Oliver James Snodgrass

6/11/2019

7 pounds 10 ounces

20 3/4 inches

FTM — due date 6/5/2019

Prodromal Labor began 6/9

Early Labor began Tuesday (6/11) @ 12:30am

Arrived at the hospital on 6/11 @ 8:40pm

Delivered on 6/11 @ 11:35pm

*Side note: I think I was actually 40+1 at delivery instead of 40+6. My original due date was 6/10/2019 but baby always measured “ahead” which is why they pushed the date sooner. He came out looking like an on-time baby so we’re just claiming he wasn’t late. Makes me feel better. 😂🤷🏻‍♀️

I had a membrane sweep done at my weekly appointment on Friday (6/8) — I was 10%, 1cm, with a VERY soft cervix. Doctor said that because my cervix was soft, I definitely would be going into labor within a week!

Prodromal labor began on 6/9, minor contractions would come and go. No pattern or consistency. Would start up for a couple hours after sex, stop a couple hours later. I had my bloody show that evening and the next day, so I knew that this baby was coming soon!

Hubby and I were determined to have this baby soon, so we had sex about 5 times that weekend to help kick start the contractions that would come & go. Right in the middle of that 5th time, stronger contractions began! My hubby was shocked at first but we had a good laugh about it after the contraction was done & became excited that something was finally happening!

Hubby stayed up with me for about a couple hours while I labored until I told him that he should go to sleep and I would labor on my yoga ball.

So I was leaning on my yoga ball from 2:30 to 4ish listening to music & napping when I could as the contractions came varying between 10-20 minutes for about 1-2 minutes until they calmed down enough for me to lie down to sleep. I slept the best I could in between contractions until about 8am. I was resting in bed until around 11am, contractions coming between 10-15 minutes, lasting about 1 minute long. When I would get out of bed, contractions picked up to 8 minutes, ranging between 1-2 minutes long. My hubby then had me stay out of bed to labor effectively so that contractions would stay consistent. He had me give him nonverbal cues to my contractions and helped me to breathe through them as they grew longer, stronger and more intense. By that point, it was about 4pm and contractions picked up to be about 6-7 minutes at 1-2 minutes long.

We went on a walk around the block to see if contractions would pick up more since there had been no consistent pattern yet. Labor became more intense from the walk, having to stop about every 5 minutes to get through a contraction. We came home and hubby put on Aladdin (the Disney cartoon version) to distract me as I labored in the living room. I’m a HUGE Disney fan, so hubby knew it was a good distraction for me, along with trying to ask me questions about the movie. 😂

Contractions became slightly consistent at 6 minutes, 1 minute long. I was able to quietly sing along/quote lines to the movie and was eating frozen grapes like they were candy between contractions, but by the end of the movie, my husband could tell by my laboring that it was definitely time to go to the hospital. Contractions were getting more intense than before & I was getting to a point where I was very aware that I had seriously progressed even though we weren’t able to get a consistent pattern/timing to my contractions (a VERY good call as you will see!)

We arrived at the hospital on 6/11 at 8:40pm and checked in through the ER where we were greeted by one of the nurses who knows my hubby (he’s a firefighter paramedic). She was giddy with excitement that I was finally in labor, something that I found slightly annoying but also funny at the same time at that moment.

When I was finally checked in and got into my hospital gown, the L&D nurse checked me. I was 100% & 7cm!! Despite how intense my contractions were, I looked at my husband in shock and said (since I had no filter at that point) “holy shit!” 😂

The nurses then got an IV started so that I would start my round of antibiotics. My hubby and the nurses helped me change positions to labor on my knees with my torso leaning on the upright bed while they monitored baby & my contractions during the 30 minutes of antibiotics, and they got the tub filled up in the bathroom for me to labor in after I was done. My husband would have me drink the coconut water we brought after every contraction and he had me listening to music on my headphones as a form of distraction/focus. He thought it was funny to narrate my contractions and comment on seeing if I could “beat my record”...if I wasn’t in the zone, I would’ve beaten him probably. 🙄

(Pretty sure I mentioned several time how much I hated him for all of the pain 😂)

Once the antibiotics were done, I spent the rest of labor through transition in the tub with my headphones. Hubby sat on the floor next to the tub and would help me breathe through contractions. At that point I didn’t know how long I was in the tub or how far apart contractions were, but I was fairly aware of the fact that I was in transition since at one point I became non-verbal and completely went into myself. The only sounds I’d make were vocalizations during contractions. I couldn’t speak and would just make non-verbal responses when my husband would offer me ice chips and check on me.

After about an hour & a half (according to my hubby), things got serious! I began to have a contraction again but my husband could tell it was different than the rest. He ask me if I got the feeling to poop, which I nodded my head. He pulled the cord to call for the nurses and told them that I felt like I needed to poop. The nurses immediately began to prep for delivery and call the doctor as my husband got me out of the tub to dry me off and put my gown back on. One of the nurses checked me & confirmed I was 10cm with a small anterior lip. Hearing that I was fully dilated brought such a sense of relief to me!! I was feeling a little pushy (not super serious) as the nurses went to call the doctor in, so my doctor told the nurses to have me do a practice push to help relieve the urge a bit while he was on the way. The nurse had me lie down on my back to do my practice push. When she had me push, my water broke! That was when the pushing urge became unbearable & I struggled not to push before the doctor showed up. The nurses and my husband helped me to get into a different position & hubby helped get my bra off, all while telling me that I needed to wait for the doctor. I was crying & begging, saying I was trying not to push but needed to push so bad. At one point I remember saying that the doctor needed to be here now because I couldn’t wait any longer to push and that baby needed to be out! Trust me when I say that the urge to push is NO JOKE. Your body literally goes on autopilot, my body was pushing even though I was doing my best to not push until the doctor arrived. The whole time my husband was telling me “don’t push, otherwise you’re going to ruin my night.” (As a paramedic, he’s delivered about 5 babies on the job, but he made me promise that I wouldn’t have him deliver our baby because he was terrified. 😂)

My doctor finally arrived 8 minutes after my water broke (which felt like forever!) & I gave in to the pushing urge right when the nurses announced that he was there. The doctor was all ready to go and I pushed a total of 10 minutes (thank you chiropractor, dates, and red raspberry leaf tea!) I got to feel my baby’s head while he crowned, which was an insane feeling, along with the ring of fire. And at 11:35pm, my little Oliver was born!

My husband helped me turn around to lie on my back and got immediate skin to skin as nurses helped dry him up and suction. Oliver was immediately crying loud and very alert as I held him & I couldn’t contain my tears as I held him. The rush you have after delivery is so crazy! Things seem like such a blur except for that moment when they handed Oliver to me. We got delayed cord clamping until the cord stopped pulsing, which was about 2 minutes.

I delivered my placenta about 5 minutes later (such a weird sensation after delivering a baby) and the doctor checked me & said I got a small tear but required no stitches. I was half expecting a huge tear since it felt like I ripped myself up so bad while I was pushing, so the news was a welcomed relief!

The nurses helped clean the bed I was on (the room I delivered in was the same room I stayed in) and they covered me in blankets since I was shaking from the adrenaline dump I was experiencing. We got Oliver to latch about 30 minutes later which was an amazing feeling!

Since I didn’t get the full 4 hours with antibiotics before delivery, the doctor had Oliver and I stay to be observed for 48 hours to make sure there were no signs of infections. One of the nurses (she was my night nurse for the 48 hours I was there and I absolutely loved her), after things calmed down and we were left to relax, came up to me and told me that I did such a great job & that the delivery “was textbook.” After almost 24 hours of labor, hearing her say that made me tear up.

Birth truly empowers you as a woman, it’s incredibly difficult but so rewarding in the end. ❤️

Thanks for reading my birth story! Sending baby dust to you all who are needing it most ✨