Thursday, May 2, 2013

Judah's Birth Story


Throughout my pregnancy I only experienced Braxton Hicks once and was having lower back pain at night. I thought it was just pain from laying in bed but most likely was the only time I had Braxton Hicks. On April 16th about 12:00am I began to have those same back pains on and off about every hour. I began timing them at 6:00am and they were about 11 minutes apart. My husband woke up for work about 6:30am and I told him that I think our little one was coming today. I began to make my husbands lunch while he got ready for work and I continued to track my contractions. By the time my husband was leaving at 7:15am, they were about 6-7 minutes apart. I told him to still go to work because I always heard that your first baby usually takes the longest to deliver. He told my mom that I was having contractions and after my husband left for work, my mom and I decided to go for a walk. After a 15 minute walk my contractions were about 5 minutes apart. She called my doctors office and they said I should go to the hospital. I took a shower and got ready and we stopped at Carl's Jr. so I could get a breakfast burrito in case I was admitted. Although the chances of that were slim, I thought. 


We arrived at the hospital at 10:00am and they checked me to see if I was at all dilated. 3 cm and 100% effaced. I couldn't believe it because 6 days earlier my nurse said I was "closed and tight". They admitted me and I called my husband to tell him he should come home from work. His work had told him to go home before I called so he was already on his way.


The nurse said my first delivery would be about 12-24 hours so get comfortable. About an hour later my nurse told me that my contractions were irregular and if they didn't start getting regular that I'd need pitocin to get my labor going but if I was dilating on my own then I should be fine. I wanted to have a completely natural pregnancy so I really was hoping to be 4cm but had my doubts because of how long I heard it would take. My doctor came in and checked me and said I was 6cm...umm.. He must be wrong because there's no way I could be progressing that fast! He grabbed some knitting needle looking tool and popped my water. It began to sink in that this was really happening.. I'm going to be a mom. After my water was broken the contractions began to be closer together and stronger. After several hours laying on my back was becoming uncomfortable and I asked if I could sit on my yoga ball to relieve some back pain. The nurse said she had to to check me first and then said I couldn't get up, I was 8 cm. Everyone including myself couldn't believe how quickly my labor was progressing. I really wanted to get on that ball because my back pain was beginning to feel unbearable. Those contractions were becoming longer and stronger and I felt like I was going to loose my mind. I really began to question whether I wanted some sort of medication but that was just the pain talking and I'm glad that I was laboring so fast and didn't have a chance to give in. At one point I felt like he was coming out and told my husband to call the nurse. She checked me and said I was 9 cm and would probably be another hour or so. I'm generally a quiet and reserved person but yelled out "an hour?!" and began to cry. 


She told me she called the doctor and he came in about 5 minutes later. He checked me and said I was ready to push. I was so beyond ready to push. I was so exhausted and kept trying to push but physically it wasn't working and I started to doubt I could really give birth to him. My mom and husband kept telling me he had a lot of hair but I was so physically tired it didn't really motivate me. I tried pushing for about 15 more minutes but I kept saying I couldn't do it and would give up. My doctor said it looked like he might have the cord around him and that his heart rate dropped a little. He said he might have to use a vacuum to help get him out and that was enough for me to work harder. I pushed one more time and finally, my little boy came into the world at 4:48pm. They laid him on my chest and he wasn't crying. 


My husband was cutting his umbilical cord and people weren't saying much. I asked a nurse if he was okay and she said everything was fine. Finally I had peace and could relax and live in the moment. I heard his cry and everything was fine. They took him aside while my doctor stitched me up and for the next two hours my husband and I were able to just stare and love him. From the time I was admitted, it was only about 7 hours of laboring. He's amazing and perfect.






My husband and my mom were the best coaches I could ask for. My husband gave me the reassurance that everything was okay and I had the comfort of knowing he was there for us. My mom gave me the mental motivation to keep going when I felt I couldn't keep going. So many emotions throughout the day. The best day of my life.
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1 comment:

  1. You sound like you did AMAZING during your labor!!! That is awesome that you were able to progress that fast and have him all natural! I tried to go that route but initially had to have pain meds. Thanks for sharing your story! Your little one is CUTE!!

    xo,
    Shio

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