PART 1: Theo’s Birth Story

The last 3 weeks of my pregnancy I had pretty constistent Braxton Hicks contractions (almost daily) and back pain. Calvin and I both thought he would come early!
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February 16th (Thursday) came and we were honestly surprised baby boy hadn’t came yet!

I went to my appointment on Friday afternoon. Doctor said I was 3 cm, I let her do a membrane sweep (she did one at 39 weeks also with no such luck). Left the office, went on a walk with the family like everyday for the last week or so, ordered pizza and enjoyed the evening with hubby and the kids.

We had just put the kids down for bed (7:30 pm) and Calvin had made us tea (raspberry leaf tea for me!). I’m sitting in bed with my tea watching a movie and feel a contraction. I’m talking to myself in my heading “I’m pretty sure that was the real deal!? was it? Oh my gosh, our baby is coming!” .. And then I feel another one, “okay, that for sure was real.!” .. .And I tell hubby that I’m pretty sure I just had a real contraction..  They continued and were consistently 10-12 minutes apart. After four or five I called my mom to give her the heads up and told her not to rush over but if they keep coming pretty steady i’ll let her know when to head over.

That lasted another half hour and she was on her way. In the meantime Calvin and I got our bags around, I grabbed the last few last minute items, got changed, put my contacts back in.  … We wanted to be prepared. They say typically your labors go shorter with each child, be alas I’ve had 4 now and for me, it isn’t true.

Calvin tried to lay down. I stayed up waiting on mom, made a snack -veggies, ranch, crackers, and cheese-  I’ve been in labor STARVING and I wasn’t going to let that happen again 😉  and started using a contraction app to keep track on how far apart they were and how long they were lasting. Mom showed up around 10 I believe. Contractions were starting to get closer together but I wasn’t ready to go to the hospital yet, so we watched a movie. The movie was called “Mr. Church” and a good watch! It was a nice change to see Eddie Murphy play a serious character! I would watch it again.

I missed logging a few while we were getting around to leave 🙂

Calvin came out to check on my around 11:30  and contractions had been at 5-7 minutes apart for about an hour so I knew it was time to head to the hospital. They weren’t that painful but I could feel them getting stronger and longer.

We got to the hospital right after midnight and headed up to get checked in. The computer system was down so even though I pre-registered that didn’t matter. So we had to sit there and answer ALL THE QUESTIONS. When was your last period? what do you was your starting weight? What do you weigh now? when was your last appointment? Family history?    .. thankfully I’m not a crazy labor lady and was only minor irritated haha! .. It took just over an hour to get all that done!  She checked me and I was already 5 cm dilated. So we got moved into a birthing room. I really wanted a whirlpool tub to labor in, but neither were available.

I got my IV in, but since I was moving along quite well on my own and did not want an epidural they left it unconnected (not even to a saline drip)- I was able to drink water on my own instead. yay! I labored until 2:30 am, mostly on an exercise ball.

At 2:30 she came in to check on me and I let her break my water. It took her a minute to do it (ending up mid contraction- not fun!)  She then said the dreaded words “There is meconium present so I need to call up to the NICU to have a nurse present for delivery.”  I couldn’t help it, I started to sob. .. Ashton (our second child) had meconium and ended up being transferred to the hospital I was at this time and had to stay for 7 days. Not getting to hold him for a couple days, seeing a big IV  from his head. ugh. I just didn’t want that again.  Calvin just kissed my forehead and said that no matter what, that he was going to be alright..
Read PART 2 of Theo’s Birth Story here.