The Birth Story

"The Birth Story"

I've held off on writing about my labor experience because I know this experience will take time as far as blogging all of the details. One thing I've learned from working in Labor & Delivery is that every single woman has a different birth story. No two people experience the same pain, dilate the same, get induced or go natural... so many possibilities with childbirth. Let's start at the very beginning...

I worked my usual 12 hr. night shift at the hospital on Thursday May 30 & when I left work that next morning I thought wow, I really can't do this anymore. I ached all over & I felt sick & poor Tyler definitely got to hear all about it that morning when I went to his place to catch some shut eye before my doctor's appointment. At the doc appt. I explained to Dr. Meyer what I'd been feeling & he said he thought I was going to have the baby very soon. (cruel man). He decided I needed to stop working (what a relief) because he thought the baby's growing was restricted because I hadn't gained any centimeters in the last few weeks. He thought I needed to keep track of the baby's movements very carefully to make sure things were still going good. And I was soooo swollen. He said I could get induced as soon as the next Thursday but I said I wanted to wait it out until my due date (Sunday June 7). He signed me up for an induction for Sunday, but I was to go to the hospital on Saturday June 6 to get cervadil (a device that thins the cervix because I hadn't began to dilate at all). Thank goodness I had that week before my due date off of work because I had so many last minute things to do like get more bottles, newborn outfits in case he was super tiny, finished decorating the nursery, etc.

The night before the big day (Friday), Tyler's mom called & suggested me and Tyler get pictures together before we go to the hospital. Sounded like a great idea but man it put stress on me. My mom & I went to Kohls to find a cute top for pictures. BAD IDEA! Who wants to shop for a shirt that actually looks cute when they are almost full term pregnant. I bet I tried on 20 different shirts & the more I tried on, the more ridiculously enormous I felt. I was almost in tears & very unfriendly to my mother at that point. She reassured me that I probably had several shirts in my closet that would look great. I was not convinced.

I love this picture. This was us all ready to get the day started on Saturday. Notice the black shirt, that was the winner for the pregnancy pictures & I decided to curl my hair which was a nice touch. I was soooo nervous, but very eager for this wild labor rollarcoaster to begin. Mine & Tyler's pictures turn out amazing, considering I was very pregnant & swollen. I'm so glad we took them :)

Saturday June 6-4:00 pm. Me & Tyler were definitely rocking out to guitar hero to release some stress & settle my nerves. Didn't help so much, I was a wreck!

4:30- headed to the mall to get some last minute socks/robe for the hospital.

5:10- Going through Taco Bell for Tyler. He just had to have something that would make him gassy.... I was taking out all stress on him & I really let him have it when we were going through the drive-thru. Would've been great to witness.

5:11- Somehow we end up driving around the mall parking lot & Tyler can't find the way out. Yes, we were at the mall in Mattoon, how hard is it?! We ended up driving around the back part of the mall... potholes & all. I was LIVID!

5:20- We arrived at the hospital but couldn't go in yet because Tyler had to eat his tacos. So furious I wont even speak to him that this point. I couldn't believe we were going to be late for our labor experience!

5:35- I approach the Women's & Children's Unit at the hospital (where I work), & I'm walking to my room, freaking out. I didn't know what to expect. They all made fun of me because I looked all dolled up since we got pictures that day. I must've looked put together but me and Tyler were both scared out of our minds.

8:00- They finally put in the cervadil. Let the cramping begin. We watched Mall Cop.... I officially despise that movie now. They gave me an Ambien to sleep which apparently has no effect on me. I was constantly going to the bathroom & I had so many thoughts running through my head.

Sunday June 7-5:30 am. I showered & put on makeup (a lost cause). There were 3 or 4 babies born that night so we kept hearing the lullaby being played & I was envious. I just hoped I would be next.

7:30- bad news! I wasn't dilated at all so they wanted to send me home. I said absolutely not. Give me options. You are not sending me home because I won't come back! (Yeah, I was that crazy demanding patient). The doctor gave me 2 other options: 1) Cytitek- pretty much the same as cervadil which was pointless. 2) a balloon to help me dilate. The balloon sounded intriguing so after hearing all about how it worked... (best part: I would be dilated to a 4 for sure by the time it fell out)... I was on board. The doctor checked me & was all ready to put in the balloon & he was like, "Oh, actually, I think you are dilated to a 2!" Woohoo! My body was actually started to try to push this kid out!

8:00- Start of the Pitocin. I hear this is nasty stuff, but I don't think it had a huge effect on me because I felt no different. I couldn't feel the contractions & they couldn't read them on the monitor.

10ish- Still dilated to a 2. Thinking about putting an internal device in to monitor my contractions more carefully. Doctor refuses because the longest it would last was 18 hours. He thought that wouldn't be long enough?!?!

8-1- Walking the halls... walking the halls... hating the halls.

1- Time to break the water. And this was when the real fun began. I swear when the water popped, I was in instant pain. My nurse, Leslie, & the doctor left the room and I layed there in misery. Tyler helped me go to the bathroom and I sat in there for awhile thinking, 'Wow, this is awful, I think I'm going to die. I'm still only dilated to a 2! This is going to get so much worse! I'm NEVER doing this again!' haha. I thought I would never be a dramatic patient but now I understood why labor made women turn into very angry women.

1:30- Poor Tyler is freaking out. He walked me to the bathroom again & I said, "I don't care what kind of sounds you hear coming from this bathroom, don't you dare come in!" Welcome Monster Emily. Tyler was smart enough to call the nurse in for me & she was like oh, em, why didn't you tell me you were in so much pain. I was just scared I would ask for pain meds too soon & since we were going at a turtle pace with this labor I knew the pain meds wouldn't last as long as I needed them. I was all sprawled out on the bed, gown up to my face, sheet off.... Tyler was trying to cover me up to make me presentable & I was like just leave me alone. (And to think the night before I was yelling at him to not look at my butt because the gowns open in the back. Active Labor makes all modesty fly out the window!)

1:45- Nubane in the IV. I felt like I'd gained 500 lbs... so heavy. But I still felt excruiciating pain like someone was slicing me in half. Leslie said I was dilated close enough to a 4 so she called anaestesia for an epidural.

3ish- The doc finally shows up. I thought I was on my deathbead at this point. I was so heavy from the Nubane... I was laying my head on Tyler's shoulder because I couldn't hold it up. I signed a consent for the epidural without even looking up! The pain for the epidural was nothing compared to the abdominal pain I'd been feeling.

3:05ish- Oh yeah. Feeling great already. Wow, that epidural is AMAZING!... p.s. I wanted my mom :(

4:30- Mom, Kevin, & Ellie stop in. I'm feeling great now. Completely numb. I'm sure I said some silly stuff too because I was groggy.

5- Tyler leaves to get some food. When he comes back I have oxygen on and he's freaking out. Apparently the baby was very relaxed like his mom because his heartrate wasn't fluctuating much... but the O2 helped.

5:30- Dilated to a 6-7. Finally, some progress. They say after breaking the water it usually takes about 12 hours before baby will arrive (with a first baby). Mom decides I need to nap so they leave.

6ish- Tyler had to move me in bed in a better position in bed to sleep because I had no control over my lower limbs. It was quite comical because he was like, "I dont want to hurt you." There's no way he was hurting me cause I felt nothing. All of a sudden I felt intense pressure in my butt.... called in Leslie & she said it was time to push :)

6:15- Pushing begins. Very strange being the patient pushing rather than the coaches delivering. I was calling the shots because they couldn't read my contractions still. The epidural made my left leg completely numb but I still felt everything on my right side which was perfect for knowing how to get the baby out.

7:02 pm- I hear the most beautiful sound ever... Mr. Henry Mason wailing at the top of his lungs. Then Tyler yells, "It's a boy!!!" (We already had been told that but we never got 100% clear pictures on the ultrasounds.) They threw him on my chest & I thought oh my he's got the biggest features EVER! Tyler's crying & I'm smiling & feeling awesome. I couldn't believe I'd just done it! First thing Tyler does when he looks at Henry in the baby warmer was say, "Hey Emily..." then he pointed to his chin. He's got my butt chin!!! awwww.... at least I know he definitely got that from me :)

All in all, my labor experience was very very slow until they broke my water & I got an epidural to relax me. I'm so grateful I got an epidural because I really enjoyed the birthing experience because my pain was controlled. Also, I tend to freak out so that was just what I needed to help me relax enough to let my body do its thing. All of my nurses & my Doctor were incredible. We got VIP treatment the whole time & I couldn't have asked for a better birth story.

Here I am trying to post updates on facebook during labor. Yeah, that lasted a whole 5 minutes! And notice the cell phone. Tyler made so many group lists so he could send updates & pictures to peoples' cell phones. He was the best labor coach ever and I could have never made it through without him :)

All cuddled up after my epidural.

He looks HUGE here! Remember he was only a little 6 lbs. 7 oz baby

Me & my little bright eyed miracle. I'm so proud of him

He had to go in the warmer a few hours after birth because he was too cold for his bath. That's when I really got to take a good look at how long and skinny he was.