Calla's Birth Story

Calla Jade Zollinger made her entrance on Tuesday, June 11th at 2:50 in the morning. 7 pounds and 20 inches in length. Four days before her expected due date. Not many babies abide by their due date now do they? It was a bit unexpected, but I could tell my body was getting more and more ready, so I cannot say that it was a complete surprise. We were definitely anxious to meet our little girl.

On Wednesday, June 5th I had my 38 week appointment at the OB/GYN office. After seeing that I was 3 cm dilated, my doctor went ahead and stripped my membranes. She told me that 1/3 of the time this trick will put a woman into labor, and typically within the next 24-48 hours.

After hearing that, I scurried to the grocery store and back home to put some finishing touches on our hospital bag and also got Bennett's things around for his stay with grandma and grandpa.

Let me not forget to mention that we had decided to go ahead and be induced if I reached 40 weeks. June 17th was our scheduled induction date. I honestly do not know how women can handle going a week or two beyond their due date. I was so miserable. I became a bit of a home body the last couple of weeks due to not feeling good, tiredness, and it took such effort to get out the door.

After the membrane sweep, I felt some cramping and a bit nauseous, but fast-forward 48 hours earlier and no action. I decided that baby girl still needed some time to cook away.

I was induced with Bennett due to complications. Read about that here, if you wish. Although I was 6 cm when they induced me with Bennett, I had not had any contractions up to that point. The only contractions I was familiar with, were those induced by Pitocin, and let me just say....NO COMPARISON. In my opinion, contractions when hooked up to Pitocin are far worse, which is why I opted for an epidural with him.

I was rooting for an epidural this time as well. I made that clear to my provider at one of the first appointments, and since I struggle with low platelets, I requested lab work near the end of the pregnancy to make sure I was a candidate. I was doing everything in my power to make sure that I had the option of an epidural.

Monday night, June 10th, I woke up in the middle of the night to some major cramping, which I believe could be identified as contractions, but I was not certain. They were somewhat painful, but after a soak in the bathtub, they went away.

The following night I felt the same sensation wake me up right around midnight. This time I knew they were contractions. At first they were spaced about 7-10 minutes apart. I soaked in the bath again, and they were still coming on quite strong, closer together and more intense each time. Nate was up by now, after hearing me clammer around. We decided to load a few things into the car just in case.

At 1:38 a.m. I called the OB/Maternity floor at the hospital to see if I could come in and be checked, they agreed. I called my mom up at 1:44 to come over to be with Bennett. I told her, "I think it may be baby time!" Thankfully she lives next door, and she was over quite quickly.

We were on the road soon after 2:00, with a 30 minute drive to the hospital. The contractions kept hitting me, with not much break in between. By now they were every 1-2 minutes. Nate was not wasting any time on the highway, he had no intentions of delivering a baby in the car.

We got to the hospital, talked to registration (which thankfully did not take long), went up to the 2nd floor. We introduced ourselves and were escorted to our room. The nurse asked me to give a urine sample and put on a monitor. When I went into the bathroom to do the following, I literally felt the babies head coming out. I started moaning because I had an urge to push. The nurse came in to check on me and she (along with Nate's assistance) got me to the hospital bed.

She checked and sure enough, I was fully dilated and the babies head was crowning. No time to call my personal OB doctor, they paged the ER doctor, who I'm sure did not have 'delivering a baby' on his agenda for the night. After a few pushes, our baby girl arrived. It was a bit of a blur, and I am not certain of the times. The staff did tell us that there were 13 minutes in between, by the time they got myself registered into the computer, and the time in which Calla arrived. This birth story ended up being much shorter and less drawn-out than I ever expected. When our baby girl decided to come, she did not beat around the bush, she was ready to enter into the world.

We are so thankful that we got the move-on when we did. God's leading and provision was definitely felt. We would not have wanted to cut it any closer than we did. After a one-night hospital stay, we were on our way home with our sweet little bundle.

Big brother, Bennett, is doing pretty well. He does not want much to do with her, but he does ask about her, especially if she is in another room. I am hoping his fondness toward her will continue to grow, because she is here to stay!

He recently turned two, back in May. While he is cute as ever, he is one active little guy, and some days he makes me want to pull my hair out. I know he is going through the 'toddler' phase, along with a new transition, and so I will try to extend grace, but some days are harder than others.

A stinker one minute and the sweetest little guy the next. I'm sure many parents could relate.

  

We feel abundantly blessed to be a family of four. It may take a while to find our new normal, but we will get there eventually. Hard to believe that our girl is about to hit the three week mark. We will cherish every moment because they sure do not stay little for long.