My birth story!

I finally got around to writing it out. It’s very long, but I hope you enjoy it! When I was pregnant I absolutely loved reading all the birth stories on Glow 🥰

My due date came and passed. I was due Oct.25/2019. I had no signs of my baby coming any time soon. I had a membrane sweep at 39 weeks and then again at 40 weeks but neither did anything other than make me a little crampy. I stayed at 1cm dilated and not effaced at all the entire time.

On Tuesday, Oct.29 I started getting contractions 5-8 mins apart for about 50-60 seconds long each time. Since this was my third baby I was told to go to the hospital when they got to about 5 mins apart instead of 3 mins. So, around 9pm we decide to go. My midwife met me there and checked me, I was 3cm dilated and about 30% effaced. Woo!! However, they couldn’t admit me until I was 4cm dilated. We made the decision to walk around the hospital for 2hrs to see if I would progress.

When my midwife checked me again my cervix hadn’t changed 😢 although I was getting contractions 3-4 mins apart at that point.

She suggested giving me a morphine and gravol shot so I could at least get some sleep that night since nothing was happening. I was really hesitant, but I also knew I needed to get a bit of sleep at least just incase so I agreed.

We left the hospital and went home to bed. We had such a good sleep! Lol.

When I woke up that morning my contractions were gone. I was so discouraged! Throughout our day I started getting contractions again. They started off far apart so I didn’t even bother timing them. Finally around 10:30pm they became about 3 minutes apart (I didn’t want to go to the hospital before that incase I got sent home again) I knew it was the real deal this time because the contractions were so much more painful than the night before! But when we got to the hospital my cervix was still only 3cm and 30% effaced! I was in so much pain , I didn’t understand why my cervix wasn’t changing. My midwife told me I should get the morphine shot again as she could see how much pain I was in. I agreed.

We got home and the morphine wasn’t taking the pain away.. The contractions continued to be 2-3 mins apart. I felt the morphine kick in and make me feel “loopy” I guess you could say. But it just did not take the pain away! I didn’t understand , it worked the night before. I couldn’t lay in bed because laying down made the contractions hurt so much more. I stayed in the living room and sat on the couch - sometimes I could sit through them but most of the time I would have to get up and sway my body through them. I called the nurse at the hospital around 3am (I didn’t want to wake my midwife for nothing) and explained to her that the morphine didn’t help and that my contractions were still 2-3 mins apart lasting for a min each time and very painful.

She told me to wait to come in again until I was having about 4-5 contractions every 10 mins. Ugh! At that point I was so tired that I would fall asleep sitting on the couch in between my contractions. Every single one woke me up. Around 5am I woke my husband up and told him I really think we need to go back to the hospital. Understandably he was unsure , not wanting to get sent home again as well. He told me to come lay with him and we would go after we drop our other kids off at school at 8am. Ha!! There was no way at all I was climbing in to bed while I was in that much pain. So I continue to deal with the pain. I woke my husband up at 7 and let him know it was time to get the kids ready for school. There was no way I could do it. He got them dressed in their Halloween costumes and made their lunches, etc.

Finally , he drops them all off at school at 8am and comes back home to pick me up and we head to the hospital again once more.

My midwife meets us there. She checks me right away and I’m 5cm, 100% effaced with buldging waters!! I cried happy tears when she told me that because it meant I could finally be admitted. My contractions were so painful and still 2-3 mins apart and I was exhausted from not sleeping ... I asked for the epidural.

After that was in my contractions slowed down so they started pitocin and my midwife broke my water.

I got a couple little naps in and played cards with my husband while we waited.

Around 4:30pm I started feeling the urge to push. My midwife checked me and I was 100% dilated and baby was “right there” however, baby was still posterior (which we knew since week 35 and my previous baby was born that way as well). I started feeling my contractions again at that point, mostly in my left side though. While my midwife got everything ready she told me to just start pushing a little bit when I would get a contraction to see if it could help get baby turned around.

At 5pm I started really pushing. Laying on my back hurt too much so I laid on my left side with a nurse holding my left leg up for me , my right leg was on the bar they put up for me , my husband held my arm and I would pull on him when I would push, and my midwife tied a bed sheet to the bar for my left hand to pull on as well.

My baby girl was born at 5:30pm exactly with the cord wrapped around her neck and posterior. I didn’t tear at all!

My placenta wouldn’t come out on it’s own afterwards, even with an oxytocin shot in the leg so my midwife had to call the OBGYN in the hospital to come assist. They were pushing on my belly (which hurt more than the birth I swear!!) and getting me to try to push it out but nothing worked. So the doc had to reach in and guide it out 😭

Due to the complications with my placenta though we were unable to do delayed cord clamping unfortunately. My baby girl was healthy as can be though and that was all that mattered to me!

Rylee May Lorraine O’Hanlon

Born Oct. 31 at 5:30pm

8lbs 8oz & 21.6 inches long

The past 9 days have been so amazing. Rylee is our rainbow baby after 2 miscarriages.

I didn’t breastfeed my older two kids, but I was determined with this one!! I can proudly say we are still exclusively breastfeeding 🥰 it’s been getting easier and easier!

Thank you for reading if you got this far!