My Starting Point

At 4AM Wednesday 3/20/13, I woke up to intermittent cramps in my abdomen. I had already missed two days of work for these cramps, but these felt different. Quite different. They were regular, coming every 6-7 minutes and lasting about one minute. I called my doctor’s office and spoke to a nurse who suggested I head to the hospital since they were remaining fairly consistent and had been going on for about 4 hours. By this point, I was uncomfortable during the contractions, but they were manageable, for the most part. I spent the day with my Mom running errands and keeping my mind off of what I could. By 2PM, I had called my husband Rob to let him know I wasn’t sure I’d make it until 6PM (when he got out of work) before heading to the hospital, so he arranged to leave work by 4PM. Once he arrived at my parents, we went home and got everything together, hoping this would not be a false alarm and we’d be bringing home Grady.

We arrive at the hospital around 5PM and went to the Birthing Triage. I had been here twice before for what I thought were signs of labor, but was discharged with minor accommodations to make at home. They checked me and I was dilated to 2.5cm. I was told to walk around and come back after two hours to be checked again so make sure I was in active labor. I walked with Rob around the hospital about 20 times, just talking about what our expectations were that we were becoming parents, things that were going to change, etc. I really enjoyed those hours with him. I got back to triage and checked again. I was at 3.5cm. They admitted me to labor and delivery! I asked for an exercise ball (birthing ball) and brought that with me to the room. I must have spent 20 hours on that ball. It became my best friend, along with hot packs placed into the hospital socks (Totes); one in front under by belly, and two on my lower back. This was really happening!

From 9PM to 2AM, I labored naturally, breathing deeply through my contractions that were between 1 and 4 minutes apart. Like really deeply—to the point where I thought I could have turned into an animal. I was checked at 2AM and only had progressed to 4cm. I was told to try and take a nap to get some rest. I tried… honestly, I did. I probably ended up with a 15 minutes rest period, but trying to nap in between contractions wasn’t fun at all. At 6:15AM, I was checked and had dilated to 6cm. It seemed things were starting to get moving! By this point, I had been having regular contractions for 26 hours. I was exhausted, but ready. Ready to push! At 10AM, I was checked and was 8cm and the doctor said my bag of waters was bulging; this could either break on its own or I would start making more progress soon. At 12:30PM, to doctor decided to break my water. I didn’t feel them placing the instrument, but I felt an extremely large gush of water, that continued to come out through my next couple of contractions. I was shocked at what that felt like. Very unsettling. They also let me know that there was meconium in the water and that the baby needed to be assessed by the neonatal team immediately after he was delivered. I started crying. I felt so terrible… like it was my entire fault. Rob helped reassure me that it was okay, and that the hospital is known for its NICU Department. I thought they would have to take him from the room immediately; however, the second doctor elaborated and told me he wouldn’t be able to lay right onto my chest, but Rob could cut his cord and he’d just be brought over to the warming table until he was stable. He required suction in his nose and mouth and the NICU team left after about two minutes J

After my water was broken, my contractions picked up. I was very uncomfortable, but continued to practice my deep breathing techniques and moving positions. As time progressed, I realized if I made any pain noises, the discomfort would get so much worse, so I kept reminding myself to breath. I went from the birthing ball, to hands and knees on the bed. The only relief I was getting was when on hands and knees, Rob would put counter pressure on my lower back in addition to the hot pack. The contractions were really picking up. I got checked again at 2:45PM and was still at 8cm. I was so discouraged. I was disappointed with my body and upset because I was so ready to push. The doctor suggested Pitocin to speed up my contractions; making them more intense and closer together. In addition to Pitocin, she recommended an epidural to take the pain/edge off. At this point, I gave in. My body had shutdown and I could no longer progress on my own. The anesthesiologist came in and placed the epidural. This was not as painful as contractions, but when you’re having a contraction and they’re placing a needle into your back, it can get pretty overwhelming… and fast. I pretty much nuzzled into the nurses chest as she told me, “You’re so strong.”

After an hour long nap, the doctor came back into the room and checked me again. I was 10cm and +1 station (meaning the baby’s head is 2 stations away from being delivered). I was able to do a “practice push” to see how I can handle it. I think this is their way of determining if the doctor needs to be present or if it will take longer than they anticipate. After my practice push, Rob looked at me and said “I can see his hair! It’s long and dark!” This gave me the motivation to start making things happen. I didn’t know that even with an epidural, you can feel yourself making the progress you need to make in order to meet your little one. I was excited. After about 5 pushes, I was told to lie on my side and an oxygen mask was placed onto my nose and mouth. The baby’s heart rate dropped during my pushes and it needed to come back up. After about 5 minutes of breathing in oxygen, it raised and I was able to push more. In about 15 pushes, Grady Marshall arrived at 5:43PM on 3-21-13 weighing in at 8lb 2oz and 21” long. I have a “thing” for numbers and 3-2-1, 5-4-3 is pretty nice J