Nathan's Birth Story

They say every child is different, and I believe it.  They say every labor experience is different and I didn't want to believe it, but it's true!  This was my longest pregnancy, 41 weeks and 1 day, and my longest labor, topping out at about 21 hours. A good portion of it was not too physically intense (oh, that would eventually come!), but emotionally, it wore me out.  While the end result was completely worth it, I wouldn't want to relive the whole labor experience again any time soon!

I'll start the story with Friday afternoon, with my 41 week doctor's appointment.

An appointment had been scheduled to make sure everything was still going well.  I had an ultrasound done so the amniotic fluid could be checked and some measurements could be taken.  While I would have loved to see his actual face, we did get a "consolation prize" of some ultrasound pictures;)  And after a stress test was also done, we were told all was well.

My midwife talked about scheduling a possible induction for the coming Tuesday, but I told her I really didn't want to pick his birth date for him, so we settled on scheduling another appointment for Monday to see where I was at, if I actually made it through the weekend.  Although Andy did get some time off to come to the appointment, he was working that Friday so my mom had come up to watch Ella and decided she would also spend the night since she was already here.  (Again, like with Ella, our family sure has a knack for being there when we need them;)

The rest of the day continued quite uneventfully.  I got some much needed laundry done, and my mom and I enjoyed an evening of watching Call the Midwife;)  I headed to bed about 11:00pm, but not too long after, I felt the early stages of my labor begin.

Now, to side track a little, one, among a few other factors, that made this pregnancy (and ultimately labor) different for me was a positive Group B Strep test.  For those unfamiliar with Group B Strep, it is basically a bacteria found in many healthy people that can be consistently present or come and go, and usually doesn't pose any threat to those healthy people, but when present during a pregnancy, it can be very dangerous for a baby who may come in contact with it during his birth. (Causing respiratory problems and distress.) With my other two pregnancies I had negative test results and didn't have to worry about it, but this time, I was told I would have to get an antibiotic treatment at the time of labor (a standard protocol for a positive test result.)  Because of this (and because I had such a fast labor with Ella), I was told I would probably have to come to the hospital as soon as I felt my labor begin.

So, with that being said, not too long after I felt the contractions begin, I decided to call Andy and let him know that he should try and come home as soon as he could.  After finding someone to come in for him, he headed home and got here about 1:30am.  We timed some contractions and, although they were fairly consistent, they didn't last too long and were not too intense.  But since I had to consider time to get an antibiotic treatment, I had him call the birth center to see what they advised us to do.  Again, since my previous labor went pretty fast, they thought it would be a good idea to come in.  So, at about 2am we gathered up our things and headed to the hospital.  I told Andy I enjoyed this ride to the hospital a lot better than I did when I was in labor with Ella (little did I know, however, it wouldn't be my only ride there.)

We got to the hospital and were admitted to the birth center at about 2:30am.  They hooked me up to the fetal monitor and started monitoring my contractions.  After just a little bit of time, the nurse started talking to me about sending me home, which totally threw me for a loop!  She told me it was up to me, and I told her at this point it seemed like a lot of work to head home since we were already there, so she said I could get up and walk around to see if things would start to pick up.  I agreed, and so for the next hour or so, while Andy got some sleep, I walked around my hospital room, praying my labor would pick up because I most certainly, after waiting 41 weeks to meet this little guy, did not want to go home and face the fact that it could be even longer until I got to meet him! (Any pregnant woman will tell you that when your pregnancy is in its final stretch, days don't just feel like 24 hours anymore-- they feel more like an eternity!;)

I prayed my water would just break like it did with Gianna and Ella because then I would have to stay, regardless.  I kept looking at the clock and thinking, if this was like my labor with Ella it would all be over by now, what the heck?!  Needless to say, I was getting a little tired and frustrated.

After my walking time, a nurse came in and hooked me back up to the monitors.  Again, she talked about sending me home and that's when I lost it and began to cry.  I felt dumb for even coming in and thought maybe this was all just false labor and that was very disheartening to me. I was also upset about the whole Strep B thing because I felt like it changed how I reacted to my early labor stage.  After my break down, another nurse came in and assured me I could stay if I wanted, and we decided to just go ahead and administer a dose of the antibiotics and wait until my midwife came in around 8am.

When my midwife came in, we talked about my options.  She assured me it wasn't all false labor, but it was early labor.  She said she was sure I'd have him by Monday.  (MONDAY?!  It's Saturday morning! Are you serious?!)  She said, obviously, she couldn't predict exactly how my labor would progress, and although things could change and progress quickly, it was also possible things could continue like this for quite some time.  She said I could have her break my water, but then things would have to happen within a certain amount of time and if they didn't, induction would be necessary.  She said after being up all night, my body was getting tired and as a natural mechanism, labor probably wasn't progressing because my body needed to rest.  I really liked my midwife and trusted her advice, so with all that being said, I decided I didn't want her to break my water because, in the end, I wanted things to progress as naturally as possible, and I decided to go home so my body could rest.  The nurses said they would keep my room for me in case I came back some time that day and my midwife said when I did come back, she believed I would go fast, and she would head right to the hospital if she got the call.  I texted my mom to tell her we were headed home, and she wisely advised the girls not to ask about the baby because mommy had not had him yet;)

When we got home, I took a much needed shower and then went to bed to rest.  The contractions were still there and woke me up now and then, but they were still very manageable.  During this time, I told myself I had to stop comparing this labor to Ella's and give this labor it's own experience.  That really changed my mindset to accept this labor for what it was and allowed me to actually enjoy this early labor stage a bit.  The girls went to Grandma and Grandpa Teska's for the weekend, so Andy and I both continued to just rest into the afternoon.  All in all, after all my hesitancy, it was nice to be home. At one point I even thought, heck, if they wanted to send me home, maybe I'll just have this baby at home too!;)

About 4:30pm, however, things began to change.  The contractions were definitely getting stronger and that familiar shooting leg pain was starting to set in.  As time passed, my ability to handle the contractions on my own became less and less, and I now needed Andy to help me through them.  I really did not want to go back to the hospital and have a repeat of earlier that day, so I didn't let myself think things were progressing too much.  But as the evening continued, things continued to get more and more intense and then at about 7pm I told Andy I could NOT do this anymore, and he needed to make a decision! He decided we should head back to the hospital.  By that point, I was absolutely dreading the drive there because I knew the contractions would be extremely painful, and I would be confined to a small place with no where to go!  But I had no choice, it was getting too intense.

When we made it to the hospital, Andy made me get into a wheel chair, and we headed to the admissions desk.  She asked me my name, and I couldn't even answer her so Andy did all the talking.  Shortly after, a birth center attendant came and wheeled me up to the birth center.  My room was still there waiting for me.  When we got into the room, all my ambitions for a natural childbirth went out the window, and I told the nurse I NEEDED something, I could NOT do this anymore.  She told me she would have to check me first.  She asked me to put on the gown if I could, but I couldn't even do that.  When she checked me, I was 8 cms and very thinned out.  An epidural was not an option.  Andy asked me if I was sure I wanted something, and I said I was absolutely sure.  The nurse talked to my midwife and then gave me a half a dose of something (I wasn't even sure what it was!) and they started another dose of the antibiotic.  The whatever it was took effect almost immediately, and it helped me calm down.  But then, a contraction came and the whatever it was did absolutely nothing to take away the pain! (My midwife later told me she really didn't give me much of anything because she knew I was so close-- Andy told me the whatever it was, was Stadol.)

When my midwife got there, she knew I was ready and decided to break my water.  That was another aspect of this labor that was different for me, my water never broke on its own!  I remember her asking if I minded if my shirt got ruined, I told her I didn't care, it had a hole in it anyway, and she also asked me if I minded if my socks got ruined-- they were so white she said.  I told her I didn't care.  Meanwhile, the intensity of it all was beyond me... I did pretty much everything I did with Ella and said this all needed to be over!!  When it was time to push I told everyone in the room they needed to get him out right now!  They told me I needed to push, and I told them they just needed to yank him out!:/

And then the moment I had been waiting for, finally came!  At 8:39pm, the most precious, sweet, wonderful and amazing little BOY was BORN!!!  Oh, if I could relive that moment again, I would in a heartbeat (not the labor mind you;) but that moment!  Nothing on earth can compare to the moment you finally meet your baby, face to face.

That first night we spent in the hospital together was so peaceful. He caught onto nursing very easily (and has been a champ at it ever since.)  I held him in my arms most of the night while he nursed, and he completely captured my heart.

So that's my story!  That's Nathan's birth story.

I'm sure he won't want to read the details of it later in life, but as his mother, I will;)  I'll always want to remember the day my sweet little Nathan was born;)

Pictures to hopefully follow soon, I promise!