Hey fellow parents,
Today I have quite the story to share! They say each pregnancy and delivery is different and I couldn’t agree more with that saying.
Here’s why:
My 1st- Had contractions late at night on my due date. Didn’t get admitted till early the next morning. Water broke at 7, got an epidural and he came around 11am.
My 2nd- Had my bloody show in the early evening 10 days early. Contractions started soon after 4-5min apart then 2-3min apart. Took a couple hours before going to the hospital and didn’t have many contractions on the way. No epidural with her since I was 9.5 by the time they could give me one. Only thing keeping her in was my water.
My 3rd- I was induced at 39.5 not for medical reasons he was floating and not staying engaged. I was nervous with my husband in school. Knew it wouldn’t be as risky since he wasn’t my first. I started pitocin at 10:30am and had him at 8:30pm. Got up to a 12 but they brought me back down when my body eventually took over. Got an epidural after they broke my water at 4cm. Didn’t kick in on my right side at first but did eventually.
Now for my last birth story.
At 38 weeks I was on yet another walk. It was the weekend and I wanted some fresh air. I had our youngest and my husband was at a basketball game with our older two kids. I started getting contractions that were 3-5min apart and after 30min or so it felt like they were getting stronger.
After my husband and siblings insisted we loaded up the kids and went to my parents house. My brothers watched them while we went to my parents apartment and walked the canal near their place and the hospital.
I finally went in to get checked and they picked up my contractions at 2-3min apart but said I was only 2 maybe 3cm but she was sure I’d be back that night once contractions got stronger. We decided not to stay and go get dinner and do some walking instead. They continued through dinner but after walking around Best Buy started to fade. I tried all night to pick things up with no luck.
We were still hopeful for that weekend so my husband and I headed back home so I could hike, bounce on my ball, etc. but nothing came of it. The week to follow I took it easy.
At 40 weeks we made a Costco run, went for a hike and I was having some contractions but my due date came and went. Saturday we were on the hospital grounds and I even had contractions where I couldn’t walk but once we sat in the van to see what would happen they left. I was getting so frustrated!
Sunday afternoon we decided to go into the hospital and share the events and also get an ultrasound to make sure she was in the right position, healthy and no excess fluid. Everything checked out. The midwife on call stripped my membranes and said she’d see us back within 48hrs if not that night.
Well you guessed it nothing came of that. Tuesday morning I woke up freaking out that I hadn’t felt a lot of movement. We decided to go in. At this point I was 40 + 4 and so stressed out with all the false alarms. So after they ultra-sounded me again they mentioned inducing me and that they didn’t think it would take much to get me going so we agreed. They told us to go get breakfast and come back to have the baby!
Unfortunately I’m A- and because my iron was already low the midwife wanted blood in house incase I needed a blood transfusion. So I didn’t start on pitocin till around 2pm. By 4:30 I was up to a 6 on pitocin but her heart rate was all over so they dropped me back down to a 5. They asked me about an epidural around 6:30 but I was still only a 4 so I wanted to make sure I was progressing before getting one. Soon after contractions started getting closer together.
Only took another 40min before contractions started to get closer and more painful. I finally had my bloody show and they started fluids for an epidural. That’s when I lost it I was in so much pain I literally sat up and started to get off the bed like I could leave 🤦🏼♀️ I was in tears and screaming. The midwives were in the middle of changing shifts and both came in because of how hysterical I had gotten. I really felt like she was coming but I was a 6/7 when they checked so we quickly did an epidural. It was the same guy who gave me one for our first son so that was a relief. He asked why I waited so long and the nurse said I went from 4-7 in a matter of minutes.
While he set up the epidural I told them she was coming and really didn’t think I’d get this epidural in time. They still thought there was time but started to get things ready. We had one nurse at the newborn station and two near me. Once the epidural was placed it kicked in pretty quickly and was strong I couldn’t feel a thing but my legs were shaking. I had my husband holding them but I should’ve realized I was transitioning because the same thing happened with my 1st daughter minutes before I had her. The midwives told me to rest though and we’d be having this baby soon.
One nurse had been looking for our baby’s heart rate while my husband held my legs and wasn’t having any luck. She asked the other nurse to check and by then everyone had left the room. The 2nd nurse was also struggling when all the sudden we heard a cry. We all looked at each other completely confused. I thought it was someone’s phone. My husband thought there’s no way the baby could cry if she wasn’t out. The nurse lifted the sheet and out little girl was completely out and on the bed!
Before I knew it everyone had rushed backed in quickly. I barely gave a push for the placenta and the midwife let me know I got a 2nd degree tear as she prepared to sew it up. We guessed she was born at 8:35 since none of us really knew. She was 8lbs 3oz. After getting her to cry more and warming her up they placed her on me and I was completely shocked.
They told us to call her by something with ninja in the name but we stuck with the one we had already chose. We were the talk of the floor the rest of our stay due to the bizarre delivery. We stayed just over 48hrs.
My husband got my usual in and out burger and with a Wendy’s frosty after I delivered. We ate while we waited to change rooms. I was up every couple hours the first night and rang the nurse each time for a new ice pack. I think that made the biggest difference as far as swelling and healing. I had no issues down there during recovery. I also had them bring me an electric breast pump so I could avoid getting a fever and chills as my milk came in but we still supplemented with formula. Starting at 15ml and working our way up from there the first 2 weeks.
I’m still in shock how it all happened but so grateful there were no complications and our little girl arrived safely. It was emotional near the end realizing it was my last hospital stay but also ready to close that chapter of our lives.
To all the moms googling labor and delivery stories good luck! You got this!
Marks of Motherhood 