Oliver's Birth Story

I can't believe that our little man is 2 1/2 and that I am just now finishing up his birth story. I've had most of it written out for a long time but haven't sat down to put the final touches on it. So, today I am taking the time to get it all written down. I saved the sticky note from my old computer from when I started timing my contractions the day before he was born. On it I have these times down 1:55, 2:01, 2:09, 2:17, 2:25, 2:34. 

A little while later I called Andy to tell him that I was pretty sure I was in labor and that we should probably head to the hospital =) I'd been having contractions most of the morning and had told him at lunch time that it might be the day. Because we live about two hours from the hospital we doctor at, we were told to come in when my contractions were consistently 10 minutes apart. Our friend Sandy came to stay with Olivia and I nervously went through all of the instructions I’d already given her and she just sweetly said that she was good and that we should be on our way. She patted my belly one last time and Andy and I headed off to Fargo.

My contractions were consistent but not too strong so when we got to Fargo we decided to wander around Northern tools for a while before going to the hospital. Whenever we would go in for an appointment we would talk about going there because Andy gets their catalogs and it would be fun to check the store out. I guess now seemed like the perfect time since we most likely would be having the baby soon! It was great to wander around just the two of us. After a while we decided to head to the hospital so it didn’t get too late and then we'd have to go through the emergency doors.

We got to the hospital and went right up to the labor and delivery floor. They have rooms where they check to see if you are in labor but they were full so they checked me right in to a labor and delivery room. We ended up having the same night nurse that we had when I went in to have Olivia and she told me that I looked too comfortable to be in labor(which she also told me when I was in labor with Olivia). After being on the monitor for a bit she said that I was having consistent contractions but they weren’t strong so it might just be false labor. She also said I was only dilated to a 2. She called my midwife to see what we should do and they decided to keep me overnight and check to see if I’d progressed around 6AM since we lived so far away.

I had consistent contractions all throughout the night. I did get some rest but was also so determined to do what I could to go home with our little one in our arms and not still in my belly! I slept as well as I could for a while but around 2AM I felt wide awake so I decided to walk laps for an hour. When I was walking I would see the sweet little babies in the nursery and at the nurses station and that made me soooo eager to meet our little one! Then, I spent an hour sitting on the yoga ball and doing lunges and squats. I did all of this while Andy snoozed away! Haha! I rested for a while and at 5AM decided to walk laps again.

Around 6AM the nurse came back in to see if I’d progressed at all and said I was still at a 2… and my heart sank as I thought about what we should do. I didn’t want to be induced but I also didn’t want to go home. Especially with how consistent my contractions were. Well, a little while later the midwife came in and talked with us and she checked me and said I was easily dilated to a 4 and that if we wanted she could break my water and get things going that way. Andy and I chatted and decided that was what we wanted so at 7AM she broke my water. Note: After this there was a shift change which meant we had a different nurse and midwife throughout the rest of my labor.

Ready to go

Almost immediately after she broke my water my contractions got more intense and closer together which I was actually excited about because my body was doing what it was supposed to but it was also like… oh boy… here we go! I think it was around 8AM that the new midwife came in and chatted with us and checked me and I was at a 5. She said that with the way things were going we’d probably have the baby around noon. I was able to walk around and use the yoga ball between monitoring which was great and really helped with labor. As things progressed and got more intense my nurse told me that if I wanted an epidural I should do it then. I was determined to have a natural birth and actually felt like I was handling the pain okay so I said no. Shortly after, they brought in the warming bed for the baby and a few other things for delivery and that brought me so much joy and determination to keep going.

Around 9:30AM my contractions were getting pretty painful and so I decided to labor in the tub for a while. Andy got music going for me and it felt so good to just be in the warm water. I can’t recommend laboring in the water enough! Especially to help ease the lower back and hip pain! After being in the tub for about 20 minutes though I started to feel hot, nauseous, and dizzy so the nurse and Andy quickly helped me out of the tub and back into bed. The nurse gave me some oxygen and something in my IV that she said was the equivalent of several orange juices. After a few minutes I started to feel better and the nausea and dizziness went away.

The nurse decided to check me and said I was at a 9! This was right around 10AM. It was so exciting to think that we’d be meeting our little one so soon! And labor was definitely intense at that point but easier that I had anticipated being at a 9. Well, they started bringing in the items for delivery and the midwife came in and checked me and said… I’m sorry to say but she’s still only at a 6… oh how my heart sank! She then said it would still probably be around 12 that we had the baby. After the midwife left the nurse apologized for being mistaken and we labored on. In that moment I was feeling discouraged at the thought of such intense labor for another couple of hours. 

Not too long after the midwife left the room I started having the urge to push. I was only dilated to a 6 but with each contraction it was getting more and more difficult to fight that urge. My nurse kept coaching me to pant or blow as if I was blowing out candles but I was having a really hard time fighting my body. She then had me roll to my other side for a couple of contractions but it was still so difficult to fight my body. So, in the next contraction I couldn’t fight it even though I tried  and I pushed…and... well, I’ll just tell you what I told my nurse… “I think I may have just pooped…” Buuuuut she said that I hadn’t! halleluiah! And that the pressure can just feel like that. (TMI?)

Well, then she told me I really needed to fight as hard as I could not to push so that my cervix wouldn’t swell. So, I braced myself to fight through another contraction… but I just couldn’t fight it and then just like that, I pushed, and the baby crowned. I recall my nurse saying, "that's the baby's head" and urging another nurse to find the midwife and to get help in our room. She then had me lay on my back, had Andy grab a leg, and then coached me through one last contraction as she delivered our baby at 10:30AM! Whew! 

I think the first words out of my mouth were “I did it!” I was in awe that I had actually delivered naturally and I was truly amazed at how immediately all of the pain was gone and we had our baby! Then Andy said we had a Son and I remember saying, “A boy?! We got our boy!!!” and I was so happy and so excited!

When he was about 4 months old we nicknamed him bulldozer because he would roll over everything and would get so mad when things were in his way and would try to just bulldoze on through. And now after writing out his birth story it just makes me laugh. Like, I'm literally laughing while typing this. He always goes a hundred miles an hour head first and has been that way literally since the day he was born! We Love you little man and I can't imagine how boring life would be without you!

 

Our awesome nurse with Oliver

My guys!