Our little Double Portion of Grace decided that she was ready to come! Ready to come 6 weeks and 1 day early. We were completely shocked and had zero indication that she was coming that day.
Here is the birth story of Miss GraceAnne Taylor Spivey (Or "GracieAnne" as the boys say it)
I had not been feeling well since late Friday night. I actually went to bed Friday night asking the Lord to not send me into labor that night. I just felt very weird and had many BH contractions. I woke up Saturday still not feeling great, but has the day went on I felt much better. Sunday morning began as a normal Sunday! I was feeling well in the morning and went to church. Was incredibly uncomfortable in church, but chalked that up to just being 33 weeks pregnant. After church I started feeling bad again. I didn't think anything of it and went on to my baby shower and then started feeling much better - because the shower was SO MUCH FUN! GraceAnne was completely loved on by the sweet ladies in our church, and the food was incredible. We went home and just dropped ALL those gifts in the nursery floor and rushed on to church that night. I am pretty sure I left the house with lots of dirty dishes, a complete mess in the nursery (my plan this week was to organize all the things in her room and see what else we needed for her), dirty bathrooms, and I'm sure some dirty laundry.
We had the Lord's supper that night at church, and we did it family style (you go up to the table as a family and partake). We were the next to the last ones and I began feeling very uncomfortable but she was kicking up a storm! As we ended the service we were all just sitting around waiting to go eat somewhere and I felt the all too familiar "pop." I remembered that pop from the boys pregnancy. I told my friend that something felt weird and I needed to go to the bathroom. Right when I stood up I knew what had happened and that my water had broken. We just recently got new carpet and upholstery in the sanctuary, so I hurried out there and by the time I rounded the corner it turned into a run into the bathroom. Two ladies followed me in there when I made the first declaration that my water had broken. They ran to get Mike and he came in the bathroom and I just lost it! I was only 33 weeks and 6 days and I knew it was just too early and I knew there was no stopping it! We rushed to the hospital in Dublin and arrived around 8:30 and I was 3-4cm dilated. Because of her gestation, my doctor wanted to send me to Macon to deliver so that we would be were the NICU was. I was hesitant, probably more out of fear, the suddenness of it all and the unknown of it all. They had to transport me to Macon via the ambulance (excited about that bill! ha!). While in the ambulance my contractions picked up very steady and increasingly painful. We arrived at the hospital in Macon around 10:45 and one of my first questions was if I can go ahead and get the epidural - I do not handle pain on any degree! They said they needed to determine if I was in active labor first - Active Labor? Are you kidding me? Of course I was in active labor!!! They checked me and I was already almost at 7cm, so they put the order in for the epidural. They had to do blood work and push fluids in me before the epidural could happen and that, my friends, was taking way too long. The contractions picked up so fast and were so painful. I don't do pain at all and it was too much for me. I begged the nurse to let me get it without all the fluid and after seeing my lack of pain tolerance she went ahead and got the anesthesiologist in. By this time it was probably around 11:45 when he finally came in and right before midnight that epidural was in place. I remembered with the boys it taking effect immediately, but with GraceAnne my left side went numb right away, but the right side still had complete feeling. I was pregnant on my right side (I have two uterus' for those that didn't know) so I really needed that side to me numb. The anesthesiologist came back in and adjusted the meds and turn my on my side but the pain kept getting more intense and not letting up. I felt it mainly in my right hip - seriously, I know this sounds dramatic, but it felt like my hip bones were crushing. I was getting very hot and sweaty and felt like I was going to throw up each contraction. I really thought I was having a reaction to the epidural and had no clue that it was because she was coming out. The nurse called the doctors in immediately to check me and sure enough we were 10cm and there she was, ready to make her debut. So after few incredibly painful pushes, GraceAnne arrived at 12:21am. We were relieved that she was here but unsure of what would happen next considering she was born so early - technically she arrived right at 34 weeks since she was born 21 minutes after midnight. It took her a few minutes to begin crying - and then they had to wait on word from the doctors on whether or not she would have to go to the NICU. During this whole time I could not stop crying. It was a mixture of the shock of all of this taking place SO QUICKLY and unexpected, the joy of our little girl being born, the uncertainty of what was going to happen, the rush of the delivery, the pain, etc. Everything just seemed too overwhelming for me at the time. We got word a few minutes later that she was breathing great, healthy, and able to go to the regular newborn nursery. 34 weeks old and we avoided NICU - PRAISE THE LORD! Such relief!
We feel so blessed!
We have three sweet children - two boys at home that I know are dying to meet "GracieAnne"! They really are going to be great big brothers and maybe adding a little girl to our home may calm all of us down a bit! :)
We feel so blessed to be apart of the family of FBC Soperton. We love our church so much we wanted this delivery to start there :) Four church members followed us to Macon and stayed at the hospital to see GraceAnne after she was born. They didn't get home until after three in the morning but we were so thankful that they joined us. We had more church members come visit yesterday and spent most of the evening with us and it was just a blessing and a joy getting to spend time with them as they loved on us and GraceAnne!
We are set to head home today. And we are ready for the boys to meet their little sister and to get into a routine. Thanks for all the prayers and continue praying for healing on her kidney and ureters!
