I can’t believe a whole year has passed and I never wrote about my birth story! I am very thankful to say that I had a positive birth experience and that this past year has been the most beautiful year. My birth story really is just a story and nothing fun to look at because I took one photo of Steve and I before I started to push. So enjoy this short story!
My due date was June 14, 2022. Following up to my due date, there was no sign that I would be going early or that I was even close to going into labor. I had to set my induction date for around the 20th or so which got me even more anxious for him to just get here naturally! Like most women close to their due date, it felt like the day would never actually happen and I was getting pretty impatient….it was a mix of emotions wanting him there but also the anxiety of not knowing what birth would be like AT ALL.
I saw my doctor the week prior and I was only 1cm dilated. The next week I went to my doctor on the 15th, so one day past my due date and I was still only 1cm dilated. I wanted the “I’m in labor!” experience and I felt like it was never going to come and I’d just have to be induced. That evening, it was about 8pm and I was sitting on the floor petting our dog, Quigley. I was so tired that I think I was going to get up and actually get ready for bed. I stood up and I couldn’t believe how much water literally gushed out. My water broke. I had heard leading up that if your water breaks you may think you peed yourself because it’s usually a small trickle of water and that the movies over exaggerate what water breaking is actually like. Well it was actually a crazy amount and as dramatic as they show in the movies. It was all over our wood floors (thank goodness it didn’t get on any of our area rugs) and I just kept saying ‘OH MY GOD my water’s breaking!!!” and I kept apologizing because we had to clean up all that mess LOL!
We knew to call my doctor and let her know that my water broke and to see what she’d want us to do next. We had to time my contractions and they told us to come in at midnight. I planned to get there just a bit after midnight as long as everything was still progressing as it was. I decided to take a shower and try to nap a little before we had to leave. Steve was about to eat Oreos and milk when my water broke so he was able to sit down and enjoy them…you can laugh because we laugh about that every day. It’s also extra funny for us because this is the second time something like this has happened to him! When I broke my nose in an adult league field hockey game, he just sat down to have chocolate milk and I called to say I needed to go to the hospital…he never lets me live that down!
I was able to get some sleep on the living room floor while I laid on a towel and doggy pee pad (nothing about birth is glamorous FYI hahah) and when I got up to get some things together before leaving for the hospital, my water broke even more and another gush of stuff came out. It’s the weirdest feeling. Thankfully my contractions were not bad but they were steady and continuing to get closer.
I got to the hospital and they had to make sure my water actually broke and the nurse was like ‘oh yea that really broke!’….she said they were used to so many people coming in saying their water broke and they just peed but even though I know she still had to check, I assured her it was not pee that happened. I had to get in the hospital gown while they got a room ready and I honestly remember being really nervous at this point. It was a mix of excitement but having no idea what you’re in for so it was equally scary.
Once I got to the room they immediately started me on Pitocin. Looking back I wish I would’ve asked if they could hold off on giving me that and see how far along I got with labor progressing on it’s own but I also know that once the water breaks they want the baby out within 24 hours so not sure they wanted to wait at all. My contractions weren’t bad at all before Pitocin. Once the Pitocin kicked in, all my contractions went straight to my back and I was having back labor.
I tried different positions and tried standing/moving around to ease it all but the contractions started to be on top of each other and I could barely breath in between with how fast they came and the way it was all in my back. I wanted to see how far I could go naturally or if I could go naturally the whole way but they checked me after a few hours on Pitocin and I was still only 1cm dilated. Everything I read prior was that the epidural can slow labor, but before all of this my doctor talked to me and assured me that there may be times that the epidural accelerates labor because it allows your body to relax. In my case, I felt like it would actually help me relax. I opted for the epidural and this was the worst part of everything. The anesthesiologist came in and goes over the whole spiel of not moving and staying as still as possible. My contractions were still very much all in my back and my whole body was trembling uncontrollably from labor shakes. Steve was able to stand in front of me and I squeezed on to him as hard as I could to try to stay as still as possible. She was ready to go in and I felt the needle go in….then I felt something warm going all down my back and I saw the nurses all stop and look at each other. I was contracting constantly and I just looked at Steve while shaking asking him what was happening. She hit something and I was bleeding everywhere. They were stopping the bleeding and tried to figure out how to go in again….she went in the second time and she said it wasn’t where it needs to be so she would have to do it all again. I had to get it done 3 times!!
It hurt every time and I think it hurt more from trying to stay still while contracting but she got it done and I am so glad I had it. I was able to get some rest for a few hours after that and I jumped to 7cm. I was still able to move my legs and change positions in the bed if I needed to which I am so thankful for because my other epidural fear was not being able to move at all! My doctor set me up with the peanut to help open the canal some more and then they sat me perfectly up straight to have gravity help push the baby down a bit to get ready to push.
I was starting to be able to feel pressure building around 9cm and they were prepping the room for me to get ready to push. It was about 9am when I was able to start pushing and I am glad that I was able to feel when I would need to push. My doctor let me know when to push but there may be times when I’d feel it before they knew for me to push so I’d let them know. We talked about Elvis in between pushes…yes, Elvis! That new Elvis movie was coming out and my doctor was saying she wanted to see it but that she also didn’t because he never wanted to be with his wife again after having their child because childbirth disgusted him. It’s so funny to look back now but that’s how chill the room was while I was pushing! LOL About 20min later, Graham was born at 9:17am!
Everything after delivery went very smoothly and I am thankful that neither Graham or I had any complications. There was a nurse shadowing her first day and she was in the room with us so she took pictures of the whole birth. It’s a memory that goes so quickly and is sometimes a blur with everything going on so I am so happy we get to cherish those photos and that moment forever.
