Saturday morning I woke up with contractions. I'd been having Braxton hicks contractions since 15 weeks, so it was not alarming. They'd been consistent for about an hour so I started timing them around 9:00. By 10:30 I called my midwife because the contractions were mild but consistently about 3 minutes apart. She told me to keep her posted. I was alternating between resting and cleaning/preparing/playing "city" with The Boy. The Husband was not convinced it was labor. We went about our Saturday.
Contractions continued and became stronger. The Boy took a nap. The Husband cleaned the house. Part of me wanted to rest and another part wanted to pace. I took a bath. I got our bags out for the hospital. Around 4:00 the grandparents came for The Boy. I was still talking and breathing through contractions. We told The Boy we were going to the hospital to see if baby brother was ready to come out. He responded that he didn't think he was. What's with these boys not trusting that this was legit? By 6:00 contractions had picked up to the point that I could not consistently talk through them and I told The Husband it was time to go. The Boy's labor was natural, and fairly quick. I expected the same for BeYoyo, knowing second babies often come faster.
We got to the hospital about 6:30. The Husband dropped me off at the ER and went to park the car. When I walked through the door someone said "ma'am, watch out for the blood!" just in time for me not to step in one of the puddles of blood that led to the registration desk. More specifically, they led to a woman sitting in front of the registration desk and pooled from the streams of blood coming down her leg. I thought I would pass out. I stood in the ER breathing through contractions and waiting my turn. Soon enough The Husband emerged, I got registered and was being wheeled up to labor and delivery.
We arrived at a small room with my name on the door. I went to the bathroom and emerged with tears in my eyes. "There's no tub!" I told The Husband. "There's not even a shower!" He smiled. "This is only the triage room, honey. We won't stay here. Once we know if we're staying we'll move to a room with a tub." I reminded him that I was in labor and we WOULD be staying.
My midwife, Anika, came in and checked me. I'd dilated to a 4. "No, no, no." I told her. "It must be more than that!" She said I had a lot of amniotic fluid- so much so that baby bounced when she checked me. She recommended that I get an IV port just in case I needed it. I'd not wanted an IV or fluids during labor, so we talked about the pros and cons. She was concerned that with so much fluid baby could come very suddenly once things started progressing and that he could potentially come out arm or cord first. I had an image of a slip n slide party emerging from my nethers. Having an IV port ready meant they could administer meds quickly if needed. I agreed.
We were moved to a regular room (with a tub!) and we began to wait. My contractions had slowed when we got to the hospital, and they were no longer consistent. My mom and sister came, and the waiting game began. I walked. I bounced on a birthing ball. I took a shower. I laid in the bed. During contractions The Husband rubbed my back. Contractions did not get closer together. I was beginning to get frustrated. During one contraction The Husband said what I thought was "calm down". I nearly cussed him out, but then he explained he'd said the contraction was "coming down". Oh. Sorry about that.
Around midnight Anika checked me again. She said she thought she could safely break my water. Duh. That should progress things quickly. The Husband asked "so we're going to have a baby?" I glared at him. She broke my water, and was right about the amount of fluid I had. It broke and broke and continued to break. For three hours. I'll spare you the details, but there was A LOT of fluid.
The contractions still didn't pick up. They were strong but not consistent, and often I was able to talk through them. They were monitoring the contractions and mine and baby's heart rates. Anika mentioned that baby's heart rate was dropping during my contractions but that it was not alarming. He may have been startled by the drastic change when my water broke. She told me to try to get some rest. The Husband, my mom and sister all dozed off and I tried to get some rest too.
Around 3am my midwife and three nurses came bursting in the room like storm troopers. One carried an oxygen mask and another an IV. They began hooking me up, even as my midwife explained what was happening. The baby's heart rate was dropping with contractions and having difficulty climbing back to where it needed to be. They inserted a catheter to return some of fluid I'd lost and to try to reduce baby's distress. She checked me again, and said that baby was in brow position. That meant he was trying to come out face first instead of head first, which was likely the reason for his heart rate dropping. She recommended that we try some different positions to try to get him to turn. For the next hour and a half we tried different positions to get him to turn naturally. My contractions were getting stronger and closer together. Because I was hooked up to the IV, catheter, and oxygen, I couldn't use the tub or movement strategies I'd used for pain management when I was in labor with The Boy. We waited to see what BeYoYo would do. When his heart rate did not improve my midwife reported that not only did he not turn head first, but he had moved his head back more in the other direction and was now chin first. What we did not know at the time was that the cord was wrapped around his head and shoulder, preventing him from being able to turn.
It was 6am. Contractions were strong. I'd been in labor all day and night, and I was exhausted. Even though my midwife spoke confidently, I was concerned about my baby. Anika said since labor wasn't progressing and baby was chin first, she thought my labor would likely end in a c-section. She gave me the option of continuing to try re-positioning. We talked about the pros and cons of both and she felt the c-section would be less risky for baby. We waved the white flag and surrendered. If we weren't going naturally I asked how quickly I could get some meds.
Anika had the surgeon and anesthesiologist paged to come in for an emergency c-section. The nurses started prepping me for surgery and explained what was going to happen. We were wheeled down to the OR. The Husband had to wait outside while everything was prepared. I was nervous about the spinal, which they had to administer twice, but I was ready to meet my baby. They strapped my arms down and let The Husband back in.
Anika remained with me. I asked if the baby could still be placed on my chest after birth. "No, hon" she said. "We'll give him to dad and dad can hold him and show him to you and you can hold him in recovery." I nodded my understanding and began to cry, my tears flowing down my cheeks and into my ears. The Husband sat by my head, a blue screen and 10 minutes the only things separating us from our baby.
I felt pressure on my midsection but no pain as the nurses and doctors talked while they worked. A few minutes later they announced BeYoyo was born. We did not hear a cry. "Is he okay? IS HE OKAY?" I pleaded with Anika. "He cried." She said calmly, "did you hear him?" She looked at him and asked him to cry louder for his mama. He did not. We still had not seen him. I looked toward The Husband, tears rolling into my ears. "Is he okay?" Anika spoke. "He's okay. He just needs to go to the NICU to get a little help." I was worried, scared, wanted to see my baby. It turns out the NICU nurses were right in the OR with us, and he didn't have to go far. It wasn't as bad as it sounded. They worked with him for a few minutes, and Anika told us he was getting oxygen and a little massage. I couldn't see anything, but momentarily we heard a little cry and Anika told us he was fine. They invited dad to come and hold him, and The Husband brought him to my side so I could see him, before being whisked to the nursery. He was here, and he was healthy.
Anika told me then that the cord had been wrapped, and that he had emerged from the c-section chin first. I lie there, relieved. My child was here safe, my husband was now with him. Whew. I announced to no one that I was going to throw up. The anesthesiologist brought me a bed pan and told me to turn my head to the side. I did, the emotion of two days coming out. We were through. I closed my eyes and said a prayer of thanks as they sewed me up.
I was able to see and hold BeYoyo in recovery. He was the most beautiful thing I'd seen since The Boy's birth. I cried. At some point Anika checked on us and said "I'm sorry this wasn't the birth story you'd wanted. We didn't have much of a choice there at the end." I laughed. I told her that I was not at all disappointed in the birth of my son, and thanked her for getting him to us safely. It was not ideal, but I was as proud of his birth story as I was of The Boy's. How could I be disappointed in anything that brought me a healthy baby boy?
Later, grandparents brought The Boy to meet his brother and my whole family was together. What a blessing. We sent all our visitors out so the boys could have their first few minutes alone together. Then The Boy introduced his grandparents and our friends to his new brother. Our lives were changing again, and I will forever be amazed by that day.
