Elizabeth Marie's Birth Story: Danielle had an ultrasound scheduled on Thursday June 14th. After the ultrasound, she had bouts of contractions that night and throughout the next day. She also experienced some questionable fluid and thought it might be amniotic fluid. After calling the doctor, he said to sit tight at home and wait things out a little longer until contractions picked up more. Things really seemed to pick up by Saturday morning. Danielle and Ben headed to the hospital and arrived around 11:00 am, eager for Elizabeth's arrival.
On Saturday June 16th, Danielle was checked for progress at the hospital and was just 1 cm dilated, but the doctors noticed that baby Elizabeth wasn't responding well to the initial contractions. After Danielle received some fluids, Elizabeth's condition stabilized, and the doctor gave Danielle the option of going back home or staying in the hospital and inducing labor. This was a hard decision for Danielle and Ben to make. An induction was not something that Danielle had planned, but she was so ready to meet baby Elizabeth! Doula Jessica arrived around this time and Danielle had the option of doing some walking before getting hooked up to all the monitors. Grandma & Grandpa McCullough arrived at the hospital around 1:30 as well.
At 2:30 pm, Pitocin was started. Danielle was experiencing a lot of "back labor". While she was still somewhat comfortable, she laid in bed and watched the movie "Meet the Fockers." Nurse Maryann gave her a peanut ball to help relieve some back pain and to help baby Elizabeth move into a better position. Danielle rotated from side to side, and she started to become more and more uncomfortable and still was experiencing mostly back pain. Doula Jessica gave her a hand massage to try and distract her. The doctor came in to check on Danielle's progress around 4:30. The check showed Mommy was still only 1 cm dilated. At that point, she felt a little discouraged and began considering an epidural. The anesthesiologist came in and discussed the procedure with Danielle and Ben. He was concerned it wouldn't help her back pain that well. Danielle decided to take the chance and get some relief! It was a great decision! Visitors left and Danielle received the epidural around 5:00 pm. Grandma & Grandpa returned; Danielle & Ben enjoyed some family time.
Danielle was checked again by the doctor around 6:30 pm, and she had made a lot of progress and was now 4 cm dilated. The doctor broke her water after the cervical check. It was discovered that there was some meconium in the amniotic fluid. The doctor was not overly concerned about it though.
New nurse Ashley came in at 7:00 pm and Grandma & Grandpa returned. Danielle began to feel some pressure about an hour later and was checked by the doctor. Danielle had progressed to 9cm! The doctor said she would check on her in 2 hours or to let her know if she felt constant pressure. Less than an hour later, Danielle felt more pressure and was fully dilated! She began the process of "laboring down," which meant her body would help baby Elizabeth descend into her pelvis without her having to work to push. After an hour passed, Nurse Ashley emptied Danielle's bladder and she began some "practice pushing." Danielle "labored down" again since she was still pretty numb from the epidural, which was then turned down. Danielle began feeling more sensation as well as an itchy sensation. She began pushing again around 12:30 am. She pushed for over an hour with little progress. Dr. Labella thought that baby Elizabeth was not in a good position to be born vaginally and suggested a C-section. Danielle and Ben felt that this was for the best at that point. Ben put on an outfit of scrubs so that he could be with Danielle, and Danielle was soon wheeled back to the operating room to be prepped for the delivery around 2:00 am.
Elizabeth Marie Niebel, was born soon after at 2:45 am weighing 8 lb. 8 oz. and was 22 inches long. Ben was able to hold Elizabeth right away. After a while, Elizabeth was able to be with Danielle in the recovery room. Elizabeth was so content to be in Danielle's arms!
