I think it’s obvious that I no longer update this blog, but
I did want to get Mason’s birth story on here as it’s still really fresh in my
memory and I never want to forget it.
With this pregnancy I had Braxton Hicks contractions from
very early on. I found this interesting because I never had a single BH
contraction during my pregnancy with Kenleigh. My first contraction with that
pregnancy was a true labor contraction and I delivered her that very day.
Anyway, for about a week before Mason was born I’d get a contraction here and
there that just didn’t seem like a BH to me. There was a little more pain and
discomfort, and then it wouldn’t happen again—certainly nothing measureable.
I was scheduled to be induced on 9/18/12, one week before my
due date. When going to bed the evening before, I was having a few more
contractions than normal and I knew they weren’t Braxton Hicks, but again
nothing that I could measure. I woke up to get ready to go at about 5:30 the
next morning. When I woke Zach up I told him that I think my body is making the
decision for Mason to be born today and that I felt like an induction wouldn’t even
happen. I still called the hospital and asked them when they wanted us to come
in. They were full so they said they would just call us when a room opened up.
We woke up Kenleigh and got her ready for daycare in the meantime. I made the
comment to Zach that if they didn’t call soon we might show up on our own
accord because my contractions were getting stronger. Still bearable, but I
felt like something was happening.
We loaded up around 8:00 am to take Kenleigh to daycare. On
the way to the daycare the hospital called and asked us if we could be there by
9:00 am. I was starting to get excited now! When we dropped off Kenleigh there
were some mixed emotions. I was so excited to go and finally get to meet this
little guy that I had been carrying the last nine months, but it was also
bittersweet knowing that Kenleigh wouldn’t be an only child in a short time.
We arrived at the hospital right on time around 9:00 am. It
still took them awhile to get me to a room. Around 9:30 they came and got us
and took us to the room. Gave me the gown and the urine cup and asked me to get
changed. The nurse came in at 10:00 am to start my IV. I made the comment that
I thought I was having contractions on my own and that I’d be curious to see
what I was dilated to. She said she’d get my IV started and then check me to
see where I’m at. As I was climbing into the bed so she could start my IV my
water broke right then and there. I was so excited like a little child because
I knew my body was doing something. The nurse changed the pad under me and then
I got comfortable for the IV. Right when she started the IV I got super
nauseous and thought I was going to have a heat stroke. She laid the bed back
and I asked her why the put a heating pad on the bed. My back and shoulders
were on fire. She said there wasn’t anything on the bed and I’m probably just
having a reaction. It was the strangest feeling. It didn’t last long and I
quickly starting feeling better again.
The nurse checked me at 10:45 am and I was only dilated to a
one. I was a little disappointed because I thought since my water broke maybe
I’d be a little farther along than I was. With Kenleigh I was at a one forever
so I figured we had a long day ahead. The nurse told me that I could get an
epidural whenever I was ready. I told her I’d wait it out until the
contractions got stronger because there was no reason to be numb any longer
than I had to be. Around 11:30 am the contractions started getting a bit more intense
as well as painful. I called the nurse and told her I was ready for the
epidural. She said the anesthesiologist was in surgery so it would be a while.
Uh oh, bad idea waiting—I should have taken her up on her offer earlier. The
anesthesiologist came in at 12:00 pm to administer the epidural and it was just
a lovely time in my life!!
The nurse checked me again at 1:00 pm and I was barely
dilated to a two. I was getting nervous because I kept picturing my labor going
well into the evening and Kenleigh wouldn’t get to meet her little brother that
day. I didn’t want her to have to have her first night away from both parents
the same night her life would change forever. I was checked again at 1:45 pm
and surprisingly progressed to a 4. I made the comment to Zach that if it’s
anything like Kenleigh’s delivery I’ll just start progressing and we’ll have a
baby in no time. At 2:20 pm the nurse checked me again and said I was at a 5. I
started getting excited because I knew that my body would just keep progressing
at a steady pace.
At exactly 2:30 pm I told Zach that it felt like my epidural
was starting to wear off and it made me nervous. I called for the nurse to just
give her a heads up. She said she’d send the anesthesiologist in to take a
look. At 2:35 pm I felt incredible pressure in my crotch. I yelled over to Zach
and said, “Mason is going to fall out of me. He just slipped down!!!” Before
Zach could even respond I called for the nurse. When they answered the call
button I yelled, “I think my baby is going to fall out of me.” The person on
the other end let out a little chuckle and said she’d send a nurse right in.
Zach was laughing so hard but his nerves were through the roof. He kept asking
me what I meant and he said he was so scared that we wouldn’t have any help
delivering. I tried telling him that I wasn’t even kidding and that I know
Mason just fell into my birth canal and that I felt like I could reach down and
pull him out. The nurse got in there really quick and went to check me.
**Graphic content ahead** She didn’t even get her fingers in an inch and said,
“yep, your baby is just waiting for us to grab him out!” You’ll remember that
just 15 minutes ago I was only a 5 so my doctor wasn’t even on his way to the
hospital yet. They put an emergency call into him and he said he was just a few
minutes away so to try and hold off. The nurse leveled out my bed so my pelvis
was low and she just sat there with me the whole time LITERALLY holding Mason
in me. His heart rate was perfect so there was no concern. The problem I was
having was her begging me not to push. I felt the pressure of every contraction
and I wanted to push more than anything, the sensation was incredible. She would
count backwards with me with each contraction and help me breath through them.
There wasn’t any pain or discomfort, just the strong urge to push. I was trying
to keep my mind occupied and I asked her why they couldn’t just deliver the
baby. She just reminded me that it’s always the safest option for a doctor to
be available. The on call doctor was in a surgery doing an emergency cesarean
and since Mason’s HR was fine there wasn’t any rush to get him out. I mean,
that’s her perspective. I was getting more and more concerned that I wasn’t
going to be able to hold off on that big push my body was begging me for.
The doctor finally got there at 3:00 pm and got positioned.
He told me not to push and that he’d tell me when I could. A minute later I
asked very loudly, “why isn’t anyone telling me to push?” Zach responded with,
“why, he’s already out. Our baby is out.” I looked down and the doctor was
suctioning Mason and handed him right to me. Mason was born at 3:02 pm,
weighing 8 lbs. 3 oz. and was 21” long. He was just as beautiful as his sister
because he was her exact replica (a pound heavier). I kept crying to Zach,
“they are twins, they are twins!”
I had a second degree tear and the doctor said that my
recovery would likely be a little rough because we went against my body’s
natural response by holding off delivery. Even though, thank God Mason was
healthy, in the off chance they were delivering a baby with complications as
long as his HR was good he was safer inside at that point. While at the time I
didn’t understand why the nurse couldn’t/wouldn’t just deliver my baby I’m so
grateful that the medical team had mine and Mason’s best interest on their
minds at all times.
