Now that I have, for the most part, settled into my life of being a mom, I figured I would let you all know how my birthing process went!
From the beginning of my pregnancy, I always assumed I would be a little early. My only reasoning for that was that my mom was early by one week with my sisters and me. I did not know that I would be 3 weeks and 1 day early though!
September 25th started off pretty normal. I had Braxton hicks throughout my third trimester so the fact that I was having very small, sporadic contractions throughout the day was nothing new. Ethan had gone on alert that morning and was approximately 2 hours away from our home. As the night progressed the contractions hadn't subsided and they were getting quite a bit stronger. I called Ethan and let him know, but I still wasn't convinced it was labor. I started timing the contractions, and I took a bath, which usually did the trick, and started to panic slightly when the warmth of the water did not make getting through them any easier. I finally called L&D to let them know I was experiencing contractions around a minute long and 6 minutes apart and they told me to wait until they were around 4 minutes apart. I called Ethan again and he could tell I had been in pain. I did not know that he had made a call slightly after that to a family down the road.
I got out of the bath, put some comfy clothes on, and curled up on the couch when the door bell rang. Our friend Erin was there and she let me know that Ethan had contacted her husband and asked if I wanted to go to the hospital so they could at least check me. I agreed and slipped on some shoes and left. At this point in my pregnancy I had started packing a hospital bag for Hudson, but had NOTHING for myself.
We got to the hospital around 11 pm and the nurse strapped me all up. We let her know Ethan was far away and she asked if I'd like to be checked so we knew whether to start the process of getting him
home. The second she checked me she said, " yea, he needs to get back here. Do you want pain medication." I said yes and we asked her how far along I was and it was a whopping 8 cm. I was told my husband may have a baby when he got back.
A lot of people ask me if I started to panic at this point. I honestly didn't process any of the information that I was being told. Nothing felt real. I made the call to Ethan, and the change over process began. Someone had to drive out to replace Ethan before he could leave, so the process was going to take 4+ hours.
We checked into my room and the part I was most scared of was coming next. The epidural. Looking back on it, I feel silly. I know some people have epidural horror stories but mine was AWESOME! My anesthesiologist was awesome and a frequent crooked tree customer :). The shot to numb the area was painful, but those 2-3 seconds of pain were well worth avoiding another 6 hours of constant contractions. I was pretty shocked about the actual sensation of an epidural. I could still feel my legs and move them, but no contractions! I always thought my legs would be straight jello.
My nurses avoided checking me again until Ethan came back, because it may have broken my water. Erin and I hung out watching Fraiser, chatting, and attempting to sleep. Ethan finally arrived around 4am. Yay!!! The seriousness had begun. A nurse came in and had me push to break my water...strangest (and gross) sensation ever! Poor Ethan was front row in the witnessing of that show...and everything after.
While everything had been pretty easy going up to that point, things started going south. Hudson's heart rate was starting to struggle between contractions which worried my doctor. I probably pushed for 20 minutes before she started naming other options. My pelvic bones were just too small for me to push him out. If there was one complaint about my experience, this was it. I knew a c-section was my absolute last resort, and I wish my doctor had known as well. I felt like she wasn't very encouraging and was, in fact, the complete opposite. I can't say that about any of my nurses though. They were constantly telling me I could do it.
We finally resorted to the vacuum ( not an actual vacuum, more like a suction cup). About 10 minutes and 3-4 pushes later, Hudson made his debut at 6:24 am. He was 6lb 9 ounces and 20.5 inches long. He got about 30 seconds on my chest before being whisked away by nicu nurses. Ethan followed them to the nicu floor to keep an eye on him and he pinked right up, and started breathing more fluidly. He was able to join me again in a few short hours.
The worst part of birth was definitely everything that happens after. The "massage" your uterus gets to release the placenta is much more like getting your insides kneaded like dough. The stitching process is a nightmare, especially when you don't have your little one in your arms to take your mind off the pain. Luckily, I had minimal tearing. In the end, it really is all worth it.
I officially know just how big my heart can beat. My emotions since this day have been all over the place, but one thing I know for sure is that I would die for this little boy. And watching his daddy hold him at talk to him just melts my heart.
