When I left off at Part One I had just gotten the epidural and was feeling much better.
Right after the epidural my nurse, Sara, left the room and came back in with another nurse. It took me a second to realize that it was a girl I'd been good friends with in high school! It was great to see her and have a familiar face around. She let me know that she'd be part of my nursing team - some people might find this uncomfortable, but pregnant women know there's no hiding anything at this point! After a quick catch up session I was given orders to rest up a bit. We were now at 2:00am.
Bryan and I never fully slept but I was at least able to rest my body a bit. While we were resting there was a great thunderstorm going on outside. The blinds in my room were open a bit and I was able to watch the lightening and rain. The atmosphere of a thunderstorm - something I love - lent a little extra excitement to the situation!
I was fully awoken at 2:55 when I finally felt my water break. I buzzed the nurse and she came in to make sure the fluid looked good. It did, and she was also able to tell that there was a tiny bit of forebag left and just the tiniest amount of cervix. She let me know that I would start feeling an increase in pressure and to call her if it got to the point where the pressure made me want to push. It was at this point that they also called my OB and she decided it was time for her to come in as she was about a half hour out.
Well, it only took about 20 minutes for that pressure to start! I was just about to push the call button when Sara walked in. The pressure was so intense and it actually felt like the baby was coming out! I actually freaked out for a minute because it seriously felt like the baby was just going to fall out! Ha! It was just more fluid and the rest of the water bag. Totally bizarre feeling!
There was a flurry of activity at this point as the nurses wanted to make sure there was no baby RIGHT behind this last bit of water bag. My OB was still on her way at this point, so they brought in the general on-call doctor at the hospital. She had me start light pushing at about 3:30. When it was obvious that the baby wasn't coming out this second, the doctor left and let my team of nurses take over. We took lots of breaks to see how baby was tolerating everything and all of the vitals looked good! And, of course, those lovely contractions that I could barely feel picked up speed and intensity as we went.
I kept pushing with every round of contractions. Unfortunately, even though everyone was telling me I was progressing nicely, it was just extremely slow-going. I hit the wall of frustration around 4:45. Everyone kept telling me I was doing a great job and that baby was coming down really well, but I just wanted the result of my hard work sooner than this!
My OB, who had already been in a couple times to check in on me, came in around 5:00 to assess my progress and watch a few pushes. She determined that baby was no longer tolerating the pushing very well. The heart rate was dipping too low and for too long after each pushing session. That's when I got the bad news that they would have to use the vacuum. I immediately started crying and was so upset. Noelle also needed the vacuum and ended up in the NICU because of it. Everyone on my team was so wonderful and reassuring and really helped me get my concentration back. My OB explained that she only used the vac when she 100% knew it would make for a quick delivery. That made me feel better as Noelle's vac experience was very prolonged, which is a big part of why she went to the NICU.
There was another flurry of activity as the nurses got the "baby station" ready and my OB worked with the techs to get everything ready for me. Once the doctor got everything hooked up it only took one more contraction to get the head out. We quickly found out why I hadnt been progressing as baby's cord was wrapped around its neck. Thankfully it was pretty loose so there was no major harm to baby. One more contraction and Theo Richard was born at 5:34am and measured 7lbs 10 oz and 20.5 inches!!
This is going to sound weird, but I felt so relieved after the doctor said the cord was present around the neck (and after we knew baby was ok). After now two not so great birthing experiences I was convinced that my body just wasn't made for easy or normal deliveries. It was good to know there was an actual reason this delivery didn't go as quickly as I had hoped. With Noelle, there was never an obvious reason why her delivery took so long (3 hours, 45 mins of pushing ending with a vac assist).
Ok, back to the action :) Bryan was still able to cut the cord - something he later said made him really nervous because the baby's neck was right there! No one said anything about the sex right away because it seemed as though Bryan was waiting for the doctor to say it and she was waiting for him to say it! He finally said It's a Boy! and we both started bawling! It was really only a second or two, but it felt like a minute. Sara told us later that we were her first crying couple since she started in October and she absolutely loved it!
Because of the vac assist the baby couldn't come to me right away - which was tough because I wanted that skin to skin immediately. Thankfully everything checked out well and all testing showed there was no blood loss to the baby's brain. Finally my son was brought to me and Bryan and I spent a few minutes just looking at him and talking to him. Finally I brought him to my breast and little dude latched on right. away. This was exactly the end result I was looking for! I attributed my struggles with breastfeeding the first time around to not being able to have Noelle with me right away. It felt so good - just beyond words - to have this instant connection with my son. Even now, a month later, I can think back to this moment and still feel the rush if excitement and love we felt at his birth. We are blessed beyond words to be given this precious gift!
Yikes--birth did not make me photogenic, who knew?! ;)
