AO Photography: Reagan Beth

This post is a little different than my other posts in that I did not take these photos. Although I edited them, I did not take a single one. This is a birth story in photos, one that is extra special to me. I have the sweetest sister in law, Chelle, who volunteered to come and be with Ryan and I during my delivery to take pictures. I am beyond grateful to her because she was able to capture the day in a way that we would not have been able to.

This is the birth story of my little Reagan Beth.

After considering the pros and cons, Ryan and I decided to take my doctor up on his offer to induce me a few days before my due date. We arrived bright and early (well actually it was still dark) at the hospital on Friday, September 2nd. It was quite and relaxed as I got all checked in and settled into a room. Eventually I was hooked up to an IV and another hour after that I was started with the pitocin.

At that point I started to feel the contractions. They did not hurt but I could definitely feel them. My nurse, Krista, told me to let her know when I would like to have the epidural. I told her I would wait a little while because the contractions were not hurting at all. A few minutes later she came back and told me that if I would like an epidural then I should probably get it now because the anesthesiologist was about to leave. Although he would be on call, he lived a good 20 minutes away. So I got my epidural.

A couple hours after the pitocin my doctor came in to break my water. I was checked and was only dilated to a 3. About 15 minutes later I was checked again and had already progressed to a 5. At that point for some reason everyone left the room and we were on our own for the next 30 or 40 minutes. Why, I have no idea, because when they did come back in Krista checked me again and I was a 10 and ready to have the baby. At that point she called my doctor to see how far away he was only to discover that he was on his way but still 20 minutes away. The nurses quickly finished getting everything in the room ready to go.

A few minutes later Krista went to check me again. That is when I heard Ryan say "The baby is coming out" My doctor had not arrived but Krista and the other nurses were awesome as they delivered our baby. I think I pushed twice and out she came. A healthy, beautiful little girl.

After awhile they took her to the nursery to give her a bath and do foot prints and all of that behind the scenes stuff that I never see because I am stuck in the bed still unable to lift my own legs. Ryan is able to go though so I sent him with the camera and the rest of these photos were taken by him.

One of my favorite parts of the day was when Jaxton and Cambria were able to come meet their new little sister for the first time. They were both so excited and wanted to hold her the entire time. I love their sweet little looks on their faces.

So there it is, probably one of the easiest deliveries of all time. I literally felt no pain. I didn't even know that was possible, but I'm not complaining! Now we are a family of 5 and we couldn't be happier.