Turner's Birth Story {06.02.13}

Today I have the beautiful Bridget from Life as Bridget Knows It... here to share the birth of her ADORABLE son Turner!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Turner's birthday was the best day of my life but also the scariest. I cry every time I think about it and thank God that we have this healthy baby boy at home with us. His birth story starts on Saturday, June 1st at about 7:30pm. My sister was in town for 5 days to help out with Mya in case Turner made his arrival. We were playing games and I felt like I started having contractions. Nothing that was too painful, but I was feeling something. After feeling them for an hour, I decided to start timing them. They varied from 7-10 minutes apart and sometimes 5 minutes apart. They were not getting stronger or anything so I wasn't getting too excited!

I went to bed around 10:30pm still feeling minor contractions. I woke up at 12:45 in the morning still with contractions and I couldn't sleep. I decided to watch TV and time them. I tried falling back asleep but I just couldn't. They were getting stronger and closer together. I timed them for a good 3 hours. I decided to wake Tate up at 4am and let him know that I think it was time we go. He told me to call to make sure. I did and they told us to come in. I decided to shower and get ready. We left the house at 5:35am on June 2nd to head to the hospital.

We got to the hospital, checked in and were put in a room by 6:15am. The nurse checked my cervix and I was only at a 3. They decided to monitor me for a few hours to see if I would progress and check my contractions on the machine. During those few hours, Tate & I would walk around trying to see if that would help.

The nurse checked me again at 8:15am and I was still only a 3 and my contractions were actually growing further apart verses getting closer together. The nurse got the doctor who came in to give us a few options. We could either go home and just 'wait it out' or he felt that since I was already dilated to a 3 and that I was having good contractions up until that point, that they could start me on some Pitocin to see if that would help. After the doctor gave me those options, he just waited right there for my decision. I really didn't have time to think or talk it over with Tate...so I said let's do this. They started me on the smallest dose of Pitocin and that definitely got things moving. Contractions were picking up and getting much stronger. The doctor broke my water at 10:30am. Since my contractions were so strong, they decided to turn off the Pitocin to see how I did on my own. Sure enough, the contractions kept coming and kept getting stronger.

I seriously thought I was going to die from those contractions. They were the most painful thing I have ever felt in my life. My nurse knew that I really wanted to make it to 7cm dilated before requesting an epidural. She checked me at 11:30am and I was only at a 5. I seriously thought that there was no way I could make it 5 more centimeters with these contractions. She tried to talk me into other pain meds to help, I refused. I waited it out for another 30 minutes before finally caving in and requesting the epidural. The epidural was in and started working at 12:30pm. I seriously didn't feel a thing when I got it because I kept having contractions during that time and those were so painful and I had concentrate so I wouldn't move. I was dilated to a 6 by the time the epidural was in.

I was in heaven then. I took a nap and we watched more Big Bang Theory. The nurse checked me a few hours later and I was already dilated to 9.75. It wasn't a full 10 because Turner's head was sitting on my cervix weird. We just needed to keep waiting until I was a full 10. They decided to turn the Pitocin back on to see if that would help. They checked me again a few hours later, and I was still stuck at 9.75cm dilated. Turner's head wasn't budging so the doctor decided to go up there and try to move it himself. Thank gosh I had the epidural because I didn't feel a thing. The doctor tried and hoped that whatever he did, would move him and put me at a 10.

7pm rolled around and it was time for a shift change of nurses and doctors. During this time, I learned that I had developed a fever and that Turner would have to go to the NICU when we was delivered because he would have to be on antibiotics because they were afraid this fever would pass on to him. I started crying because they were going to take my baby away from me. I was so sad and couldn't help but just keep crying. Tate was great and kept reassuring me that everything would be OK.

They new nurse checked me and I was finally at a 10 and they were going to wait for his head to move down on his own for a bit. The new doctor came in and let me know that she was going to deliver a few other babies and would be back. The nurse checked be again around 8:45pm and his head was 'right there' and I was ready to push. WOOHOOO...I was elated.

I started pushing at 9:12pm. I honestly thought since he was already so far down there, I wouldn't have to push for very long. Well I was wrong. When I was still pushing at 10:45pm, I asked if his birthday was going to be today or tomorrow. The nurse was certain that it would be today.

Tate always thought he would stay up by my head and not look down there, but he was curious and watched everything. I actually thought I wouldn't want a mirror either, but I decided to have one to see. They were telling me how great I was doing, but when you get the mirror and only see a tiny part of his head...I thought, OMG...I've got so far to go yet.

While pushing, the doctor told me that it was a very tight space and that I would probably tear. She said she could do an episiotomy when I push to help make the space bigger for him to come out. She mentioned that if she didn't, I would tear on my own and that it could be another 30 minutes of pushing. I decided she could do it. I had them move the mirror so I didn't see her actually cut me. On that push where she did the episiotomy, our lil' guy came sliding out.

After 2 hours and 20 minutes of pushing, Turner came into this world at 11:33pm. They instantly put him on my chest and he was blue and wasn't breathing. Luckily, the NICU team was in there due to my fever and took him to wipe him off and get him breathing. They were just a few feet from me on the warming table but I couldn't see Turner because the nurses were standing in the way. Tate was there watching the NICU team try to get him to breathe. They had to use a tool to breathe for him. Tate said it was scariest thing he has ever seen. After I heard him cry...it was the best thing ever.

After he was swaddled in his blanket, they brought him back over to me. I was only able to hold him for about 30 seconds and they took him away to go to the NICU because he still wasn't doing good. Tate went with Turner. I told him to keep his phone right there and to call me with an update. I couldn't obviously move due to the epidural and I was in the process of delivering the placenta and being stitched back up.

A little after midnight, everyone was out of my room and I was to rest before being moved to the post partum room. This is when I broke down and just bawled. I couldn't stop crying. I was left alone in this room without my baby or my husband. I just had the best day of my life...my son was born and then the saddest because I didn't know if he was OK. I finally called Tate and he didn't answer which made me cry even more. I waited 10 more minutes and then called him again. He answered. He said he didn't answer before because Turner was screaming at the top of his lungs. He was pissed from being taken from his mama and from being poked with needles and IV's. They were giving him chest x-rays to make sure there was nothing in his lungs.

My awesome nurse came back to my room around 1am and saw me crying. She asked if I would like to be moved now and go to the NICU to see him. I of course said yes. Another nurse moved all of our belongings to our post-partum room and my nurse wheeled me to the NICU to see Turner.

When I got there, I couldn't stop crying again. Seeing him hooked up to so much stuff was hard, I hated it. I knew this is what was best for him, but I wanted him to be with me in my room. The chest x-rays showed nothing in his lungs which was good. He was still breathing funny, which they hoped would clear up the next day so we could start breast feeding. They also did the blood culture to see if he had any infection from my fever. We would get those results after 48 hours.

Tate was planning on staying with Turner the whole time and I had to stay in my room. I was still going to be hooked up to an IV and given antibiotics for my fever...which had now gone away after delivery, but for precaution, the antibiotics had to be given. I was finally back in my room by 3:30am. I only slept 3 hours before waking back up to go back to the NICU to see my boys.

I was discharged on my birthday, June 4th but Turner wasn't going to be discharged until June 5th. So Tate and I stayed in the NICU with him the last night. Even then, they weren't 100% if they were going to discharge him because he lost a lot of weight and didn't have enough wet diapers after being removed from the IV. We had to supplement some formula to get him his nutrients, and that helped. Thank gosh it did not interfere with his breastfeeding abilities.

June 2, 2013 is a day I will NEVER forget. I am so thankful that our lil' guy is now healthy and doing so well. It was a long and scary delivery. I think the fever was a blessing in disguise because who knows what would have happened if the NICU team wasn't there right away to get him to breathe. He was by far the healthiest baby in the NICU. I am so glad we delivered at the hospital that we did since Children's Hospital is right across the hallway from labor and delivery. Everything worked out like it was supposed to....just a few hiccups along the way.

His massive cone head that went back to normal within' 24 hours!

His swollen face from the long labor

The 30 seconds that I got to hold him.

Being transported to the NICU

Doing so well in the NICU!!!

Follow Bridget at Life as Bridget Knows It...

---------------------------------------------------------------
To submit a birth story please email me at mamaandmou@gmail.com