Friday, September 24, 2010

Birth Story



For a while I had known that Jack could be born any day, but as the due date got closer and closer, the possibility got higher and higher that I would meet my son that day. However, my due date came and went and I was disappointed to say the least. By 40 weeks, I was done and ready to have my baby boy!

When I went in on Monday for my 40 week 1 day appointment, I was even more disappointed that I was still only 1 cm dilated and 75% effaced. I had made no progress within the week and as much as I tried to hold it together, I broke down and cried right in front of the doctor just like any ol' pregnant lady would do.

So I had a choice. There was an opening for an induction that evening or I could wait. The thought of seeing my son THAT evening was very enticing but in the end, I realized that since my cervix wasn't very compatible, an induction would just put me at a higher risk for a c-section which wasn't what I wanted at all. So I decided to schedule one for Friday instead and give my body time to make up it's mind.

As cliche as it sounds, I really felt as if I was going to be pregnant forever. The doctor wasn't even able to strip my membranes since he said it would just be more painful than helpful which makes me realize that the other doctor the week before that "stripped my membranes" probably didn't get too far but also didn't want to let me down. So all I could do was wait. That or drink castor oil but I didn't really want the after-effects of that.

The next day was uneventful until lunchtime. I had just eaten and gotten myself all nice and full so that I could sit around and mope about my situation. That's when I noticed this intense butt pain. There is simply no other way I can describe it except by calling it "butt pain". I know this may be TMI but this is a birth story, for heavens sakes and to put it in relatable terms, it felt as if I needed to poop NOW! So, I did. But the butt pain was still there and cramps were soon following.

I started to get excited thinking this was the real deal. Never before in my pregnancy had I felt this kind of pain but I felt that if I starting timing them, I would jinx myself and it would go away. However, I just couldn't ignore the butt contractions. I called my doctor and they said that when they started coming 5 minutes apart, to go to the hospital. Well that was motivation in of itself to forget about jinxes and start timing these bad boys. I watched the clock all night but they were coming every 10 minutes which was far from the goal of five. I decided to wait it out until morning and if they were still there, I would call my OB again and go from there.

That night I did not sleep at all! If it wasn't the pee breaks, it was the contractions and if it wasn't the contractions, it was my insomnia from excitement that was keeping me awake. I was able to get an hour of sleep at a time and I could not wait until morning.

I was woken up suddenly by an odd kick/pop noise right as Tyler's alarm clock rang 7:00 o'clock. He woke up and we looked at each other both thinking, "Well, he didn't come last night." As we sat there waking up I felt a small gush and thought, "Okay...was that my water or just discharge?" I waited to see what would happen. More gush. Wait, this was more than just gushing now, I had turned into a leaky faucet. As I stood up to verify that this was not just discharge, I turned into a hose and the water was coming out fast!

I looked at Tyler, wide-eyed, and said, "My water just broke! I think my water just broke." As I was bookin' it to the bathroom, more just kept coming out and Tyler was saying, "Are you sure? Let me see!" I was sure and after he saw my soaked pants, he was sure too and soon we were scrambling to get last minute things packed to go. As he loaded the car, I loaded my pants with a towel, called my OB and we were off!

When we arrived at the hospital, we walked through the double doors of the labor & delivery unit expecting to find a front desk or at least someone to welcome us. There was no one to be seen. So we wandered the hallways looking like quite a pair what with Tyler carrying all of our stuff awkwardly and me with a soaked towel in my pants. Finally we got pointed in the right direction by my OB and found out that we needed to take an elevator to the second level. A sign might of been helpful, especially since it is the labor and delivery unit so women might come by, Oh I don't know, leaking amniotic fluid and need help!

Soon I was checked into my room and my awesome nurse, Michelle, got me all hooked up and settled in. Since my water broke, the contractions were coming on hard. It was the same contractions as the nigh before. I was in butt labor and boy did it hurt! I was trying to breathe through them but they became so intense that it was hard to do anything but resist the temptation to throw everything within my grasp. Michelle offered a birthing ball to help get me through the contractions which I accepted and do you know what that birthing ball did?! Nothing! Well, it did help some but I was wanting relief from pain not just a small relief from the butt pressure. I wanted to throw that ball out the window.

Soon I was taking any drugs that were given to me. Michelle gave me some pain meds to take the edge off and it worked pretty well where I could talk through the pain but after an hour, it wore off. Before that, she checked my progress and said that I was 2.5 to 3 cm dilated. Woot....

After hearing the bleak news that I was only at a 3 and the pain meds just starting to wear off, I told her that I would take the epidural now. Even though I was only at a 3, the doctor said I was progressing fine and that I could have my precious, precious epidural.

In no time, the anesthesiologist came in and started to explain to me all of the possible complications while I'm having these intense and very painful contractions. I wanted to yell at him, "I don't care, just give me the dang epidural!!!" but it wasn't his fault I was in labor so I couldn't take my frustrations out on him.

Let me just say, getting an epidural is WEIRD! When he first inserted the needle, there was this crackling noise as if someone had broken a glow stick in my back. It was quite the feeling as he pushed through the ligaments to get to the epidural cavity but as soon as it was in, and the meds were flowing, it was amazing! I felt as if my legs were in a warm bath and my contractions were gone even though I could still feel the pressure.

After that it was a waiting game. I got the epidural at 11:00 AM and by 4:30 PM, I was progressed enough and feeling the urge to push. Before going into labor, I has this vision that Tyler would be up by my head the whole time, holding my hand and stroking my hair as I pushed. In actuality, it was the complete opposite. I had the two nursing students hold my legs while Tyler watched the whole shazzam going on down there. Looking back, I wouldn't of had it different. It was so much fun seeing Tyler's expressions go from disgusted to amazement with every push. It was exciting to have him update me with the progress I was making. He was so excited with every contraction to see the head come out a little more.

Soon they called the doctor in and now it was really crunch time to deliver this baby! I would have never imagined pushing to be so hard. Even though I had the pain meds, I was still tired from it all since before the doctor had come in, I had been pushing for an hour.

Soon, I could feel the stretch and oh boy, did I stretch! I pushed for 30 more minutes until I felt this incredible relief from the ring of fire Jack's head did on my perineum. When I felt that relief, I remember thinking, "Oh my gosh, my baby's head is RIGHT down there!"

Two more pushes and Jack came into this world. Daddy cut the umbilical cord and soon a slimy and gooey baby was placed on my stomach. An incredibly cute, slimy, and gooey baby and what made it the best was that it was Tyler and I's slimy, gooey, cute baby! I couldn't believe that I was finally meeting our son.

After they cleaned him up, Dad got to hold him first while I got stitched up.

We are completely enamored by our little boy and now that he's here, our whole word has been turned around but we wouldn't have it any other way!

7 comments:

Kathy said...

Thank you for posting your birth story. I am still laughing/crying at "precious, precious epidural." That is the best description I've ever heard and so very true.

I still think that little guy is the cutest thing I've seen in a long time. Please post more pictures!

Jenna said...

YESSSS! I heart epidurals!

But oh man, my perineum hurts just from reading your description. Mine still hasn't healed, in case you're wondering.

Congratulations again! You are one heck of a baby maker!

R said...

What a great story!!! Sounds a lot like my first birth. I'm glad that Tyler got to be so involved. Jack is such a cutie pie! Congrats to your family!!! Isn't it so fun to be a mommy? You know, besides the painful labor and sleep deprived part!

Maja said...

Great story! I loved that you had butt contractions. Never experienced those.

maynardmoments said...

Loved the story. Butt contractions??? You crack me up. I am glad you got the epidural, and you described it perfectly with the glow stick analogy. You need to write a book sometime. You are a hilarious writer. I would read it for sure.

Sylvia said...

Thank you so much....just seemed like we were right there with you while reading the miracle of birth!I loved it!
Love all three of you so much!

Candra said...

Jessica- I'm so glad you typed out this experience for you to keep forever, and for Jack to read one day! (Isn't that crazy to think about?)

I read out loud the part about the useless birthing ball to Grandma Clare, and we both laughed hilariously about it. That's freakin' funny.

Jack is so adorable. I can't wait to meet him and love on him. Love you!