to hard to even take a bath because I couldn't pull myself out of the tub, I was huge!  We talked with Dr. Nance, who we absolutely love and would send any pregnant woman his way, and we decided that if we didn't go into labor on our own that we would go ahead and be induced eight days after the original due date.  We felt very calm about being induced and had no problems with the thought.  We had a Non-Stress Test just in case to see if Chloe was doing okay with her fluids, and heart rate.  Dr. Nance was so great and came in to the hospital on his day off to check on us to see how the baby was!  She looked perfect so there wasn't anything to stress about.  Whew! We would have her in our arms no matter what in just a few days!

We were SO excited and more than ready, MORE than ready! So many of my friends were having their babies a month early so I had our bags packed for about nine weeks just because I was so scared about not being ready.  I guess I didn't have to be so prepared.  The day before we cleaned cleaned cleaned, knowing that we wouldn't have a clean house for a few weeks.  We talked about what was going to happen tomorrow, and made sure that everything was ready to go.  We prayed for comfort for the upcoming day, that our baby would be healthy, and if any complications would arise that the doctor and nurses would be confident and capable. I went to bed thinking that there was NO WAY I would be able to sleep, lucky for me I got an hour of sleep before I was woken up, I laid in bed wondering what woke me up and thought maybe I needed to use the potty (what eight day overdue woman doesn't?!).

So I heaved my heavy huge self out of bed and then came a gush, my first thought wasn't that my water had just broken but that I went nine months of being pregnant not peeing my pants and the night before I have a baby I can no longer control my bladder!  So I ran in the bathroom and was surprised when I felt like I was about to pee my pants again!  And suddenly I had two more large amounts of fluid gushing out of me!  I started laughing out loud when I realized what just happened!  I'm pretty sure at this point I was the happiest woman on earth, I just kept laughing as I changed!  I couldn't wait to wake Jeff up and tell him! It was 1:30 in the morning

I ran over to Jeff's side of the bed and knelt down right next to his face, wondering how I should wake him up, I just kept giggling and finally whispered "Jeff, hey sweetie?" giggle giggle.  Jeff woke up like I had just thrown cold water on him and I just kept giggling so I said "Guess what.... um my (giggle) my water just broke!"  He was so sleepy and said "What?! Really, are you sure?!"  So I told him what happened and he and he couldn't believe it, he got right up and started to get everything ready while I ran into the bathroom to sit on the toilet while all of this fluid gushed out of me.  Jeff was dressed and ready to go within a couple of minutes.  I just kept laughing while I was trying to keep my clothes dry.  We had everything ready to go in just a few minutes and I asked Jeff to get me a bowl of cereal knowing that I wouldn't get to eat for a really long time and I was worried about my blood sugar.  We said a prayer in the family room that we were so grateful to become parents and asked for health and safety and everything in between!  Jeff got me a towel to sit on and was smart enough to snap a picture right when we were walking out.

I wasn't worried about getting to the hospital as soon as humanly possible because I knew we were in for a lonnnnng day, but Jeff was sure ready to get me there as fast as he could.  He kept worrying about a prolapsed cord and other complications, and I was just on cloud nine even though my contractions had started and they were getting pretty uncomfortable!  He was driving pretty fast and I kept telling him I didn't want a ticket on the way to the hospital, funny that that is what I was worrying about.  Lucky for us the roads were empty.  I called my mom on the way, luckily she answered and I could hear her excitement even though it was 2:00 in the morning, I sent a text to my sissy Tiff and didn't hear from her until my mom told her at church that I was in labor (she didn't have her phone on her) I remember worrying so much that she wasn't one of the first people who knew I was in labor.  And I kept asking my mom and Jeff to "find Tiff!"  I just needed to know that she knew I was in labor, it was important.  I can't imagine what it would have been like if Jeff was away and I needed to tell him I was in labor, I would have gone insane with worry!  Once we got to the parking lot Jeff snapped a couple more pictures and we went in!  My contractions were coming steady but not so uncomfortable that I couldn't walk so once we passed the security desk I was surprised when the security officer asked if I needed a wheel chair.  Looking back I think I should have gotten one but at the time I didn't know it would take long to check in.

We were preregistered and were told by doing that we would just walk in to the hospital, they would get my name and birth date and get us into a room, but that is NOT what happened.  When we got up to the floor I picked up the phone and waited and waited while it rang, finally a lady answered and I said my water had broke about 45 min ago.  She said "Ok meet me at the front desk"  So we went in and waited about five minutes before she even showed up to the desk, all while I'm having contractions and soaking my clothes.  There was no where to sit by the desk so I just had to stand there while this woman made me fill out paperwork and while she was yawning and kept messing things up.  I kept telling her my name was wrong, not only was my middle name not my middle name anymore but it was spelled completely wrong too.  She just kept yawning and saying that she would fix it.  I really don't think she believed that my water had broke and that I was in labor.  I wanted to say "hey! Listen lady I know it's late but I've never had fluid gush out of me like this and I'm having steady contractions, get me in a room before I pass out!"  Maybe it was all of the crazy hormones but I really wanted things to just work out perfect, and took things personal when they didn't go the way I'd imagined.  It took about 20 minutes before I was finally being led into a room.  As far as I could see we were the only people anywhere in sight and most of the rooms were empty.  I don't understand why it took so long, and why I couldn't do any of that while I sat on a bed.  Next time I will actually show my pain so that maybe they will rush a little, or take the wheelchair.

Once I had the gown on I was just happy to lay in bed, my first nurse came in (the first of five nurses), and set me up in the computer and asked about my symptoms, I said, my water broke.  I didn't feel like she really believed me but she finally checked me and sure enough, my water had broke.... She attached my belly to the monitors and started tracking the baby's heart rate and my contractions.  My contractions were steady, so they started me on the IV drip.  I had had bad contractions leading up to this day but when she was trying to put that IV in it hurt much more than any contraction I had this far.  She kept saying that she was a wiz at putting in IV's but apparently my veins kept collapsing.  It took three tries before one finally set.  The first was by far the worst, she kept poking and moving it all around and I started feeling like I was going to black out and I ended up throwing up that cereal I had asked Jeff for earlier.  Then the nurse got mad at me for eating before I came.... really?  Like I've had a child before?! She said that's why I threw up, but I wanted to tell her it's because I was in a lot of pain and she was the one making me whoosy!  After I felt better she tried again on the other arm and couldn't get it, I started to get faint again and she stopped and then tried a third time and finally got it!  I told her I knew it was in because this one actually wasn't uncomfortable like the others.  The bruise that was left from the first one was actually bothering me more than my worst contraction for the next little while, from one silly little needle.  I remember thinking I need to write down how much I HATE IV's!

After that Jeff and I were left to watch the screen as my contractions kept coming and the baby's heart rate stayed in a good range.  We kept looking at each other not really believing this was really happening!  We still hadn't chosen a name but I had had a dream that if she came out with dark hair her name would most likely be Chloe and if she had no hair or light hair it would be one of the others we had chosen.  On the list was Chloe, Audrey, Aviana (Avi for short), and Sophie and we were pretty positive her middle name would be after my mom's middle name Lynn.  But we both knew we wanted to wait to see her first.  After a while my contractions just stopped, they didn't slow down, they just stopped.  The nurse saw this and told me that because my water broke we need the baby here within 24 hrs, so they needed to start me on pitocin to get my contractions going again, this is at 5:45am.  Once the pitocin was in my body, my contractions really really started to hurt.  That stuff is fast and powerful, my contractions didn't feel like they ever stopped!  At about 7:20am they were just plain awful, the nurse came and checked me and said that I was at a four plus.  She told me that the anesthesiologist that was on that day had three C-sections he was going into and if I wanted an epidural I should get it asap or I may not be able to for a while.  Jeff and I both agreed that I felt what contractions felt like and there was really no reason to be in pain if I didn't have to be so I said OK.  Jeff said there was "No need to be a hero."

We thought it would take a little time for them to get ready for the epidural so I got up to use the potty one more time, when in rushes my nurse and the anesthesiologist.  I had no idea that I was going to get it so fast, and didn't feel like I had a lot of time to mentally prepare for the biggest needle ever!  They wouldn't even let me use the potty and rushed me back in bed.  The Anesthesiologist was funny but a little hard to understand. They laid me on my left side and had me roll into the best ball I could and told me not to move.  I have a HUGE problem with needles so I asked not to see anything and Jeff sat right in front of my face and kept my attention the whole time to distract me.  I thought it would just take a couple of minutes but mine ended up taking a while longer.  And the Doc said he was having a hard time placing it for some reason, and at the end said it was one of his hardest to place.  It hurt so much!  I was so uncomfortable and thought it would never end.  I remember thinking that I would rather go through labor at that time.  Jeff was a champ and let me squeeze his hands so hard but it was the only thing helping me through the pain.  I just squeezed my eyes shut and held his hands all while having contractions and an unbearable uncomfortable pain in my back. It was awful.  I so wanted to be one of those mom's that said "oh the epidural didn't even hurt" ... so much for that.

I was so happy when I could feel the epidural working.  I finally felt relaxed, and the sound of Chloe's heart beat was making me calm and sleepy.  So Jeff and I decided to get some sleep since we hadn't all night.  It was hard with people coming in to check all the time, but it was still nice.  Jeff was doing a good job keeping his parents and everyone informed of what was going on, so the only worry I had was if the baby was doing okay and if my sister knew yet that I was in labor, haha!  During this time that we had to relax we were so happy when an elderly couple and another sister came in to see if we would like to take the sacrament!  I'm so happy we live in Utah where things like this happen!  Jeff helped bless it and it was a fun thought that he could bless it on the day our baby was born!  It was very special to us!  After my parents got out of church they hurried over and my sister finally called!  Whew!

I had the hardest time flipping myself to my other side when the epidural was in full affect and I felt so silly that I had to call the nurse to get help to flip each time.  My epidural kept gravitating to one side and I could start to feel the fast contractions on the side that wasn't facing the bed, so I was flipping constantly.  And every time I was flipped they had to move all of the IV cords and monitors with me, I felt so bad.  I'm still amazed at the almost zero control that I had over my legs!  When I was able to move them a little it felt like my legs had completely fallen asleep and I hated that feeling!  It was nice to have my parents there and we talked and talked, my mom brought the baby a little gift so I opened it while we waited for me to dilate.  I thought that was so sweet!  At this point I was at 5cm.

Jeff was finally able to go and grab something to eat since my parents were there, and I made sure no one brought any food into my room because I would have either been angry or brought to tears from the lack of food.  I was STARVING!  Flavored ice chips can only do so much and they didn't do much, trust me.  There were some points when I thought I would have zero energy to push the baby out! After two hours of being at 5cm I finally went to a 6+! 

My dad kept telling me that I was too comfortable and once I started to get agitated and uncomfortable is when we would know I was getting close.  The nurse kept checking me often and I went from a 6+ to an 8cm!  We were getting really excited to finally see our daughter!  At this point I knew that my dad was right, I didn't have to be told that I was an 8cm, I could tell that she was coming soon because I was getting very uncomfortable.  I noticed myself breathing hard and closing my eyes, and trying to shift my body weight.  Then I started to get the shakes, it was bad.  I could tell that my epidural was wearing out and pushed the button, but at this point I felt like it would just keep wearing off.  I could feel my body preparing itself.  My family was great and someone would always come and sit on the side that I was facing and talk to me, but unfortunately at this point I kind of stopped talking and tried to keep breathing.  Jeff was a pro already at telling me that I was doing awesome and I was constantly asking him how the baby's heart rate was doing and he would say, "she looks great!"  he kept smiling and saying "we're going to have a baby today" over and over to me.  I love how excited he was to see his little girl!

My shakes were uncontrollable and it drove me nuts!  The nurse came back in (turns out the last nurse we had was married to my mom's cousin and they knew each other which was kinda fun!) to check on me again.  My parents and Jeff would always try to guess what cm I would be at before she checked me and generally they were always right, this time everyone kept saying "come on, nine nine nine!"  I felt bad for my dad who left the room every time I was checked, but it was fun when he came back in to tell him how dilated I was.  This time we all knew I was getting close so he just stayed in the room and behind the curtain.  Jeff would hold my hand every time I was checked.  We were surprised when she told us that I was almost to a 10 and there was just a little left!  Everyone was ecstatic!   And I started to feel whoosy, haha!  They had started to bring in everything and it was getting me very anxious, especially seeing all of the tools, and scissors, eek!  The only thing besides Jeff that comforted me was seeing the baby warming table brought in!   At this point I was in labor for 14 hrs.

Jeff had sent a text to his family that we were almost ready to push, but that didn't end up happening for about another hour.  My Dr. came in to check me and told us that the baby was posterior (facing the ceiling rather than the floor) and we needed to wait a little while to see if she would turn.  All of the family that Jeff sent a text to thought that I was pushing at this point, but in reality we were sitting there worried that I may have to have the baby by cesarean section, and praying that she would turn anterior (facing down).  After about an hour the Dr. came in and tried to turn her himself, but he could see that it wasn't working so he ended up saying, "Okay it's time to push".  And I suddenly felt like things were happening too fast!

My dad left the room and everyone was springing to action, before I knew it my legs were being lifted into the stirrups and my mom was getting the camera ready and Jeff was being told by the nurse how to push my leg towards me.  I felt so dizzy.  I kept looking at Jeff and we would lock eyes, and he would just smile and say "this is it!"  The nurse we had was awesome she explained to me how to push.  Suddenly the next thing I know there's Dr. Nance in position with all of his protective gear on waiting for a contraction so that I could start pushing.  He told me it was going to be really hard to get this baby girl out posterior but kept saying in a joking voice "you can do it".  Then the nurse and Dr. Nance started saying "okay, push push push push push!" Then Jeff started to say it and then started counting for me, I was shocked at how little time I got to actually breathe!  After pushing once they would tell me to take a breath and then start saying "push push push push".  I wanted to tell them that I needed to breathe but kept pushing when they told me to.  After each contraction passed I would look at Jeff like holy crap, this is what it feels like to push?!?! I'm gonna die!  I kept asking Jeff to be completely honest with how I did, so he would tell me when it was a good push or not.

After a few contractions I finally felt like I knew how to push.  And I found it a lot easier if my mom stood behind me and pushed me forward (sorry mom, that had to have been hard work) and Jeff pushed my knee way up to my chest.  I was trying my hardest to focus on pushing and nothing else, but at one point I remember having to tell Jeff that his fingernail was digging into my hand behind my knee, it was funny for the moment!  Everyone surprised me when they told me they could see hair!  For some reason this made me think that she was actually almost out, but it turned out that Chloe's hair was so long, that it made an appearance way faster than the top of her head did.  I kept hystarically asking Jeff "what color is it?!?!"  "Can you see her?!?!"  I had no idea that I was actually in for an hour of pushing.  I started pushing at 4:25pm.  Dr. Nance was so calm the whole time and in between contractions when I was trying to catch my breath he would talk to Jeff, and asked him where he was from and how he ended up in Utah.  He kept wanting to point to me and say "Um my wife's in labor"  but Dr. Nance was just cool and calm, one time he asked me what we would name her and I kept saying "she has dark hair she's probably Chloe" while breathing super hard, he surprised me when he kept trying to come up with names for dark haired girls.  For some reason when he brought up Rose I kept thinking of a thorny rose bush and wanted to say, NO IT'S PROBABLY CHLOE.  But he was just trying to make small talk.

Dr. Nance told me after a few pushes that he was positive that if she wasn't posterior she would have been out by now.  People told me how hard it was to push, but I literally had no idea that it was THAT hard, I would push SOOOOOO hard and sometimes they told me she would barely budge and other times Jeff would tell me that he could see her head coming further and further out!  I will never ever take pushing lightly again, I would push so hard towards the end that I would start to see electricity behind my eyelids, like bursts of lightning!  I was surprised that I didn't pop a blood vessel in my eyes.  I would be absolutely gasping for air after a contraction passed, and the nurse would have to keep reminding me to take slower deep breaths.

After almost exactly one hour, she was almost there and my mom stopped helping me to grab the camera.  Jeff kept looking at me like he was the happiest man on earth!  Finally it was the last push, and Jeff could see her sweet little face!  I wanted to get her all the way out and tried to push again but Dr. Nance said "stop stop stop stop!" The cord was wrapped around her neck once, but once he got that off he let me push one more little push and she was here!!!!!  What a miracle child birth is!

I remember laughing hysterically and looking at our baby girl and never blinking.  I was so taken back by how gorgeous she was, Jeff came and kissed me on the forehead and then went to cut her umbilical cord, and the next thing I knew she was on my belly staring up into my eyes.  I knew she was Chloe.  And she knew exactly who Jeff and I were.  They kept wiping her down when I was trying to look into her eyes, but she was locked on me.  We were a family of three all staring at each other and I will never forget that moment!  They took her over to the warming table to get her apgar score and Jeff said she just kept starring at him, and he couldn't believe how alert she was.  I was watching them the entire time, as they tried to get her to pink up, the nurse kept flicking her feet over and over and finally I said "talk to her Jeff" so he started to talk to her and she pinked up!  I remember being very frustrated at the nurse standing next to my bed entering things into the computer because she was blocking my view of the baby!  And Dr. Nance was trying to stitch me up and had to keep reminding me to lay back and relax.  I just wanted to see beautiful Chloe.  After they weighed her they brought her back over and put her on my chest and we had an amazing 30 minutes together as a family.  She was the most gorgeous baby I had ever ever ever seen!!!  Jeff and I both agreed she was Chloe Lynn Davis.  We couldn't stop kissing her!  Jeff looked so handsome holding her and she looked so tiny in his arms!

My dad came in and grandma and grandpa Steiner got to hold their newest grandbaby.  I held her one last time before Jeff and the nurses took her in to get cleaned up!  I was the happiest woman on earth!  What a gorgeous baby!  I couldn't believe she was ours and we get to teach her and help her grow, I was so happy to finally start my journey as a momma!  It is all that I have ever wanted to do and I am so lucky to have a wonderful husband who supports me in my decision to be a stay at home mom.  He works so hard and makes it possible, thank you Jeffrey!!!!

I knew that I wouldn't be able to focus on anything but the baby after she was here so before my last few pushes I made sure to ask for some crackers and juice.  But when the crackers and juice were brought in the nurse had to remind me multiple times to eat, even though I was beyond starving.  I just kept thinking about Chloe and what they were doing in the nursery.

Once my medicine started to wear off I started to get very agitated.  My whole body started to swell up and I was told it was because of all of the fluid's from the IV.  My uterus contracting was hurting like crazy and I wanted to smack the nurse when she pushed on my belly to get everything out and get it to go back down.  All of my happiness was being interrupted by the hospital's routine and it was making me really snappy.  I started to get really upset that Chloe wasn't back yet and kept asking the nurses about her.  They took me down to my next room and I was starting to get mad that I didn't know what was going on with Chloe or if something had gone wrong, and I was frustrated that the nurses didn't know either.  Why was it taking so long?!  I remember thinking later that I should apologize to my parents because I was acting so crazy, and I definitely wasn't myself.  My sister finally came to see us and I was relieved to see her!  My dad went to check at the nursery and brought back a picture of Jeff holding Chloe all bundled up with her hair done and a bow!  I was so relieved!  While Jeff was in the nursery he took a lot of video for me so that I would know what happened when Chloe had her first bath and foot prints.  He told me that they had to wash Chloe's hair two times because there was so much of it.  The nurses apparently had a fun time styling her hair and Jeff got to pick out the color of bow to put in.  He chose pink with little white polka dots!  While in the nursery you could hear all of the fluid in Chloe's throat so they had to suction her stomach out, poor little thing.  I'm honestly glad I didn't have to see that I probably would have freaked out.  She ended up having it done twice. Which is why I think she started to get acid reflux.

For some reason it took almost two hours before Chloe was brought back into my room, Jeff came in with her and I had her in my arms immediately and started crying at the utter relief at the hole that she filled!  She instantly repaired me.  Jeff said that he just held her in a rocking chair in the nursery after she was cleaned up and waited and waited and waited until someone came and got him to come to my room.  He thought something went wrong with me when they were stitching me back up and I thought something was wrong with Chloe!  We were both asking about each other and were really frustrated that it took so long to reunite but I was so glad that Jeff got that time with her!

I wouldn't let go of Chloe when my food came to the room and Tiff ended up feeding me turkey and mashed potatoes while I awed over my daughter.  Thanks Tiff! (She knows what it is like to be a new mom)  My family left while we tried to settle in for the night and I tried to feed Chloe again, I didn't know it would be so hard, but she seemed happy and content to just sleep in my arms!  Poor Jeff had a pull-out chair to sleep on that just looked awful, but somehow he fell asleep.  Chloe was having a hard time and kept choking and I would have to suction out her mouth often.  So I didn't sleep at all the first night because she would choke but wouldn't make any noise so I watched her like a hawk.  I didn't sleep for two days, just tiny little naps here and there.  But I loved that it was now okay to sleep on my back and the pressure was gone!  Even though I had Chloe in my arms, for a small moment I could completely understand why some mom's go through postpartum depression.  I missed feeling her moving in my tummy, and couldn't describe why I missed it so much.  But I was much much much happier to have her there in my arms sleeping away, so the thoughts were quickly wiped out of my mind.

The second day family came to visit and it was so much fun!  Everyone awed over her hair and we were proud parents!  All that day the nurses kept asking if Chloe had pee'd yet but she never did, they were concerned and finally took her into the nursery to try and get her to go so that there wouldn't be any complications.  Jeff went with them and said that they stripped her down to put her under the faucet to see if that would work.  He said the nurse was so careful that she checked the water temperature for a full minute and then asked Jeff if the temp was okay.  After only 20 seconds of being under the water one of the nurses screamed "I see pee!" and everyone was cheering behind Jeff, haha!  She was a big hit with all of the nurses!

Our favorite nurse was Brittany!  She was amazing and made sure that everything was okay and that my mind was at ease.  She explained things to me and helped me understand how to breastfeed and burp correctly and the best way to do this and that.  She was awesome!!!  She sat down with me for hours and I love her for it!  I wish I would have gotten her last name.  I didn't feel comfortable with the other nurses taking Chloe to the nursery but for some reason I trusted Brittany completely!  I think the Lord sent her to us that night because I really needed some sleep!  She took Chloe to the nursery and told me that we were the only people she was caring for that night.  So what did she do?  She held and rocked Chloe the entire time until she needed to come in to be fed, never putting her down!  What an awesome nurse!  She knew everything that Chloe did and gave me a hug before she left for the last time.  And by the time morning hit we had a new nurse and I was so sad!  I asked if Chloe had peed or pooped and the new nurse said "oh yes one of both" then suddenly said, "oh wait no that was the other baby" ...... Oh I missed Brittany!

We had Chloe all ready to go home the next morning and she was a happy baby.  The nurse that was on that morning was really busy but had to do our check out list with us.  We didn't leave for another few hours and Chloe was not happy by then.  When I was finally in the wheelchair with her and all of our stuff she was bawling, I felt like I was the most concerned mother on earth, it was really the first time she cried and my emotions were going crazy.  Jeff went to grab the car and it was pouring rain!  When we finally got her all strapped in I tried to sit in the back seat with her and started to cry when I could barely close the door because my body was so huge and swollen.  Thankfully Chloe calmed right down and enjoyed the ride home! 

Jeff was wonderful and took a few days paternity leave and I was so grateful!  We love having this little girl in our lives, and honestly we don't know what we did before she was here!  She is the light of our lives and we love her smiles and giggles.  Even though this is four months late, I'm so glad that I finally found the time to post about it!  Jeff is finishing Chloe's newborn video and I will post that as soon as I can also!