Owen's Birth Story

Overall I had a pretty easy, healthy pregnancy and it seemed to go by really fast.  Even though I was healthy my doctor had me get an ultra sound at 32 weeks to check the baby's brain and make sure he didn't have hydrocephalus like Ethan did.  Luckily, his brain looked great but they found another rare abnormality called umbilical vein varix (it basically meant that there was an enlarged vein in the umbilical cord that could cause clotting and lead to still birth).  Scott and I tried to be optimistic but we were both really scared as soon as we heard the doctors mention the word still birth.  I was monitored weekly and told I would likely need to be induced as early as 37 weeks and no later than 39.  I had been planning a natural birth and avoiding as many interventions as possible.  The thought of being induced and going through labor on pitocin made me really nervous.  I tried to stay positive and accept that I'd do whatever was best for the baby.

When I made it to 39 weeks without any complications my doctor scheduled my induction for Friday 11/19.  I was already dilated to a 3 at my appointment so my doctor told me an induction should be easy.  That week I tried every way to induce labor naturally that I could think of; primrose oil, spicy food, pineapple, essential oils, walking, massage, acupressure...nothing seemed to do the trick.

On Wednesday I reached out to my doula/Bradley Method teacher from Reno.  She suggested some supplements that can help induce labor.  I took the supplements all day and got another massage with "labor stimulation" acupressure.

That night I had eggs mixed with castor oil for dinner (definitely not my favorite but it's another natural induction trick).  After that I tried using a breast pump for a few minutes and walking up the stairs for an hour.  I even tried turning on some workout videos and dancing to the Fitness Marshall.

By 10:00 pm I started having a lot of cramping that felt like intense period cramps.  I kept pumping and walking the stairs to try and get things going.  I had cramping and a few light contractions off and on for the next few hours but I started to worry a little when I didn't feel the baby moving or kicking.  I had read that pumping to induce labor can sometimes cause fetal distress so I decided to go to labor and delivery to get checked out at 2 AM.  They hooked me up to a monitor and said the baby's heart rate looked great.  I was having mild contractions that lasted around 30 seconds every 4-5 minutes.  The nurse checked me and said I was still at 3 cm.  She said she thought the contractions were just false labor and I probably would make it to Friday for my induction.

I leaned on an exercise ball through early contractions.

I went home feeling a little discouraged that all my contractions weren't the real deal.  I went to bed and woke up at 5 with really strong, cramping pains.  I still thought they might be false labor so I decided to get in the bath and try to relax a little.  When I got out of the bath I felt a pop and a huge gush of water all over my feet. I yelled to Scott, "I think my water just broke!"  We both realized at that point that I must really be in labor so I texted my doula, Kelsy.  I told her no rush and that contractions were still about 5- 4 minutes apart and 30 seconds long (thinking I still had a long labor ahead of me).

I got in the shower and was able to breathe through contractions with the water spraying on my back.  The water helped me so much through my labor and the pain was pretty manageable at that point with breathing.  I had also watched some videos on "hypnobirthing" and used some of those techniques to help manage pain.  It really helped me to think of contractions as a wave.  I would visualize a wave slowly building and then slowly washing away.  I also used positive affirmations to remind myself that my body was meant to do this and each contraction brought me closer to my baby.

 By 6:30 contractions started getting a lot more intense and I needed Scott to push on my hips while I leaned on an exercise ball.  He started timing them and they were 4 minutes apart and about 45 seconds long; the labor and delivery nurse told me to go to the hospital when they were 3 minutes apart. I asked Kelsy to come right then and Scott called his brother to come watch Ethan for us.

Everyone got there around 7 and I labored at home for another hour with Kelsy and Scott's help.  We alternated between a few different positions on the bed, using an exercise ball and on my hands and knees.  Kelsy massaged my back and hips through contractions which felt so much better!

By 8 I started getting a lot more agitated and I needed both Kelsy and Scott to help me through contractions.  I could hear Ethan screaming downstairs, which really made it hard to concentrate and breathe.  I said I wanted to go to the hospital right then and get an epidural (I didn't think I could handle the pain if it lasted much longer).  We started heading down the stairs around 8:30 and when Ethan saw me he ran up and yelled "Hi Mommy!!" He seemed so confused by what was going on.  I was able to quickly say, "Hi Ethan" when another contraction came.  This one felt different and was the most pain I had been in through my labor at that point.  I knew I must be getting close and tried to go as fast as we could out the door.

I climbed into the car on my hands and knees and felt another contraction come.  This time I felt the baby move down into my pelvis.  I felt myself "bear down" and I made a deep grunting noise. I heard Scott yell, "Crap, she's pushing!  We've got to go!"  Scott started up the car and Kelsy climbed into the back.  Luckily we live right across the street from the hospital so it was a quick drive.  On the way there Scott was driving as fast as he could and every bump made the pain so much worse.  I had another "grunting contraction" as we pulled up and Scott got a wheelchair for me.  I tried to breathe and stop pushing but the baby was coming whether I liked it or not.  I climbed onto the wheelchair on my knees because I could feel him start to crown.  Scott wheeled me into the entrance and I yelled that the baby was coming out.

The hospital entrance where I gave birth.

I stood up and leaned on the wheel chair for support.  Scott pulled down my pants and said he could see the baby's head between my legs.  He put his hands out to "catch" the baby since no one else was around yet.  The front desk person had pushed a rapid response button and a few seconds later a rush of people came to help.  I could hear people yelling behind me but it all felt like an out of body experience to me; I just wanted the baby out!  An ER nurse started to help until an OB showed up to take over. She told me to "push, push push"!  This was the only contraction where I actively pushed without my body doing it for me.

After that big push he was out at 8:55 AM (just 4 hours after I started going into labor).  Unfortunately, I didn't get to hold him right away.  I could hear him crying and the doctor showed me his face before she quickly cut the cord and took him away.  Scott went with them and I stayed behind as the nurses helped me onto the wheelchair.  I was in shock and started shaking (I'm pretty squeamish and when I looked down at the floor it wasn't a pretty sight).  I kept asking if the baby was ok.  The nurses told me he was fine but he was really gurgly so they needed to suction his lungs.

I was wheeled up to a room in labor and delivery and about 30 minutes later Scott came back with the baby.  They put him on my chest and I was in heaven.  All the chaos and pain of labor immediately went away while I snuggled him.

He latched on right away and I was able to do skin to skin for a long time before they took him away again.  We had been struggling to pick a name the entire pregnancy but as soon as we saw him we both knew his name was Owen.

I have to admit I was worried I would have a hard time loving another baby as much as I love Ethan.  As soon as I held Owen my heart felt like it could burst with love and I felt so bonded to him already.

Even though my labor was really fast (and a little chaotic at the end) I'm so happy that Owen was healthy. I love all of my boys so much and I can't imagine our family without baby Owen.