“His heart rate is dropping! Push!”

My Labor Story

It’s May 3rd. I finished up my last day of work (Thank God!) and start my maternity leave. May 3rd is also my due date, but STILL no baby.

At this point, I’m ‘sick and tired of being sick and tired’ and am ready to get it over with but my sweet baby boy was not. I had just visited my doctor 2 days prior to find out that I hadn’t dilated at all and was given an induction date.

Every woman has a plan of how she wants her labor and delivery to go. Being induced was not a part of mine, so it left me anxious. I had hoped that he would come on his own and I didn’t want any drugs. I wanted to experience everything in its entirety. (Or at least I thought I did.)

Throughout my third trimester, I would walk around my neighborhood everyday after work for health and to “walk the baby down”. Today was no different, aside from the fact my beautiful mother was in town awaiting the arrival of her first grandchild.

After returning from my walk, I went upstairs to my bedroom to prepare to shower. I began looking through my dresser for a fresh pair of pajamas and then it happened. A pain I had never felt before.

I always wondered what it would feel like. I, fortunately, didn’t have braxton hicks, so I was just left with other mommy stories to imagine. I was always told “When you get them, you’ll know”. And boy, did I know! LOL. It made me lean on my dresser contemplating all of my adult decisions. It easily beat being OC sprayed in the Navy as the worst pain I’ve ever experienced. The feeling lasted about 2 minutes. It felt as if someone wrung my internal organs like you would a wet washcloth. “I think I just had a contraction!” I yelled to my mom once it subsided.

She was ready to hit the road but I, who had worked all day and was hot and sweaty from the walk, insisted on showering before I laid in anyone’s hospital bed lol. It was the LONGEST SHOWER EVER! The contractions were coming every 3-4 minutes and lasted for 2. I was in bad shape. I just knew I wasn’t going to make it to the hospital and end up having him in the car.

We grabbed the hospital bags by the door and hit the road. I prayed my mother had remembered the route to the hospital, as we had practiced some days before because I was in no condition to give directions. I laid on my back across the backseat of the truck trying to control my breathing and channel the pain; becoming more irritated every time my mom asked if I was okay. Of course I’m not! LOL. But I answered “Yes ma’am” anyways.

We finally arrive at the hospital after a 20 minute ride. It’s time to check in.

__________________________________________

I’m laying in the room, gown on, hooked up to all of these machines, and I listen to the soothing sound of my baby’s heartbeat through the monitor. The doctor began asking me a series of questions that were near impossible to answer with the constant flow of contractions coming. It was then time to check my progress. I just knew I was at least 7cms dilated. “You’re 1cm” the nurse stated.

“That’s it?” I questioned as I began to rethink my birth plan of no drugs. They were ready to send me back home until I progressed further but I refused. It was no way I could function with these contractions coming every couple of minutes. So they decided to hold me in the check-in room for a bit.

They returned to check my progress, and within a hour I had gone from 1 to 5 cm. At this point the pain from the contractions was causing me to shake uncontrollably. I feared how my body would react if I let it go any further. So against my desires I asked about epidural. As they moved me from the check in room to my labor and delivery room, they explained that if I wanted epidural I needed to decide quickly because once I reach 7cm it would be out of the question due to the safety of the baby. I gave in and accepted it.

(Ladies, It is okay to get epidural! You do not get a trophy for delivering your baby ”all natural”. Do what’s best for you! It doesn’t make you any less of a woman or mother!)

I had slight fears about the procedure knowing the possibility of being paralyzed and seeing the length of the needle. But my pain over-rid my fear, and to my surprise I felt nothing. Within a couple minutes I was laid in my bed with a nice little button that sent the epidural to my IV. The medication only numbed the left side of my body so I still felt everything on the right. Even still, my body thanked me! It was such a huge relief after being so tense for the last couple of hours. I was so exhausted, I drifted off for a much needed nap.

I awoke a little while later to more contractions. I hit the button but they’re stronger now so the epidural isn’t helping so much anymore. I’m now 8 CM and my water breaks while I’m lying down talking to my mom. It’s almost game time!

It is now the morning of May 4th around 3AM. The doctors begun gathering their staff and preparing my room for delivery. At this point there’s a lot of different emotions coming over me to include: excited, anxious, and tired.

I began to push in 10 second intervals, resting between sets. All sounds good, the doctors and my mom are cheering me on. “There’s the top of his head” they all said simultaneously. I felt a sense of relief, thinking I was almost there.

“Push, push, push!” they kept commanding, but the baby wouldn’t move. “He’s stuck” I heard the doctor say, “His heart rate is dropping! Push!”. I too heard the slowing of his heartbeat through the monitor, and immediately a cold chill covered my body at the thought of my son not making it.

I closed my eyes and started pushing with everything in me, not even stopping for a breath. At this point, I’m exhausted and light headed. I see the fuzzy green color every time I blink. The baby still hasn’t moved and his heart is steadily slowing.

“We have two options: Emergency C-section or episiotomy” the doctor said with great urgency. A C-section was the VERY LAST option in my birth plan, so I chose an episiotomy. “Just make sure you cut on the left side” I told her, because that’s the side the epidural numbed. She took the scissors and made a snip. I then gave one more big push, and brought my baby into the world.

It was such a beautiful moment. Tears began to roll down my face. “I did it” I thought to myself as I listened to his cry and waited for them to hand him to me.

Still a bit light headed and flustered, I grabbed him and laid him on my chest. “Hi, sweetheart. I’m your mommy” I whispered to him softly.