Owen's Birth Story

The ever so sought after due date....why do they even tease us with such a thing? I'm experienced enough to know that the due date really isn't such a thing. Not like a due date on a college term paper, either you turn it in that day or you get a big fat ZERO. It's more like a "Best by" date on a food or drink item. That cake I just bought is marked as best by such date but really it's even better a few days before yet still edible for a few days after that date. But still, we all get that date stuck in our heads and by the time we've spent 9 months being pregnant, sometimes miserable, deprived of several items, and anxious to meet our new little one, that baby better make an appearance at least close to that due date. So there I was at my 40 week appointment, yup, still pregnant, and the doctor offers to end the torture....induction. Now, let me just say, I'm not one for elective inductions. I know the risks and really, since that so called "due date" is anything but, I've always been in the mid frame of letting my body and baby decide when it's time and let things happen on their own. I rejected the doctors offer and was told to return the next week for monitoring and my next appointment. My thoughts "Ha! You won't be seeing me next week because this baby isn't waiting that long!" But he had other plans. I showed up for my monitoring the next week and he was as healthy and comfy as can be, imagine that! After the monitoring I went to see the doctor who again offered the induction. I struggled with this decision. If you know about my previous birth with Charlotte then you are aware that I suffered a 4th degree laceration. There was concern about me delivery vaginally again and possibly having the same outcome. I had already made the decision to forgo a c-section and attempt a vaginal delivery. But being induced meant that I was increasing my risk for other interventions that would increase the chance of a horrible tear, as well as a c-section. So why not just wait it out you ask? Because the other side to that spectrum was the size of the baby. We had done an ultrasound at 38 weeks and he was estimated to be about 7.5 lbs. So here we were, three weeks later and I knew he had grown! Big baby could equal a big tear! Not to mention my family was leaving that Sunday and would be gone for a week, of course I wanted them here. So yes doctor, I will take that induction. And if you can get me on the books for tomorrow, that would be wonderful!

The next morning Eric headed home from work (not sure why he made the decision to go in in the first place) and we made our way to the hospital. We arrived around 9:30 and I had warned Eric and my family that it was going to be a long day, if not two or more, and that there was really no need to rush. I FINALLY got my first dose of Cytotec (used to ripen the cervix before starting pitocin) around 11:30. Nothing exciting happened during the first four hours....yup, long and slow just as I expected! The next dose came around 4. Around 4:30 the nurse, who I LOVED, and I were chatting while I was having a contraction (super mild, not exciting). She was watching the monitor and mentioned how long the contraction was (3 minutes!). She then calmly asked me to turn to my side because Owen's heart rate had decelerated. I turned as she was trying to adjust the monitor. Her calmness quickly vanished as she couldn't locate his heart beat, at least not at a rate that's preferred. She told me to roll to my other side and started calling for help. I knew the first time that she asked me to roll that things weren't good. The second time she told me to roll I started crying. This was it. My baby was in danger and I would need a c-section. A whole crew of nurses and the doctor came rushing in. It was a very painful and very terrifying process as they broke my water and put a scalp monitor on Owen's head. The whole time I was crying, in fear and in pain. Once the monitor was in place and his heart rate was stable everything calmed down. Phew! Now if he would just stay that way for the rest of this process! Almost immediately my contractions got stronger and much closer together. I decided to get an epidural even though, at that point, things were bearable. It took forever to get the epidural and in the meantime the contractions went from bearable to horrible! They were so intense, but the worse part was that they were SO close together that I wasn't getting any breaks. After the epidural was finally administered I was so looking forward to some relief. But it didn't come. "Why isn't it working" I cried to the anesthesiologist and the nurse. He made some adjustments and finally I had very little relief. The nurse decided to check me right after the epidural and I was at an 8. I had gone from a 2 at 4:30 when they broke my water to an 8 at 6:30. About an hour later the anesthesiologist returned to give me another dose of something because I still wasn't feeling much relief. When he did, I felt nothing! It was working! It was working TOO much! (I know, never happy right?!) I couldn't feel any contractions. That's the point right? But I wanted to be able to feel them during pushing. And he wanted me to feel them too. His words "This will wear off in about an hour or two, because I want you to be able to feel the contractions and be able to push". My thoughts "I better be holding my baby much sooner than an hour or two!" At 7:35, as he walked out, the nurse (one I didn't like who made my nurse go on break which upset my nurse and I both) checked me again. 10! I was at a 10! And this chick wanted me to push!? How?! Tell me? The doctor came in, another person I didn't like, and when I asked to wait to push because his head wasn't down all the way yet, I couldn't feel anything, and I really wanted to prevent tearing..."the midwife had all kinds of ways to help prevent that...", she responded with crossed fingers and said "All we can do is cross our fingers that you don't tear again" and walked out of the room. Pretty sure my jaw dropped! I wish I would've been more of my own advocate and demanded more but when the nurse asked me to push I gave it my best shot. Chin to my chest was about all I could give her. She told me to not push until she returned and ran out of the room to grab the doctor. I told them I couldn't feel any contractions and would need guidance on when to push. Their response "just feel your abdomen, when it's hard, push". Seriously?! Lady, you have a monitor right there that tells you when I'm having one! Help me out! Or at least move the thing to where I can see it so I can help myself! I was so annoyed! So I waited and waiting while feeling my abdomen. I said "well it's hard right here but not over here...", the nurse replied "Nope, the whole thing will be hard". Waited some more. I said "I don't understand how I was having such frequent contractions and now they've just stopped all together?!" So she felt my stomach, which was hard here but not there, looked at the monitor and said "you're having one! Push!" OMG!!!!! I could've punched her! Pushing? Pretty sure I wasn't doing anything! They kept telling me I was doing great but all I could tell was that my chin was at my chest! LOL! Two contractions later and Owen was born at 7:50! At 7:51 my favorite nurse returned from break, the break she spent watching my monitor at the nurses station realizing that I had had my baby. I had a 2nd degree tear, but I thought that was better than a fourth! All of our family was kicked out for the epidural and never returned because it all happened so fast. Little did they know that the next time they would be seeing us we would be holding our baby! 

I'm very happy with our decision to be induced. He ended up being more than a pound over what Charlotte weighed, almost 2 pounds over (a pound over was the doctors suggestion for a c-section). It wasn't the long slow process I had thought it would be. And although very painful, it was quick enough to be worth it. And besides the 30 minutes I had to spend with that horrible charge nurse and the doctor that could care less, I had a wonderful experience. Owen was a champion eater from the get go which was totally opposite from Charlotte. Eric picked Charlotte up the next morning and brought her to the hospital. She was so excited and actually SPEECHLESS when she seen him for the first time. We got to go home by 11:30 that morning and we've been enjoying our pooping, sleeping, spitting up, baby boy ever since!