Lilly’s Birth Story
I will preface this post by saying I tried EVERYTHING to induce labor naturally:
- Walking / exercise
- Pineapple
- Castor oil (yuck)
- Jumping jacks
- Getting baby to come out the way baby got there in the first place… if you know what I mean
- Spicy food (ALL the spicy food!!)
- Sitting on an exercise ball
- Gentle Birth Formula (I took that stuff every day since week 35!)
- Evening Primrose Oil (EPO)
- Red Raspberry Leaf Tea
- Massage
- Accupressure
- Labor & Delivery formula (an herbal tincture I got at my local birth boutique)
- Etc.
Seriously. You name it. I tried it.
I am a FIRM believer that none of those things ever actually work. If you try one and you go into labor, I believe that you were meant to go into labor at that point and it is purely coincidence. (Can you tell I’m cynical?)
I do understand that things like sex and castor oil really can work to induce labor because biologically the hormones produced from those things do jumpstart labor, but I believe they work on bodies that are actually ready for labor. Basically they work on a body where the cervix and baby are ripe for delivery. I say this because I literally tried everything in the book and Baby Stillman just wasn’t ready yet.
I will also say that this story (as with all birth stories) MAY include a few things (including a few pictures – don’t worry nothing HORRIBLE or x-rated) that could be TMI for a few of you, but you will just have to deal. This is the story and I want to remember every detail. Remember, labor and birth is one of the most natural things God designed – and He created every bit of it… the TMI parts and all. I will also say that this post is incredibly long. Sorry I’m not sorry.
With all of that being said, here is how the arrival of Baby Stillman DID happen.
I had been having contractions for WEEKS. They were basically just very intense Braxton Hicks contractions. There were multiple times over the two and a half weeks leading up to the actual day that I thought I was in early labor. My contractions would get closer together, but were never actually painful. They were just UNCOMFORTABLE – they’d make my heart race and they’d make it tough to breathe.
The night I tried castor oil, they got SUPER close together and I ended up going into the hospital to get monitored because I hadn’t felt the baby move. I was still not even close to being in labor.
I thought I’d be pregnant forever. I knew that wasn’t the case, but it was hard to not feel like that. I just knew I did NOT want to be induced. I prayed and prayed and prayed to not be induced. All I wanted was for a natural labor… no drugs. No pitocin. No epidural. No c-section. No nothing. I wanted a labor like God designed.
Oh, how naive I was.
I went to my 41 week, 2 day midwife appointment on Friday, August 16th. I was still 1cm (no change from the previous appointment), about 50% effaced and baby was still VERY high. My midwife proceeded to give me a rather “rough” vaginal exam. I don’t believe she actually stripped my membranes (I was told baby was still too high for that to even be possible), but I would concur with her assessment that the exam was rough. It was not pleasant. She also then ordered me to go home and try to get baby to come out the way baby got there in the first place.
At 41 weeks pregnant, this is not exactly the thing that is “top of mind.” No offense, babe.
But alas, doctor’s orders.
I left the appointment and went and got a cupcake from Whole Foods and then headed home. I was pretty exhausted so I passed out on the couch until hubby got home from work.
Things happened and we decided to go out to a nice dinner. We actually ended up going to the place where we had our rehearsal dinner the night before our wedding, Russell’s Steakhouse in Hillsborough (we LOVE that place).
We happened to sit in the SAME room, at the SAME table we sat at during our rehearsal dinner… and as chance would have it, Like Jesus Does by Eric Church (our first dance song) was playing in the room when we were seated. I joked that maybe this was fate! Maybe that meant this was our “rehearsal dinner” the night before we met our baby.
After dinner, we went home, watched a movie, had some hubby and wife time and then went to sleep around midnight.
At 2am on the dot, I woke up to a feeling I hadn’t felt before. People kept telling me that real contractions felt like strong menstrual cramps. But I’ve never really been one to get bad cramps… I mean, I’ve had them, but never unbearable.
I now know EXACTLY what people mean when they say contractions feel like strong menstrual cramps. I had no idea until I actually felt them.
So yeah, I woke up at 2am with STRONG menstrual cramps. It was uncomfortable and painful. Nothing like the contractions I’d felt up until this point. I laid in bed just feeling contraction after contraction and I stared at the clock. I didn’t want to jinx it. I was afraid this was yet another false alarm. I honestly wasn’t sure WHAT was happening. I didn’t wake up John because I was afraid of the false alarm. Plus, I knew that if this was it I wanted him rested.
I finally started timing them with an app on my phone at about 3am. These contractions hurt. I had to breathe through each one. They were all over the place though. They’d come every 5 minutes and then every 10 minutes and then every 2 minutes etc. etc. etc. I wasn’t sure what to think.
This went on for another 3 and a half hours.
At 6:30am they really started to hurt and it was to the point where I could no longer just silently breathe through them… I was starting to vocalize through them. And I accidentally woke up John. He immediately was like, “Are you okay?”
And I told him I thought I was in labor. So, we lay there for another hour and he timed them. They were now, pretty consistently, 5 minutes apart. And again, they hurt.
I really did NOT want to go to the hospital yet because I was still so afraid I wasn’t in labor. So, we got up and decided to eat something. I had a couple small bowls of cereal. We then decided to take the dogs for a walk to see what that did. I had to stop every time I had a contraction. Then I decided to see what taking a shower would do. John sat on the toilet outside the shower timing contractions for me. I couldn’t even tell him I was having one… I’d just wave my hand outside the shower curtain when one started and stopped.
Finally, at around noon (10 hours into labor so far) I called my midwife. I was in tears. I said, “I think I’m in labor.” She said to me, “Uhhh, yeah. It sounds like it. Let’s bring you in and see.”
So, we gathered our things and headed for the hospital.
We got to Durham Regional Hospital at 1pm and went right up to labor and delivery. We got put in a room and they had me put on the sexy hospital gown and we waited.
We hung the We <3 Embry sign in our room… just like my mom had done in her labor and delivery room. 
My midwife on call, Anne, came in and finally checked me at about 2pm. I was 4cm dilated and 80% effaced! I seriously cried. I was SO nervous that I’d still be only 1cm dilated. So 4cm was a HUGE deal! I was then officially admitted to the hospital and we knew at this point we weren’t leaving without a baby.
We finally texted family and a few friends to tell them I was in labor.
Sure, I was all smiles early on…
Then, it was all a matter of waiting and laboring. I got put on the monitors for a bit… baby was looking good and my contractions were consistent and close together (about 3-4 minutes apart). I was sticking to my guns and my birth plan that I was NOT having an epidural and I was doing this thing drug free.
John spent the next few hours in the room watching reruns of the Cosby Show and holding my hand. I ate SO much jello and italian ice and SO many popsicles. I was drinking my RRL tea, taking my herbal tinctures, sitting on the birthing ball, standing up, laying down.
Contractions HURT, but I was managing them quite well I felt like.
Our friends Dave and Kristin came by to see us for a little bit… (Kristin is the awesome friend who took these pictures for me. At the time I totally didn’t want my picture taken, but I am SO glad I have these to look back on) I wasn’t much fun. And I was vocalizing A LOT through contractions. As awkward and weird as I know I probably sounded, just making sounds as I was breathing out through a contraction REALLY helped with the pain. All the other things I learned in birth class really didn’t do much. But breathing and vocalizing did.
John kept trying to make me laugh. It turns out laughing while having a contraction is the WORST and hurts. Like, a lot. But, I appreciated it and it kept my mental state in check.
His parents arrived around 6pm or so and brought John some food. I made him promise not to tell me what they brought him because I was STARVING and could only have clear liquids. He went out to the waiting room to eat (it was Chick-fil-a, I came to found out later) with his dad.
My sister arrived shortly after John’s parents and they all just hung out in the room with us.
At about 7:45pm my midwife came in and wanted to check me again. At this point I’d been laboring for almost 18 hours, 7 of which in the hospital.
I was only 5cm.
Not good. I’d only progressed 1cm since I’d arrived.
My midwife and my nurse mentioned they wanted to give me pitocin at this point. I cried. I didn’t want pitocin touching my body! I was so afraid of that drug. I knew that it was going to make my contractions even stronger than they already were and even closer together. And I knew it was going to hurt. I was so scared. But, I knew in my heart that I needed it. My contractions were spacing out and clearly I wasn’t progressing enough on my own.
So, at 8:45pm they started me on 12ml of pitocin. And within 20 minutes my contractions were taking off – coming every 2 minutes and they. were. strong. Oh man. They hurt. Bad.
They backed off the pitocin a little around 10pm because I was responding so well to it (and by well, I was in PAIN), so they backed it down to 9ml.
Then my contractions spaced out again… so they upped me to 15ml of pitocin.
I was in so much pain, but I was continuing to press on. I was staying focused. Breathing and vocalizing through every contraction. I knew I could handle it if I just took it all one contraction at a time. If I didn’t think about the contraction I’d already had or the ones that were to come, I was okay. The 30second breaks (or so) that I got in between I used to rest as much as I possibly could.
But they hurt. Bad. It was a pain I have yet to describe.
At one point I took John by the hand and asked if we could walk the halls for a bit, thinking that may help. But the truth was, I wanted to get out of the room and I just needed to be with my husband for a minute.
We got down the hall and I just burst into tears. I’d been laboring for almost 20 hours at this point and I was exhausted, in serious pain, and I was started to get really scared. I just kept saying, “I don’t know if I can do this. I’m so scared.”
John was amazing through it all. He just kept kissing my forehead, rubbing my back, telling me he loved me and how proud he was of me. He kept saying how amazing I was doing. I so needed that. But I knew in my heart of hearts I was getting weary.
At midnight my midwife came in to check me again.
I was “barely” 7cm, still 80% effaced, and the baby was still REALLY high.
I burst into tears. I knew that 7cm-10cm (aka: “transition”) was the hardest part of labor… and after being awake and laboring for 20 hours at this point, I just didn’t think I could do it.
I was also really nervous because the baby was so high. Baby wasn’t even close to being in my pelvis. So, we started talking options.
My three options at this point were:
- Continue at the current pace. No drugs. Continue on pitocin. See what happens.
- Get an epidural, up the pitocin, try and rest.
- Get a c-section.
I didn’t like any of the options. But after discussing, John and I thought a c-section at this point was probably going to be the best route considering where the baby was. My fear with going with option 2 was that I was going to end up having a c-section anyway… and I didn’t want to continue laboring for so long only to end up in a c-section. Option 1 was clearly not an option anymore.
But then we learned that the OR wasn’t going to be available for another 3-4 hours because someone had JUST gone in for a c-section.
So, here I was, faced with options 1 and 2 only again. I couldn’t do option 1. It just wasn’t an option. I was too tired and in too much pain. I was terrified of option 2, but figured it may be a blessing. Maybe the epidural would relax me enough and the higher dose of pitocin would get me to where I needed to be to be able to push.
So, option 2 it was.
Side story about the epidural – the anesthesiologist came in to do the epidural (which I was TERRIFIED of, by the way. Me and needles? Not friends.) Well, his name was Dr. Eugene Lee, but I could only see Eugene on his nametag. Being my usual self, I tried to make friends with him (amidst contractions). I was having a contraction while he was talking to me about the risks of an epidural (I could be paralyzed, etc…) and I was telling him I was having a contraction while vocalizing. He said, “I’m going to keep going so we can get started.”
I heard nothing he said. I was not amused and clearly he wasn’t either.
Anyway, I kept calling him Eugene and my husband noted that he was a Dr. and probably would want to be called Dr. after all those years of schooling (my husband was joking and just trying to lighten the mood). So, I called him Dr. Eugene. The nurse, my husband, and midwife all thought it was hilarious. Dr. Eugene? Not so much. Never cracked a smile.
Oh well. I still giggle thinking about Dr. Eugene.
Anyway.
So, I got the epidural, which wasn’t awesome (getting stuck with a giant needle while having a contraction is not great), but compared to pitocin contractions, it wasn’t terrible. Within about 30 minutes, my entire lower body was numb. I could feel contractions, but they were no longer painful.
They told me to rest, but between the HORRIBLE case of labor shakes that I got and the blood pressure cuff going off every minute, I was not getting any sleep.
Shortly after getting the epidural, the nurse came in and put in my catheter and the doctor came in and broke my water. Talk about crazy weird sensation.
So, 12:30am, here I am, in bed, water broken, epidural in, pitocin pumping, and now we wait.
John was able to sleep a little. My sister and in-laws went to the waiting room to try and rest. I laid there nervously waiting.
I continued to labor for another 2 and a half hours.
At 3am, in hour 25 of labor, 2 and a half hours after breaking my water, upping the pitocin, and getting the epidural, my midwife came in and checked me again.
I was still 7cm and baby was not dropping.
At this point, my midwife and the doctor looked at each other and looked at me and said, “This tells us the baby isn’t descending and we have to get that baby out.”
So, at 3:15am the decision for a c-section was decided.
Basically everything I prayed for in regards to labor and delivery – my desire for a natural, drug-free birth, no pitocin, no epidural, and certainly no c-section were completely out the window.
But, I knew that it was the best decision for our baby. And that was ALL I cared about. I kept saying, you do whatever needs to be done for this baby to be okay.
My family came in and we all prayed together. I asked my sister (who had also had a c-section) what her experience was. I was so nervous. I’ve never had surgery before and I was so afraid of feeling something or just all the unknowns.
She really reassured me. John got his awesome white “suit” put on and they wheeled me into the OR to get me prepped.
I still had the labor shakes and so I was just shaking uncontrollably. Once I got into the ER and transferred to the operating table, they upped the dosage in my epidural. I immediately got extremely nauseous. I started throwing up right there. Since I was strapped to the table, all I could do was turn my head to the side and try and throw up in a little cup they placed by my head. Yeah, that was fun. Not.
They gave me something for my nausea and, of course, in typical Molly fashion, I tried to make jokes about it all.
At about 4:10am, they brought John in and he sat by my head and held my hand. We held hands and he kissed me and they started the procedure. They did some “test” areas to see if I could feel anything and I couldn’t. I never felt any pain, just a lot of touching and pressure. I was so nervous and still shaking uncontrollably which was horrible.
Then, the next thing I knew, they said, “Be prepared for a lot of pressure.” I just felt like a big push and then like a suction type feeling and the next thing I heard was the sweetest cry I’ve ever heard.
John stood up to look and he said, “Well, it looks like I’m outnumbered again.” (We have 2 dogs who are girls).
I love the picture on the right because you can see the time that she was born on John’s phone… 
I immediately started crying and said, “We have a GIRL?! It’s a girl?!” I was so shocked!
At 4:24am, on August 18th, 2013, after 26 and a half hours of labor, our sweet girl was born via c-section. She was 8lbs 11.9oz and 21.5” long.
John got up and went over to where they were cleaning her off. Her apgar scores were 8 and 9! She was beautiful, perfect, and healthy! She was everything we had prayed for.
They gave her to John and he brought her over to me and I kissed her and kept telling her how beautiful she was. I kissed John. I kept telling him how much I love him.
The doctor and my midwife asked the name and we both said, this is Lilly Eileen. She was our Lilly Eileen.
I hated that I couldn’t do skin to skin right away or hold her right away, but I knew I wanted John to not leave her side. So, John went with her to the nursery while they stitched me up and put me back together.
I remember being in the operating room chatting with the doctors and nurses (and Dr. Eugene was there, too!) and I just kept saying how happy I was, how thankful I was for everything they did, and I kept saying how much I love my husband. I don’t know what came over me, but I remember laying there on the operating table saying how hot I think he is, how much I love him, and how lucky I am that he is my husband and the father of our DAUGHTER.
Daughter! We have a daughter! A baby girl! A little Lilly.
I am still in shock as I write this.
Also, as they were stitching me up, the doctor noted that Lilly was very high (nowhere near in my pelvis) and in an awkward position. She said, “Yeah, there was no way this baby was coming out the other way.” They also suspect that it could have been because she was too big for my pelvis. …dang it, I was really hoping my Buckley buns and child-bearing hips were going to come in handy finally. But noooooooo.
About 40 minutes later, they took me back to my labor and delivery room to recover and about another 15-20 minutes later, John came in with Lilly and I got to hold her for the first time.
I just kept staring at her. She was so perfect and beautiful.
She may not have arrived the way I thought I wanted, but she came in her own time, in her own way, and she was healthy and perfect and ours.
The next few hours were really a blur. Recovering, getting transferred to postpartum, etc. I don’t think I even slept a wink. No wait, I know I didn’t sleep a wink until the next night… and even then, sleep was fleeting. Heck, it still kind of is.
We were in the hospital for another 3 and a half days after that. We were visited by so many wonderful family and friends. The nurses and my midwives and the doctors were all SO amazing.
The recovery was and has been tough. The incision pain is horrible. Going to the bathroom at first was the worst. At first, walking was tough. And all modesty pretty much went kaput in the hospital. “Oh hey, that’s just my butt hanging out of this gown.” “Oh hai, those are just my boobs you’re seeing.” “Don’t mind these giant mesh undies.” “Oh don’t mind that, that’s just a bag filled with my pee since I can’t get up from this bed.”
Breastfeeding initially was really challenging (I plan on writing about my first days and experiences with this soon). Lilly lost a lot of weight at first. So that time in the hospital was like an emotional roller coaster. Moments of pure joy and excitement followed by moments of lots of crying and lots of fear.
But, in the end, the Lord blessed us with a beautiful baby girl. She is everything we prayed for. I marvel at her every day and I marvel at the way the Lord designed her and her birth. I look at the details in her ears and her eyes and her hair and her fingernails and I just am in awe of God’s work and God’s glory.
We have been given a gift. A precious gift. We feel so blessed that the Lord saw fit to lend our sweet Lilly to us. That’s what she is. She’s our daughter on this earth, but ultimately she is a daughter of the King… and He has entrusted her to us to take care of her. And when we consider the job we have laid before us, we know that it is all worth it.
“I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him.” 1 Samuel 1:27
We went home from the hospital on Wednesday, August 21st, 2013. Our little family.
I’m a new reader of your blog and I loved reading this. Our birth stories are very similar. I ended up with a C-Section after 20 hours of pitocin labor. (I actually made it to 10cm and pushed for 4 hours, but my baby was just too big to come out!). I wanted that drug-free, natural labor, too. HAHAH. Oh well, what matters is that my baby girl got here safely. I know this is years later and that you’ve had another one since then, but thanks for sharing her story!
aw thank you SO much for reading!!!! you are so awesome and i know you’re an amazing mama!!!
This is such a beautiful birth story. Thank you for sharing it. I haven’t had any babies of my own yet but I am a nursing student and I loved my labour and delivery rotation. Such a happy time! God bless you and your family.
First, congratulations! What a precious and beautiful girl and story! I had to laugh when I saw the pics of your husband wearing the Tar Heels shirts at Duke hospital! 🙂 I grew up in Durham, but we moved back to Ohio about 9 yrs ago. Thank you for sharing!
I’m very behind on my blog reading but I wanted to still say Congrats on having a Daughter!! Loved reading your birth story it sounded so much like mine. I had to have a c-section too because I stopped dilating at 4cm and that of course was my worst fear..which did end up being my worst fear because the anesthesiologist turned off my epidural too soon and I felt everything from them cutting to the staples..needless to say that was enough to make me never want another child.
Anyway, she is absolutely beautiful and congrats again!!
I’m a CNU alum also and I forget how I first stumbled upon your blog…but it’s been awhile since I’ve read it. First of all, congrats on your precious baby girl! I loved reading your birth story – I’m obsessed with birth stories, they are fascinating. It brought back so many memories on the birth of my son (our first of two children). I had my mind set on a natural labor, but God had a different plan – it took Pitocin, an epidural, and an IV of magnesium sulfate to get him out safely. But in the end, no matter how different it looks than we imagine, that perfect, precious baby is in our arms and that’s all that matters. I wish you the best of luck in motherhood!
aw thank you so much, emily!! (Go captains!!) and thank you so much for your sweet and encouraging comment. God’s plan is always better than our own <3
I sat here and cried half way through your story. Wow talk about everything you wanted and God having another plan, but that is how amazing our Heavenly Father is! He knew exactly how sweet baby girl needed to come out! I am due in about 4 weeks and am having all the same fears of you. The unknown is scary, but I just keep praying! She is absolutely beautiful! Thank you for sharing your crazy journey, but in the end she was all worth it and know mine will be too! 🙂 God bless your family
Thank you so much for reading, Taylor. And thank you for your encouraging words. Praying for you!
Thanks for sharing Lilly’s birth story! Someday she will love reading how she came into the world. I can relate to your story. My first son was a long 25hr labor that ended in a c-section. My other two kiddos were HBACs. My doulas wrote birth stories for each of my kiddos and I’ve blogged all their birth stories if you are into reading other people’s birth stories. 😉
God bless!
i’m so glad you can relate! it helps so much! and i totally want to read your birth stories!!
I waited forever to read this and I still burst into tears when you talked about hearing her cry for the first time. This was absolutely beautiful and I am so happy for your family. Lily is amazing and so are YOU!
aw thank you so much for reading, kate!! <3
Big congrats Molly! Lilly is soo precious & what a wonderful gift, she is for. I cannot image how strong you had to be to go through this, ouch! Miss Lilly is oh so beautiful : )
thank you so much, raquel!
Such an amazing birth story Molly! I had tears in my eyes the whole time. She is just gorgeous. Congrats again, and well done mama, you did awesome!
aw thank you so much, em!
Molly, Congratulations! This was such a beautiful story and I cried throughout. Thank you for sharing your story.
thank you so much, holli!
Molly! I read your birth story and my heart is full for you and John. I can’t help but be tearful and brimming with happiness for you. That first moment a mother gets to hold her new born child is indescribable and utterly precious.
Lilly is absolutely beautiful!
aw thank you so much, skylette!
After 30 hours of labour and a c-section, I resonate with your story like crazy, Molly 🙂 Right there with you. Isn’t it amazing how the grace of God covers us in life’s unexpected turns. Hope your recovery progresses a bit quicker now that you are well settled at home with your sweet girl xx
oh wow! so similar!! God’s grace is so amazing!! thank you so much, katie!
Beautiful birth story! You are inspiring and honest and really look up to you. I had a C-section to and really REALLY didn’t want to. But it’s ok. life goes on and the most important thing is that Lily is ok. She’s a beauty and God bless you both!
Can’t wait to see how great of a mama you are going to be…
happymedley.blogspot.com
oh wow. thank you so much for your sweet comment, anna! <3
Okay, I read every word of this looooooong but oh so sweet post!! Girl, you were a trooper for lasting as long as you did! Both of my girls were C-Sections, so i know exactly how you felt going into the OR. Get ready, Miss Lily is gonna be a a stubborn one!! LOL! Thanks for sharing all the details. I am just over the moon for you guys!! And DR. Eugene needs to get a sense of humor!! 😉
oh man! thank you so much for reading, shanna!! i didn’t know your girls were c-sections. were they planned or unplanned? <3 <3 <3
CONGRATS again, Molly!! You did so well! Also, I can’t get over how much Lilly looks like you! She is your mini-me! Such a sweet baby!
xo
thank you so much, clare!!
I’ve always loved your blog since I saw your wedding on KJ, but I’ll admit I’ve been way more blog stalking for updates since you’ve been pregnant! LOVED seeing the pictures and hearing your birth experience. As a L&D nurse it’s always interesting seeing it on this side! Your daughter is gorgeousssssss! So happy for you and your family!
aw thank you so much, becca! <3 <3 <3
She is absolutely precious!!! And, I LOVE her name too!!! Congratulations!
thank you so much, shannon!!
oh my goodness – what a miracle! Aren’t God’s plans funny… so not how we planned, and yet so perfect all along. I am crying big fat alligator tears of joy for you and your new journey as mother & growing family!
xx
Here&Now
God is so good! thank you so much, jessica!
such a lovely story even if miss lilly had to enter the world on her own terms. 😉 so, so happy for your little family!
thank you so much, b!
Congratulations on your beautiful and precious baby girl!
thank you so much, miranda!
Oh Molly, girl you went through it all! I’m so thankful Lilly is so healthy. You are a champ for trying so patiently and laboring for so long!
And the mesh undies and losing all modesty…things I won’t soon forget. It is an experience unlike any other when the nurses come in to check EVERYthing! Oi.
Sending hugs!
thank you so much, beth!! hahaha yeah seriously!! modesty… gone!
Great story!!! She is precious!!!! I pray that your recovery time is filled with rest and is a speedy process. Congratulations on your sweet girl! Enjoy Lilly!!
thank you so much, jasmine!
I loved reading and living every word of your story. I am so happy for you, John and Baby Stillman. Thank you for sharing.
thank you so much, lisa!
First time commenting. I was induced by my water being broken. I has been having contactions for weeks and i was dilated and effaced before going in. labored for a long time on a ball before getting pit. I had a very similar situation with a failure to decsend c section. Its hard to not get those moments you had been dreaming of but out little girls are worth it.
If they gave you an abdominal binder I recommend wearing it. It helps a ton with the incision pain and getting around. I’m 7 and a half weeks post and still having some pain but it gets better. Lily is beautiful, congrats!
thank you so much for reading, tina! they didn’t give me an abdominal binder… i will have to check on that!!
This is one of the sweetest blog posts I’ve ever read…in the history of blogs! You are such a strong mama! Loved reading this incredible story!
aw thank you so much, katie. <3
I love birth stories. Thank you for sharing. And I’m glad that Lilly made her way into the world healthy.
thank you so much for reading, jessica!!
What a sweet and beautiful story! Lilly is absolutely perfect. Hope you all are doing well Molly !!!
thank you so much, monika! hope to see you soon!!
You’re awesome! You rocked it!
Whoo Hoo!
Thanks so much for sharing your beautiful story with us!
thank you so much, justiss!!
Tears. Beautiful story. Beautiful family.
thank you so much, lins!
Molly – thank you so much for sharing your story! I followed along through all of your weekly updates during your pregnancy, and I loved every minute of reading how it turned out even through the tears pouring down my face. As a soon-to-be-mom, I’m so thankful for women that share their stories. I love seeing how different every story is and how each baby enters the world in his/her own way. I can’t wait to see how my own story pans out in just a few months. Thank you again for your honesty and transparency. And, congratulations on sweet Lilly! 🙂
aw thank you so much, melissa! thank you thank you thank you. so encouraging.
Molly that is crazy what you went through, but to such a perfect end! I do love that photo of John’s phone with the time on it. I’m in tears reading this, happy tears(!) for you and your family and your sweet Lilly!
aw thank you so much for reading it, niki!!!!
Oh my friend, what a ride!!! It sure is crazy how a lot of this is simply beyond our control! So proud of you for rolling with the punches……and what an amazing story!
thank you so much, carly! God is so good.
This was such a beautiful story. Even though things didn’t go as planned, all that’s important is that your sweet daughter is here and that she is healthy! (and super adorable too!!)
xo,
Angela
thank you so much, angela!!
Aw I loved reading all of this! You have such a beautiful family and I couldn’t be happier for you. 🙂
thank you so much, evani!
What a beautiful story! Love this! 🙂
thank you so much, liza!
Def just teared up reading this. You are precious! Thanks for sharing your story 🙂
thank you so much, deanna!!
Your strength and determination are so inspiring! I don’t know if I could have gone through what you did, but I am so glad that you shared your story with us. What a little blessing. Lilly could not be more perfect. I am so glad that both you and her are healthy and happy! 🙂
aw thank you so much, lauren!! you have no idea how strong you are until you’re tested 🙂
Thanks for sharing all the details Molly! Lilly is the sweetest, most precious baby and I’m so glad that she had a safe delivery despite all that you had to go through and that it wasn’t what you wanted. She is perfect! Congrats to you and John!
thank you so much for reading, laura!!!
What a great emotional story. I’m so glad it all worked out in the end. TFS
bisous
Suzanne
thank you so much, suzanne!
Beautiful story Molly. I had a similar one except that I pushed for 3 hours and ended up with a c-section. I’m so glad everything worked out well and you have a healthy baby girl.
Don’t forget to stop by tomorrow and link up for my weekly Tres-Chic Fashion Thursday Link Up.
Agi:)
vodkainfusedlemonade.com
oh my gosh! i can’t even imagine! thank you so much for reading, agi!
Molly, I’m in a room of 16 people in a meeting and can’t stop crying. Beautiful. I’m so glad you took the time to write all this down.
reason #49180138 why i love you. thank you so much, kristin!
I couldn’t help but think of a song… “You can’t always get what you want / But if you try sometimes well you just might find / You get what you need”.
Maybe the Stones were onto something. 🙂
Thanks for sharing. Clearly, Lilly couldn’t be in two better pairs of hands. 🙂 Congratulations!
haha love it. thank you so much, rob! you are awesome.
This is such a beautiful story, thank you for sharing it with us! In the end, it all worked out and you now have a beautiful sweet baby girl! I laughed when you said you were telling the doctors how hot your husband is, haha. Congrats again Molly!
xo, Yi-chia
Always Maylee
aw thank you so much, yi-chia!
This was a beautiful story Molly. To be honest, this usually freaks me out, but you really spoke from your heart and it was a beautiful story. I am so sorry that it didn’t work out the way you wanted to, but I am SO happy that the c-section worked out for you and your baby girl came out healthy! She is such a doll! And I can’t believe that you were in labor that long, What a strong person you are, and what a wonderful husband you have to be there by you every step of the way.
Hope you are enjoying every moment with your beautiful girl!
thank you so much, rachel!!
Thank you for sharing this, what a beautiful journey you are on 🙂
thank you so much, ann marie!
I loved hearing your birth story. You are so strong! And Lilly is adorable. I am due in 9 weeks and am praying everything goes ok for me. I know I want an epidural though 🙂 I don’t want to feel the pain
thank you so much, christine!! praying for you as you wait for your lil one!
Molly I have been waiting on this post since you gave birth, thank you so much for sharing your story and Lilly’s story. It brought tears to my eyes. I marvel at your strength, your faith in God, and your ability to find humor in all situations. I know LillStill will have an amazing life with her amazing parents.
xo
thank you so much for reading, marissa!! <3 <3 <3
You are so amazing and strong. All birth stories are beautiful and I find myself in tears as I read this. Isn’t God amazing?? I know He was by your side thru the whole thing. You have a beautiful birth story and Lilly has one brave and wonderful Mama.
aw thank you so much, lindsay! God is SO good!!
An absolutely wonderful post…I wish you all the best!
thank you so much!
Thanks for sharing Molly…what an amazing birthing story…and Lilly is SO beautiful! What a strong mama you were for her. I have to be honest…the laboring process sounds terrifying…haha…but at least you know what you’ll end up with on the other end of it 🙂
Also – what a coincidence that my cousin Kayla interned for you?! I saw you liked one of her instagram photos so I finally got to ask her if she knew you this weekend…too funny 🙂
Annie
The Other Side of Gray
thank you so much for reading, annie!! and yeah! CRAZY small world that Kayla is your cousin! she was the BEST intern i ever had!! in fact, she is kinda the one who pushed me to make a move on my now hubby… hahahahahaah funny story.
Thank you so much for sharing the story of your family, Molly! I cried, I smiled, and my heart might have even skipped a beat. Although your birthing story doesn’t match your original expectations, it seems like little Lilly Eileen well exceeds them, and that’s all you can ask for <3
thank you so much jenn!!
I cried (in my office) through your whole story. Thank you for sharing! Also, Aug. 18 is an AWESOME birthday!
aw thank you so much for reading, meg!
Is it weird that I got all excited about reading your story? Maybe a little, but I so did enjoy it! You’re a great writer Molly and I laughed plenty of times. Sometimes things don’t go according to how we plan them and sometimes they do, I’m sure you know all that, but in the end “All things turn out for the Good for those who Love GOD!” Romans 8:28 And I can definitely see not only the Love of God in your life but also the Heart, Love, and Awe you have for Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. For God.
God bless You Lily and Hubby in Jesus name!
♥ Linda Mendible
not weird at all!! i read so many birth stories all the time!! <3 thank you so much, linda!!
Molly, this is such a beautiful story!! Thank you so much for sharing it. The Dr. Eugene part was so funny! Definitely an lol!!
I try to crack jokes at the WORST times to lighten the mood, too. A couple weeks ago, we rushed to the ER with our daughter because she’s (apparently) highly allergic to fire ant bites. So, we’re in the ER and the nurse is trying to put the thingy on Izzie’s big toe to monitor her oxygen levels. Side note: Izzie hates her feet being touched. Greeeaaat, right? So, it’s the nurse, me, my hubby, and Izzie who is swollen from her eyelids to her toes; we’re wrestling to get the thing on her toe, and she’s wrestling back so we don’t put it on her toe. And at that moment, I decided to say “This is just like cutting her toenails! Hahaha!” Cue the crickets. Both the nurse and my husband just look at me, like, “What are you saying? And why are you saying it?” and then continue to, you know, proceed with the matter at hand. Ehhh, I thought it was funny.
hahahaha i’m so glad i’m not the only one who makes jokes at the inopportune time… hahaha thank you so much, rebecca!!
Thanks for sharing your wonderful story, it brings joy to read all about it! Rob
thank you so much for reading, rob!
She is lovely, healthy, and looks just like you. No matter what happened in the hospital, she arrived just like you wanted her to – perfect(: Blessings! Susan
aw thank you so much, susan. <3
Love reading birth stories and yours was great! Isn’t it the truth that birth is one of those things we just have no control of? No matter what we plan, our bodies and our babies are going to do it their way. What a pretty girl she is.
Tricia @ roadtriptheworld
thank you so much, tricia! you are so right… no control at all!
you are such a warrior and she is going to be so thankful for what you did for her one day….after the teenage years of course :)))
brooke @ what2wear
thank you so much, love. <3
This was beautiful, Molly. I cried and smiled right along with you. I’m so happy for you and John and your sweet baby girl. I can’t believe she’s two weeks old and smiling already. That shows how much she loves who she’s been given to 🙂 xoxoxo
thank you so much, alexandra!!
Ur story brought tears in my eyes and reminded me of my 2 labours. Anyways congrats and what a cute baby
thank you so much, maria!
I cried as I read this because it reminded me of my labor. I also went with option 2 that then turned into a csection. You did such a wonderful job, Molly! Aren’t the shakes awful? I kept asking if there was something wrong with me lol Congratulations on your beautiful baby girl! Hope you are recovering well!
the shakes were the WORST!!! thank you so much, maria!
That sounded like a thoroughly miserable ordeal, but thanks to that Molly Buckley humor and positive attitude, you survived and we enjoyed reading it. When I saw the photos of you three announcing her birth, I saw the OR first, and immediately concluded C Section, which made me think ‘Oh, no, they induced you’, which I knew was not what you wanted at all. Glad to know it was an option of last resort, and 26 hours of labor is absolutely long enough, and I don’t know how you made it through all that with a smile on your face. But you did, and poor John is just going to keep drowning in estrogen. (I laugh because I suspect that will be my luck. Kristi and I both want two or three boys with maybe one little girl for them to take care of, but with my luck I will throw nothing but girls and maybe get one boy!)
The two big takeaways from this, for me, are that Lilly still chose her own birthdate, because you did go into labor on your own, and that, even through all of that chaos and pain and suffering – and risk of paralysis, yikes, yet another reason to pass on that procedure! – Lilly came into the world safe and healthy.
haha thank you so much for reading, jim! and you’re right… so many positives to take out of it all!!
What an incredible story. I got all teary eyed. I don’t know why, I’m just weirdly emotional like that even though I’m no where near a mother. But it was so sweet and made me wonder about my future. You seem to have a great husband and it’s good you had people there to help you! Maybe it’s me, but it does seem God tends to do things how we DON’T want them, but the good thing is knowing that it’s not because He’s cruel, but because He’s far wiser than we are. Even if it seems pointless to go one way or another, He has a purpose. Even if it’s just a test to know we would count on Him when things don’t go our way. But whatever reason, He is always good, and that proof is in ya’lls arms right there! 🙂
thank you so much, toria. so sweet of you. <3
Oh Molly. What an amazing post. I read it as I was nursing my sick 8 month old back to sleep and couldn’t help but hold her closer and tear up as I read about the way your sweet Lilly arrived. Things don’t always go as we plan them, but in the end things happen the way they do for a reason. She is a beauty and she is healthy and she is yours. You are already such a wonderful mama. I am so happy for you and your little family! Congratulations on your little beauty! ❤
aw thank you so much, vilma!! <3
Oh Molly! Thank you so much for sharing this!! I can relate to a few things!! My son, who is now 3!, was high too causing me to have a c section too. Like you I wanted to have him the natural way, after all I have an older sister who spit out 3 without batting an eye! You’ve inspired me to possibly blog about Lil Hunkie’s birth story! I commend you for all that laboring! You are the woman! You know every person’s story of how they got here is unique to them because God created us all unique. You’re such a blessing, thank you! Congrats and welcome to the mommy club! 😉
i really hope you do blog about hunkie’s birth story. i’d LOVE to read it!! let me know if you do!! thank you so much, jennifer!!
oh man what a story! I guess I just got lucky with the gentle birth formula! You just brought back so many memories of my labor exactly one year ago. I’m so happy to hear everything worked out and that your little family is at home and thriving!
thank you so much, ruthy!
I read the entire post and lingered on your every word. What a story! It brought me back to my C-section some 29 years ago. I remember that post surgery not being any fun at all, in fact it was terrible and I had to stay in the hospital for 5 days. But my son was the best gift I ever got from God and I still Thank him everyday. Your Lilly will be the apple of your eye for the rest of your life and you will be forever thankful.
oh thank you so much, neti!
I don’t know what my hormones are up to but this is one of the best birth stories I’ve read and I may or may not have teared up reading it. Thanks for sharing!
thank you so much for reading, anna!