Lillianne's Birth

On Friday, April 21, 2006, at 9:30am Jennifer’s water broke. She called Troy at work – and ordered a carne asada burrito, while he was on his way home. Jennifer was feeling great. She had a lot of energy, positive attitude and was not feeling any labor pains at that point. Although she was reluctant, Jennifer called the hospital to inform them of her progress. They wanted her to come in for observation. Jennifer’s plan was to stay home as long as possible. She figured they would send her right back home until she would progress further, so she went to appease them.

When they arrived at La Jolla, Scripps Memorial Hospital, a hospital staff examined Jennifer, she was 2-1/2 to 3 centimeters dilated (She needed to get to 10 centimeters before she’s ready to push). Her doctor decided to admitted her to the hospital around noon and discussed administering Pitocin to get her labor started. Not only did she not get to labor in the comfort of her own home but they wanted to drug her up to get labor going. Jennifer & Troy denied the induction, as she and the baby were healthy and safe. Instead she opted to walk around to encourage labor naturally.

By 2:00pm Jennifer's brother Brandon, was keeping Jennifer & Troy company. They had just come back from a walk around the Labor/Delivery floor. Nurse Jane had Jennifer on the fetal monitor for a half an hour to check Lilliane’s health. Afterwards she could walk around again. To pass the time, Troy had connected his multimedia player to the television in the room, and were watching a slideshow of photos of our Wedding and watched Walt Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast”.

At 2:57pm, Nurse Jane checked Jennifer’s progress. She was 3 to 4 centimeters dilated now. Jennifer was really antsy to get up off the bed by now but the nurse wanted her to remain on the monitor, something about they were having a difficult time getting a consistent reading. Jennifer was entering active labor at this point. We started massaging her achy muscles and applied counter pressure to Jennifer’s hips during contractions. This helped Jennifer with her contractions and also assisted bringing her further along.

By 3:45pm, Jennifer had threw up the carne asada and was heading for the shower. Nurse Jane said it was ok, as if her opinion mattered at this point. Troy stood at the edge of the shower for support & Jennifer's safety, he was soaked.

At 4:35pm, Jennifer had progress to 6 centimeters and was 100% effacement (her cervix was paper thin). By 4:45pm Troy's sister, Torrey & Jennifer's best friend, Debbie arrived for support. Jennifer had been laboring very hard and was so tired by now. She and Troy discussed an Epidural to take the edge off her labor pains, this way she could get some rest and save her energy for the birth. At 5:30pm, the Epidural was administered by the Anesthesiologist. We kicked everyone out of the room so Jennifer could get some rest.

By 6:00pm, inside Jennifer’s room and out in the hospital corridors were billows of family and friends wishing their best for Jennifer and Troy.

At 7:15pm, Jennifer had progress to 10 centimeters and –1 station (this is the placement of the baby in the birthing canal, +4 to +5 is birth). Lillianne had a little further to go before Jennifer should push. At 7:21pm, Lillianne was at +2 station.

At 7:30pm, Jennifer started to push. Jennifer and Troy’s family waited patiently down the hall. Somewhere during Jennifer’s pushing, she had a craving for a Philly steak sandwich. Her younger brother, Warren, left the hospital to get Troy and Jennifer their Philly steak sandwiches. Troy and Jennifer agreed that Warren would be the first to see their baby daughter for doing them such a big favor. When Lillianne was born, her brother came quietly to deliver their food. Once he realized Lillianne was born, he quickly got his Mom instead of himself to be the first to meet baby Lillianne. With complete respect and awe, Troy and Jennifer’s family quietly piled into their little hospital room to greet the new member of the family.

Lillianne Stepp

was born on

Friday, April 21, 2006 at 9:22pm

7-pounds, 4-ounces

19-1/2 inches long