Baby Brother’s Birth Story

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Wow! I can’t believe Baby Brother is already a week old! Thanks so much for all of your comments, posts, & well-wishes! For the most part we’re all doing fine–just adjusting to life as a family of 5 with a newborn. The biggest issue is breastfeeding. Given my previous breastfeeding issues, all the trouble we’re having is no surprise, but is still frustrating nonetheless. So, the past week has been spent dealing with that, various newborn doctor’s appointments, and lots of baby snuggles!!! 🙂 But, before any more time elapses, I want to share Baby Brother’s birth story. I was so stressed in the days leading up to it & was really bummed about being induced, but everything turned out great and was the craziest delivery I could have imagined (in a good way)!

To recap (in case you missed the 38-week post), we found out Wednesday evening (7/11) that the induction needed to happen (due to low amniotic fluid) & the hospital could call anytime in the next 24 hours. So, we headed home from the Dr., got everything ready, and thankfully, got some sleep. The call came in at 6:00am and we were asked to be at the hospital by 7:30.

So, we got all checked in & met our fabulous nurse (it makes SUCH a big difference when your nurse is wonderful)! She set a very fitting goal for the day & I got changed into my cute LaborLooks gown (all the nurses and even the Dr. commented on how cute it was)! 😉

8:30am – Pitocin drip started. Having contractions, but nothing too uncomfortable. Just hanging out with Mr. Mom Endeavors.

9:30am – Pit drip increased to 6 (the drip starts at 2 and can go as high as 30. Obviously, the goal is to use the lowest number possible). More hanging out.

11:00am – First check. I had been dilated to “2” since 36 weeks, so I was so hoping that the pit drip & contractions had been doing something. Alas, it hadn’t. She said “2 to 3 — 3 if she was being really nice”. UGH! So, pit upped to 10. I was more uncomfortable, but still nothing too horrible. An epidural was offered at this point, but I declined. With being induced, I figured I would end up opting for an epidural but absolutely didn’t want to get it too soon (I was desperate to avoid a c-section).

12:30pm – Pit now up to 14 and contractions were growing noticeably worse. I was SO tired of laying in the bed–it made the contractions more uncomfortable & hurt my hips/sciatica. The nurse said I could stand up around my bed as long as we could keep baby on the heart rate monitor. YAY! This was SO nice. I labored standing up then for the next hour or so. At this point, contractions were coming every 2-3 minutes and were strong enough that I had to breathe through them, but still not excruciating. 2:30pm – Contractions were now WAY more painful. I was tired from standing, so I sat on the edge of the bed with Mr. Mom Endeavors applying really strong pressure on my lower back during each contraction.  During this time, I was talking to my mom on the phone about her getting to the hospital. We had friends who had generously agreed to come relieve her from watching the big boys, so she could come to the hospital for the delivery. The catch is that my dad was in a different hospital following a fairly major surgery. Since I was only dilated to maybe a 3 before, we thought she had plenty of time. We were thinking it would at least be dinnertime or maybe a bit later in the evening. While we were talking I had to put the phone down to get through each contraction– which at this point was every 1 to 2 minutes (perhaps that should have been our indication of things to come).

3:00pm –  The nurse checked me again. Surely, with the strength & timing of the contractions (in addition to my hour+ of standing), I MUST be dilated to 5 or 6 at least. GAH! Dilated only to a “4”–and again, she said she was being generous. UGH. SERIOUSLY? We were all shocked that everything was taking so long. Was leaning strongly toward an epidural since things were progressing so slowly, but I still declined for the time being.

3:15pm – Strong contractions and I was now mostly laying down in bed, with Mr. Mom Endeavors pushing back on my feet as I pushed on his hands with my legs in order to get through each contraction. Then, I felt something strange inside–like a strong kick or movement from baby, then a pop– water breaks! My water had never broken fully on its own like that before, so that was new. And, it was extremely evident just how low his fluid levels were. Then things got crazy! We paged the nurse & everyone got very excited about my water breaking. Baby Brother was having a hard time staying on the heart rate monitor, so while the nurse monitored a few other things, she had her student (we agreed to having them observe) hold the monitor on my belly.
I knew from my previous deliveries that the pain intensifies immensely once the water is broken, but I was still shocked as to how much the pain changed this time. On the very next contraction, the pain was off-the-charts. I actually screamed (which I couldn’t believe)–I didn’t want to be that lady, but I couldn’t help it. The poor student. She was standing right over me holding the monitor lead on, but kept looking away up & at the ceiling during the contraction while I was writhing, moaning, and/or screaming. Since I was only dilated to “4” a few minutes prior, I didn’t think I could manage that pain for long (especially since I couldn’t move around & had to be hooked up to 5 different things). So, I was now practically begging for the epidural. Mr. Mom Endeavors called my mom who started heading over & my Dr. was called.

3:30pm – The anesthesiologist arrived and started to attempt the epidural. The process took forever because I was having a terrible time holding still through the contractions. It was excruciating and trying to hold absolutely still was almost impossible. He got quite crabby with me and there was one point that we almost called it off. I wish we would have. But, finally, with the help of two nurses holding my head & shoulders and talking to me very softly, they get me to hold still & focus through the pain.

3:50pm – Epidural is in. A slight edge has been taken off, but the pain is still really intense. So, the nurse decides she better check me. Um, yah…dilated to 10!!! So much for the epidural! LOL! Everyone then joked that I just went through all of labor “med-free”–and I went through transition while getting the epidural. No wonder that was so ridiculously difficult!! Since it took about 20 minutes to get the epidural, they hadn’t had a reading on baby’s heart rate during that time. Once they put the monitor back, they couldn’t really pick his heart rate back up well. It was there, but hard to find, making everyone nervous. So, they slapped oxygen on me and tried to get a good reading on baby. It wasn’t happening.

At this point, they were trying to decide on whether or not to wait for my doctor to get there. My nurse paged the charge nurse & they consulted for a minute. Then, they called for someone else to get an ETA on my Dr.–apparently 5-7 minutes out. So, they decided to call in the OB on staff at the hospital. He came in & conferred with the nurses. Everyone kept talking about the issue of “lots of variables” (I think they were meaning the 2-vessel cord, the low fluid, his heart rate, etc.). So, he made the decision to get things rolling, see where we’re at, and hopefully by then my doctor would be there.

While all that was going on, we talked to the student nurse about taking pictures for us since no one else was there. And, I’m SO glad we did. She got some wonderful shots and took one last shot of us as the hospital Dr. was getting all set up.

4:10pm – We’re all set up and the Dr. checked me. Sure enough, dilated to “10”, but he said that baby was still super high up. I then explained that the same was true with Little Brother. In fact, with him, I was dilated to “10” for two hours while they tried to get him to “labor down”. But, he never did. Little Brother was 9lbs. 4oz and I only pushed for 15-20 minutes, even with him being high up. So, the Dr. basically said, “ok then, let’s see what you can do”.

And so, on the next contraction (which I could still feel), I started pushing. Then, everyone was shocked because it was working. In fact, it was working so well that everyone kept telling me to just keep pushing. The Dr. then said, “I think this might be a one-pusher”. So, I kept going and sure enough, about 1 minute later, Baby Brother was born with the hospital OB literally catching him after just.one.push!!!

Welcome to the world, Baby Brother!

Born at 4:12pm on 7/12/12 (less than one hour after my water broke!)

It was amazing how fast everything had happened & was incredible to have felt the whole thing. The edge had certainly been taken off by the epidural starting to work, but I could still feel everything! We were all shocked at how fast I pushed him out! It was so wonderful when he was placed on my stomach and we could see that everything was ok with him (especially after the Down Syndrome scare & 2-vessel cord). Then, we were immediately struck by how incredibly tiny he seemed. Earlier in the pregnancy he was in the 80th percentile for size & after Little Brother’s HUGE size, we had been planning for & expecting a rather decent-size baby. Definitely NOT a big baby at all– in fact, he’s our littlest one yet! 4:15 pm – He was taken over to the warmer to get checked out, weighed, cleaned up, etc. Right after that, my mom walked in (with tears in her eyes because she missed the whole thing 🙁 ). Then, about 2 minutes after that, my doctor walked in. LOL! Everyone was still SO shocked at how fast everything happened & that he came out in one push! And, then I was even more shocked (and pleased) to find out that I hadn’t even torn!! Their “technical” term for it was a “skidmark”. No need for a stitch or anything! Amazing!! The students then thanked us for letting them attend & said how incredible it was to see, especially since I was apparently the first vag. delivery of the day at the hospital– all the rest had been c-sections! Wow!

His apgar’s were great at 9 & 9. And, his “tinyness” was confirmed: 6lbs. 6oz and 19.5 inches long! We were (and still are) in awe of his perfect little self!

It was also so great that things went quickly in the end, because my mom was able to bring the boys up to see their new brother. It was around their bedtime, so they were a little extra unsure about everything, but it was great to see them & have them meet Baby Brother. Everything went so great that we were able to come home on Friday. We left the hospital exactly 36 hours after they started my pitocin drip! I’ve known some who have had 24 hour long+ inductions/labor. So, to be home so soon, having had such an easy delivery, & having a healthy, beautiful boy was all SUCH a blessing!

And, now…back to enjoying time with our precious little guy!

Thanks for reading! 🙂

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I’m Sara, a mom to three adorable boys living in the Arizona desert. As a former teacher, I love sharing my passions with others. So, have a look around for creative inspiration about cooking, creating, celebrating, traveling with kids, and more everyday mom endeavors!

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18 Responses

  1. He IS perfect. So glad to hear there where no complications. And now there are TWO BIG brothers. 🙂 Little Brother looks to have darker hair than Big Brother 1 and 2. Boy do you look good for just delivering! Hugs to the happy family.

  2. Definitely an amazing birth story! Congratulations on your new little one! Your gown was adorable and it certainly made a difference in the pictures, although you certainly look gorgeous for being in labor and just having a baby in those pictures!

  3. I loved reading your story! I’m so glad it went so well. My oldest was 6 lbs 3 oz at birth and was a peanut (he’s still a small guy at 11). Your little guy is just precious! Enjoy those beautiful early baby days 🙂

  4. Sara, he is so beautiful! Congratulations to you and the whole family. And wow, only one push!!! That’s awesome. Your story about the epidural sounds exactly how my mom described my birth which led her to birth the rest of her four children naturally 😉

  5. CONGRATULATIONS!!!! He is beautiful. As a mother of 8, I know how crazy fast labor and delivery can be. Most of mine I’ve only had to push once or twice, I only went without an Epi once. NEVER AGAIN!!! You were a brave women!!!

  6. Wow, Sara . . . as a mom to only stepsons, that’s all I can say is, WOW. This is amazing for me to read. TFS. I can’t begin to imagine, having had 2 surgeries and getting epidurals only for a herniated disc, ha ha! He is truly precious. Congratulations to you and your entire family!

    ps. I’m not sure if I signed up for a blog casserole or not. If I did, I apologize. If I didn’t, I apologize for that too :p. I keep thinking – this week I’ll get it all together. But it hasn’t fully happened yet. Reading your post helps me to fully appreciate all of God’s blessings. Thank you.

  7. He’s soooo beautiful! The pictures are amazing and your labor/birth is even more amazing! Good job mama!!!

  8. So, so precious. I love that the student nurse took some pictures for you! I was in labor 24 hours with my first …and only 24 minutes with my second! 🙂 Isn’t it amazing how every single labor/delivery is so different? Congratulations!

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