Lennon's Birth Story

I'm officially a mommy of two girls! It is truly surreal. When I asked on Instagram if you had any questions, the most common question by far was how my birth with Lennon compared to my birth with Navy. I figured a blog post was the best way to share my story. Plus, I selfishly love it because it serves as a journal for me to look back on to make sure I never forget any details of the most special day.

Let me start by saying that their births could not have been more different, and yet, they were both amazing in their own way. I know, I'm one of the weird people that actually enjoyed my two labor and deliveries. Of course there were times that were painful/uncomfortable etc but overall they were both the most magical experiences. 

You could read Navy's birth story here, but as a recap I was set to be induced at 39 weeks and my water broke the night of 38 weeks and 6 days. I ended up delivering her at exactly 39 weeks. I was in labor for almost 24 hours and pushed for a few hours. 

This time around I wasn't at all anxious for the delivery itself, since I had such a positive experience with Navy. What I was anxious about was making sure Navy was all set up when I went into labor. My best friend was going to watch her but she lives about 45 minutes from me. When my water broke with Navy, within 2 hours my contractions were 2-3 minutes apart, so I was worried about how quickly we could get Navy set up before going to the hospital (especially since everyone says it goes so much more quickly the second time around). 

At my 39 week appointment my doctor, Dr. Jason Rothbart, and I discussed whether I should get induced. At the time, Lennon was measuring around 7lbs give or take and I was around 1.5 cm dilated. Because I was due on Thanksgiving, if I didn't get induced at 39 weeks and 4 days I would have to wait until a couple days after 40 weeks (unless I went into labor naturally). I decided that I didn't want to wait until after my due date and also it was appealing to know exactly when I would deliver so that I could make sure Navy was okay. 

So on Sunday, at 39 weeks and 3 days, we went to my friends house and set Navy up. We took some family pics, kissed her bye, and headed home for a few hours before checking in to the hospital at midnight. 

Unlike with Navy where I started in the triage room, this time they brought me right to my delivery room. Our room had a window overlooking the hills (it was like a hotel room). They did the IV and all the necessary bloodwork and then around 1:00 am we started Pitocin. Lennon reacted so well to the Pitcocin with no issues at all (with Navy her heart rate kept on dropping so we would need to stop/start it). At around 4:00 am I got the epidural (I honestly should have gotten it a bit earlier). At 8:20 am I was 4.5 cm dilated so my doctor broke my water. Around 12:20 pm I was 10 cm dilated. I told my nurse and the midwife that my legs were so frozen, I didn't think I'd be able to push and that we may need to lower my epidural. The midwife said to do one practice push and immediately said to stop, the baby was so close and she was going to call my doctor. My doctor got there so quickly and in around 3 pushes she was out. 

Lennon Cove Leider was born at 12:55 pm, 6lbs 9oz and 19.5 inches long. To say I'm grateful that I've had two amazing birth experiences is an understatement. 

Navy is loving the role of big sister and her "little baby sister Lenny". I'm just soaking it all in.