Will's Birth Story

Hey boo,

How's it going?

Our baby is ONE YEAR OLD today!  He's such a big little man!

Anyways, I've been meaning to do this for the past year, but here is Will's birth story.  Some of it I wrote when you were still here, and some of it is I wrote recently.  The end gets rushed because I can't remember a lot of it, and you aren't here to fill in the gaps... And the pictures from this whole event are on my other computer that is ridiculously slow, and I don't feel like uploading them... So yeah, here is the novel of our son's birth...  

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If you know me personally, during my pregnancy you probably heard me say that I had my heart set on a VBAC for my second pregnancy.  My experience with a c-section with the twins was HORRIBLE, so I was adamant about having a VBAC.  Every time I went to the OB for a check-up, I would remind her what I was planning.  However, she did set some limits for which a VBAC would not be possible.  

These included: 

·        *If I needed to be induced.  In other words, bringing on contractions where there were none.  Although, I would be able to use Pitocin if it was needed to keep labor moving that was already in progress.

·     * If I was over-due.  She made me schedule a “just in case” C-section for 1 week after my due date, which I was not very happy about.

·       * If the baby was breech.

These restrictions really freaked me out.  There wasn’t really much I could do to control any of this!  

Fortunately, at every appointment, my doctor reassured me that the baby was head down.  And the baby and I weren’t having any health complications that might make the doctor decide I needed to have him early.  They were keeping a close eye on my blood pressure because of my experience with the twins, but it remained under control.  So that helped ease my mind… a little…

But there was still the looming fact of if I went over my due date… Every day that ticked by brought me closer to that “just in case” C-section...  Plus, the doctor kept estimating that the baby was a “big boy.”  And that meant the longer he cooked, the bigger he got, and the more likely that might cause a problem during delivery and I’d end up with the dreaded C-section.  So, as soon as I hit 37 weeks, I was Googling and trying every Old Wives Tale there was to help naturally induce labor...

On this particular Sunday, I was feeling pretty bummed that another weekend had gone by and I hadn't gone into labor.  We spent the day doing some Old Wives Tales to try and induce labor, which included: walking the mall and Costco, driving down a bumpy, dirt road, and swinging on swings at the park. :-) My due date was in 2 days!   Needless to say, I was getting pretty desperate…

So that afternoon, I decided to try the method that I had adamantly proclaimed I would NOT EVER do, no matter how desperate. Ha! Apparently I was suddenly desperate enough!  

Castor Oil… EEeek!  

I rushed on over to Meijer to pick it up.  When I got home, I wanted to take it immediately.  I had read online that people mixed it with orange juice to help it go down better.  We didn't have any orange juice, so I figured I could mix it with Diet Coke.  They are basically the same, right?  J

Newsflash:  Castor oil does NOT mix with Diet Coke.  I don’t think it mixes with anything.  It is seriously just GOOP!  It would float on top of the liquid, and when I tried to drink it, the substance would float to the other side of the cup!  Just thinking about it right now makes me want to puke!

Since I couldn't drink it mixed with Diet Coke, I decided to pour a teeny tiny bit into a spoon and take it like medicine, and chase it with Diet Coke. 

OH. MY. WORD.  The stuff is so NASTY.  I could hardly swallow it.  So, after 2 attempts with about a half spoonful, I decided that would be enough.

We went along with our typical evening routine, but I still wasn't feeling anything!  I expected to at least have to make some trips to the bathroom based on what I read online.  So, before we put the girls to bed, I took another spoonful with my Diet Coke chaser.

After we put the girls to bed, we are usually awake for another few hours getting stuff done around the house, checking Facebook/emails, or working.  That night, I decided to pack a bag for the hospital.  Yes, I was 40 weeks pregnant, and still didn't have a bag packed… That’s just how I roll.  

During that time, still NOTHING was happening.  I was SO depressed.  I had been SO SURE that I was going to go into labor that weekend.  I was absolutely dreading going in to work the next morning.  I thought it would feel like the “walk of shame” when I went to my desk.  And of course, I’d continue to hear the “You’re still here?” comments that some co-workers thought were so amusing.  So, I glumly got my things ready for work the next day and went to bed around 11pm on Sunday night…

I woke up around 1:30am feeling a little “weird.”  I stayed in bed a while, trying to figure out if these were Braxton-Hicks contractions.  I had been having Braxton-Hicks for months, so I don’t know why I thought these were the same thing.  They didn't really feel like them at all.  After about an hour, I thought to myself, “Uh-oh, maybe this is the Castor Oil kicking in…  Great, I am going to get no sleep tonight…”

I had to pee anyways, so I finally got up and went to the bathroom.  Nothing too crazy happened, it still really wasn't like what I’d read about online from others who had tried the Castor Oil method.  So I just wasn't sure what was going on.

I got back in bed for about another 10-15 minutes, still feeling kind of yucky.  I was trying to see if the “yucky” feeling came in waves at certain intervals, but it was really hard to tell.  Then I thought, well if this is “it”, I had read that you should walk around and keep moving to progress things along.  So I got back up, went downstairs, and got a drink of water.

I stood in the middle of the living room drinking my water, still trying to figure out what I was feeling.  I decided to go to my good old standby for high-quality information:  Google.  :-P So I sat on a stool at our kitchen island and began to Google things like:  “Do Castor Oil cramps feel like contractions”, “what do contractions feel like”, “how long does it take for Castor Oil to take affect”, “Am I in labor,” etc…

Yeah, that was pretty much no help at all.

After about an hour of sitting there Googling like a maniac and reading all sorts of crazy anecdotes about Castor Oil and labor… SPLOOOOSH!!!!

Holy crap, did I just pee my pants?!?!

Honestly, there is no way to explain what this burst of fluid was like.  I guess it’s like a giant water-balloon exploding, or maybe a bucket of water being dumped out.  It was seriously out of nowhere.  And it was a lot!  Seriously.  A. LOT.  One minute, I’m just sitting there, and the next minute, I’m soaked and a puddle is underneath me. 

Fortunately it was only about 4 feet to the bathroom from where I was sitting!  I hurried/waddled to the bathroom, and it was just everywhere.  Despite the fact that it was as if a gigantic water balloon just popped in my lap, I still sat there wondering if I had just peed my pants… Maybe the Castor Oil makes you lose control of your bladder or something, so there is absolutely no warning that you are about to go… Honestly, I was so clueless!

Well, first things first, I went upstairs to change my clothes.  Chaz was still just snoring away.  By this time, it was 4 in the morning…

Then, I cleaned up the puddles that stretched from the kitchen into the bathroom…

And then I went back to Googling…

Now I was Googling things like:  “Does Castor Oil cause you to pee your pants”, “What is it like when your water breaks?”, “How do you know if your water broke”, etc.

As I’m sitting there, my “yucky” feeling that I had been having before is definitely a lot stronger/painful, to the point that I have to stop what I’m doing and just clench my fists until it is over. And I can tell that it is coming at a certain time interval.  Google told me that I should lay down for about 30 minutes, and if there was another “sploosh” when I stood back up, then my water probably broke…

Well, I figured I needed to start timing these possible contractions, so I lay in bed with my Kindle Fire, to continue to Google as I lay there, while I had a stopwatch app running to time them.

My Kindle screen is bright, and since I was moving around a little, it finally woke Chaz up.  He asked me “What the heck are you doing?”  I told him, “I think my water broke…”  He says “You think…?”  And I say, “Yeah, I’m not sure yet.”  And he rolls over and says, “Ok, well let me know when you’re sure.” And goes back to snoring… :-P

As I lay there, timing was very unsuccessful.  The time between contractions varied from 2 minutes to 5 minutes, and the length of contractions varied from 30 seconds to 1 minute.  But they were definitely painful and I was having to breathe through them, so after 20 minutes, I woke up Chaz and said “I think you need to get up and get ready.”

He said, “Are you for real?”  And I said “Yeah…” because despite everything I still wasn't 100% positive I was in labor!!!

So he got up to pack a bag (yeah, we procrasitinate) and take a shower.  As he was walking in to the bathroom, I said “Sorry if this is a false alarm…”  And he just turned around and gave me an annoyed look. J

Once Chaz was ready, I decided we could wait until 6am so we could get the girls up and just bring them to daycare on our way to the hospital.  We had about another half hour, so Chaz brought his laptop into the bed and started watching American Pickers on Hulu.  

I just sat there, contracting away!  They were WAY more painful now, and could no longer be classified as just “yucky”, I don’t even think there could be a term describe the feeling… :-P Well, I only lasted until about 5:50am before I was like, F this BS, we need to get going NOW.

Chaz had the nerve tell me that he had 8 more minutes left in his show, so we could get the girls up when it was done.  Really?!?!  I’m sure he got a super happy look from me. :-P  

Well, I waited about 3 more minutes until I was told him that we SERIOUSLY needed to get up and get going.

We got the girls up, and I had to keep taking breaks to lean up against the counter, kind of like I was pushing it, to make it through a contraction.  Then I had another gush of water, so I had to change my clothes again!  Basically, I wasn't much help with the girls that morning!

We finally get in the van and are on our way.  Chaz took the girls into daycare while I sat in the van.  I think I only had 1 contraction while I was sitting there, so hopefully I didn't look too weird to people walking by!

As soon as we pulled out of the parking lot, I put in my good ol' Justin Timberlake CD and cranked up Mirrors because I was really into that song at the time. :-)  Chaz just gave me a look and said "Really?" And I just said, "Yup."  I've read that some people have "labor playlists" set up, and since I'm not the most organized person, that was the best I could do!  So now EVERY TIME I hear the song Mirrors, I think about that morning on the way to the hospital.

As we are driving to the hospital, I thought “Wow, I should have brought some towels.”  It’s funny, because for both my pregnancies, whenever somebody at work would tease me about my water breaking, I’d always laugh and say it doesn't happen like in the movies or on TV.  People’s water doesn't just break like that.  Um, apparently, it does.  And then it just doesn't stop…

Anyways, we get to the hospital and they put me in the triage area to get checked out.  And they finally answered the questions that Google couldn't!  I WAS in labor, my water DID break, and I was already dilated to a 5!  Woohoo!  Here we go!!!!

I was admitted right away.  By this time, I am starving!  I hadn't eaten since the night before.  I asked if I could eat something, and the nurse said I could have a popsicle… Um, I guess that’s better than nothing... 

I was just doing the whole labor thing, and Chaz was just hanging out, I think maybe he was on his laptop, I can’t even remember.  I just know that he kept trying to ask me what the contractions felt like, if they were really that bad, and laughing at me while I was cussing up a storm.  Yeah, it really did help me to just breathe out a string of profanities during each contraction.  I finally had to tell him to “just stop talking to me.” I’m pretty sure he could have been telling me he loved me, and I would have found it to be the most annoying thing ever! J

Well, I made it to an 8 pretty quickly, but they told me they were going to give me Pitocin to strengthen my contractions.  My contractions were productive, but not strong enough to push the baby out.  

Wait, what?  You’re telling me those were WEAK contractions?!?!  

Well, the mention of Pitocin and stronger contractions scared me big time, and I started thinking about the epidural.  After about an hour of Pitocin, I completely chickened out, and told them I was ready for it. 

It’s funny, because people talk about “labor amnesia” where you forget the pain once you are holding your baby.  While we were waiting for the anesthesiologist I would have “labor amnesia” just between contractions!  I’d have a contraction and think, "OK, I need the epidural NOW."  And then when it passed, I was like “Ya know… I don’t think they are that bad... Maybe I don’t need it…” And then another contraction would come, and I be like “Yeah, I made the right choice. Epidural. Epidural. Epidural!”

And wow, the epidural was wonderful.  I was able to talk and be nice to Chaz again! J  But it also really sucked because then I was stuck in the bed for the rest of the day… Boring… And I felt like I could no longer do anything to help keep labor progressing.  I was still worried that I could still end up getting a C-section if things didn't keep moving…

So then, because I had “labor amnesia” again, I totally regretted getting the epidural.  I could have totally gone on without it… :-)  (Really, I probably couldn't have, I know I shouldn't regret it, but I still do.  I guess I’ll never know if I could have made it through without it). 

So, I asked the nurse if I could just let my epidural wear off so that I could get up and walk around… And she was like “um… no… once it wears off, it’s hard to bring it back up again…” 

Blah, OK, fine.  Well, I wasn't making as good of progress as I had in the morning.  The baby was still very high, and my dilating & effacing had slowed way down.  

Then, during my contractions (that I couldn't feel at this time), they didn't like what the baby’s heart rate was doing.  And they couldn't track it well enough with just the monitors on my belly.  They needed to do the thing where they stick a wire up in there and attach it to the baby’s head…

Well, it was a “learning doctor” (I’m not sure what kind, but obviously it was an inexperienced doctor, because she had another doctor there instructing her on how to do things) that came in to do that little procedure.  It took her forever!  She couldn't get the thing on his head or something… I totally understand about the learning thing, they gotta do it somehow, but at the time, I was just like, um, that’s my baby’s head you’re poking, and is your whole arm inside me or what?  And now is the training doctor's arm in me too?  :-P Obviously I didn't say that, but Chaz and I talked about it after they left! J

Well, since I couldn't get out of the bed, the nurse said I could do “bed aerobics” or something like that.  Basically, she put me in all sorts of crazy positions to try and get the baby to drop.  My legs were all up in the air sideways and whatnot.  I’m sure it was super pretty. :-P 

As time was passing, I started to feel my contractions again… I asked the nurse about it, and she asked me if I was pushing my button?  And I was like “what button?”  They had never given it to me!  Well, we pushed it, and she said it might take a few minutes to kick in… But it still wasn't working.  I kept pushing it, but nothing was happening, and I was definitely having to breathe through my contractions again.  The nurse brought somebody in to look at the little epidural machine thing, and apparently my button wasn't hooked up!  So, first they never gave me the button, and then when I got it, it wasn't even hooked up! 

Well, I guess that was what I got for regretting my epidural choice.  They were finally able to get everything hooked up right, and it was starting to take the edge off, but I definitely still had feeling and was able to move  my legs all over on my own. 

Anyways, they checked me out, and I was fully dilated and effaced!  Yay!  But baby was still way too high.  But they decided that since I had some feeling in my legs, we could try to start pushing. 

When the nurse told me this, I think I said something like “Are you SERIOUS?!?!”  Basically, it was about to get REAL!  For some reason I was only thinking about the labor and forgot about the whole “pushing the baby out,” and then “there being a baby to hold” kind of thing.

In comes the doctor, and apparently Will was “sunny side up”, which is apparently not the best position for him to be in.  The doctor was like, “I think I can turn him though…” And I'm pretty sure he just reached his whole arm up in me and did some crazy ninja moves (at least that’s basically what it felt like!), but somehow he got Will facing down again.  Yay!

So now it’s time to push push push… I basically felt like the doctor and nurses were cheering me on like it was a tie game and there were 3 seconds left (or something like that).  In other words, they made me feel like I was a very good pusher. J  I’m not sure if they do that with everyone, but they were like, "Yeah, that’s the way to do it!"  "Way to go!"  "Oh wow, that was a good one!"  Um… OK?  Even Chaz asked if they were being serious or not.  I can’t remember what they said. :-P

Well, I just watched the video of the birth, and again, I am so glad we have that.  It’s not like a crotch shot or anything.  Chaz is videoing from the side, so all you can really see is Will’s heading sticking out from behind my leg.  I don’t know how to describe it, but it is still very modest and definitely something I’ll show the kids someday if they want to see it.  Really, anyone could see it, because you seriously don’t see any “stuff.”  But I can’t help but laugh because right when he comes out, I just say “HOLY COW!!! I felt that!!!!” J

I only had to push for 45 minutes, and at 6:46pm, out came our 9 pound, 10 ounce baby boy! 

That shows all the nay-sayers out there who were pretty sure I was going to end up in a C-section, which included:  My OB (she told me at my 6-week check-up "I must admit, I really thought you would end up with a C-section"), the on-call doctor who actually did the delivery, and the nurses!  They kept saying, “We can’t believe it, we really didn't think you’d be able to do it.”  Especially the on-call doctor, he was pretty discouraging every time he came in.  He kept talking about the baby being really high, being prepared for a C-section and blah blah blah… 

So boo-yah! If I wanna push my baby out, I’m gonna push my baby out! J

After that, it’s all been pretty much a whirlwind… It felt like we were only in the hospital for 5 minutes, compared to the 5 days we were there for the girls’ birth. 

And that's the story of Will's birth!

And here's a little treat if you read all the way through this... Chaz videoed my Castor Oil adventure.  It so embarrassing, but I'm going to share it anyways... Sorry for the part where I almost puke... :-)  And yes, hearing Chaz's voice absolutely rips me to shreds now.

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Hearts.