Birth Story
I wanted to write down as much as possible from this birth before I forget. It is amazing how much I don’t remember from Sienna’s birth.
For about a week I has been getting Braxton hicks contractions and feeling my belly start to drop down. There was this immense pressure like my whole stomach was falling down. The couple of days leading up to Sonny’s birth, I felt like my body couldn’t handle much more and my abdominal muscles were REALLY struggling.
I woke up Thursday night at my usual time to use the bathroom. I was getting up around 1 and 4 each night for the past week. It was 12:38 when I looked at the clock. Somehow, this time felt different. I had some pains that were not going away when I tried to lay back down. And I also had to use the bathroom after each contraction. I texted my sister at 1:27 AM to let her know that I was definitely in labor. By that time I had had several contractions and my system had cleared itself out which was another sign.
Once she got to our house to pick up Sienna, I felt a trickle and my contractions were becoming more and more intense. Since the car was in the shop, my sister drove us to the hospital just in case. I had downloaded a contraction app and it notified me on the way to the hospital that I should definitely go.
Once Mike and I arrived at the hospital, we were sent to triage. While in triage, my water definitely broke. A midwife came in and said I was dilated to 4 cm. From there we were given a birthing room. This was around 3:30 AM.
Once in the birthing room, the nurse tried to start an IV. She tried twice before asking another nurse to help. That nurse also tried twice. Then a phlebotomist came and finally got one started. They poked me at least 5 separate times though. I swear I have good veins. I am not sure why it took so many tries. I needed an IV in order to receive antibiotics because I had tested positive for Strep B.
By this point, my contractions were really intense and I knew baby was coming soon. The doctor on call was sure that I was only dialated to 6 cm though so I continued on. I know I was in extreme pain and was doing my best to keep my breathing under control. I was having urges to push though and couldn’t believe that my cervix wasn’t ready. They checked one more time and said it was still 7 cm.
Now it was 7 am. My original provider, who has seen me for the last 6 months, arrived at 7:15. She checked me and said I was at 9.5 cm. I was having such a hard time not pushing that she told me I would deliver in the next 20 minutes. She came back 20 minutes later, gave me the go ahead to start pushing, I pushed for around a half an hour, and was able to reach down and pull Sonny up and put him on my chest. I was the most beautiful moment I have ever experienced. I cried for a solid ten minutes looking into his face in awe and wonder.
This was a completely different experience then when I had Sienna. I was much younger and not completely sure about her to be honest. When they sat her on my chest, I didn’t even know what to do with her. It was too bright and I felt completely overwhelmed. This experience was much slower and allowed me time to take it all in and really connect.
Mike witnessed the entire birth, cut the cord, and even looked at the placenta with me. He was amazing during the entire labor. I have never felt more supported. He placed a cold washcloth on my head, rubbed my back, held my hand, gave me sips of water. I couldn’t have asked for a better person to bring a human into the world with.
So, little Mike was born at 7:46 AM. He weighed 8 pounds 5.5 ounces. He came into the world completely natural (without any medication or pain relief). He was 21 and 3/4 inches long. He had a head full of hair and dark eyes. He is absolutely perfect and we are so blessed to have him here with us.
