Jack's rough draft birth story

[mrsjenrn]

It's pretty long, so bear with me. I am going to add more details to it, but I don't feel comfortable adding some names to a public internet site so I kept it simple. This is just a rough draft anyway. I wrote what came to mind and just let it flow.
I forgot to add that I had a second degree tear but it got sutured up and I felt great! 2 hours after Jack was born I was up walking around. I got to have him skin to skin right away. It was absolutely amazing. (heart)

Jack’s Birth
Story<o:p></o:p>

On March 11,
2013, I was having irregular contractions and a lot of pressure. I thought I
may have been dehydrated, so I drank a lot of water and tried to go about my
day. I had to go to the grocery store to pick up something we had forgotten
that weekend, and to the post office to mail something for John. I was having a
lot of pain at times, but I tried to ignore it and go about my business.
Surely, I wasn’t in labor! It was way too early! <o:p></o:p>

Zoe and I
got home from running our errands and I felt the need to clean while she
napped. I dusted in our bedroom and went through the stuff that needed to be
put away in our room. I was finally going to start getting things ready for the
baby’s arrival. Little did I know how soon that would be, and why I had this
sudden urge to clean.<o:p></o:p>

By the time
John got home from work around 6, I wasn’t having as many contractions and the
pain was better, so I figured I was just dehydrated. I went to the monthly ICAN
meeting that I had been going to since I was about 14 weeks pregnant. The topic
was CBAC’s. Not what I wanted to hear about being so close to my due date, but
I always felt better after going to the meetings so I went anyway. I was joking
that maybe I would go into labor soon since I was having a lot of pressure and
contractions. Once again, little did I know what was in store for me about 6
hours later. <o:p></o:p>

John and I
went to bed around 12 or 12:30am. The pain and pressure still hadn’t returned
to the full extent that is had that afternoon, so I wasn’t even concerned about
it. However, I woke up at 2:30am with contractions and I couldn’t fall back
asleep. I started timing them and they were every 6-8 minutes! Plenty of time,
I thought. I woke John up and told him what was going on, but that we could go
back to sleep. I still couldn’t fall back to sleep, so I got some water and a
light snack. I tried to fall back to sleep again, but the contractions started
getting closer together, and they were stronger. I told John that he needed to
wake up because I was in labor. Of course we had nothing ready for the baby, so
we started packing the hospital bag. I was trying to get some baby laundry
together but I could barely do anything because the contractions were coming
pretty frequently. I decided to take a shower, then call my doctor to tell him
what was going on. I called him around 4am and he told me to wait an hour and
then go to the hospital if I was still having contractions. I told John that
there was no way I could wait an hour because the contractions were every 2
minutes by that point. We continued to pack and John helped me through the
contractions. I found the birthing ball and kneeling on the floor over the
birthing ball most comfortable. At times I would hold on to the kitchen counter
for support, and I would get on all fours if I wasn’t near the birthing ball
and that seemed to help.<o:p></o:p>

We had no
one to watch Zoe in the middle of the night, so we packed her up and brought her
to the car, half asleep in her favorite owl jammies. As John was loading her in
the car seat, I began throwing up. I told him we really needed to hurry because
I was getting close to having the baby. The car ride was difficult, but
thankfully the hospital is only 10-15 minutes away. It felt like it was longer
on this night, though! John later confessed that he wasn’t speeding to get
there because he didn’t want to delay getting there even more by getting pulled
over. It’s probably a good thing I didn’t realize how fast he was going because
I would’ve been screaming at him to hurry up! When we got off the Crosstown
exit, I told him to just run all the red lights because there were no cars on
the road. Thankfully, he didn’t listen to me. <o:p></o:p>

We pulled up
to the Emergency Room valet and I practically leapt out of the car as soon as
we stopped. I couldn’t wait to get up and move around again. Everything felt
like it was taking forever. We unloaded the car and the valet went and parked
it. I was leaning on the giant concrete post during a contraction and John came
over to help me through it. I snapped at him and said, “Don’t touch me!” Things
were getting pretty intense. I felt like I hardly had a break in between
contractions. The security guard wheeled me up to Labor and Delivery, and John
and Zoe followed. <o:p></o:p>

Because of
Zoe’s age, she and John weren’t allowed back with me until security got the OK
from my nurse. I saw my coworkers sitting in triage and they all came and
rushed over to me. I am sure they saw how uncomfortable I was so things moved
pretty fast. The nurse checked me and had a hard time figuring out my exam
because my bag of waters was bulging. The USF resident on call came and checked
me and he said I was 8 cm but couldn’t tell how effaced I was or how high up
the baby was. Since I was 8cm, obviously I was admitted right away. The
contractions kept coming one after the other. I was starting to get pretty loud
during them. My coworker said to me, “I thought you said you wanted to come in
pushing, Jen.” She was right, I said those exact words. I told her I was only
half serious about that. I never thought it would happen. All I was really
hoping for was to be at least 5 cm with contractions every 4-5 minutes or so. I
did not expect to arrive in L&D about to have a baby! <o:p></o:p>

They wheeled
me to my room in a stretcher because walking had become really difficult for
me. My doctor still had not arrived yet (I think it was around 5:30am by this
point). John and Zoe were allowed back with me. I was one of those crazy women
in labor, screaming and thrashing in bed. I was out of control! The only
comfortable position I could find was on my right side. The IV in my hand wasn’t
working well, so they started another one on my right forearm. My wonderful
coworkers took Zoe out of the room and watched her until I got the epidural.
She was so happy and loved hanging out with them. I later heard that she had
gotten really attached to one of my coworkers who was also pregnant. So
adorable!<o:p></o:p>

At 6am my
doctor finally arrived. He broke my water and said that I was 8cm dilated,
completely effaced, and the baby was at -1 station. He also told me that,
despite the fact that I had gone into labor 4 weeks early (according to my
first ultrasound – I figured I was more like 37 weeks), he suddenly thought my
pelvis was too small and he didn’t think I would be able to push the baby out.
He said he would give me 2 hours to progress and if I didn’t, he was taking me
back for a c section.<o:p></o:p>

 I hadn’t gotten my epidural yet and was only
thinking about all the pain I was in, so it took a few minutes to process what
he had just said to me. I was livid. First of all, this was the first I had
heard AT ALL about having a “small pelvis.” Secondly, I had shown up at the
hospital in active labor at 8 freaking centimeters. I was having STRONG
contractions every 1.5-2 minutes at that point. I was pushing that baby out.
After he left the room, I couldn’t believe how quiet it had gotten. My
coworkers were throwing their hands up in the air, I think shocked and angry at
what he had just told me.<o:p></o:p>

 I brushed what he had said aside and focused
on getting my epidural. The CRNA was trying multiple times and finally got it
in after about 5 or 6 attempts. I was in too much pain to care what he was
doing back there, but I was getting annoyed at how long it was taking because I
know how fast they can be inserted. I was holding onto John for dear life
during the contractions so I wouldn’t move while he was jamming the needle in
my back. He was such a trooper about it, even though he had a sore back the
next day. The nurse was also helping me stay focused and calm and I was
breathing very hard in her face. I hope my breath wasn’t too bad!<o:p></o:p>

Once I got
the epidural, I was so happy. Zoe was back in the room at this point, perfectly
content to be playing on my iPhone. My contractions slowed down and my new day
shift nurse reluctantly started me on a low dose of Pitocin, as my doctor had
ordered. I was mad when he had mentioned it earlier, but I had the epidural now
so I knew it wouldn’t be painful. The baby’s heart rate started dipping down
into the 80’s periodically (I was having variables) so I was repositioned and
possibly bolused with fluid (that is the protocol). I was still having them so
she turned the pitocin off and called the doctor. I was freaking out because I
knew that my doctor would use any excuse to take me to the OR. It was about 8
or 8:15am at that point and my 2 hour time limit was up anyway.<o:p></o:p>

The doctor
came around 8:30 and I was completely dilated, effaced, and the baby had moved
down to a +2 station. I was ready to push!! My doctor was shocked I had gotten
that far. I wasn’t though! He told the nurse to start pushing with me and said
he was going to get a cup of coffee. I asked the nurse to turn off the epidural
because with Zoe I felt like I couldn’t tell when I had to push. She turned it
off and I started pushing.  After the first
couple of tries the nurse said, “Yes, there’s the head!” John looked while I
was pushing and said, “Jen, Zoe’s head never came out this far!” I couldn’t
believe it! My VBAC was really going to happen! As soon as he said those words
to me, I was so excited. I pushed with everything I had. I wasn’t exhausted
like I had been with Zoe. I knew when I had to push. I had the support of my
husband and coworkers. I knew I could do it! It was amazing! The tech asked if
I wanted a mirror and I said yes. I pushed for a couple more minutes and all of
a sudden, I felt the baby come out more. The nurse said, “Wait, stop pushing!”
She called for the doctor to come because the baby was definitely coming. She
held him to make sure she stayed in. I don’t remember this, but at some point
John had leaned over after she told me not to push and said, “Push, Jen! Push!”
I really did try not to push, but the baby came out and the nurse guided him
onto the bed. The tech had just arrived with the mirror, so I didn’t get to see
him come out. The doctor was still nowhere to be found. The nurses cut the cord
and put him right on my chest/stomach so I could do immediate skin to skin. I
was crying and saying, “I’m not broken!” I don’t think I can put into words the
emotions I was feeling at that moment. It was beautiful. I was happy, relieved,
tired, amazed, shocked…so many other feelings. Zoe was still on the couch, and
who knows how much she saw at this point. John and I were a little preoccupied
at that time. J I just couldn’t believe what had just happened. Jack Owen
was born at 8:42am on March 12, 2013.<o:p></o:p>

<o:p> </o:p>

[etteyam]

Your story is giving me goosebumps! I am so happy that you got your VBAC! I know how badly you wanted it. It's funny how my birth story with DD2 closely resembles yours. Like you, I was feeling a lot of pressure the day before she came (she also came 3 weeks early!), got to the hospital at 8 cm; pushed for 2 mins and they had to call the doctor to come coz DD2 was definitely coming out fast!

Congrats again and I love his name!

[sara76]

Dang you go girl!!! I'm so happy for you that you got what you worked so hard for. Can't wait to meet the little guy!

[tashaandsage]

Wow, that's quite a story, Jen! I'm so happy for you that you got the VBAC you wanted to badly and that despite his early arrival you were blessed with a big healthy baby. And how neat is it for your family that Zoe was present at her baby brother's birth!

[kimandross]

Wow, great story, Jen. You definitely give me VBAC hope! Congrats again!

[loskadoodle]

What a great story! I am so happy for you that you got to have your VBAC!  You can tell by your story how much it meant to you!  I'm glad everyone is happy and healthy!

[melis74]

Thank you for sharing your story, I'm so happy that everything worked out for you!

[mrsjason]

Thanks for sharing! I am so happy for you and your VBAC! Oh and congrats again on your sweet boy <3