mama & mou: Colin's Birth Story {10.12.13}

Today's birth story is an extra special one because Ryan, Kari {and Colin} are my real life friends!

Ryan is one of my best friends from college and through the years I have gotten to know Kari really well and we've become great friends - I actually talk to her more than Ryan now {sorry Ryan!}. These two are one of the most loving couples I've ever witnessed in real life and are an incredible support system to each other, their friends and their family - so when I found out a little Hannay was joining the world, I was over-the-moon! I'm so glad Kari is here to share Colin's birth story! Enjoy!

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October 12th was an incredible day. It was so full of emotions, exhaustion, and bliss that I can't really describe how amazing it was. But the 12 hours leading up to Colin's birth are quite a story!

On Friday night, we went to dinner for our sister-in-law, Becca's birthday. I was having contractions before we left the house but I figured they were early labor and I could either be uncomfortable at home or at dinner so I might as well go to dinner.

During dinner, my contractions started to get a little more intense and so Ryan started timing the duration and how far apart they were. They were lasting for about 50-55 seconds and coming every 3 minutes or so. In birth class, you learn about the 5-1-1 rule. Let me say, you can throw that rule out the window because it really doesn't mean much (ugh!). Around 8pm, I decided I was most uncomfortable (as was the guy at the table next to us) and wanted to leave. I said I wanted to go home and labor as I didn't think this was the real deal but Ryan thought we should go to the hospital. So he called and we headed to Waconia.

We got sent to triage and they monitored the baby's heart rate and my contractions. They checked me and I was still only dilated to 2cm-- same as I was on Tuesday at my weekly appointment. The nurse said I could either go home and labor or I could stay and walk the halls for an hour and see if I progressed. I was frustrated and thought nothing was going to put me past 2cm but Ryan thought walking the halls was worth a try. So we walked... and I contracted. My contractions did increase in intensity and I was becoming hopeful that something was happening. So after an hour of walking I went back to my triage room where the nurse checked me and again I was only at 2cm. Begin the tears. I was disappointed and at this point I was really starting to hurt! The contractions were intense enough that I could no longer find a comfortable position to sit or stand in. I asked the nurse when I could come back and she said she wasn't really sure. I obviously can't check myself so I will just have to come back if I think I am making progress. You can imagine I thought the hour of walking was making progress so at this point was I upset, sad, and in pain! Going home was miserable.

I cried the whole way to the car, I cried in the car and I cried when we got home. I thought when we got home that I would labor in the shower for a wile but to my luck, our hot water heater was broken. No hot shower for me. So I got out of the luke warm shower and continued to have contractions at home. I became inconsolable. In birth class, they showed videos of women moaning and breathing heavy thru contractions. The teacher said that only in movies did women scream and freak out. I was the star of that movie! My contractions were so painful I was screaming and crying. Poor Ryan couldn't say or do anything to make it better. I kept saying "I can't do this!" I began to shake and I seriously knew this was the worst pain I had ever had. I also thought that this was likely not helping me progress and I would be in labor until Tuesday when I was scheduled to be induced. My lack of progression at the hospital had led me to believe, that I could not progress on my own and I would simply be in this intense pain for the next 3 days.

After about 2 hours of this- around midnight- I told Ryan he had to call the hospital, tell them we were coming back and they were not allowed to send me home. Ryan went downstairs to make the call- I'm sure he didn't want me to hear him describe how over the top I was being, how negative my comments were and that there was no way I could do this any longer without pain meds. Ryan told me the hospital said we could come back and if I had not progressed they could try some relaxation techniques- yea right!- but I was just glad they said I could come back.

So at about 12:15am we got back in the car and headed for the hospital. Again I was sent to triage- crying and screaming between contractions. The same nurse checked me and I was now dilated to 3.5cm! YAY! I was thrilled! I could stay and they would admit me into a birthing room! Thank God! The nurse asked if I was going to try and do this birth naturally- as Ryan and I had planned- or if I was wanting an epidural. EPIDURAL PLEASE! The whole natural birth plan went out the window.

So I got in my room, got in a hospital gown and within minutes the anesthesiologist came in and I was prepped for the epidural. The epidural went in and almost instantly I could feel relief. Unfortunately, within seconds of the epidural being placed, my blood pressure dropped significantly low and the baby's heart rate dropped dangerously low to about 55 bpm. The nurse had me turn on my side and then get on my hands and knees to see if a change in my position would help the baby. Thankfully I was blissfully unaware of the seriousness of the situation but poor Ryan got very nervous. A flood of nurses came in the room. They started pumping me with fluids and gave me a drug to help the baby's heart rate rise. When the first round of drugs didn't work, they tried again. The nurse put oxygen on me and kept reassuring me that everything was okay. The looks on their faces said otherwise and Ryan could see all of this playing out in front of him. His worst nightmare was happening. He said it was so scary to know both me and the baby were in trouble. After about an hour, my blood pressure came back. Eventually the heart rate came back up too but all the nurses were watching the monitor closely. Over the next few hours, Colin's heart rate would randomly drop, not coinciding with a contraction or anything and the staff could not determine a reason for the drop. They had us sign C-section papers in case we had to go that route to get the baby out quickly.

I changed positions several times and it seemed that deep breaths with the oxygen were the only thing that helped bring Colin's heart rate back up. Luckily, every time they checked me I continued to progress, dilating more and more. The on call doctor came in to break my water around 5am. I continued to progress and at 7am I was dilated to 10cm and I could begin pushing. After pushing for an hour and 15 minutes, Colin was born at 8:15am. We found out that the umbilical cord was wrapped around Colin's neck, causing his heart rate to drop. But he cried right away and the nurses cleaned him up. Ryan joined Colin to watch him get weighed in and measured.

8 lbs and 20 inches long. Simply perfect.