Nicholas' Birth Story, Part II

Once my new nurse sent for the anesthesiologist, my memory becomes a bit fuzzy. I know it was a full hour from when my doctor broke my water until the epidural was administered, but I don't really recall much of what went on in my hospital room aside from my excruciatingly intense contractions. I know they were about 3 minutes apart, and so by doing the math I know I must have had about 20. I was hooked up to several monitors and had an IV in place, so I was confined to the bed. Unfortunately, lying down was the worst possible position and only amplified the pain. I wanted to be able to get up to walk or sway through the contractions, but that wasn't a possibility. I remember telling the nurse I had to sit up and I remember leaning over with my feet dangling off the bed. Jason tried rubbing my back and the nurse told me to grip her hands during a contraction, but I didn't want anyone touching me. At one point, I became very nauseous and felt like I might vomit, so they got me a bucket. I may be slightly overstating the obvious, but childbirth is not glamorous.

Finally, the anesthesiologist arrived and after some prep work, she administered a shot to numb my back. While the idea of having an epidural inserted had made me slightly queasy during my pregnancy, had the anesthesiologist not shown up, I honestly felt like I would have inserted it myself. There was a little bit of stinging pain and a weird cold sensation, but it was absolutely nothing compared to the contractions. The worst part was that I had to lie back down in order to get the medicine flowing down my spine and it took about 30 minutes before I was fully numbed, so there were a bunch of contractions I had to endure while lying flat on my back. Gradually the contractions became less and less intense, and finally I was numb from the bottom of my rib cage down to my feet. Sweet relief. While pregnant I had contemplated the idea of a natural childbirth, but by the time epidural kicked in I was fully satisfied that I had experienced enough unmedicated labor. My husband insists I said something like, "Screw this natural childbirth crap." I don't remember it, but it's definitely possible.

Once I was all set up with the epidural, it was about 1pm and there wasn't much to do but sit back and relax. Jason went to get lunch and finally Ed returned. At 3:30, my doctor came back to check my progress again. I could tell everyone thought I must be about ready to start pushing, so when my doctor announced I was only 5.5 cm, everyone seemed disappointed. My contractions had slowed down to 4-5 minutes apart, so they decided to start a very light pitocin drip. Thanks to the glorious epidural I couldn't feel anything, but I could see the contractions pick back up again on the monitor. However, as my contractions picked up, Nicholas' heart rate started dropping after each contraction. Apparently it's normal for the baby's heart rate to drop during a contraction, but if it drops after a contraction it's a sign that the baby may be going into distress. Due to his two vessel cord, Nicholas was already getting less oxygen than he would otherwise, and Ed warned me that if Nicholas' heart rate didn't stabilize, there was a good chance I would need a c-section. He gave me an oxygen mask and told me to start verbally encouraging Nicholas through each contraction. Apparently babies can really sense and respond to their mother's state of mind. I don't know if it was the oxygen, my encouragement, or both, but after a about a half hour, his heart rate picked up and he seemed to be tolerating the contractions better. Ed thought he had most likely just passed through the narrowest part of my pelvis.

Around 4:15pm, I started to feel a lot of pressure. I told Ed and asked if he should check my progress, but he said that my doctor would be back at 5:30 and we should just wait until then to minimize the risk of infection since my water was already broken. By 4:45pm the pressure was intense and I could feel it mounting with each contraction. This time, I told Ed I thought he should really check my progress. He agreed and then said, "Hey Jason, do you want to see your son?" I was fully dilated to 10cm and Nicholas was about to crown.

Ed started gathering supplies, called my doctor, and told me I could just start pushing on my own each time I felt a contraction. I didn't feel any pain, but I could feel strong pressure as each contraction built. My doctor arrived around 5:30, along with a team of about 8 other nurses and doctors. My doctor wasn't on call that night, but was surprised to see how close Nicholas was to arriving and decided to just stay to deliver him.

Throughout the pushing stage, I felt great and it felt so much easier than I had expected. I felt like I could just push continuously from one contraction to the next, but they wanted me to rest in between to give Nicholas a break. The funny part was that my contractions had slowed to about 5 minutes apart at that point, so I would push for a minute and then we would all just hang out while waiting for the next one. My feet were in the stirrups, his head was partway out, and my doctor was chit chatting with one of the nurses about his yoga class. Slightly awkward. After a few pushes, they wheeled over a mirror to help me concentrate. It seemed like wasn't moving much for the last half hour or so, but everyone kept telling me he was just moments from his big debut. I glanced up at the second clock to help me focus on a contraction and then, suddenly, with one final burst of pressure, he was here. They handed him to me and I just remember looking at Jason and being shocked at how adorable he was. I kept saying, "He's so cute!" It was 6:26pm.

Jason cut the cord and then they whisked him away to weigh and measure him. We stayed in the same labor and delivery room for about two hours as they bathed Nicholas, administered some tests, and I recovered. We called our families, I ate a bad hospital dinner (later Jason went to get me the Chick-Fil-A sandwich and chocolate shake I had been craving all day), and we marveled at our son. The next two days in the hospital, as well as the following weeks, would be full of ups and downs as we got to know our little man, but the labor and delivery experience was amazing. I was so grateful to have had such a great nurse and I was thrilled that my doctor was able to stay and deliver Nicholas despite not being on call that evening. During the pregnancy I had a lot of anxieties, and later I would encounter challenges with breastfeeding and acclimating to life with a newborn, but I would honestly do labor and delivery again in a heart beat. Best day of my life.

Welcome to the world, buddy.