TJ's Birth Story - It's Long

A lot of my friends have recently had babies and they have written the story on their blog. I was going to link back to it today and realized I never wrote it on the blog, just in my journal. I wanted to type it out and share it with others today. It may not be fun for you to read it, but I know when I read other's birth stories, I remember my own and enjoy learning and hearing how a new precious son or daughter of our Heavenly King came into the world.

Here's our story.

I need to start when my mom came into town which was his due date, Sept 8th. She kept me company and my spirits high. I went into the doctor again on the 9th. I still wasn't dilated at all, but my cervix had softened, thank goodness. We scheduled a date to be induced which was Tuesday the 14th. If I still hadn't dilated they would put me on some pills. Once things were moving and I was dilated they would put me on Pitocin, probably the next morning and TJ would be born Wednesday the 15th (1 week overdue). I was okay with that. The longer he stayed inside the womb, the better. His lungs could develop and he would be a healthy weight. It was definitely uncomfortable for me, but I wanted to do all I could for him.

We asked the doctor about some ways to help induce labor and he said sex, walking and whatever wives tales we wanted to try. We had nothing to lose at this point. My mom had been learning reflexology and learning how to give someone a foot zone where certain pressure points could help and he said that was fine. Dr. Terry then also mention Trios, a little cafe in SLC where they are known for this chicken garlic pizza that puts women in labor. We thought it would be fun so we went there for dinner with Todd and Jolene Hope. It was a fancy place with weird combinations of ingredients but everything I tried was good. Todd and I split the pizza. It had quartered garlic cloves on it as toppings.

We went home and watched Weekend at Bernie's and Jolene gave me a hand rub and my mom gave me a foot rub. It felt so good! Todd said my mom was pampering me too much, but I disagreed. ;)

The next morning (Friday) I wasn't feeling good and couldn't sleep. I finally got out of bed at 8:30 and realized that I was having cramps, like menstrual cramps. I knew that contractions were supposed to feel like cramps so I guessed that I had started labor. They were very minor at first and came in waves. After awhile they became almost predictable. We called Calista (my mother in law and OBGYN nurse) and she said I was in the early stages of labor. WOW! Reality check. My mom had gone down to Provo to meet her sister and parents for lunch. We didn't want to tell her until we knew for sure. She was going to go down to Nephi and stay the night with her parents. We didn't want to ruin their time together, but if I was having this baby...

Todd didn't want to tell his siblings or dad, he just wanted to send them a text with TJ's picture on it. I thought that was mean and I told my siblings and family members. We didn't want it to get and out spread like crazy so no one was to tell. I started timing the contractions waiting for them to be 5 mins apart from start to start, 1 min long for an hour. Then we were supposed to go to the hospital. They quickly became 5 minutes apart, but weren't very intense. I could still go about my day. They weren't at all like you see in movies when the woman gets to the hospital. I showered and we packed our bags and headed to the hospital.

It wasn't the longest drive of my life. In fact, it went by really fast. Todd and I were both scared like we should've been. Todd kept changing the subject because he really didn't want to think about it. I would talk but I'd have to stop to get through a contraction. I knew that they would only get worse until I had my epidural which I had definitely planned on.

We get to the hospital and luckily find a decent parking spot. We got into Labor and Delivery and I had already checked in over the phone so I just had to confirm things. We got put into room #1 and nurses came in and put monitors on my belly checking his heart rate and my contractions. The nurse checked me and I was at a 1 1/2 and 70% effaced. I was so happy and relieved that I was even dilated at all! Huge improvement.

The first contraction that the monitored was pretty strong and the baby's heart rate dropped a ton. This was a big red flag. They said that me only being dilated to a 1 1/2 wouldn't get me admitted and they would send me home, but because his heart rate was dropping with each contraction I would be admitted to the hospital. I was glad we didn't have to go home. My mom arrived there at the hospital with happy tears in her eyes.

They did an ultrasound to see how much amniotic fluid there was to work with. They checked one quadrant, nothing. "Quadrant 2?" "None." "Quadrant 3?" "Nope." "Quadrant 4?" "Oh, maybe a little bit." There was only about a silver dollar's worth of fluid at the top of my uterus. So that was one reason why his HR decreased so much. There was no water to cushion each blow.

Once we were admitted, I got my epidural right away. My OB said that epidurals don't slow down the process of dilating so if I was going to get one eventually, might as well get one right away. The anesthesiologist was super nice and chill and explained every single thing that I would be feeling right before I felt it. Then I had oxygen and an IV and the monitors on my belly and Todd and I watched football. Todd did some homework and my mom crocheted. I finished reading the Book of Mormon. That was my goal, to finish before the baby came. The Labor and Delivery unit was paid for by the Church so there was a BOM in every room. Kinda cool.

Now we wait. Doctors and nurses came in every so often to check me and see if I wanted any more ice chips, since that is all I got to eat while I was there. When they weren't in the room, they said that they always had someone watching my tracing since it was kind of a high risk situation. They put me on Pit to see if that would help me progress because I really wasn't. That made my contraction about 2 minutes apart and about 1 minute long. If I didn't have the epidural that would've sucked. Before the epidural I couldn't talk through them and I can only imagine how much more they would hurt then with only a 1 minute break. They took me off Pit after awhile because they decided the more contractions I had, the more distress they were putting the baby in. My body kept the same pace though with the contractions on my own.

They decided to break my "water" or more like just pop the sack. Nothing came out. They then decided to put on an electrode on the baby's head to monitor him more accurately. And another monitor to track my contractions more accurately too. Also they pumped water into my uterus to give the baby a little more cushion.

They continued to monitor and check with no progress. At 10 pm on September 10th they checked me and I was only at a 3. I had been in labor for 14 hours, 6 hours in the hospital and I had only dilated another 1 1/2 cm. They were expecting me to be at a 6 or 7 by then. At midnight they began talking about the possibility of a c-section. At 1 am, September 11th, I was still only at a 3. They explained the need for a c-section to me. My mom had all of us c-section and only ever got to a 4 with any of us. I was wondering if that would be my case too and it seems that way. I had only heard c-section stories from her so I was okay with the idea, probably more than most. I was tired and didn't think I had the energy to push out a baby at that point.

One nurse came in to get me ready for the surgery. She got a call on her radio from other nurses. They asked if they needed to come hlep with the c-section. She said, "I'm looking at her tracing now. You just come when you can." So I wasn't termed an "emergency c-section." I call it an "ASAP c-section."

We were waiting for the anesthesiologist to come. It was a different guy and I really didn't like this new one. The nurses were saying that I started the day and now I was going to finish it. Every other woman that had come in after me had already had their babies. I was the last one. Not helpful ladies.

They wheeled me into the OR at about 1:20 am. Todd told them that he didn't want to see any of it. They were quickly accommodating him. They got him a chair right by my head and put up the curtain early. They gave me the bigger drugs and tested to see if they had taken effect. Todd said they were poking my stomach with a needle. RUDE! I didn't feel anything though. I had to put and keep my arms straight out. They put 2 warm blankets on me to feel me warm. Todd got suited up.

They started operating at 1:54 am. One nurse said, "I see an ear!" Another, "Oh he's got hair!" I was excited for hair!! And at 2:00 am our first child was born. I could actually feel him slip out of my stomach. I knew when our baby was born. There was a short time, probably about 1 or 2 seconds, although it felt longer, where I knew he was born but I didn't hear him make a sound. I thought for a second, "My baby's not crying!" but I waited a little longer before I said anything and he cried. That was the most beautiful sound ever. A nurse said, "He's got such a boy face. You can tell he's a boy." I told Todd to go with the baby, I was fine. I could tell on Todd's face that he was torn between being with me and our baby. I gave him permission to go and stay with him.

Todd brought him over and I got to see my little boy for the first time. He was so so cute! I instantly fell in love with his little face - since he was swaddled that's all I could see. :)

After I saw Todd and the baby I started shivering. It didn't make sense to me. I wasn't cold and I had warm blankets all over me. I was trying to hide my chattering teeth and shaky body because I was a little embarrassed. It kept getting worse and my whole upper body was eventually shaking uncontrollably. I had to keep my arms out stretched for some reason and the anesthesiologist kept putting my arms back out when I just wanted them close to my chest.

Both Todd and I had no clue what was going on. I thought maybe it was because I was going into shock. I did just have major surgery. Yeah, I didn't feel anything but that still doesn't mean that I wasn't just cut in half!! No one seemed worried or concern about me but Todd. It hurt so bad. My teeth hurt from hitting them together over and over and my shoulder muscles were throbbing from being tight and they were cramping and knotting up. My jaw was so sore. Todd tried to get me a mouth guard because he was almost certain I was going to chip a tooth. The anesthesiologist was so laid back and acted like he didn't care about me or doing his job. He might have been on his phone that's how out of it he was.

Todd set the baby in the little tub/bassinet because he was basically asleep. Then Todd began massaging my jaw and shoulder while they finished sewing me up. I kept telling his to switch from jaw to shoulders. It was so painful! It was sharp and intense and worse than any contraction I felt.

They wheeled me into a new room and put me on morphine to hlep the pain and to relax me to get the shakes to stop. I wanted to hold my baby so bad. I knew how much skin to skin helped and created that bond. But I didn't have control over my upper body and didn't want to drop our kid. As soon as I got control I wanted to hold him. It was so precious! We were a little family of three. I was so in love with him and everything instantly clicked.

Todd finally sent a text out to everyone, including his clueless family. :) It was and still is a very special day.

Happy Birthday TJ! We love you with all our hearts and have loved every moment of being your parents. You have grown and experienced so much in the last 2 years. Here's to eternity with you!