Baylor's birth story

I went to the doctor on Monday, November 24^th in the morning.  I had Dr. Lee check me, hoping that the Braxton hicks contractions I’d been having were helping my body progress, even if it’s not a real indicator of impending labor.  She checked me and said that there wasn’t much membrane to sweep but that I was 2cm, almost 3cm.  Throughout the day I felt contractions but they didn’t disrupt anything for my daily routine. 

            That night we put the kids to bed and were watching House when I realized that the contractions were becoming more and more consistent.  I decided it might be a good idea to start timing them around 9:00pm.  At that point they were 10-15 minutes apart, then closer to 10:00pm-12:00am they got closer to 5-7 minutes apart then stayed that way with a few irregularities.  Around 2am I was sick of laying in bed next to Myles, who was sound asleep, so I decided to relax in the bath tub.  It eased the discomfort substantially, although I was very tired afterward.  From there I went downstairs and laid on the couch, hoping to get some rest, but was too uncomfortable and ended up sitting on the couch with the heating pad on my lower back, which felt amazing.  I did a little bit of laundry and moved to sitting on the yoga ball.  I realized once I was sitting there that I was really looking for pain relief and things were getting more intense.  I decided it was time to make a move toward the hospital.

            I texted Myles, who was sleeping upstairs, but he didn’t respond, waited a couple minutes and called him to say let’s get moving.  Then I called Mom and told her it’s time and she said Dad would be on his way asap.  I went upstairs and woke Myles up for real and told him we need to get going.  He decided to take a shower while we waited for my dad to come.  Dad came, told me to “have fun” and we were on our way with a roughly thrown together hospital bag.

            We got in the car and pretty much immediately the low fuel light came on.  That's one of the last things you ever want to see when you're in labor! Luckily we made it to the hospital around 5am, Myles dropped me off at the ER, where I checked in and then went to Maternity from there. I was initially put in a triage room where I was asked some basic questions and Rhonda checked me.  I was 4cm, almost 5cm and was definitely going to be having a baby.  We got settled into the labor and delivery room shortly after that.  I was already exhausted from having been up laboring all night long so I decided that I would like to have an epidural in hopes of getting some rest.  They started me on a bag of saline right away (with an IV in my wrist, ow!), and monitored me and the baby from a yoga ball.  Baylor was wiggling and low so it was hard to keep track of the heartbeat on the monitors.  Myles pushed hard on my back through the contractions and Rhonda pushed against my knees.  The counter pressure really took the edge off! The contractions were quite intense by the time the anesthesiologist arrived.  She was efficient, which I appreciated. 

(Already exhausted, sitting on the yoga ball. Clearly between contractions)

            At about 7:15 I got an epirudal and was checked immediately after.  At that point I was 8cm, almost 9cm with my water still intact. At 8:45 the doctor came and broke my water because things weren’t really progressing with it intact. We expected things to be very fast at that point but I was losing energy from being up and without food for so long.  They said I needed to eat something to raise my blood sugar, and the baby’s, so I had a popsicle at 9:30.

(Relaxing with a popsicle)

Dr. Lee went back to the office to let my body work a little bit to move the baby into place.  The baby's body was turned slightly and had a little way to descend still since the water was in the way before. 

            Becky, my nurse, checked me and had me do a quick practice push and called the doctor over from the office in a hurry because the head was quite close with a push.  When Dr. Lee arrived she didn’t even want the bed transformed, she just sat on the end and had me push. I pushed through two contractions and had my sweet boy in my arms at 10:42!  He was quite purple but crying beautifully and pinked up quickly.  Myles cut the cord.

(Very first moment!)

(He came out kind of purpleish)

(First big cry! Let it rip!)

            It was a very tiring stay at the hospital but I really cannot speak highly enough of my nurses and doctor.  They were very calming and helpful throughout the whole process.  Baylor is a good nurser and a generally content baby so far!

(Love at first sight!)

(The perfect addition to our family)

(The boy has some lungs!)

We only stayed one night and went home in time for dinner the next day.  Our hospital allows things to be as organic as we desire, which I appreciate. I know some places whisk the baby away immediately, but we were able to have skin to skin time, delayed cord clamping, even no bath at the hospital. We were allowed to leave the same day if we wanted but I thought it would be beneficial to get a night's rest with the help of the nurses.  I think it was, but I don't expect to catch up on my sleep for about a year!