It all began on Father's Day

Okay, this is going to be LONG…believe me, I wish it was a much shorter story…but it is what it is…

At 12 am on Father's Day I began to have mild contractions. Throughout the night they were just strong enough and consistent enough to keep me awake the entire night. Around 5 am I told Mike that I was pretty sure I had started labor so we called my Dr. and I was told to come to the hospital. We arrived around 7 am at the hospital birth center and after they checked me, they decided to keep me there since I had progressed slightly since my last OB appointment. I continued to progress very slowly (to 3 cm) until about 6 pm when my contractions became irregular and they decided to send me home.

I was devastated, I guess I assumed once things got started there was no turning back. However, it did seem to be the best option at the time. As soon as I got home, the contractions became more regular again. The nurse told Mike to get me some Tylenol PM to help take the edge off and help me to sleep. I was skeptical, but it really did help. I managed to sleep Sunday night and woke up Monday still in "early" labor.

We didn't want to make the same mistake twice, so I stayed home most of the day Monday as my contractions became more intense. By about 6 pm we decided they were close enough and intense enough to call the Dr. again. We were told to come in, so we made our way to the hospital and arrived around 8 pm. I was checked at this point and had progressed to 4 – 5 cm. We had made the decision to start the labor and delivery process naturally, with no medication. Not because I was dead set against it, but just because I wanted to minimize any side effects for me or the baby. I didn't want to be pumped with medication any sooner than was necessary. So we started "active" labor using all natural comfort measures. The birth ball, massage & breathing techniques, the shower…all of which seemed to get me through (somewhat to my surprise). After being in the shower for awhile it seemed that my contractions were getting more and more intense so they did another check around 11 pm and I had progressed to 7 – 8 cm. It seemed that things were really moving now and I would soon be in "transition" so, we decided to call our families and a few close friends to let them know it could be any time now.

To manage this next stage of labor they recommended the Jacuzzi tub. It was actually quite helpful. I spent a while in the tub and when things seemed more intense they got me out to check me. Still 8 cm. Waited a little while longer…still 8 cm. Sometime the next morning…still 8 cm. This is where things start to get a little foggy for me…maybe Mike will write a blog and fill in some of the details.

Sometime on Tuesday morning I decided to take some pain medication. They gave me staidol to help take the edge off the contractions and to give me some rest. It was supposed to work for about 2 – 3 hours, but after about 45 mintues, my pain was intense. Mike got the nurse and she said perhaps this was a good sign, maybe I had progressed so the staidol wasn't strong enough to work now. Another check…still 8 cm. This was when the nurse realized that my I.V. was not hooked up to saline drip, so I had not received the full dose of staidol. Apparently the saline drip helps to give a slow release of the medication so it works longer. Since I hadn't gotten the full dose she flushed the I.V. I got the rest of the dose all right…but not slow release! It instantly knocked me out. I felt horrible! I was dizzy and incoherent. Shortly afterward I began to vomit and once that was all over I was a zombie for the next few hours.

By this point I had been in labor for over 48 hours. I was sick, tired, shaking uncontrollably and incoherent for the most part (Mike has some funny stories about this time period). Sometime around 4pm I was checked again and still no progress. My Dr. started to speculate that the baby was not in an ideal position. She said he wasn't posterior, and it seemed that he was not quite transverse, but he was not completely head on either. Her recommendation was to put me on an epidural and give me pitocin to relax me and strengthen my contractions. She thought this would help the baby drop into the proper position.

I can't say why, but I was terrified of the epidural. You would think after all this time I would welcome it with open arms, but I was really, really upset. It was probably somewhat due to my tired over drugged state. Still unable to control my shaking, I was terrified that I would move too much and things would go horribly awry. But there was no way I was going to be able to continue in my current state, so it had to be done.

Around 5 pm I was transferred out of the Birth Center to Labor and Delivery. The epidural went very smoothly and the anesthesiologist was SO nice me. He and all the nurses really helped to calm me down (although I was still shaking) and within minutes I was feeling no pain. Then they started the pitocin. I felt much better, and I was like a different person. Mike said he could actually have a conversation with me now. The plan was to stay on the epidural and pitocin until I progressed to where I could push. We all thought this would be very soon.

I did feel a lot better, but for some reason I began to vomit again (we think maybe the pitocin). I was checked in about an hour and I started to progress to 9 cm, but only on one side. This was because of the baby's position. He was only dilating one side of my cervix. My Dr. wanted to wait a while longer to see if he would move, but she said if he didn't I would have to have a C-Section.

So, after I received this news…more vomiting (they had also turned up the pitocin so that could've been it too). I was once again in a state of terror. I have never had surgery of any kind and I was just in disbelief that this birth experience was SO far from what I had expected. The nurse that was with me was SO sweet and really helped to relax me about the whole experience. As I waited, I knew that even if the baby moved and I had the option to push that my body just wouldn't be able to tolerate it. I was exhausted! And more than that…just ready to meet my baby.

So, they started prep for surgery. I had to drink this stuff to neutralize my stomach and I'm sure you can guess what happened…more vomiting. When that subsided they took me to the OR still shaking uncontrollably. The idea of them cutting me open in this state was somewhat scary, but everything went really well and at 10:32 pm on Tuesday, June 19th, little Isaac was born. After he was out, I started to feel some pain. It was hard to describe, I mean the epidural was working fine…I didn't feel the cut or any pain during the delivery, but afterward…while they were working…it was just really sore. One of the nurses noticed my discomfort and was concerned. She started asking me what I was feeling, but all I could say was "I'm just sore". I guess she was worried that I was feeling too much pain cuz next thing I knew I had a shot of morphine in my arm! Again, I was instantly incoherent and when I got back to recovery…you guessed it…vomiting.

Finally, in recovery things began to settle down. I got to meet my little guy and just like everyone said…all was forgotten, and all was well.

I do want to say that I was SO happy with everyone at the hospital. I was so impressed with the care and attention that I was given by everyone. Also, I had my waiting crew…Mike's parents, my cousin Heather, Stacy Holmes and her mom Vicky Lang (Stewart was there for awhile too, but he had to leave to take care of Rayna). They all came to the hospital and stuck with us through the whole experience…I felt bad that they were just waiting and getting updates from Mike, but knowing they were there for me and so excited for me really meant SO much to me.

Most of all, I was so amazed by my husband. He was absolutely perfect through the whole experience. I couldn't have asked for anything more, he did it all! Not only was he part of the "team"…he literally carried me through most parts of this experience. He instantly fell in love with Isaac and was his main caregiver for the first few hours (since I was stuck in recovery). They really had a chance to bond and I am SO thankful for that. I feel a lot closer to Mike now and hopefully he feels the same way.

Well, there it is…our birth story. Thank you to all who shared this entire journey with us from infertility through pregnancy to birth. It truly is a miracle and we thank God for all of our blessings!