Currently cuddled up with my one week old boy. It’s bliss 🥰

TLDR: straightforward vaginal delivery of a baby that was supposed to be huge (>99th percentile head, 98th percentile weight). He was actually 7 lb 3 Oz, so right around average for his date!

Lead up:

12-, 20-, and 33-week scans: we were consistently told the baby was measuring huge >95th percentile in all categories. I’m 5’11 and was a big baby, so it made sense. By 33 weeks his head was (apparently) measuring more than 5 weeks ahead (ouch).

36 week Drs appt: My cervix was slightly softened but still quite far back and not at all dilated. So it sounded like there was little movement. My doctor wanted to discuss induction dates at my next appt because he was tracking so big (potentially 10-11 lbs if i went over) and there seemed to be no early movement. I was planning to push back within reason. Fortunately he came on his own 13 days later at 37+6 weeks.

Labor:

Sunday: I had a really chill, happy day. My husband and I went for a walk and it was the first time I was really uncomfortable. It felt like his head was bouncing directly on my cervix not my bladder, as he had been for several months. Other than that I was particularly calm and content.

My waters broke at 2 am the following morning. I felt some small-ish leaks in bed and figured I should get up to check. That’s when a big gush happened, soaking my pjs and splashing onto the bathroom floor. So it was quite obvious it was my waters breaking! The fluid was clear with some small white specks. It kept gushing over the next 12 hours as he moved and new pockets opened up.

At that point I wasn’t having intense contractions so I figured I should just keep calm and try to rest. I had a pre scheduled appt with my Ob/Gyn at 10 am that morning so I figured I would call at 8 am and see if they still wanted me to attend. Through the rest of the night I dozed and had really light contractions/tightening.

At 6 am my husband and I went and got breakfast to celebrate and get some good food in. I was really excited. We rang my dr at 8 am and the nurse said to go straight to labor and delivery instead of my appt, given my waters broke. I wanted to labor at home, but they’re always concerned about the infection risk once the amniotic sack is broken. So they checked me into a room with an aim to deliver him that day.

My cervix was only 1.5 cm dilated at 10 am when they first checked. I was trying to keep things natural but agreed to half a cytotec to try to get things moving. I was really comfortable in the room and tried to rest and breathe as minor contractions rolled through. I also bounced on a birthing ball and tried to stay as upright as possible.

By 1 pm they were still irregular and manageable so the midwife suggested another half cytotec. I felt like they were progressing so I asked if we could hold off a bit longer to see what would happen. The nurse did some spinning baby massages instead and that seemed to work…

About 30 minutes later I had one big contraction that went from manageable to full body possessed. I instantly started shaking and sweating. The nurses were stoked as active labor was beginning. I could also feel downward pressure so they checked and he was further down and I was 4 cm dilated.

Shit got real! It was intense. I worked with it for about 2 hours, in bed and then in the shower. At that point I was fully consumed and requested an epidural. I had been training to go au natural, but by then I felt so good about my decision! It was exhausting! I was around 6 cm dilated and the sun was setting.

The epidural was great. I didn’t have any of the side effects I was concerned about and could still move my legs and feel the pressure from the contractions. The nurse set me up on my side with a peanut ball so I wasn’t just lying flat on my back. We turned off all the lights and rested for the next stage. I put on my night mask and noise canceling headphones to tune out all the beeps and noises.

I was still shaking non stop, which was a great sign. My body was working hard and the baby was descending even though I was comfortable.

I started to feel downward pressure and the urge to push at the end of my contractions. So the nurse checked me and I was 8 cm and then 10 cm!

They faffed around for awhile getting ready and waiting for the doctor to finish with another birth. Then at 11 pm we started pushing. I was able to curl up and push on my side despite the epidural. There was also a lot of pressure (goodness knows how much without an epidural). The baby’s heart beat stayed strong but it was clear he was getting really far down in the canal. Finally at 11:45 pm his head moved through and he slipped on out!

I got one stitch apparently and it feels like I got punched in the butt (I guess the vagina is further back than I was picturing!), but other than that, recovery has been really really smooth. A lot of it is just internal, waiting for the hole inside to pull back together and the hospitals have products and meds for everything! Peeing wasn’t bad at all. Neither was my first poop a few days later.

Because of his projected size, I was at one point considering a c-section if he went over 41+ weeks. That now seems crazy. It would be really hard not having core strength in these early days to lift him. Vaginal deliveries can seem scary because of the worst case scenarios, but they can also be incredibly normal, safe and uneventful.

Some final thoughts:

— I got really fixated on epidurals in the lead up to my birth, doing the hypnobirthing courses and reading up on all the downsides. But it’s honestly not that big of a deal whether you get it or you don’t. I 💯 feel like I got the full experience and can’t think of any major downsides (though I know there can be).

— However you labor and work whatever interventions, being positive and calm is crucial. Rest as much as possible. Eat and drink when you can. Laugh. Be grateful.

— Limit who you tell you’re in labor. They’ll keep bugging you throughout and it’s a full time job keeping up with communications. It’s easier to gradually update people over the following week, as you have mental and emotional capacity.

— A bunch of stuff that seems scary is a total non issue when you’re in the throes of labor with all of the endorphins and excitement. Cervical exams, the IV line in your hand, the epidural needle. I honestly couldn’t have cared less. I pooped a couple times while pushing but it’s not like it’s all over yourself. It takes two seconds to clean up and my nurses were phenomenal. I was so comfortable in their presence and that feeling had continued since. I was somewhat modest but I’ve been happily topless more or less since he was born!

— They teach you so so much at the hospital. We didn’t get around to doing the newborn class beforehand but they teach you everything as you recover and look after the baby those first few days. Don’t worry about what you don’t know.

— For a comfortable stay, I recommend taking a sleep mask, eye drops, lip balm, compression socks (you can swell after birth), comfortable pajama shorts and two tank/nursing tops (the hospital gowns quickly get annoying). I also recommend wearing two pairs of the disposable underwear as you recover. Then they almost feel like real underwear!

You got this! It’s the most amazing experience!!