My Beautiful Birth Story 7-17-2015 😍

My son & 2nd born, Colby Brendan, came into this world in what I can only describe as magical & life changing. I know all births are life changing, but for me, my son came into this world in a way that I couldn't have dreamt up myself. 

First laboring:

I was a scheduled induction at 39 weeks due to protein in my urine. I wasn't preeclamptic since my blood pressure was perfect my entire pregnancy, but in rare cases, protein shows up before serious problems, so my dr (Dr. G) wanted to make sure we were all healthy for delivery. I was already starting to thin, baby had dropped, I was dilated 3cm, & this was my 2nd after all. 

I got the the hospital at 6:30am with donuts & fresh coffee for the staff (this is a MUST in my opinion ... Nurses have it rough taking care of all types of mommas, so be the patient they all love) & immediately got changed & hooked up to IV fluids. Dr. G (who was at the hospital for a 24hr stretch that day) came in & chatted with my husband, my mom, & me for about 45min. It was a nice change from the quick 5-10 min appointment convos. He discussed the game plan to give me pitocin (labor inducing meds) slowly & allow my body to progress at a reasonable pace. I loved this plan because I wanted to make sure I didn't push my body or my baby too quick & end up with problems. Around 8am the pitocin started & we were on our way to meeting our son ... 

Since this was our 2nd, we were all convinced (including my dr) that we would have a baby by lunchtime. My body & baby boy had other plans. Dr. G attempted to break my water soon after, but the sac wasn't as taught as it needed to be, so it didn't actually pop. After 2hrs of pitocin (dose gradually being increased) my contractions showed to be increasing in intensity & length well on the belly monitor ... Come to find out, the belly monitor was deceiving. What seemed to be awesome labor progress was actually not so great. I knew I was awfully comfortable to be progressing so well, but hey, the contraction lines were off the chart & very regular. At some point before my next pelvic check, I got up to use the restroom (a full bag of IV fluids runs right through ya) my water broke on its own. 

Around 11:30am Dr. G came to check my progress. He had been watching my contractions & was sure it was only a few hrs left of laboring ... He recommended that I go ahead & get an epi so I wouldn't miss my window. 

My epi experience was amazing. My anesthesiologist made sure to let me know each step of the way what to expect. I was able to lay on my side, in the fetal position, for the whole procedure. The meds numbed me right up, but I was still able to feel my body, minus the pain.  

We were all disappointed when Dr. G did the check and realized I had hardly dilated 1cm more, was still quite thick, & baby boy was still in 0 position. At this point they decided to use an internal contractions monitor (a thick wire they insert into the uterus that can more accurately monitor contractions) & unfortunately all those awesome off the chart contractions from the belly monitor shrunk to tiny hills. 

At this point, we were still in pretty good spirits. I had labored for 12hrs with our daughter, so we were still looking good ... Haha so we thought. After lunch ... Lunch for everyone but me ... 

TIP: STUFF YOUR FACE BEFORE BEING ADMITTED!! I thought I would be fine with a small breakfast because I thought it would be a quick labor & delivery ... Wrong!! Eat, eat, eat before you go in!

... After lunch Dr. G came in to check my progress again. At this point, I had been in "active labor" for just over 6hrs & my contraction had basically stalled out. I hadn't dilated anymore & baby was still to high in the birth canal. This is when I really started to get nervous. I knew more than anything I did not want a C section & prolonged labor can sometimes lead in that direction. Luckily for me, Dr. G was super supportive of my plans for a vaginal delivery. They pumped up my pitocin, rotated my body all around, multiple times, & waited!! After 4 more hrs of non stop, increasing pitocin, I maxed out on the dose the med pump could give out at a time ... The nurse basically brought the dose down in order to bring it back up. 

I was skeptical of this step, because my contractions were not reading well at all on the monitor (even though they felt stronger, even with the epi), but by 6pm, Dr. G came in to check my progress & to all our surprise, I was fully dilated, 100% effaced, & almost ready to push (the internal contractions monitor had fallen out). 

The most magical delivery:

The nurses propped me up in the bed in a position to help bring baby down into the birth canal gently. After almost 12hrs of labor, it was finally time to push!

Like I said before, my epi was amazing. I was able to really feel what my body was doing, so after my first set of 3 pushes, I knew what to do, but Dr. G & my nurse recommended I use a mirror. I scoffed at the thought of watching myself push a baby out, but with some encouragement from my hubs & mom, I agreed. It was the best decision I could have made. The mirror allowed me to actually experience my sons delivery & I was able to get him out in less than 15min (I pushed a full hr with my 1st). 

The moment I will cherish more than any other though, has to be the moment Dr. G instructed me to reach down & get my son. My husband & I looked at each other perplexed, but I did what I was told & I swear it was the most beautiful moment I have ever experienced. I literally brought my son into this world. My body, my hands. At 8:01pm I brought him straight to my chest & took him all in ... All 9lbs, 22 1/4 in of him!! I was finally holding my baby boy in my arms & it was perfect.