Parker's Birth Story {01.24.15}

My name is Kaileigh and I write a little blog called The Osbott Spot which currently documents my life as a new mom!  I gave birth to our first baby, Parker Scott back in January and he has been lighting up our lives ever since.

At 35 weeks pregnant, I was not ready to deliver.  I had been feeling more uncomfortable, but I loved being pregnant.  So when I started getting pains across my lower stomach in the middle of the night, I assumed I had a UTI.  I didn’t sleep hardly at all that night, but went to work the next day anyways.

By 10 am I knew that I wasn’t going to last all day.  So I paged my midwife and she told me that I likely had a UTI and should come in.  I told my boss I would be back in an hour and a half.  The midwife did a cervical exam so she could decide which antibiotic to put me on and told me that I was 2cm dilated and 80% effaced.  Not what I was expecting!  She said I could deliver that weekend, or it could be 3 more weeks, but to prepare myself for having a baby by 38 weeks. 

As my blood pressure was high, she suggested that I not go back to work that day.  So I went home and sat in my nursery while my mom did baby laundry and organized my nursery.

I kept getting the stomach pains sporadically for the rest of the day.  But it wasn’t cramping, it was more like a sharp pain.  They got more frequent until about 9:00 when I downloaded a contraction timing app and started timing them.  They were about 6-8 minutes apart.  At this point they also started causing pain in my lower back which radiated around to my belly.  I still wasn’t convinced they were contractions, I thought my antibiotics just hadn’t kicked in yet.  I tried to sleep, but couldn’t and got up to watch a movie.  Contractions were about 5 minutes apart and 45 seconds to a minute long.

At about 3 am I went to the bathroom an there was a lot of mucusy blood.  I immediately paged my midwife.  While on the phone, my husband woke up and asked if I was ok.  I told him that he might want to get ready because we might be going to the hospital.  While waiting for my midwife to call, I quickly packed a bag because I hadn’t gotten around to that yet!  When my midwife called me, she told me it was probably my bloody show.  I was convinced it was way too much blood, she was convinced that it was normal.  By this time, contractions had spaced out a bit.  She told me to call back in an hour if they got worse, or to call her in the morning regardless.

I called her the next morning, still contracting, and she asked me to meet her at the hospital.  She wanted us to meet her at the hospital in the next city, which is where her office is, rather than the one that I was supposed to deliver in.  I found out later that it’s because at 35 weeks pregnant, that hospital could handle a preemie.  Had I gone to the hospital I planned to give birth in, they would have sent me to a hospital over an hour away.  So we headed out with the bags that I had quickly packed at 3am, totally expecting to be sent home once we got there.  She examined me, told me I was 4cm and that I was having a baby that day.

Because I was only 35 weeks, she had to share care with a doctor.  I was just happy that she was still permitted to be involved.  I was admitted and taken to a labor and delivery room.  I also had to have a fetal heartbeat monitor the entire time I was in labor, so I was confined to my bed.  My midwife asked if I wanted the epidural and told me that the anesthesiologist was available now, or I could wait for an hour.  I had hoped not to have an epidural, but told myself that if I felt I needed one I wouldn’t beat myself up for it.  Because I was confined to my bed anyways, hadn’t slept in 2 days and needed antibiotics for at least 4 hours before my water was broken (because my GBS swab results weren’t back yet), I decided to get the epidural.  The relief was instantaneous and I was very happy with my decision.

At that point, things got a bit boring.  I couldn’t feel anything so we were just waiting around.  My contractions spread out to 6 minutes apart.  At 4:00 my water could have been broken, but the doctor was busy and wouldn’t let my midwife do it.  This was so frustrating!  Finally at 5:30 she came in and broke my water.  We were told it still might be awhile but we should have a baby before the night was over.  My husband was told to go grab something to eat while he had time and the nurse and the midwife took turns getting something to eat as well.  Before Ryan was back, I texted him and asked him to hurry because I felt like things were really progressing.  Right as I sent the text he walked through the door.  He could tell I was feeling things again and went out into the hall to get the nurse, because of course at the time nobody was in the room with me.

The nurse came in and said I was 10cm.  My water had only been broken about 20 minutes before!  She had me do a test push and said I was definitely ready to go.  All of a sudden there were 2 midwives, a nurse, 2 pediatricians and the doctor in the room.  Luckily the doctor let my midwife deliver and she just observed.  The midwife and our amazing nurse Andrea coached me through everything and were so encouraging.  Ryan held my hand.  I could feel pressure when I needed to push but I wouldn’t say that it hurt.  I think I could feel exactly what I needed to feel.  At 6:40pm Parker made his way into the world.  He cried and they placed him on me for as long as they could.  Then the pediatrician checked him out.  He weighed 4lbs 3oz and was 17 inches long.  They gave him back to me for a few minutes on request of my midwife. 

Then he was taken away to the nursery.  We were at the hospital for 2 weeks with him while he learned how to eat.  Luckily he never needed a ventilator and was only on monitors for a few days.  At the time it felt like the longest 2 weeks of my life.  In hindsight, 2 weeks is nothing.

My birth experience is not what I expected at all.  Pretty much everything went the complete opposite of how I thought it would go, but it’s our story and I wouldn’t change a single thing about it.  Looking back, the whole experience seems unreal to me.  Until Parker was born I don’t think I fully grasped the fact that I was in labor!  Everything went perfectly and I think that Parker’s birth was the most beautiful and special moment of my life.

.............................................................................................

To share your birth story, please email me at mamaandmou@gmail.com