Brooks' Birth Story- Part 2

Don't ya just love a good Hospital selfie?!

This is Brooks' birth story part 2 of 3. If you missed Part 1, here it is!

We had a relaxed and leisurely drive to the Hospital talking nonchalantly about how they'll probably check the baby and send us home. My ride to the hospital while in labor with Savannah was a lot more hectic, speedier, and involved some yelling if I do recall (oops, sorry Ryan!). We arrived at 8:30 am and this time around we actually got to park the car and walk into the non-emergency entrance together; as opposed to my first experience when Ryan's tires screeched into the drop-off area in the ER and I was escorted up to maternity by a security officer while Ryan parked the car. We left all of our bags in the car thinking they would be sending us home to continue laboring there. Walking into the Hospital room was so surreal and a rush of memories flooded back from when we were here just 2 short years earlier.

The Baby's heart rate was normal and I was only 2-3 cm dilated so they decided to keep me even though contractions were still irregular. Part of me felt like such a wimp being admitted at only 2-3 cm, I wanted to go home to prove I was tough and could endure hours of painful labor on my own just like I did with Savannah (why do we always feel the need to prove something to others?! So ridiculous!).

By 11:55 am, the contractions were picking up so we decided to move the party into the birthing tub.  We listened to music, the nurse brought me cold cloths, I applied some oils, and dimmed the lights- it felt heavenly and really helped alleviate some of the pain (the midwife would pop in and out of the room and kept commenting on how nice it smelled- thank you Lavender Fine). The nurse was required to be in the room with us, but kept her distance and gave us as much privacy as she could. She did chime in at one point when "Millionaire" by Chris Stapleton came on. She said how much she loved him and that she saw him in concert last summer- we did too! It was a nice connection and a welcome distraction from the discomfort. 

A little while later, while relaxing and breathing through the contractions, my phone sent me a notification that it was Dave Mathews' birthday (we've seen him several times in concert) and Ryan told me it was also Sergio Garcia's birthday (many people over the years have told Ryan how he looks like Sergio- a Professional Golfer). Another fun connection and distraction!

I got out of the tub after an hour (now 1 pm) because the contractions were intensifying and I was getting hot. It felt really good to walk around and move at this point. The midwife came back to the room with us and tried several techniques to try and help me through the contractions, she tried different pressure points, a birthing ball, breathing, and  a rebozo. The pressure on my back was the most comforting; she showed ryan what to do and it did help for a little while
...and then it didn't...

Finally at 3:15 pm I felt that I could no longer manage the pain on my own and I opted for an epidural. One of the nurses (the Chris Stapleton nurse) shared with me her experience with another mother who struggled between getting an epidural and "toughing it out". After the mother-to-be got the epidural she felt so much better and as the nurse stated "happier". The nurse said she's never had a mom who regretted getting an epidural. With savannah I really beat myself up over getting one. I felt at peace with it this time around. The staff knew I was aiming for an epidural-free delivery, but stayed open-minded (just as I did) in case things changed.

I felt like I gave the unmedicated labor my all and I was at my limit. At this point I was 7-8 cm dilated. I confided with the midwife I was hesitant to get an epidural at this point because I didn't want it to slow my labor. She assured me that I had good momentum and I was already far along so she didn't feel it would slow me down much. The contractions were a 10/10 but before I could get the epidural I needed to have an IV put in and a full bag of fluids before (because the epidural affects your BP)
It took the staff 30 minutes to get me the epidural (when you're having 10/10 contractions every 2-3 minutes, this feels like death). The reason it took 30 minutes was because another mother had *just* come in and had a baby in the next room over- wtf?!

The anesthesiologist came in and remembered us from savannah's birth over 2 years ago. Well...he remembered Ryan because they talked about golf while he was inserting the gigantic needle into my spine. Again, they bonded over golf while the midwife held my hand through the epidural (*rolls eyes*)...

I felt some relief after the first few contractions. Ryan and I were in the room together just resting. I was in a half sleep-like, meditative state which felt really nice. The midwife checked me at 5:30 and I was 9.5 cm dilated and had a bloody show! YES! I thought the end was in site; maybe 1 more hour until we get to meet our son! She returned at 6:30 pm to check me again and to my disbelief, I was STILL 9.5 cm dilated. WHAT. This is exactly what I didn't want (especially so close to the end)! She tried to push my cervix aside but it wouldn't budge.

This is when she said they would need to give me a little pitocin to pick up the pace again. NO. THIS IS NOT WHAT I WANTED! I did the epidural/pitocin dance with Savannah's birth and it was something I was trying to avoid this time around. 

...stay tuned for part 3 of 3...

Meg