Jessica and Steve’s Birth Story
On the morning before my due date, I felt 2 pops in my belly around 1:30am but there was no leaking so I tried to go back to sleep because I wasn't convinced it was my water breaking! Spoiler alert: it was. I got up to go to the bathroom about an hour later and I started leaking when I stood up, then gushed by the time I got to the bathroom. So many things were going through my mind, mainly “Omg, this is really happening!” and “We’re finally going to meet our little girl!” I put on a pad and tried to go back to sleep to wait for some contractions. I was having mild contractions and was in and out of light sleep for a while. I finally woke up my husband Steve and called L&D around 5:30 and they recommended coming in soonish since my water had broken already. Then we called Joy to let her know it was baby day (hopefully)! She said that we could still take our time with making our way to the hospital and I should shower and eat something. So I took a nice shower and ate some breakfast while Steve started gathering our bags and last minute stuff and told his boss he wouldn’t be coming into work for a while! It just so happened that my OB was on call that day, which I was excited about because I’ve enjoyed being under his care.
We got to the hospital around 8:30am and they did the test for amniotic fluid to confirm that it had broken and it definitely had, duh. I got a cervical check and was “almost at 2cm” and 90% effaced (after being at 1cm and 50% the week before). They let me do intermittent monitoring so I only had to do 20 mins every hour. Contractions were still mild by 10am (like a 2 out of 10 at the most). My OB stopped by to check on us and said that because it had been 8 hours already since my water broke and contractions were still mild, his first recommendation would be Pitocin but that an alternative would be a Cook's catheter balloon. Since I was trying to go unmedicated, I really wanted to avoid Pitocin, if possible, so I opted for the balloon. It was definitely uncomfortable to get it placed, but not terrible in the grand scheme of things. I had to be on the monitor for about 30 mins after placement. Joy had kept in contact with us throughout the day and had recommended some positioning exercises, so after monitoring, we did some belly lift and tucks and rocking on the ball. Surges picked up fairly quickly after that and we decided to ask Joy to join us at the hospital. I had experienced tons of Braxton Hicks contractions in the last couple months of my pregnancy, and I was a little worried I wouldn’t know when I was having a “real” one. These “real” ones felt completely different! I guess there’s definitely some truth when people say, When it’s real, you’ll know!
Steve and Joy helped me do lots of Spinning Babies exercises for a while and the surges got increasingly stronger. We had been doing the exercises at home since 32 weeks, but it felt way different to do them during actual contractions! One of the many reasons I’m glad we had Joy there was that I mostly just felt like lying down, but I had her there to keep me on track with positioning exercises to keep my labor progressing smoothly! I am kind of curious how long I would’ve been in early labor for if I hadn’t had the balloon. But it seemed like my cervix didn’t need too much convincing because the balloon came out on its own after about 4 hours, I think. Meaning I was at a 4!
After a couple hours, Joy suggested getting in the shower. Surges had really picked up by then, so we were hoping the water would help. I remember the nurse wrapped two diapers around my arm to keep the saline lock from getting wet. Whatever works, haha.
Once Steve and I got in the shower, the water felt great, but things were getting super intense. We did a number of belly lift and tucks in the shower, but at some point I had to tell him to stop because it was just too painful. My body kept pushing on its own during each surge and I tried so hard to resist but mostly couldn't. After being in the shower a while, I was seriously doubting my ability to continue unmedicated. I was thinking this in my head for a couple contractions and then finally expressed it out loud. Joy suggested getting out of the shower to get checked. We could at least see what progress I'd made and then go from there. Oh wow, I was at an 8! I really didn't think I was that far along. Makes sense that things were really intense! We did some more exercises on the bed and my body kept trying to push. Poor Steve said it made him cry to see me in so much pain and not be able to help. Just his presence and him holding my hand was so comforting though! After a little while, I got checked again because I was feeling a lot more pressure. I was fully dilated (yay!) but had a lip of cervix that was kinda swollen (noooo!). That was tough to hear because of how incredibly hard it was to try not to push. Now I had to even try harder so the swelling would go down. Joy had me doing lots of blowing and quick breaths through contractions and she also helped me do a forward leaning inversion. Another check and the swelling was finally gone and I could give into the pushing!
Pushing did feel better because I could finally purposefully push with my body like it wanted to, but it was just a whole different kind of pain. At least it felt more like I was actually doing something. I touched her head a couple times and was kinda surprised that it wasn't out further because it definitely felt like it should’ve been, haha! We had the lights dimmed and apparently the nurse didn’t realize that baby girl’s head was already visible. So Joy used one of the LED candles to show the nurse, and she was like, Oh! Steve told me this after the fact since I was pretty “in the zone” at this point! Then my OB and a few more nurses came in quickly and they had to turn the overhead light on and get everything set up. But I still felt calm with Steve and Joy by my side. Apparently, I only pushed for 36 mins! I honestly had no concept of time during this stage. I was expecting to feel a decent amount of relief after her head was born, but that relief didn’t come until she was fully out! I didn’t experience the “ring of fire” that I’d heard about, which I was also surprised about. I remember my OB telling me to open my eyes and look at my daughter as she was about halfway out. He asked if I wanted to reach down and pull her out the rest of the way but I was like, I can't! I think I was just too overwhelmed in the moment, because looking back, I wish I had! He laid our little girl on my chest and I couldn’t believe she was finally here! Steve and I looked at each other with tears in our eyes and such happiness and relief in our hearts.
Joy helped me get her latched on for her first feeding while I delivered the placenta and got stitched up. The stitching was definitely uncomfortable, but it certainly helped having a sweet little baby on my chest to distract me. I was also just in awe at the fact that we made her and that my body carried her and birthed her! After a while, they got her weighed and did her little footprints. It was so sweet watching Steve help the nurse. I also wanted to get them in our baby book which had a page for handprints too. Apparently, handprints are much more difficult since their little hands are usually balled into tight fists. The results were quite comical, but still handprint-esque! Joy helped us snap photos of these special moments and I’m so glad we have those. Joy was just so amazing and we couldn’t have gotten through the day without her! By the time we got to our postpartum room a few hours later, it was late so we didn’t have any visitors until the next day. It was really special having our first night together be just us three!
Little lady had her first doctor visit when she was 4 days old and we found out that she had dropped a concerning amount of weight, which was heartbreaking. I think my milk had only just started to come in the evening before. We were on a triple feeding schedule (breastfeed, pump, and supplement her with breastmilk/formula) for the next 4-5 days and she gained great! Her doctor was satisfied enough that we could go back to just breastfeeding. This is where we hopped back on the struggle bus, unfortunately. I felt like I was feeding her constantly, but she never seemed satisfied and I couldn’t really tell if she was actually getting any milk. I emailed Dara at 4am that night asking for help. After our session with her the next day, it was like a night and day difference. We were able to continue exclusively breastfeeding again! It was like a giant weight was lifted off my shoulders. She’s a lifesaver and so encouraging! So thankful for both of our lovely doulas!