Mila's Birth Story

At 39 weeks we were ready for baby girl to come for a couple weeks now. Babies are just so unpredictable and with Liam being born at 37 weeks we've had the hospital bags packed, carseat installed and I'd been listening to my positive birthing affirmations for some time now.

On Thursday July 7th we had dinner with some neighbors and Trav and I headed home afterwards to watch a movie together (Everything Everywhere All at Once— super trippy movie). During the movie I noticed that I was having regular contractions and started timing them. But they weren't very strong so I decided to get some rest in the hopes that my body was getting ready and the big day was soon. The next morning at around 6 am I woke up to the contractions again, now a little stronger, and began timing them. They were definitely stronger and about 5 minutes apart so I decided to get ready for the day, have a good breakfast and call my sister to come over and watch Liam while we headed to the hospital. By the time she came it was getting harder and harder to talk through them so I knew this was the real deal!

We got to the hospital a little before 9 am. I changed into a gown, they hooked me up to the heart and contraction monitors and checked my cervix. I was 4 cm dilated and about 90% effaced! The nurse was surprised my water hadn't broke yet and I was soon admitted. I had a large incredible room with a bathroom with a tub and a view of the hills south of I-15. After getting the IV placed and putting in my AirPods with my positive birthing affirmation playing, I found that the most comfortable position for me was to just sit criss-crossed on the hospital bed, hold my baby and take deep breaths with each contraction. Just like Liam, I was doing this all natural with no epidural. A complimentary massage therapist came in and gave me a foot massage. She had an essential oils diffuser and piano music with birds chirping in the background playing on a speaker and it truly felt like I was going through labor in a spa, it was absolute bliss.

After another hour of contractions the midwife came in from her rounds in American Fork Hospital and she checked my cervix. I was at 5-6 cm dilated so I was progressing nicely and on my own which was a relief since with Liam I had to get Pitocin to get things moving. The midwife said I can continue to let my body do its thing or if I wanted to speed things up she could break my water for me. Travis and I decided that we'd rather speed up the process and be done sooner so I had my water broken by the midwife and after one of the strong contractions the giant gush of amniotic fluid rushed out!

My contractions were getting stronger and stronger so the nurse offered to fill up the tub for some relief which would take 20 mins. I opted to stay in the bed while it filled up and eventually laid down on my left side and braced the handle bars of the hospital bed as each contraction passed through me. I told the nurse that I was getting the urge to poop which for me means it's pushing time! She checked my cervix one more time and I was at 8 cm. Even though I wasn't fully dilated I still had the sensation to push, even in-between contractions, so the nurse ran to get the midwife and I knew we were close. The midwife came in and was going to check my cervix, but when I opened my legs the baby was already crowning! They brought in the mirror per my request on our birthing plan and I could see her dark hair peaking through. I don't know what it is about being able to see what's happening through the mirror, but in those short seconds all the pain instantly went away, I could see our baby and the end was tangible. I gave 3 pushes and saw her head slip out followed shortly by her shoulders and body. And just like that, our baby girl was earth-side and in my arms. (did I mention the hospital also had a soda bar? My first request was a dirty Dr. Pepper with lots of ice haha)

Mila Rose Roberts was born July 8, 2022 at 11:29 am weighing 7 lb 2 oz and measuring 20 inches long (just like her brother). The arrhythmia that was detected in the womb was thankfully gone and Travis counted all 10 fingers and toes on our baby girl— she's perfect.

After delivering the placenta and enjoying the golden hour with baby Mila in my arms, we eventually ordered the hospital's celebratory meal. We ordered a caesar salad with steak and a chocolate drizzled cheesecake complete with a bottle of Martinelli's sparkling cider. The hospital waived no expense haha!

My sister brought Liam by later in the afternoon to meet his baby sister and it was the most precious thing. He was both confused and curious by the the baby, but my favorite was when he started singing her his favorite nursery songs, it was the most precious thing ever. I can't wait to see the relationship these two create together.

Our hospital stay truly felt like a mini vacation with the daily massage therapist coming in for a 15 minute massage, free food and watching TV in the quiet of our giant room. Meanwhile Liam was being spoiled by my sister with hours of fun at the park, museums and happy meals at McDonalds. It was great to have that peace of mind so we could just relax and recover for a couple days, bond with our baby girl and enjoy the quiet before going back home to our busy life as new parents of two (plus our fur baby Chip). We're so lucky that we had Trav's siblings in town from Arizona so they were all able to meet baby Mila before heading home. Unfortunately, my mom's flight wasn't scheduled until the day after Mila's birth, but I'm so happy she's here to help support me for the next 2 weeks as I get the hang of having a newborn again. After a lovely 2-day stay at the hospital watching food network non-stop and getting up to breastfeed and change diapers every 2 hours, we were ready to go home to our little Liam. We were missing him so stinking much and were ready to go home and start getting into a routine with the baby.

I'm so grateful for how smoothly my delivery went with Mila. The hospital staff were amazing, respectful of my wishes and wouldn't stop hyping me up after a successful natural delivery, they truly made me feel like Wonder Woman! The nurse who did counter-pressure and was supporting me throughout the delivery was the biggest help and I of course couldn't of done it without my incredible doula, my hubby Travis, who gave me a hand to squeeze and cheered me on the entire time. I'm the luckiest to have him by my side in this adventure we call LIFE.