*If you haven't caught on by now, I don't use my son's real name on this blog.
Brian and I found out I was pregnant on Valentine's Day of 2013. What a special day that was! My 9 months of pregnancy were actually quite blissful. I hardly felt any sickness, but this is what I did feel: the 1st trimester I was exhausted and sensitive to foods; the 2nd trimester I felt energized and HUNGRY but had heartburn; and the 3rd trimester I pretty much just felt BIG! I didn't have any major complications throughout the pregnancy, but my blood pressure did have to be monitored closely, especially in the 3rd trimester. It was definitely a challenge going through the last part of the 2nd trimester and the 3rd trimester in the summer and early fall (especially since Utah summers can get really hot!). Needless to say, I felt pretty swollen that summer! I gained 40 pounds from start to finish, which I was totally okay with! I felt very blessed to have experienced a very healthy, fairly uneventful pregnancy. Although I didn't do intense exercise, I was still able to remain pretty active (lots of walks and pregnancy workout videos). Even though some nurses were less sensitive about the weight gain than others (especially since the weight had some spikes at the beginning of the 3rd trimester), most assured me that I was very healthy and had nothing to worry about.
Once I hit 36 weeks and starting having weekly doctor appointments, it seemed likely that I would go into labor before my due date. At 36 weeks, I was dilated to a 1; 37 weeks to a 2; 38 weeks at a 3... and then the progress slowed down. At my 39 week checkup I was still at a 3. However, this was my last appointment, because I went into the hospital on the night of my due date. But I did not go in because I went into labor- the baby's movements had suddenly decreased and I was not feeling very well. The whole last month of my pregnancy had been an emotionally difficult one. Logically, I knew that I should not expect to go into labor early (especially as a first time mom), but I so badly wanted to meet my baby! Of course, I wanted him to be full term and healthy, but as my due date crept closer, it felt like the baby would never come out! It didn't help that most of what I was hearing from my doctors that last month was was "I'll be surprised if you go all the way to your due date" and "the baby's measuring big!" The fact that I was slowly dilating on my own that last month seemed like a great sign that I would go into labor naturally before or right around my due date. And maybe I would have eventually gone into labor, but the baby and my body had other plans.
The day of Bubby's due date, Brian and I went about our regular Sunday routine, for the most part. We went to church that day, which was the day of our ward's primary program. Brian and I were primary teachers at the time, so this was an exciting day! I think the other primary leaders very much hoped that I would not go into labor before the day of the program, because that would cause a lot of craziness for them to not have us there! The program went well, but afterwards I felt pretty crampy. We went home early and took it easy the rest of the day. I felt a little under the weather that evening, especially from a headache I was experiencing. We made waffles for dinner that night, and I actually had a big appetite so I felt really full (which ended up being a good thing, since it would be almost 24 hours until I would eat again!). We even got to watch a movie- Father of the Bride. :) But sometime around 8:00 or so, I realized that I had not been feeling the baby move very much for the last little while. I started a kick count. For the next hour, I kept track of the number of kicks/movements I felt, and it only ended up being 3-4 (including in the 30 minutes or so after that hour in which we got ready and headed to the hospital). Only 3-4 movements in a full term baby is NOT good, especially for a baby who was as active as mine. A little after 9:00, Brian and I decided to get me and the baby checked out at the hospital. We had learned in our prenatal class that after 20 weeks, a pregnant mom should go straight to Labor and Delivery for any major pregnancy concerns or complications, including a low kick count.
I felt very calm as we got our bags into the car and drove to the hospital, especially after Brian and I said a prayer together before leaving. I honestly had no idea if we would be sent home or not, but it felt right to get checked out. Upon arrival at the hospital, the nurses were very nice and helped us feel at ease. I was hooked up to monitors (the contraction monitor and heart rate monitor for the baby) and my blood pressure was taken. We could see right away that my blood pressure was high- I was told that I was hypertensive. Some lab work was done to make sure I wasn't at risk of preeclampsia, and thankfully those tests came back negative. The nurse working with us noticed that the baby was in fact in a little bit of distress. His heart rate was okay, but his movements were less reactive than they should have been. After getting some fluids in me through an IV, the baby's condition improved. The nurse decided that a possible reason for this distress was that my placenta was dying in some spots, restricting the nutrients the baby was getting. Because of all of these factors, the nurse told us she did not feel right about sending us home that night. She got the okay from the doctor who was on call, and I was induced around 1 in the morning! Brian and I were so grateful that we followed my instincts and went to the hospital to get checked that night.
Labor progressed slowly at first, which was kind of frustrating since I was already at a 3 when I came in. It took about 7 hours for me to dilate two more centimeters! When I was at a 4, I asked for an epidural. I was so glad to have it, especially later when it came time to push. (But it definitely wasn't the most comfortable experience receiving the epidural!) However, I probably could have done without such strong doses of it, since I was completely numb in my lower body most of the time! I had heard some horror stories about epidurals (of them not working properly or causing a lot of pain, etc.), so I was so thankful mine worked exactly like it was supposed to! The rest of the day was spent trying to nap, trying to watch some TV, trying to be somewhat comfortable. Although I wasn't in pain, I really did not like being so stuck in bed. I had the epidural, a catheter (which you automatically need if you have an epidural), an IV for antibiotics (I had tested positive for Group B strep early in my pregnancy), the two monitors across my belly, and a blood pressure cuff that checked my blood pressure every few minutes and screamed at us if it got above a certain level. Ahhh! Looking back, it would have been nice to be able to move around more. But, I wouldn't change anything since they were all necessary factors in my labor/birth experience.
After about 7 hours of labor, the doctor broke my water. This seemed to speed things along, since 2 hours later I was finally making more intense progress and was dilated to an 8! And then 1 hour after that, I was at a 10! Once I hit a 10, we still had to wait 1 1/2 hours for the baby to drop further, since he was apparently still kind of high in the birth canal at that point. At around 12:00, I started pushing. At first, the two nurses helping me said that the baby would probably come out pretty quickly- I made a lot of progress right away; I think one nurse predicted that the baby would be out within 45 minutes (that's pretty fast for a first delivery). But, after about an hour went by, things started to slow down and we weren't sure why. I wasn't able to feel much, so I couldn't tell what was going on. Finally, after about 2 hours of pushing, the nurses brought the doctor in and he noticed that the baby was posterior (aka face-up). This would have been nice to know 2 hours ago, right?!?! Well the doctor proceeded to take over from there and he used forceps to help flip the baby around. Because of the assistance, I also needed an episiotomy. Once the baby was flipped, it only took about 10 more minutes to push him out! Our little guy was born in mid afternoon the day after his due date, weighing 8 pounds and measuring at 20 inches. (Technically, Bubby weighed 7 pounds 15.5 ounces, but for the record it was rounded up to 8 pounds even. :) )
I will never, ever forget the overwhelming feelings I experienced as my baby came out of me and was placed on my chest. I am so glad the doctor immediately placed him on me, because being able to feel his new body so warm and so fresh from mine was exhilarating. My maternal instincts immediately kicked in and all I wanted to do was hold him and keep him safe.
Oh, one more thing. The umbilical cord was wrapped twice around our baby's neck, which the doctor quickly unwrapped as the baby came out. I didn't even see the cord around him, but Brian did. He said it was kind of scary, but that the doctor took care of it so quickly it didn't cause a lot of concern. Bubby took his first breath and starting turning pink quickly, so everything was totally fine.
I was in Heaven the rest of my stay in the hospital, even with some intense pain I experienced. I absolutely LOVED having my baby to hold, look at, nurse, and cuddle. He was so calm and sleepy in the hospital- I usually had to encourage him to eat. All of our nurses were wonderful and truly helped me have an amazing experience throughout my labor, delivery, and recovery. And Brian and I swelled with pride every time a nurse came in and swooned over how adorable our baby was!
Every birth experience is so unique and special. I wouldn't trade my experience of giving birth to Bubby for anything!
<3 Tycie
