Mason's Birth Story

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.