The Birth Story

Joe got me up at 2:30 a.m. on Friday, March 18^th 2011 to go pee. Yes, he had to get me up and pee in the middle of the night when I was pregnant. We went back to bed, and about an hour and twenty minutes later (about 3:50 a.m.), I woke up for literally a couple seconds just to turn over, and I felt a gush of wetness. I was thinking “that’s kind of strange!” Then Joe asked me if I was okay. I told him that I thought my water had broken. Sure enough, I began to move around and it just kept coming out. It was like Niagra Falls! So, I rinsed off in the shower, and Joe and I got everything ready for the hospital (Luckily, we had our hospital bag all ready). When we got to the hospital (about 5:00 a.m.), I got out of the car, and the water began to soak me again. Once we got to the maternity floor, my pants were drenched. It was very warm and quite uncomfortable if I do say so myself.

They had me change into a hospital gown, and they checked to see if my water actually had broken (let’s hope so because I don’t know what else that would have been). They checked for dilation, and I was dilated between and 3 and a 4. They said that when I was a 4, they could give me the epidural.

They took me down to the delivery room (it was a super nice big room) and put a monitor around my belly to track my contractions and the baby’s heartbeat. Joe rested on his pull-out bed, and I tried to sleep. I could, but I always woke up to the contractions. I focused and breathed through each contraction. It really does help when you are focused on breathing and looking at an object in the room. [every now and again during this time, the nurses came and checked me]

Soon after that, the anesthesiologist came to give me my epidural. It didn’t hurt initially, but then there was a lot of pressure and a little bit of pain in my lower back. It wasn’t long before I felt the numbness kick in. I had noticed that the numbness was more effective on my left side. When I had a contraction, I experienced terrible pain in one little spot on my right side. They decided to tilt me to the right to help the drugs spread better to my right side. Throughout all this, both nurses kept checking for dilation ( I think one was being trained, or she may have been brand new). I was still dilated to a 4 for the next hour or two. My right side was still experiencing a lot of pain ( I mean unbearable pain!), so they decided to give me some more anesthesia.

Finally, I felt no pain. It was great! It was funny to watch them move my leg and then watch it fall while feeling absolutely nothing! It honestly made me laugh out loud.

I had a feeling something was up when the nurses kept coming in to move me back and forth to different laying positions. They said that the baby didn’t respond well to the contractions, so they were seeing if repositioning me would help him.

Dr. Paul dropped in to see me for a couple minutes and said he’d be back when I was dilated to a 7. The nurses came back in to put an internal monitor on me and the baby. They left again. Then they came back and put an oxygen mask on me. They said it would help me and the baby get more oxygen. They left again. (Joe was sleeping during this time). I was scared. I knew something wasn’t right. I looked over at the monitor to see the baby’s heartbeat. It was going from around 150 down to around 80 and back to a normal, steady rate. I could tell when I was having a contraction because Ryker’s heart rate would go out of control. Next thing I knew, I saw lines --- where his heart rate was supposed to be. I panicked. I tried calling Joe’s name through the oxygen mask. He wouldn’t wake up. I bawled. I thought our baby was dead! L I continued to cry for Joe, and he finally woke up and rushed to my side.

The nurses came in and told me that everything was okay and that the monitor had just come off the baby. Phewy! I was relieved! Joe stayed by my side and helped one of the nurses calm me down. I was a crying wreck! Hormones are crazy! The nurses really were the best…so kind and considerate to my feelings. I wanted so bad to deliver vaginally. One of the nurses checked me again, and I was dilated to a 5, and the baby’s head had dropped. Joe and I were both happy to hear that! I really thought that I might deliver vaginally at this point!

The nurses came back and gave me some medicine to stop the contractions since Ryker wasn’t liking them. They said it would make me feel a little jittery. As soon as they gave it to me through the IV, my heart started to pound really fast and my hands shook hysterically. I didn’t like it at all. Joe held me hand through it all and told me that I was doing great.

They went to call Dr. Paul and came back and said, “You’re not going to want to hear this, but we’re going to have to do a c-section.” I said okay, and I bawled. They gave Joe the white bunny suit to put on for the operating room. LOL Dr. Paul came back and said, “This happens to me all the time. I’m just leaving the hospital, then I have to turn around and come right back J I’ll go get changed and be back.” Dr. Paul is so funny. I’m so glad he was my doctor!

So, they wheeled me down to the operating room with Joe (in his white bunny suit J ). My right arm was still shaking really bad through it all. Those crazy drugs! I’m sure my nervousness added to it too. The room was really cold. Dr. Paul, another doctor, 4 or 5 nurses, and the anesthesiologist were all in the room. They turned on music (I thought that was awesome).

They quickly transferred me to the operating table, put up the blue sheet, the anesthesiologist gave me some more anesthesia, and they went for it! I had Joe talk to me to distract me… He literally talked for less than a minute, and we both heard little Ryker’s cry. We couldn’t believe he was already out! They showed me him, and I cried. He was and is so beautiful! They had Joe look over the curtain and take a picture. Good thing Joe does okay with blood because I’m pretty sure he saw my insides. While they were first operating, I felt a lot of pressure up by my ribs, and I thought that was interesting because the incision is bikini line. It’s really low and not that big actually.

The anesthesiologist kept asking how I was doing and kept reassuring me that everything looked great and that I was doing well. Joe was gone with the baby while they stitched me up. I was so happy Ryker was okay. I couldn’t stop smiling. The anesthesiologist and nurses were dancing to the music while the doctors were fixing me up. They said it was because everything went so well and that they wouldn’t be dancing if I hadn’t done so great. They congratulated me, and my nurses wheeled me back to my recovery room.

The nurses were pushing on my stomach in the recovery room and Joe came back to my side and showed me a picture of Ryker. He asked if I was okay. I told him I was feeling quite fantastic. You could truly tell I was on drugs. LOL. I felt so numb and relaxed. Joe said that he was really worried because he overheard Dr. Paul say that I was bleeding a lot while they were operating. He was worried that I was dying, so he left the baby as quickly as possible to come see if I was alright.

Dr. Paul came and talked to me briefly after. He said that my placenta had been tearing away from my uterus wall and that was what was causing Ryker’s crazy heart rate. This is what they call placental abruption. Thankfully, it hadn’t torn completely because Ryker wouldn’t have gotten any oxygen, and I would have bled to death. He congratulated me and proceeded to go deliver another baby. As much as I was disappointed that I had to have a c-section, I was so grateful for modern technology and that c-sections exist. We wouldn’t have a beautiful baby boy without it! I’m really hoping for a VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean) with our next baby!

I’m so grateful for Joe and all that he did to help me get through the delivery and what he’s done to help take care of me and the baby this past month. I can’t believe that we are parents! I’m also grateful for all the people who took care of us at the hospital. They were all so kind! J