We waited a long time for his arrival. He was due on January 26th, so every day after that was another day of waiting. I'd hear the same thing every day at work - "You're still here?!" I had an appointment on January 27th, and my midwife asked how much longer I wanted to wait. They let me go 2 weeks overdue, so I told her I would be patient. Since I had a c-section with Miles, I couldn't be induced (nor would I want to be, after what I went through with Miles - click here to read his birth story). She put me on the list to schedule a c-section sometime late in the following week. The scheduler called back with the official date - February 5th. We would have a baby in a week and two days.
Every day passed with no signs of baby coming any time soon. It was fine by me, he just needed to cook longer. I had a non-stress test (NST) on January 31st to make sure baby was healthy. It took a little longer to get him moving, but after some pretzels and orange juice he passed with no problem. I had another NST and an appointment with my midwife February 3rd. At the time, I was 2 cm, 80% effaced, and baby was nice and low. She offered to sweep my membranes to hopefully get things moving and gave me some homework. Go for a nice long walk (not run), and eat spicy food. No problem! I walked 4 miles and ate a big helping of leftover buffalo chicken with extra hot sauce from the Superbowl. She told me she was the midwife on call the next day, and said she hoped to see me in the hospital. Finally, February 4th arrived. I had saved a list of things to do to keep myself busy that evening. Of course when you have plans, babies have even bigger plans.
I went to work like any other day. I stopped at Starbucks for a (decaf) caramel flan latte to get me through the day. I'm at two different schools on Tuesdays. I saw all of my morning students and sat down to have lunch with the preschool staff at noon. That's when I started to feel something. Now, I had many braxton hicks contractions (practice contractions) throughout the pregnancy. These were different. More like cramps, less like those whole belly-tightening contractions. They were pretty strong, and continued coming closer together. I was still in disbelief that this was the real thing. I finished my day at work and told my friend to stay by her phone in case I needed her to get Miles. Fortunately I was at the school closest to home, so I timed it well driving through the contractions up the back roads - only two contractions in the 12 minute drive. When I left work, contractions were 4-5 minutes apart. I continued timing them when I got home, packed the rest of my hospital bag and Miles's overnight bag, and called my midwife when contractions were 4 minutes apart. She said to go to the hospital - we were having a baby!
We got to the hospital around 4:30, settled in to a room, and they started working on the hep loc. Four huge bruises and an IV specialist later, I finally had a heplock. My midwife checked me around 6pm, and I was 4 cm, 90% effaced. I was trying to go entirely med-free, but I asked for something to take the edge off the pain. They gave me a dose of fentanyl, and that's all I had for pain management. That helped me relax enough to let Jared grab food from the deli before it closed. When they finished the required monitoring of baby's heart rate, they hooked me up to a mobile monitoring unit so I could move around the room. It was much easier to take the pain standing with my arms resting on the bed than lying down. My midwife checked me again around 8pm, and I was already 7 cm. Shortly after that, I asked to go in the tub. Nice hot water and strong jets got me through the next hour really well. If I hadn't had the c-section with Miles, I would have asked to deliver in the water, but there's too much of a risk. I had to get out when I felt like pushing. My midwife broke my water and checked me one more time. I just had a little lip left and I could start pushing. The next part is the most painful but most wonderful thing I have experienced.
I pushed for about an hour (I think. My timeline is based on updates Jared was sending to friends and family.) My midwife helped me through the pain, and had me change positions often. I pushed in every position except flat on my back. She had me on one side, the other side, squatting at the end of the bed holding the squat bar, on the toilet (!!), and finally on my hands and knees where I delivered. The next few moments were a blur until I heard him cry and they put him on my chest. Then pure joy.
Harrison Rhys
7 lb 12 oz, 20 inches
10:10pm February 4th
Jared even cut the cord after thinking he couldn't do it. Harrison passed all the tests and screenings, and Miles got to visit in the morning. He's a proud big brother.
We got to go home 26 hours after checking into the hospital. More pictures to come.
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