I realized this week I never finished this story. I’ve been updating my blog this week with the past 3 years of my writing as I prep to launch my second book in a few weeks. This birth story never got finished. Here are parts 1 & 2 if you need to catch up.
To recap though. After a whole day of false labor and then 14 days of nothing other than strong Braxton Hicks despite multiple natural induction attempts at home with my midwife. We decided to go to the hospital for an induction at 42 weeks +1day. It was right after the last at home induction attempt that I was filled with this sense of peace and knowing. I had tried all the things and for some reason this baby was meant to go through the risks of a hospital birth. Somehow I’d always had this back of my mind feeling that we’d end up at the hospital with this one like my first.
Hospital evaluation showed 4cm about 70% effacement (all that home induction and false labor did progress things a bit) and baby low in good position.
That hospital room felt so cold so different than my home births. I was half devastated we were there and half relieved it was going to finally be over. I know pitocin risks: increase c-section(I mention this briefly in my upcoming book but just being in a hospital for labor increases your c-section risk by 30% not including pitocin), increase hemorrhage, increase fetal distress are all real and common outcomes.
But I also had that knowing peace that this is where I was meant to be for this birth. So I trusted the Lord and felt fully educated and empowered in the choice thanks to all the education from my friend Karen Welton and her Pain Free Birth course.
The first hour and half on pitocin nothing much happened. My home birth midwife arrived as my second support (COVID TIMES). And literally I had to use the restroom and then that little bit of extra room an empty bladder made and bam things kicked into high gear.
Contractions came super fast and intense with such small breaks in between. I started crying, so thankful that something was finally working!!! I was going to be done! I knew my sink in and surrender to each wave skills that gave me a 98% pain free birth the last time would serve me here too and did well for a bit with Andy’s help to pull on & lean on with each contraction but the difference with induction was speed & intensity. NO rest. In my other births there’s been these breaks with synthetic drugs it’s harder faster stronger. I wasn’t prepared for that. With limited mobility(hooked up to IVs & Monitors), a very worn out and sore back, my cheat sheet for labor went out the window.
The hospital midwife became concerned at the baby’s decreasing heart rate & checked to find I was only 7cm. WHAT! This is what it feels like right before I push!
Maybe I need that epidural after all… but I don’t know if I’ll make it. Numbers don’t matter much can change so fast. I shouldn’t be on my back (worst position ever).
But I was in transition brain & your cognitive functions turn off.
Sure enough a few minutes later I felt the contraction change where your body starts baring down almost like a vomit reflux but in the opposite direction. No body told me to I just started J-breath pushing. That only lasted one contraction and then I resorted to the not so good purple pushing (hold you breath and bear down). Of course it restricts your oxygen but remember birth brain is primal rules and knowledge evaporates & you just want done. At some point a bunch more people rushed in.
Andy almost passed out?
I blame the mask since he’s been fine at all the other births. My own mask had come off long before this.
A nurse put an oxygen mask on me at some point towards the last few pushes. I don’t much remember “the ring of fire” I think he wasn’t there long enough. Because literally from that “7cm” check to Judah being born was only 23min.
Strangely I never once worried about the baby. As soon as they put him on me and said “it’s a boy!” I knew he was my heaviest baby. I didn’t understand why they took him away wailing 20secs later & cut the cord immediately until they told me later he was blue & needed oxygen (unlike home birth where they can bring oxygen to the baby with baby staying warm and comforted on moms chest, in the hospital oxygen is attached to the wall thankful to have had my home birth midwife there to explain the hospital logic to me later). I remember trying to hold him to me as they tried to pull him away asking can’t you help him here on me? But then he was gone.
They reassured me from the corner he was doing fine (although again I never had any ounce of fear for him although I remember demanding Andy go stay with him since I couldn’t ) and I delivered my very healthy 42 week placenta (according to the midwives). He was returned to me shortly after & everyone in the room gave a little gasp when they said he was 10lbs I had been assuming in pregnancy 9lbs but never thought 10! Also I had no tears at all!
3hours and 33min on pitocin. A massive baby. A huge appreciation for induction moms. And finally an end to the hardest pregnancy.
It’s important for me to finish this story because so many people were praying for me in this season and I want to honor the fact that my body did an induction that fast with a healthy mom and baby to boot! It’s also me processing the memory of the season change his birth was as we come up on almost a year.
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