Elliot's Birth Story

So there I sat at 40 weeks 5days, over due and oh so over it.

I just wanted him out, after all I had waited 40 weeks...and 3years too meet him. I remember telling everyone I talked to that I just wish it was Wednesday already because Tuesday was starting to feel pointless.

When Andy got home we went to dinner, all the while thinking that I really wasn't wanting to be induced...but that if that's what it would take than so be it.

We spent the evening loving on the dog and just hanging out. It felt odd that it would be the last night of just us. We went to bed with the plan to load the car in the morning and take the dog to my in-laws before my 10:45 dr appointment...just in case she would decide to send us over from my appointment.

We never got that far though.

At sometime around 3am I started to feel a strong cramping. With the first one or two I didn't think much of it, they felt stronger than the cramps I had been feeling for the last few weeks, but still not much of anything.

And then they didn't stop. So I grabbed my phone and started to time them.

And low and behold they were averaging about 4-6 min apart...and getting stronger. Strong enough that I had to make myself breath through them.

I decided my best bet would be to head downstairs and bounce on the yoga ball.

So there I sat till 6 am, and then I was really wanting a shower so I went back up and woke up Andy.

"Wanna have a baby today?"

He looked at me like...well ya...

I told him I had been having contractions since 3 and that I was going to shower.

The shower felt great, and awesome with the water on my back during a contraction.

We slowly got ready, packing up the dog and hospital stuff into the car, and when 8am hit I called my Dr office to let them know what was going on and to see if we should keep the appointment we had at 10:45 or just see how things went.

They decided I should come in and moved my appointment up to 9:45.

We ran the dog to drop her off...which was sad, then headed to the office.

I was still only dilated to 2, but I had thinned out to 90%...way more than the 50% on Friday.

She stripped some more membranes and sent us on our way with instructions to eat a big breakfast/lunch and go to the hospital when I had contractions 4-5 min apart for at least an hour or two.

We ate at one of my favorite places and then headed home.

I wanted to try to rest or nap while I had the chance...

It didn't work. My contractions were still a bit sporadic, 7-8 min apart, but they were getting stronger each time.

I decided to try out the tub, it was good for a bit...I was in there for probably 30min when all the sudden my contractions went form 5-6min apart to 2-3min apart...

So I got out of the tub...no way I'm havin this kid at home in my tub, by myself (Andy was napping on the couch downstairs)

At that point my contractions were strong, and all I wanted to do was lay down. So I did.

I tossed on some undies and climbed in bed.

An hour or so later I was moaning so loud I woke Andy up downstairs...and trust me that's not an easy thing to do.

I could tell I must have looked bad by the look on Andy's face. 

The only thing I could say was "there's no way I can do this without an epidural" and he simply said "whatever you need we will do" and then I showed him my phone with the contraction stats on it. 

At that point it had been consistent enough to talk about going in, but I knew that I needed to go, so we went...and man did that car ride suck!

When we got to the hospital it was sometime around 2:30 and the min I got out of the car my water broke. 

Thus began the process of putting me in a room and asking me a billion questions...the entire time my contractions are getting so strong that I'm getting to the hysterical point. I remember crying an d begging Andy to make it stop and telling him that I couldn't do it.

Around 5pm the anesthesiologist walked in and I could have hugged him. 

Now I had planned to do this whole shabang natural...but there is no way I would have made it. I have emence respect for the women out there who can, I'm just not one of them and I didn't realize it until that point.

It turns out it was a blessing in descise...you'll read why in a few.

Once the epidural was in and my catheter was all set my parents came in.

I was so happy to see my mom, I had her finger brush my hair out of my face...like she did when I was little and within min I was out. It felt good to sleep.

My blood pressure was being a pain throughout all this and they had given me 3 doces of efedren to bring it back up to normal, the whole time my belly monitors were also being a butt. 

So they had me flipping from side to side to keep it under control...the whole time I'm shaking like a leaf uncontrollably and was so chilled that they had something like 4 warm blankets on me.

This continued for about 2 more hours.

They finally ended up putting in a probe to track my contractions because the belly one was just wasnt cutting it.

Like usuall they kept checking me for progress.

They checked me once and I was at a 5...and within an hour I was at a 9.5!

Then around 7pm things got hectic.

My blood pressure spiked and the baby's heart rate dropped.

The nurse inserted the internal heart monitor (the one that has the tiny wire that is inserted under the baby's scalp) and within 2min his heart rate had dropped so low that they were unplugging everything and taking me to OR for an emergency c-section.

I had no idea what was going on, it all happened so fast and all I know is I'm being rushed off for something I strongly didn't want. 

Andy ran to get my mom, and I got to at least see her and tell her to call my grandma before they were running me...and I mean RUNNING me down the hall. 

They get me in the OR and move me over to the table and are prepping me before I even knew why I was there.

The hospitals emergency on call OB finally came over and explained what was going on.

They had stopped my labor and gotten both the baby and I stable, but in his opinion there was no way that the baby was going to come out with out doing a c-section...

Then someone yells from the corner that my doctor is on her way and all I could do was pray she got there fast.

If I was going to have to be cut open I wanted it to be her. From the moment I meet her I just knew she was the one who was meant to pull him (and any future children) into this world. It's not something I can explain, it's just a sort of connection and trust she puts off. 

An then she runs in the room, and I'm not even sure I can explain the overwhelming relief I had when I saw her...I even told her "I'm so happy your here".

And then she's telling me that she knows I can do this and that she is positive I can push him out, but if his heart rate drops again she will have to do a c-section. 

I just nodded, I was still shaking so hard I could barely do anything but that.

They started my contractions back up and they were slow, but I pushed and pushed.

I pushed three to four times through 8-10 contractions and the whole time Andy is standing behind my head with his hands under my pillow...each time I pushed he pushed my head up. 

I COULD NOT HAVE PUSHED IF HE HADN'T DONE THAT.

In between pushes I was so focused on getting my body to calm down, I knew the more stressed my body was (shaking from the stupid effedrin)  that the more stressed the baby would get. I wanted to keep my blood pressure down and in turn keep his heart rate normal. 

I don't know where my energy came from, but I didn't care...this kid was coming out and I wasn't going to push for nothing!

She ended up using suction, and told me that she only wanted to use it through 3 contractions.

Again I have no idea where I mustered the energy, but I pushed harder than I have ever done anything in my life. Four pushes each contraction, four more contractions and he was out and on my chest at 8:33pm.

They checked him out and left him there for a bit.

We named him and they took him to clean him up.

I couldn't believe he was over 7lbs, I was sure he would be smaller.

But no, 7lbs 5oz, 20.5 in long with a 13inch head.

Perfect, and I was in love at firs sight.

Now I'm not a super religious person, but I would not have made it through without my husband and prayer...and of corse my doctor.

She walked up to me when she was all done, and asked if she could pray with me.

It was the most perfect thing, I needed that.

She wrapped one arm around my middle and held my left hand (which was out on the T part of the table) in hers, put her forehead on mine and prayed over me, my husband and my new child.

It was amazingly beautiful.

Before I knew it they were bringing us back to our room.

Elliot had to stay under the heat lamp (in our room) for a bit thanks to a low body temp, but my mom, dad, and brother finally got to come and meet him.

Around 10 they gave him back and I held him till midnight, the nurse came in and bathed him(again in our room) and we snuggled him all night...

And he had a slew of family that came the next day to kiss and love on him.

I didn't sleep until that next day. 

My mom and brother came to see him and my mom snuggled him for about an hour so Andy and I could get in a nap while my brother went to pick my dad up from work...I finally got a few solid hours the next night and all because I put him in bed with me...

Propped up on pillows and wedged between me and the bed rales and his cradle locked in place.

The next day was a whirl wind, I spent an hour and a half with the lactation consultant...but that's a story for another time.

Before we knew it we were heading home. Since then we have lived on the couch camped out in a bundle of blankets. It's been fantastic.

He's been an amazing baby so far, he's so calm and he loves his sleep!

We are so in love.

I can't imagine life without him.