At 6:42pm on Monday I was fully dilated and ready to push. The nurse had me lay flat on my back with legs bent at the knee. My mom helped to hold my left leg and Stan was on my right. At that point Stan’s mom was back and my sister Lynette arrived also. She took my right leg and Stan took my right hand. The first pushes felt awkward and useless. Lynette turned out to be an amazing coach. She counted and told me exactly what to do. I couldn’t imagine having to push if she wasn’t there to show me. It took a while to figure out how to do it the right way. I had to pull my legs up, put my chin to my chest, and push my belly button down towards my spine. I had to use the energy I would have spent screaming and channel it into my stomach so I wouldn’t waste energy. I ended up pushing for one hour and 30 minutes. My doctor still hadn’t arrived when Lily’s head was crowning. At some point my mom screamed that she could see the head. With my sister screaming “Push! 1, 2, 3, 4….” I could look at my mom’s face and tell if I was doing it right because she would get all wide eyed when she could see the head come out. Between contractions and pushes I was so tired. There was a few times when I just wanted stop and go to sleep.

My doctor arrived and a few pushes later the head was out. I could tell the head was all the way out because my mom started to tear up and I knew it was almost over. My doctor looked a little concerned and told me to keep pushing and that she needed to come out right away. A huge push later and the doctor was holding her up. It took her a second to cry but everyone else was screaming with excitement. She was born Monday June 30th at 8:37pm. Now it feels like I was only pushing for 20 minutes not an hour and a half. But then again everything was a blur. I was completely exhausted at this point. I had not slept but a few hours since Saturday at 5:30am.

I had to get several stitches and while my doctor did that Lily got her exam. She weighed in at 9 pounds. Stan stood over her with the most memorable look on his face. I’m not sure how to describe it. As soon as I was decent the rest of the family came in. Stan’s Dad, Grandpa, and brother Jon. My sister Ashley and boyfriend Brian. I can’t remember who else. We passed Lily around for a little while and once the family was gone it was time to try breast feeding. She latched right on but it was awkward at first.

We were then moved into the post partum room where we would stay for the next two days.