Disclaimer: I have been asked to post the details of my birth. This post contains some medical information and may be a little too graphic (I tried to keep it clean) for some readers. Please read at your own risk :-)
Samuel Harrison was born on August 25th at 6:03 pm. He weighed 8lb 13 ounces and was 21 inches long.
The Long Story:
We arrived at the hospital at 4am for our scheduled induction.
I had really hoped that I would labor on my own but it was really nice getting to walk into Labor and Delivery relaxed. We breezed through the check in process since I had already pre-registered and they took us back to the L&D suite (I had to go back alone initially to answer questions in private about potential abuse, STDs, and/or any other concerns I might have had). I got changed into a gown and they gave me an IV which was virtually painless. They did an internal exam and I was 3cm dilated and fully effaced.
I was hooked up to monitors to check the baby’s heartbeat, my blood pressure (surprisingly low for the amount of anxiety I was feeling at the time) and my contractions. I was having contractions every 4 minutes but they were completely pain free.
Around 5am they started the pitocin to induce labor and they started my first bag of fluids through my IV. Around 8am, I had my first meeting with the anesthesiologist to review my pain relief preferences (definitely wanted an epidural) and any allergies/issues I might have with medication. By this point my contractions were still 4 minutes apart but were building in intensity. Right after my meeting with the anesthesiologist, the on-call doctor from my OBGYN’s office came in for her rounds (my doctor doesn’t do deliveries). The funny thing about the doctor was that there were two doctors on call from my practice (Dr. Miller and Dr. Williams). I never knew which one I was meeting with because they looked almost identical. At one point we had them both in the room and that was the only time I actually believed they were really two different people. I really liked both ladies. The doctor (Miller I believe) examined me and broke my water. She said that I was almost 4 cm dilated. I got my epidural around 9am. By this point my contractions had started getting more intense (I really had to breathe through each one to get through it) and I was really thankful for the relief. I had a really successful epidural. I was really nervous about the whole process but in hindsight I think the worse part was the anticipation. The injection they gave me to numb the pain was a little painful but probably not much worse than a couple more contractions would have been. I felt the pressure when the catheter was inserted but very little pain. I felt little shocks in my back as he threaded the lines for the medication but only for a second (it wasn’t painful just weird). I was happy to have the support of Sam and my nurse throughout this procedure. The nurse explained each step as it was being performed and told me exactly what I would be feeling and how long it would last. This really helped calm me down. The pain relief started within 10 minutes and I was in heaven!
I felt warm and snuggly like my legs were by a nice comfortable fire. I no longer felt any pain but I could feel just a little bit of pressure to know when I was having contractions (most of the time). The epidural continued to work until about an hour after delivery without any issues. Around 10:00 the nurse checked me again and I was 5 cm dilated. We called our parents and let them know they could come to the L&D suite to visit us. They each visited for about 30 minutes and it was nice to have a little company now that I was comfortable. The doctor checked me again around noon and I was 7 cm dilated. Up until this point, no one had estimated how big my baby was going to be. Since I wasn’t that big and my weight gain had been relatively small (25 lbs), the doctor predicted I would have a 7 pound baby. I felt the estimate was pretty close and was happy to have a nice (easier to deliver) sized baby. I was checked again around 2:00 and was told I was 9 cm. I was thrilled to be making such progress and was certain we would be meeting our baby soon. I couldn’t believe how stress-free the day had been so far. When they checked me again an hour later I was still at 9 cm and we were a little concerned that I might be stalling out but we weren’t too concerned since I was still having strong contractions. When I was checked again at 4:00 I was still stuck at 9 cm but I had also started to run a fever (101 F). I was started on an IV bag of antibiotics and was given Tylenol. At 4:30 the doctor came in and said that she was worried about the potential of passing an infection on to the baby and if I hadn’t made progress in the next 30 minutes I would have to have a C-section. I started crying a little since I really didn’t want my labor to end this way. I told them that I would do anything to avoid a C-section and I quickly said a prayer that I would be given the strength to do what it would take to work through this challenge. We decided to do a few practice pushes to see if I could push past the remaining 1 cm. I also rested on my opposite side in hopes that a new position would help. When the doctor came back at 4:45 I was at 10 cm and ready to push! I was so happy and was determined to push to the best of my ability to get the baby out quickly and to avoid a C-section. My epidural was really good but it made pushing hard at times. I could feel pressure with each contraction but sometimes I was uncertain that I was actually feeling a contraction. My contractions were coming every 1 – 2 minutes. With each contraction I would take a deep breath and push for 10 seconds and then repeat this two more times. I prayed a little prayer with each contraction. I don’t consider myself a super religious person but these prayers really gave me the strength to keep pushing through exhaustion. All this time I had Sam and my L&D nurse cheering me on. During the breaks we laughed and made jokes to lighten the mood. The doctor and nurse said we were the happiest parents they had ever seen. The assistance of the nurse and my husband really helped since I never believed I was pushing good enough and could have easily given up without their support. After one hour of pushing (painless just exhausting) my L&D nurse smiled and said I needed to stop so that she could get the doctor. I was about to meet my baby boy! I immediately started crying. I couldn’t believe that I had been able to get to this point. The doctor came in along with an assistant and one other nurse. They all got suited up and we laughed at all the special clothing they wore. On command I gave my first push. They all cheered that the baby’s head was out. I gave a second push with very little results. On the third push I delivered the shoulders and the rest of his body. As he was coming out I remember everyone saying what a big boy he was. Sam and I immediately started crying and I instantly fell in love. They put him on my stomach so we could look at him and I could clean him. Sam even cut the cord (he had not wanted to originally). They took Harrison to the other side of the room to do tests while I finished the final stage of labor and was given stitches. I was not given an episiotomy but had a partial 3rd degree tear. It took about an hour for the last phase of labor to be completed. Harrison was given to Sam to hold while they were completing my stitches. This was really hard since I really wanted to hold my baby. I also really wanted something to drink (I had only had ice chips since midnight). I was given a very small glass of water but it didn’t sit well and I threw it back up. This was the worse part of the whole labor which shows how easy my whole day had been. After a few more minutes they gave me a sprite and some saltines and this made me feel much better. Now that I was a little more stable, I got to hold my baby and nurse him for the very first time. I felt like I was on cloud nine.
Harrison knew exactly what to do and turned out to be an excellent nurser. Despite my fever, he was in perfect health. My fever dropped shortly after delivery but I had to remain on antibiotics (via IV) given every four hours for the duration of my hospital stay. After I completed nursing, we invited our parents back to the L&D suite (Sam had called them right after Harrison was born so they could return to the hospital). It was so much fun seeing them meet their grandson for the first time.
They stayed until I was transferred up to my recovery room. I remained in the hospital for one and half more days (check in 4am on Monday, check out 1pm on Wednesday). Overall, I think my experience was wonderful and exceeded all the expectations I had. I would definitely do it all over again and will approach my next delivery with a lot more confidence.
I think the key to my success/happiness was to constantly remind myself that everything had a beginning and an end (i.e. nothing would last forever). I chanted this to myself anytime I got a little anxious. I also only allowed myself to think about one thing at a time and only focus on the next big milestone instead of everything all at once (ie getting checked in, starting pitocin, getting an epidural, pushing, etc.). I also think prayer really helped me. It really helped me to know that this was all bigger than me and that God was looking out for me through it all and would give me the strength and courage to handle anything. Finally, communicating with my husband and my awesome L&D nurse openly about what a was feeling and/or worrying about helped to transfer some of the stress away from me. Oh yeah, and the epidural helped quite a bit too!
Thanks for reading my super long post. I hope I didn’t overwhelm you too much with all the details!
