Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Our Birth Story

{WARNING: If details of labor and delivery gross you out stop reading now. This was a beautiful time in our families life that I want to share with those that have asked. Please do not turn a pure moment into disgust because you can't grasp the concept yet.}




During my last doctor appointment with the OBGYN on my due date of October 13, she decided to schedule me for an induction on the following Sunday, October 18 at 6pm. She said she thought the baby would come before then though. At this point we still didn’t know the sex of our baby.

All week long I waited for contractions to start. At some point I even had my mind thinking I was going into labor…when I very clearly was not. I was ready for everything I’d spent nine months preparing for. I wanted to meet him or her already!

Sunday morning arrived. As my mom, her sister in law, and my little brother were visiting from out of state, we planned on going into the city that day. We went early and came home about 3pm. I packed my bag {yes I waited till the last minute} and ate as much as I could. I knew once I was at the hospital I wouldn’t be able to eat.

Thanks to my slow self, my mother, my mother in law, and myself strolled into the maternity ward very calmly a half hour late. That’s right, I was late to deliver my own child…and I will probably be late to my own funeral. It’s just how I am. Not punctual at the least. But I swear it’s a disease.

{My mom and mom in law. Patiently awaiting their grandbaby}


The nurses started me on prostaglandin gel at 7pm Sunday night. This gel only sends about 10% of women into labor but my doctor wanted to try it as a last resort before starting Pitocin. It takes up to 7 hours so my mom and I settled in for the night. I couldn’t eat anything and after we watched half a movie on my laptop, we passed out for the night. At five we were awake because I started having conractions. At 7am they took out the gel because my contractions were full on.

Around 8am all my family started arriving. My dad, sisters, in laws and a few other people too. They started me on Pitocin because I wasn’t dialated at all. Next thing I remember was the worst pain I’ve ever felt. The pitocin brought on contractions like no other. I instantly felt awful.

{Not to mention I hate needles}


Throughout all of this, Doc Handsome was able to be on the phone periodically with me. There was a phone over there that they were gracious enough to let him use while I was in labor.

{On the phone with the hubby}


At about 11am I broke the first part of my birth plan and asked for a pain reliever to be administered into my IV. After the nurses did so, I felt peaceful. It felt more like I was “high” to be honest. Not something I ever truly enjoyed when I was stupid enough to do it in the first place. But this feeling was different. The pain had virtually disappeared although I could feel how sore I was already. Doc Handsome was laughing at me on the phone along with everyone else in the room. Looking back at the video, I know why. My head was up in the clouds at this point. But that slowly faded as the medication stopped working two hours later…which felt like 20 minutes.
Around 1pm they moved me from my labor room which was tiny to my delivery room although I was only about 2cm dialated. My water hadn’t broken and I was barely making any progress. The pain was unbearable. I was wishing Doc Handsome was there to do breathing techniques and birthing positions with me. I needed his voice of encouragement to tell me I could do it naturally. I still wasn’t making an more progress. At this point, I gave up my plan to have a natural birth. I was extremely disappointed in myself. I truly believe if Doc Handsome had been there with me, I would’ve been able to push through the pain with his strength added to mine. Not to mention, Pitocin brings on contractions more harsh and unforgiving than labors that aren’t induced. I told my mom, mother in law, and Doc Handsome ahead of time to try to change my mind if I decided to have an epidural. So after convincing all three of them that I NEEDED one, the anesthesiologist came about two hours later. They had to do it twice because I wasn’t getting numb on one side. I was 3cm when I received the epidural at about 3pm. I was good after that hit. I was still very aware of the pain and contractions but it was easier to push through the pain.

{Preparing to recieve my epidural. I was disappointed in myself}


One hour later at 4pm, I told everyone in my room (who was our entire families at this point) that I thought I was bleeding badly because it felt warm between my legs. The nurse checked me and informed me my water had broken. Not only that, but in one hour I had went from 3cm to a whopping 8cm!! She told me to prepare to start pushing within a few short hours. It was here! The end of pregnancy was in sight. The beginning of a life was about to begin.

{My mom and Dad with me in the delivery room. Along with us in heart was Doc Handsome who was by my bed the entire time}


The nurse told me to ask for her when it felt like I needed to push. I called Doc Handsome and asked him to go to the USO to get on Skype so we could talk via webcam. The USO on the base in Kuwait was kind enough to reserve a personal room for him to use while I gave birth. When he arrived at the USO they told him that there had been a power outage and since it was the middle of the night there (they were 12 hours ahead so it was only about 4am there) there wasn’t anyone to fix it. I love this part of the story because right as the USO was telling him he wouldn’t be able to get on webcam to watch the birth due to the internet being down, the power turned back on.

I thank God for that moment. He knew one of his angels was being sent to Earth. And that angel’s Daddy needed to see him/her in some way.

{Talking through Skype on the webcam informing him of the huge progress}


Around 5:45 pm, I knew I had to push. I called in the nurse and we began preparing. My sister, my mom, and my mother in law were all in the room with me. The hospital was amazing to me in so many aspects. My sister held the laptop with Doc Handsome on Skype. As the pushing started, and lasted for an entire two full hours, Doc Handsome was “standing” next to me with everything I needed to hear. “You are doing so great baby.” “Keep pushing, we’re almost there. We’re gonna meet our baby soon.” He even was able to see the baby’s head as he was crowning. Only something parents can understand and appreciate. There is astonishing beauty and miracle that take place during the delivery of a baby. Things that no one normally wants to see (womanly parts with a child emerging), suddenly all present are moved to tears by the sight.

After the two hours of pushing ended, our life forever changed. My doctor pulled out our baby and said to me, “Look at him, tell your husband the news.” And I just shouted in bliss, “He’s a boy baby. We have a boy!”

At the exact moment of our son arriving into this world, the video dropped. Luckily the audio stayed intact so Doc Handsome was able to hear every word including the announcement of our son.

Mini Doc Handsome was born at 19:48 weighing exactly 8 pounds. He was perfectly healthy and flawless in our eyes.

They placed him directly onto my chest for a moment as I had asked in my birth plan. I wanted skin to skin contact if only for a second. I was in awe. I had no words.


{Meeting my amazing son. You can see Doc Handsome's mom trying to get the webcam working in the background.}

{All I could do was cry. I was speechless in every sense of the word.}


{Describing Mini Doc Handsome in every detail to Doc Handsome}


All I remember from this point, was thinking, “I am going to die.” Everyone who wasn’t in the room for the birth had now poured into the room and as they took the baby to the bassinet next to mine to clean, weigh, check vitals, etc. everyone went with him. I was suddenly left solo with my doctor, as blood was literally gushing. (Maybe a bit graphic but that’s how it really was). In the fogging haze of it all I very clearly remember thinking, “Everyone has left to see our miracle while I am laying here to die.”

Ok, so my feelings were out of whack. I was full of every hormone imaginable. I was throwing up and trying to deliver that awful thing called the placenta. I was asking the doctor repeatedly if my bleeding was normal. It didn’t help that she kept beating around the bush instead of just saying “yes.“ She told me it wasn’t and then gave me a shot in the leg to stop the bleeding. After I came to my senses and realized I was in fact not dying, I asked the doctor if I had torn. One of my main concerns after knowing if our son was healthy. I’m sure many woman are concerned with this. To my utter surprise she informed me I hadn’t not even a tad. Relief.

They swaddled Mini Doc Handsome and he was given to me. I wanted to start breastfeeding immediately to initiate that connection. About an hour after he was born, we were able to get the internet running again. We called Doc Handsome via webcam and I introduced our son to him.

I will never forget his face. The look in his eyes. The amazement, the sadness, and desire to hold his son. This new being we had created.


{Great grandma and grandma meeting Mini Doc Handsome}


{My dad a.k.a. Grandpa meeting Mini DH}


Doc Handsome's dad a.k.a Grandpa holding Mini DH}


{My sister and Dad}


{Mini Dh's first bunny ears. My sister and her fiance}


{My mom. He smelt so perfect}


{Grandmas in awe}


{First time Mini DH started breastfeeding. It was painful at first but so worth every difficult time}


Long story short, it was a short but painful(duh)labor. We spent two days in the hospital working on pain management and mastering breastfeeding.

It is amazing how giving birth is one of the ABSOLUTE worst pains you can experience, yet God so very cleverly designed your mind to forget the true pain of it all. Because heck, if we all vividly remembered how painful it was, we’d never want more babies.

{Bliss}


{Breastfeeding created an amazing bond for us}


9 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for sharing! I haven't had the chance to hear it!
    You did an amazing job girl!
    I cried through the whole thing! And I'm crying again thinking about God turning the power back on! He is truly amazing!!
    What an amazing story!!

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  2. Thanks for sharing! That is an amazing story. I am so glad your husband was able to share it with you under the circumstances. I know it's not the same but it's what worked in the situation. Thank God for miracles, power and webcams.

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  3. This made me cry:) It brought back my memories of Levi's birth, and my emotion about our soldiers being away from their loved ones! Our birth stories had quite a few similarities! You can find mine on my blog as well.

    Thank you for sharing:)

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  4. You know what nearly moved me to tears during this story? The tremendous amount of love and support you had from those around you. You were truly blessed. A wonderful story, thank you for sharing!

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  5. This made me tear up!!! So beautiful. Thank you for sharing.

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  6. oooh mama I just bawled my eyes out. you wrote this story SO beautifully. I cant believe your strength, I was a mess during pregnancy and my husband was home.. Interestingly enough hubs and I have talked a lot about him joining the military but we have always struggled with the chance of deployment. Honestly I think we found each other for a reason, I hope that doesnt sound weird. I needed to read your stories today. Thank you so much for sharing. mini dh is SO HANDSOME!

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  7. You had me remembering and crying at my birth again (event though it was only a few days ago!). Thanks for following my blog, I am so glad I found yours, I love it and look forward to seeing more!

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  8. i loved reading this!! thanks for sharing.

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  9. This was so beautiful. It brought tears to my eyes as I understand the pure joy and utter sadness all in one to give birth to your first child without your husband by your side. Thanks for sharing!

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