My birth story didn't go as planned. Rylan 💜
Through out my entire pregnancy I had a plan of how my birth experience would go. Often times I read about how plans go out the window once the time finally comes, and I accepted this and always kept my mind open. Little did I know how different my birth story would actually end up.
At my 40+1 week appointment (Thursday 6/2/16) I was told I still hadn't dilated and was showing no signs of progression at all. I was devestated. My plan was for a natural birth, I had always wanted to give it my all and let my body do what it needed, but my ob scheduled my induction date for the following Friday; this would allow my body an extra week to do its thing. Apparently that's what my body needed to kickstart labor because the next night at 1:00 am (Friday night/ Saturday morning 6/4/16) I went into labor. My contractions started out two minutes apart and were strong enough to take my breath away. I swayed with each one trying to remind myself that this is what my body is supposed to do. My contractions remained two minutes apart and grew with intensity, because I tested positive for gbs I knew I should head to the hospital to allow time for antibiotics.
Once I was in triage and getting checked I was informed that my body had already dilated to 2 centimeters and that they would get my room set up as I took a couple laps around the halls to keep myself moving. It wasn't long before I was settled in my delivery room and hooked up to antibiotics and my iv.
Very early on I realized that this laboring naturally thing was for the birds, I was in pain and getting more nauseous with each contraction so I opted for some pain medicine through my iv, and when that helped absolutely nothing I gave in and he the epidural.
By the time the epidural was in my delivery room was filled with family. Each one eager to meet our sweet girl and to support me through the rest of my labor. We watched each contraction rise and then fall, and I won't lie regardless of the epidural I still felt each one. The pressure of labor is unreal.
With each check up I was dilating 2 centimeters and they broke my water at 6 centimeters. By 3:00 pm the nurse told me I was ready to start pushing.
20 minutes was all it took. Each push brought her so much closer to me and I couldn't wait to have her in my arms. My boyfriend held my legs and consistently got me through each push, letting me know that I could do it and that he could see her. Waiting for the doctor to suit up felt like an eternity and once she was ready it was only a couple pushes before Rylan made her entrance into the world. And then things really went unplanned.
I saw the worry on my doctors face as she said that the umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck as she unwrapped it not once but twice and then again one more time around her stomach. They don't prepare you for things like this. Rylan was set on my chest for a total of twenty seconds before being taken away.
All of the nurses gathered around the warming crib in the corner of the room while the doctor tried to stop my excessive bleeding. They said Rylan wasn't breathing right, that her reflexes weren't kicking in and she was flimsy. I just watched waiting for them to bring her back to me.
Except they brought her to the nursery (when we toured the hospital the said only sick babies visit the nursery).
Remember how I said waiting for the doctor to suit up felt like an eternity? Nothing stops time quite like waiting for news about your child. Waiting to hold them in your arms. Finally the doctor came in give me the news. Rylan would be transferred to a nicu unit an hour and a half away from me.
They don't prepare you for nicu stays, or the umbilical cord being wrapped around your infant, or for spending the first night you were supposed to share with your family of three completely alone while Rylan's dad stayed with her in the nicu. Rylan was in the nicu for five days, could it have been worse? Absolutely. But was it the worst thing for me? Absolutely. In those five days we watched bruise after bruise appear on our daughter from each iv, we even watched one iv be put in her head because every other vein had been blown at only five days old. We watched her be put on oxygen and then finally have her o2 tubes taken out from her nose and we watched her go from being fed from a tube to breastfeeding in just five days. Our little girl has been more than I could ever imagine and we are so thankful to have her home safe. It's insane to even think about the life I had before her.
Rylan Tyler Hart, 7lbs 12 oz
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