My Birth Story

Saturday, Nov 24

Months ago Ryan planned to go to the New Mexico State vs. BYU football game today in Las Cruces, about 3 hours away. It had been a running joke that I would go into labor while he was gone. Everyone kept telling him "you're crazy to plan that on your wife's due date." We figured, what are the chances I go into labor on my due date? Thanksgiving came and went and I really felt like I would have the baby sometime that next week. I had bad cramps on Thanksgiving and didn't think they were contractions. People would ask me if I'd had any contractions but how would I know? I had no idea what they felt like. Last night we put up the Christmas tree and Christmas decorations. Around 4:15 I started having contractions. They were really painful and low and there really was no break. They lasted about an hour. I almost called my mom but decided to lie down on the couch. In my birth class we learned that real contractions won't stop if you change position. After I sat up and ate dinner they went away and I didn't have anymore.

Saturday morning before Ryan left for the game he asked me if I was sure he should go. I told him yes. I felt fine and didn't think anything was going to happen. He said to call if anything changed. Around noon I began working in the nursery trying to clean up. I was standing up by the dresser getting ready to plug in the lamp and I felt a ton of discharge and a trickle down my left leg. I went into the bathroom and my garments were soaked and more water came out when i sat on the toilet, but i wasn't sure if it was pee or not. Tons of discharge when I wiped though. I changed and put a pad on just in case. I didn't feel any contractions so I didn't worry about it. If I had lost the mucous plug that still could mean i had a week or two left. If it was my water breaking I could have hours until labor started. I didn't tell Ryan. I was planning on going to see Breaking Dawn with a friend that night.

Around 4:30 the contractions started. They were strong but manageable. I would walk them off, sway or do pelvic tilts to get through them. I started timing them. I had 10 the first hour and they ranged from 3 min - 8 minutes apart. The hospital told us to go by the 411 rule. Contractions 4 minutes apart lasting 1 min each for an hour. Ryan texted me about 5:15 asking how I was and if I was still planning to go to the movie. I told him I was doing alright, but was going to stay home because I'd been having contractions for an hour. He called 30 minutes later. I told him I thought I lost my mucous plug and went over what happened. He was concerned so he skipped dinner and started for home. I started getting calls from my friends and my mom asking how I was and if they needed to take me to the Hospital. They said Ryan had asked them to check up on me. I told them I was fine and was just walking them off. I called Ryan and told him to stop telling everyone and that I was fine and not to worry. He was worried though because he was still 2.5 hours away. From 6:00-7:00 my contractions were about 5 minutes apart.. Ryan called again around 7:30. The pain was still manageable and I could talk through the contractions. At 8:45 I called the Midwife because I knew Ryan would be home soon and wanted to know if we should head over. By this point they averaged 4 minutes apart some coming every 2.5 minutes, but some were only lasting 25 seconds or so. She told me since this is my first baby I should probably wait a little longer. She told me to eat something and rest. She said I have to be dilated to a 4 to be admitted and she didn't want me to come in and just get sent home. I told her I didn't have my Strep B results and I thought my water had broken. She said she'd check and call if it was positive.

At 9:00 my friend Sariah came over. She said Jake (her husband who was with Ryan) called and told her to pick him up at our house and bring dinner. They arrived shortly after, ate dinner, then gave me a blessing. I remember asking them to wait until a contraction was over to start the blessing. I don't remember a word of it :) They stayed for a minute and chatted. I was trying to be polite and talk but I was in so much pain and just wanted them to leave. She must have been able to tell I was in pain because at one point she asked me if I was having a contraction. She gave me a hug and said, "You're going to be a mommy!" After they left I told Ryan I wanted to get in the tub. He told me to please time the contractions. He showered, packed his bag, and put the car seat in the car. The tub felt pretty good. I was on my hands and knees and would just lean my head on the side of the tub during a contraction. I told him they were 3 minutes apart and that we should probably go to the hospital. It took me forever to get dressed since i just wanted to be on my hands and knees. Right after we pulled out of the garage Ryan stopped and started texting. I remember telling him to just go! I don't remember any of the drive. He pulled up to the entrance and brought out a wheelchair. Once I got through a contraction I sat down and he wheeled me in. He asked the front desk if he could just leave his car there until we got checked in. Even though we'd been on a hospital tour Ryan started going the wrong way. I had to yell "green elevator!"

When we got to triage the nurse said it sounded like I was in labor. She asked for a urine sample. After trying for awhile, nothing came. I had a contraction and felt so much pressure. I pushed and a little blood came out. The nurse asked how I was and I told her I couldn't pee but there was blood. She said it was fine and asked if I felt like pushing, I said yes. I changed into the gown and they hooked up the monitor and called for the midwife. I kept saying "there's so much pressure, I just want to push." The nurse, in a panic told the front desk "we need the midwife!" The midwife came, checked me and said I was at a 9.5. I looked at Ryan and we were both shocked. I was preparing for the worse and was just hoping I was at least a 4. They wheeled me to the delivery room. Ryan was so good to answer all their questions since I was kind of out of it. They asked if I had any requests and Ryan said I just wanted to go natural. They said, "well, it's a little late for an epidural anyway." Once I got on the bed they gave me oxygen and told me they were going to put in an IV. I said I didn't need it since I'd been drinking 8 oz every hour, and asked for a hep lock instead. They tried 4 different times before they got it in. It was pretty painful. They had me lay on my right side but the baby's heart rate dropped. When I rolled to the left side it came back up so that's how I stayed. They told me I needed an IV so they put one in. I started to shake pretty bad because I was freezing. One of the nurses got warm fluids for my IV which helped a lot. They used a Doppler monitor for the baby because she was so far down which was pretty annoying and I felt like it was in the way. The Midwife said I had a tiny bit of cervix left and to wait. I told her I felt like pushing. It felt so good to push. There wasn't any pain at all. Ryan said if she feels like pushing can't she just push? She checked me again and I was a 10 so she said to push. She also said there was no fluid so my water must have broke.

I wanted to try using a squat bar so they brought one in. I used it for a few contractions and really liked it, but the baby didn't. Her heart rate would drop so they told me to stop and just push lying on my side. Ryan held my right leg and a nurse held my left.. I pushed for almost an hour. The last few pushes were so painful I screamed and grabbed onto the nurses scrubs. They had me reach down and feel her head as she was crowning. It felt cool, but when they asked me if I wanted to feel again I said no. The midwife kept applying jelly and would try and stretch me, that was painful. I was so tight though and ended up with a second degree tear and 15 stitches. Even though they numbed me I could still feel each stitch but at that point I didn't care. Everyone kept telling me how well i was doing and how impressed they were with me. One nurse said it was the best birth she's seen. I loved our nurses. They were so encouraging and nice. It felt so good to finally push her out. They immediately put her on my chest and I started to cry. She was so beautiful and perfect I couldn't believe she was ours. I kept saying "look at our baby! She's beautiful!" I remember saying that she was big. Per my doctor I was planning on having a small baby, but she was 7 lbs 8 oz 21". Born at 1:15 AM Sunday morning. I delivered the placenta 10 minutes later with no problems. She showed it to us and I couldn't believe how big it was. Weird stuff. After I delivered her I got really cold and my legs shook a little. We asked for delayed cord clamping and Ryan cut the cord about 7 minutes later. We also asked to have the vit K shot and the eye ointment delayed for about an hour. We refused the Hep B shot altogether.

They took her temp and it was pretty low. After 45 minutes of skin to skin they needed to take her to get her temperature up. They checked her blood sugar and it was fine, but they needed 3 good temp readings. They put her under a heat lamp and for awhile were still getting low readings. Finally her temp came up. She takes after me and is always cold I guess! She does have the same blood type as me. When they stamped her feet they commented on how big they were. They told me I had to pee and after not being able to I had to get a catheter. What an experience that was. Pretty uncomfortable. The nurse asked me if Ryan was in the medical field. They were impressed with how well he did and how knowledgeable he was. I told them it's from our birth classes. We were lucky to get a recovery room with a double bed all to ourselves. All of the nurses we had were there were great too. She failed her hearing test the first time, but when they tested her again she passed. We decided to name her Hannah Grace Everett. We stayed over Sunday night and left Monday at 1:45. At discharge she weighed 6.11 and at her appt 2 days later she was 6.10. The pediatrician was concerned so we went back 2 days later and she was 6.14 so that was good.

Looking back I'm so glad it happened the way it did. If Ryan would've been home I think we would've gone to the hospital too early and I'd have had to labor there. Knowing that Ryan was gone and that I had to wait for him to get home helped me get through the contractions on my own. Poor Ryan almost missed the birth! He never heard the end of it from his friends. He never got the chance to use any relaxation techniques from class. haha I'm glad it was a fast birth and that I didn't have to worry about fighting with the nurses about what I wanted and how I wanted it to go. Laboring at home is definitely they way to go. It went so smoothly and I had a great experience. At the time I remember thinking that I never want to do that again.