Birth Story

I had a nicely typed-up birth plan. I knew it was just a plan and was subject to change. I didn't want to be induced, I didn't want an epidural, and I definitely didn't want a c-section. I didn't want an induction because I knew that inductions make for a more intense labor. I didn't want an epidural because I wanted to be able to move around and I was afraid of some of the risks associated with it. I didn't want a c-section because of the longer recovery and that I would not be able to hold my baby after he was born. So I had a plan, but I guess Colin had a different plan...

I went in for my OB appointment on Thursday, June 9th at 11:30. I was exactly 39 weeks. I was feeling a little nauseous and was afraid that my stomach virus might be making a return. I got to the office and Mario texted me to ask how I was doing. I told him that I had a headache and was guessing that I wasn't 100% after being so sick on Tuesday. Right after that, they took me back and got my vitals. My blood pressure was 140/100 and I knew that wasn't a good sign. My BP had been giving me some trouble since around week 35 when I had 3 days of bed rest from work. But since I had finished work and was taking it easy, it had been fine. So my OB came in and I told her how I was feeling and told her about my hospital stay on Tuesday. She immediately called over to labor and delivery to get my info. from my stay on Tuesday. She told them that she was sending me over to be monitored and that I was "probably going to be induced." Immediately the tears started flowing. I was so scared because I was by myself and certainly didn't think the baby would be coming that day. She checked me and said that I was 2cm dilated. She assured me that everything would be okay and then she told me to get dressed and head over to L&D. I got dressed and I called Mario crying and told him what was going on. He was at a luncheon with his clinic and told me that he'd be there as soon as he got back to work. So off to L&D I went...

I got checked in and they hooked me up to all of the monitors. Luckily I was familiar with everything after my stay earlier in the week. I had to lay on my left side which helps bring down your BP. It worked and my BP went down, but every time I sat up, it would shoot back up. Shortly after that at about 2:00 the nurse came in with some IV bags and said "You're having a baby today!" Again, I started crying because I was so scared. I didn't want an induction, but I knew that the baby's safety was the most important thing. They started me on pitocin which starts contractions. They also started me on an antibiotic because I tested positive for group B strep (a bacteria that can naturally grow in the birth canal) and had to be on antibiotics every 4 hours to prevent the baby from being infected on his way out. Mario was there by this point and he came in long enough to check on me and then headed to the house to check on the dogs and get all of our stuff for the hospital. Luckily I had finally finished packing my hospital bag the night before so he just had a few things to gather and get back to the hospital.

I was feeling minor contractions and the nurses would periodically come in to increase the pitocin. Mario had made it back by that point and my mom, dad, Cecilia and Grandmas were arriving as well. My doctor came in at around 4:30 to check me and I was 4cm. She also broke my water. The amniotic fluid was clear, which was good. It felt pretty gross being all wet and more fluid would come out with each contraction. The contractions got a lot more intense after that. I was just trying to focus and breathe through them. Mario was a great support and would hold my hand and rub my back. He also enjoyed telling me when a contraction was "a big one" based on the monitor. I had an internal monitor to keep track of my contractions. Between the pain, the IVs, and monitors, I was pretty much confined to the bed. The contractions were so intense at that point and they were just coming back to back without much relief. I was gripping the bed and just trying to keep it together.

After several hours of painful contractions without much relief or rest in between, I didn't think I could take the pain anymore. I finally caved and asked for the epidural around 8:30pm. The anesthesiologist showed up shortly after. It took him 3 times to get it in and I was having contractions the whole time. Mario had to sit on the couch, so I had to hold on to the nurse. After he got it in, it took several minutes to feel relief from the contractions. After about 15 minutes, I couldn't feel them anymore but strangely I could still feel and move my legs.

The nurse checked my shortly after the epidural and told me I was fully dilated to 10cm and that it was time to start pushing. This was around 9:30 or so. Mario was on the phone with my dad who had left to get Mario something to eat. Once they told me that it was time to start pushing, I told Mario to tell him to get me something to eat too! I was starving because I had only eaten a bowl of Cheerios early that morning before my OB appointment. The whole evening I had been watching the clock wondering if Colin would be born on June 9th or 10th. I felt for sure at this point that he'd have a June 9th birthday. Little did I know what was ahead...

I started pushing and Mario helped hold my leg and count to 10. I pushed, and pushed, and pushed with every single contraction. 2 hours later, I was still pushing. The nurses got out a towel and we did tug of war to push. Everyone kept saying "You're almost there!" Apparently you could see the top of the baby's head for a good hour. After 2 hours, I was worried he wouldn't come out and that I would run out of energy. Thank God for the epidural or I would have run out of steam way earlier. Finally my doctor suited up and I knew it must be close. I kept pushing with all of my might until his head finally popped out. They saw part of the umbilical cord and I had to stop pushing for a second while she unwound it from his torso. His shoulders came out, shortly followed by the rest of his body at 12:08am on Friday, June 10th! I felt such a relief when he came out!

They put him on my chest and it all just seemed so surreal. He let out a big cry and it sounded so good! They took him over to check him out while my doctor delivered the placenta and stitched up my 3rd degree tear. Unfortunately, my epidural was long gone and I was feeling everything! She had to give me lidocaine shots to numb me back up. Colin was looking great and checked out just fine other than having a bit of a fever which the doctor said is common after lengthy pushing. He weighed 8lbs, 7oz and was 20 inches long.

After they finished checking him out, I was able to hold him and nurse him for a few minutes. The rest of my family came in to see him and they were so excited after a long day of waiting. The nurses took Colin to the side to bathe him and I was able to enjoy the cheeseburger that my dad brought me (Mario gets a kick out of telling that story!). After an hour, the three of us headed to the recovery room to try to get some rest.

The whole birth was intense and I never imagined that I would have the strength to do what I did that night! Mario was really impressed and said that I was a "beast!" He was such a great support and I couldn't have done it without him. If you made it this far, thanks for reading! I really wanted to write out the birth story so that I could remember it later on. I'll post about Colin's first days soon.