My Precious Girl – A Birth Story
{I wanted to share my birth story with my first child with you! I wrote this two weeks post-partum so that I would not forget anything. I hope you enjoy!} —–
How do I capture this perfectly imperfect event in words? I’m not sure it is possible. It has been two weeks since the birth of our baby girl, Ember Belle, and I want to put the series of events down on paper; a way to make it more permanent.
Leading up to the birth, I was planning everything. I started drinking raspberry tea at 32 weeks gestation, which was going to increase in volume all the way up to 40 weeks. I was drinking two cups a day. I also had just purchased a five pound bag of dates to help tone and thin the uterus to help for an easier labor. I was supposed to start eating those at week 36. I had also just purchased a black robe from JC Penneys that I wanted to wear during labor (it was being shipped). The best part is that the baby shower was scheduled for September 18th (just five days way from Ember’s birth!). Justin and I had already completed the childbirth class series and my goal was to have a natural birth.
So here goes. On Tuesday, September 13th, at two o’clock in the morning, I was startled out of my sleep because I thought I had peed myself. As a pregnant women, this can sometimes happen, haha. I got up out of bed, assessed the situation, and thought to myself that I would go back to sleep in hopes that my water hadn’t broke. As soon as I laid down, the same sensation happened again. I got up, changed, and laid back in bed. I was WIDE AWAKE by this point, debating what the next step should be. At 2:20am, I rolled over to wake Justin up and as I did this water rushed out of me and I knew it was time to go. I told Justin that I thought my water had broke and
“I think it’s time we go to the hospital.”
He was out of bed in no time. He later told me, that he reacted just like he would have had it had been a fire call, haha. Good thing I married a firefighter ♥. Always ready. Thinking back on it, I was so lucky he wasn’t on shift!
At this point, I threw on a dress, grabbed my overnight bag (which I just so happened to have packed the Sunday prior, as well as the cameras (which I just so happened to have charged the Sunday prior). I called my mom and told her that I thought my water broke and that we were leaving the house to go to the hospital. Both my mom and Justin tried to reassure me that it could just be urine, but they both have admitted since then that they knew it was unlikely, given my description of the situation.
This may be a little TMI, so skip this paragraph if you don’t want to know signs and symptoms! Prior to falling asleep that night, I had experienced a very different type of discharge, nothing alarming, just different. I had told Justin, who then decided to read up the signs and symptoms of the water breaking. I also had taken a Tylenol for mild cramps that I was having. I had thought they were mild Braxton Hicks. I experienced some moderate Braxton Hicks contractions the Friday before, so I didn’t think anything of the ones I was experiencing. One thing we learned from our childbirth series class was that the water breaks first in only about ten percent of women. If the water does break, there is a twenty four hour window in which the baby needs to be delivered by due to risk of infection. Based on that information, I never expected to have the experience of my water breaking first.
So we headed to the hospital. On the way there, I called the phone number for the doctor on call, left a message stating that we were coming in because I thought my water broke. About five minutes later, a nurse called me back, went over my medical information and recommended that we come in. Thankfully, we were already on our way. Justin parked the car in front of the entrance of the hospital and we proceeded to the doors. I was leaking the whole time, and while I was praying it was just urine, I knew that it was probably my water. We got on the elevators, went up to the third floor and made our way to triage. The nurse had already been notified that I was heading in, so it didn’t take long for us to be put into a room. They hooked me up to a fetal monitor and wanted to also monitor my contractions. The nurse took a sample of the fluid.
In the meantime, I was seriously stressing out. I was 35 weeks and 4 days along, and I did not feel ready! There was so much that I still wanted to do to prepare for Ember’s arrival (like her baby shower!). One of the only things that had kept me relatively calm was that at my 34 week appointment with my OBGYN, he had told me that at this point, the baby may need a few days in the hospital, but typically will go home with the mother. As we waited for the test results, I started to feel the contractions start. They were still very mild, but there nonetheless. The nurse came in with the positive test results showing that my amniotic sac had ruptured and they were going to admit me to a room. I was so nervous that my body wasn’t ready to deliver this baby. My goal was to try everything naturally, and when the nurse checked to see if I was dilated…I wasn’t, AT ALL. She mentioned that I could be put on Pitocin to be induced if labor didn’t progress. I knew that if that was to happen, that the contractions would be more intense, decreasing the likelihood that I would be able to do it naturally. I expressed my concerns to Justin, who remained calm the whole time. He was my rock. He assured me over and over again that we would do everything in our power to have this delivery go as I had planned.
So they moved me into another room, gave me an IV and started me on antibiotics. My next OBGYN appointment was scheduled for two days later. At that appointment, I was supposed to be checked for Strep B and get an ultrasound performed to make sure the baby was head down for delivery. Since I hadn’t been tested for Strep B, they went ahead and started me on the antibiotics.
Justin went back to the car, grabbed my overnight bag, and headed back to the room. At this point it was like I had forgotten everything I was supposed to be doing to get myself to dilate. That is where Justin came in. He reminded me that I needed to move positions constantly. So that is what I did. About thirty minutes after I moved rooms, my contractions were pretty intense and about three to four minutes apart. I started out standing, then rotated from the bed in a squatting position, to the yoga ball, to the floor. The best thing for me, was Justin counting through my contractions. Hearing him tell me when they were peaking, to when they were over, was the one thing that I will always remember. I could see the light at the end of the tunnel with each contraction because he was there to talk me through them. He also motivated me to move positions. Every time I moved positions, it triggered another contraction, which he reminded me was the goal to get my body to dilate.
At 10:00am, the doctor arrived to check me. I was 2cm dilated and 80% effaced! While that doesn’t sound like much, I was so happy with this! I had been laboring for eight hours, and my body had made progress. That was all that mattered to me. My contractions continued to get much MUCH more intense. By noon, I was exhausted. I literally was falling asleep in the three minute intervals between my contractions. Justin said that he watched me and at some points, thought he was going to have to catch my head from falling. The doctor came back in and checked me again. I was now ten hours in and still dilated to only 2 cm!! I was, however, 100% effaced. The doctor told me that since I was 100% effaced that I could potentially dilate quickly. I knew that I needed something to take the edge off. I decided to try the narcotic, Phenotyl. They administered it through my IV and it was supposed to give me some relief for a short amount of time. Some women can even take a short nap after they receive this. THIS WAS NOT THE CASE FOR ME.
After they administered this, it was like my contractions intensified. They were to the point of being intolerable. I was very vocal at this point, breathing and vocalizing through my contractions. Justin later told me that he couldn’t bear to see me in the pain that I was in. I remember him telling me that he was going to talk to the doctor for a minute. When he came back, he said that he talked with the doctor about the effects and risks of the epidural. He said that I didn’t have to go through Hell through this whole labor. I know, looking back, that it was so hard for him to watch me go through that pain (I am tearing up as I write this). When he said this to me, I already knew that it was time for me to make that decision. Justin told me that I was strong for laboring naturally for as long as I did, but that I didn’t have to be miserable. I was ready for the epidural. My mom had arrived at this point, the order for the epidural had been put in. It took two hours for them to get to my room. At one point, I needed to pee, and I ended up on the bathroom floor with a contraction so unbearable. I was practically begging for anesthesia to show up.
After twelve hours of natural labor, (around 2:00pm) I got the epidural. The most painful part was the lidacain injection for numbing. Justin said that I asked the anesthesiologist if he knew what he was doing. (I don’t exactly remember this, haha). His reply was that he had administered over 300 epidurals. Once the epidural was administered, it didn’t fully take the way it was supposed to. I had a “hot spot” on my left hip that was feeling all of the contractions. They turned me over to that side and I was able to find some relief. However, I was able to move my entire left side through the whole delivery. Looking back on it, I am SO happy the epidural didn’t take all the way because I was able to have enough feeling to actively participate in the delivery.
My mom, brother, and sister (Kaylee) arrived and I was able to converse with everyone. It was a completely different experience. Justin was just as exhausted as I was and he was so thankful that he didn’t have to see me in pain anymore. I was able to enjoy the rest of the delivery process.
My mom measured my belly with a ribbon, so that we could still play the game of guessing how big my belly was pregnant for the baby shower, since now I would not be pregnant for it. We all gave our guesses for Ember’s weight, length, and time to be born. I definitely would not have been able to have conversations with my family had I not been given the epidural.
My nurse was getting ready to help me change positions so that I could continue to help my body dilate when the doctor came back to my room (around 5:30pm) to check me. I remember asking her if she was surprised that my water broke this early. Her response was “why don’t we just have a baby?” I wasn’t sure if she had ignored me or was annoyed by my question, I replied “but really, were you surprised I went into labor so early with everything going so normal?” She said no, that a lot of women, including her mom, had babies at 35 weeks. Then she proceeded to say
let’s have a baby!
Then I understood!! I had dilated from 2cm to 10cm in three hours and it was time to have our baby girl! I did not expect it. I immediately started crying! I was full of emotion and couldn’t believe we were getting ready to meet the little girl that had been growing in my belly for 8 months. I looked at Justin who was just as astonished as I was. We were having a baby on September 13th, 2016.
My brother and sister both gave me hugs and exited the room. My mom was in charge of the camera and video camera. The nurse gave me her instructions for pushing. I was going to push three times for ten seconds each and then rest. I was to hold onto my legs, with Justin on one side and herself on the other. And we were ready to push. The nurse also let my mom take pictures of the process before the doctor arrived. A great nurse makes all the difference!
I had so much adrenaline running through me that I knew I was going to get sick, and I did. I felt so much better afterwards and I was ready to get the show going. With one push, we could already see the head. The nurse grabbed a mirror for me so that I could see as well. It was a magical experience. Justin helped count me through the pushes. He later said that I looked like a body builder with the veins popping out of my neck. Justin put a damp towel on my forehead in between the pushes. He told me that he would have passed out had it been him having to push that much.
The doctor arrived and we were ready to continue. The doctor asked me if I wanted to feel the head. When I reached down, I almost lost all of my composure, I was so happy I was going to meet her! I remember telling myself to pull myself together because the job wasn’t done yet. Once the head was out, the doctor had me push for 3 to 5 seconds instead of 10, to give my body time to prevent tearing. I pushed for about twenty five minutes and my mom told me to open my eyes. I will never ever forget the first time I met Ember. As she was lifted up and put onto my chest, my heart grew. I read so many birth stories, some from moms who did not experience an immediate connection with their baby. This was not the case for me.
I truly experienced love at first sight.
She was beautiful and she was perfect. Ember was born at 6:19pm, weighing 5lbs 3 oz (Justin had guessed the weight correctly ♥) and 17.5 inches long. Her APGAR score was an 8 at 1 minute and a 9 at 5 minutes.
Afterwards, I was SO HUNGRY! The nurse asked me if I wanted something to eat and drink. I ordered a grilled cheese sandwich and a coke. It was THE BEST meal I have ever had! Haha! I had given up caffeine during my pregnancy and the coke was my victory drink.
We were joined by the rest of my family afterwards who got to meet the newest addition to the family. It was a wonderful experience. I ended up with a surface tear that required minimal stitches, but otherwise, I felt great. I was even able to walk shortly after giving birth! It was a perfect experience for me and what my expectations were. I am so very thankful.
Ember was healthy. She simply was ready to be here early. I had all of these plans in my head for things I needed to do and get done prior to her birth, but she had plans of her own. It made the experience one of a kind and Justin has said more than once that he is glad she messed up my plans because when things are unplanned and go right, they mean that much more. I think back on that day often and replay the whole thing over and over again. I am so thankful for how everything worked out. If I had the entire thing to do over again, I wouldn’t change any of it. Justin was able to keep me sane through it all and I was able to lean on him. He was everything that I needed him to be. I was able to labor naturally for twelve hours, and I was able to actively participate in the delivery since the epidural take it’s full effect. And most of all, our baby girl was healthy. All of these things, I am thankful for. I sit here writing this with Ember sleeping on my chest. My heart is full. I have the two loves of my life lying in bed with me and I am so excited about our adventures we will have in this life together, both the planned and unplanned.
A special thank you to my mom for capturing this beautiful experience on camera ♥.
How was your birthing experience? I would love to hear from you!
