I have been going back and forth on whether or not to share my birth story on my blog or keep it private. I'm so grateful to all of you who have been loyally following my life journey for the past four years, so it didn't feel right to not share the most incredible day of my entire life with all of you!
We welcomed our sweet Isla Rose Parcell on Sunday, May 3rd at 7:53 am. She weighed 6 pounds, 11 ounces and came in at 19 inches long.
About halfway through my pregnancy my doctor informed me that for medical reasons there was a chance I would need to undergo a C-Section. I was a little discouraged but still held out hope that I would be able to labor and deliver my baby girl vaginally. I had a few false alarms where I thought I was going into labor…the first was when I was around 38 weeks. I thought my water broke, but I guess I just peed my pants???? (I can't believe I just told you that ;). The second false alarm was about a week later. I wasn't feeling those cute little elbows to my ribs or kicks to my stomach so I went in for a Nonstress Test, but sure enough everything was perfectly fine and I left the hospital feeling embarrassed and like an over paranoid first time mom.
In the last two weeks leading up to my due date I was crossing my fingers that my body would go into labor on it's own and I would be able to deliver my baby girl vaginally but as my due date came closer and closer, it started to look like a C-Section was inevitable.
I went into the hospital early Sunday morning (because again I was being a paranoid first time mom) but this time was different than the others. This time I was going to finally have my baby (yay!) but it would indeed be by C-Section. I felt so many emotions all at once and was SO nervous. My mom and sisters headed to the hospital and the nurses started prepping me. I've never been so terrified or excited for anything in my entire life! Once I got the epidural my entire body began to shake, my nurse told me that was a side effect of the epidural but I think it was because of the nerves. When they started wheeling me into to OR the tears started streaming; partly because I was scared to undergo this major surgery and partly because I was so unbelievably excited that Drew and I were going to meet our little baby we created together, that has been growing inside me, kicking and hiccuping for the last nine months.
Drew held my hand during the entire surgery but I couldn't look at his face beacuse as the doctors began working on me, his facial expressions began to scare me. Even though I couldn't see anything they were doing, his face was saying it all! I held on tight to Drew's hand the entire time and closed my eyes, praying that everything was going smoothly, until I heard the tiniest and sweetest cry. This was it. Our daughter was here, fresh from heaven.
I remember hearing Drew say "Oh my goodness, oh my goodness she's so little!" The nurse gave me a quick look at her before whisking her away to make sure she was healthy and that her little body was working properly. Even though I only saw her for a short time, while I was laying there, waiting to see her again my heart began to feel something I've never felt before. It was this instant love that was so powerful and overwhelming. A few minutes later they put my little Isla on my chest and we were able to do skin to skin (which I was so grateful for). After about ten minutes they took both Drew and Isla to the nursery and wheeled me back to my room where my mom and sisters were waiting for me.
After that it was a day of pure baby bliss! I laid in my hospital bed holding and smelling my little angel (so in love with her newborn scent). Both Drew and I kept saying to each other that we couldn't believe she was ours. We were feeling extremely blessed and grateful to be her parents. Family came to visit and I met with a lactation specialist who helped me begin to master breastfeeding (if you live in Utah and are looking into breastfeeding, you should call Lindsey from Lactation Link, she's AMAZING! I couldn't have picked up breastfeeding without her).
Sunday, May 3rd, 2015 is a day I'll cherish forever and ever and I'm so blessed to be the mama of my Isla Rose. Both Drew and I started tearing up as we were going through these photos last night, it felt like we were reliving that day all over again. Thank you for all the well wishes you've been sending on Instagram. They truly mean the world! To my Isla Rose, I love you more than anything in this world!
xo, Rach
photos by Heather Telford.
