Sam's Birth Story

On Monday, I woke up just not feeling right. In the afternoon, I took a nap. When I woke up, I was getting mild contractions in my back. My contractions were erratic and never got consistent enough to go to hospital. About 10 pm, my contractions stopped except for maybe once an hour. I was a bit bummed, but since I had a scheduled induction for Tuesday morning, I was okay.

I woke up Tuesday morning at about 3 am and never got back to sleep. We had to be at the hospital at 6:30 am.

We got to the hospital and they hooked me up to the pitocin. I wanted them to break my water so things would progress faster, but said I had to be on antibiotics for 4 hours first since I was positive for Group B Strep. So, for the first 4 hours, I stayed at about a 3-4 cm. That's the same that I was when I checked in. Dan and I were actually starting to get bored. And the contractions weren't even as painful as the ones from the night before.

Around noon, my doctor had another doctor come break my water. That's when things start to get painful.

I am not what you'd call "crunchy" or a naturalist, but I decided that I didn't want an epidural this time. Epidurals take like 12 hours to wear off of me. They make me feel like crap. And after a lot of leg/back problems in the past year and half, I didn't want a needle in my back or my leg numb ever again. So, I didn't get an epidural.

My sister Jenny went without an epidural about 6 months ago when she had a baby. She went without because her insurance wouldn't cover it and it would cost her like $1000. She gave me a book and a lot of advice. She said that she would breathe deep 3 times and then the contraction was over. This is what I did. Except I had to breathe deep four times per contraction. I would count, and sometimes out loud. I knew that if I just made it through the 4, I would feel fine again. And I felt totally fine between contractions. I could talk and carry on like normal. Until the next contraction hit. When I was dialated to a 6, the nurse offered me a birthing ball. It was actually quite comfortable to sit on. And it made the baby drop down fast. And I suddenly felt nauseated. The nurse said its common to get nauseated during the transition.

After 2 contractions while sitting on the ball, the doctor arrived and they decided to check me. The doctor said I was 7-8 cm. He then said that he wanted to check me during the next contraction. He wanted me to push just a little so he could check the cervix during the contraction.

Well, I pushed a little, and my body took over. I couldn't stop pushing. The doctor only had one glove on and the nurse had to try and catch the baby with a towel. The doctor quickly put two gloves on and finished delivering the baby. The pushing/delivery was one of the most intense things I have ever been through. It was such a shock to me, I'm not sure how painful it was or wasn't. I don't really remember since it was so fast and intense. I think it was one of the fastest deliveries the doctor has ever had.

Poor baby Sam ended up with a bruised face from his quick exit. I felt bad for him.

After a 24 hour stay, we came home from the hospital. Our kids our so excited about the baby. Alex doesn't seem jealous at all yet.

Sam is such a sweet baby. I feel extremely blessed to have him. And I am so thankful for Dan and his support.