We got to the hospital around noon and they took me back to check me immediately. Now, as a side note, I had never been "checked" before. I know a lot of women like to start getting checked at their weekly appointments around week 36, but my personal philosophy was that it wouldn't make any difference to me one way or another how far along I was. If I had been dilated at all, I would have just been stressed about it. I had decided that if I went over my due date, I would let them check me at my next appointment. So when the nurse checked me-- OW. Not fun. I was really glad that I had never had them check and I'll absolutely be doing that with my next pregnancy. Ignorance is bliss, right?
As she was checking me, she said, "Wow. WOW. His head is really slammed down there!" Yes, that is a direct quote and she indeed used the word "slammed". NOT HELPFUL. She then said, "Hmmm, his head is so far down that I can't really feel how dilated you are! You're either a 2 or a 7, so I'm going to say that you're a 5. I've never had such a hard exam in all my years of nursing!" Okay, lady. A few things, if I may.
1. Did you just GUESS how far along I was? I could have done that myself at home. You went to nursing school, but I GUESS you aren't very good at your job! UGH.
2. The terminology "slammed down" is really not helping me feel better about being on hour 14 of labor. Please, choose your next words WISELY or else YOUR head might be slammed against a WALL.
3. I'm sorry this is so difficult for you. Maybe you'd like to switch places?
Actually, she was really nice other than that first little interaction. My mom asked very sweetly if there was someone who could come in to check me who would know exactly how dilated I was. I about died laughing at my mom's next question-- "Um... are you going to be her nurse?" Well, as much as one can die laughing while contracting something fierce. Luckily, she wasn't going to be (praise ye the Lord) and they sent the charge nurse in to check. She quickly was able to figure out that I was about a 6. I was so afraid I was going to be a 3 or some low number like that.
My water hadn't broken at this point, but I really wanted it to break on it's own. This was part of our birth plan. They told me that they could easily break my water but I really didn't want them to at that point. I decided to walk around the labor and delivery floor for an hour and see if that would help. I'm not sure why I felt like this was a good idea because walking while contracting? Not fun. Poor Tyler had to basically hold Big Momma up every time I had a contraction and they were coming every 3-4 minutes at this point. He gained some good strength that day. I also didn't have the foresight to think about how embarrassing it would be if my water broke in the hallway.
I didn't need to think about the embarrassing factor, though, because my water didn't break. After about an hour, I'd had it and Tyler and I decided to have them break my water. We said that if that was the only thing that didn't go according to our birth plan, we'd be happy. When the nurses called my doctor, he told them to wait and that he would come to the hospital to break my water himself. Have I mentioned that I LOVE MY DOCTOR? He came and double checked that this is what I wanted. He knew that it was a part of our birth plan and wanted to be very, very sure I was okay with the deviation. We were okay, so he proceeded. That was at 3:30 pm.
The next 3.5 hours were a blur. I had the best labor and delivery nurse named Cindy who was very on board with our plan. I distinctly remember begging for an epidural one time (see, I'm not so tough!) and she looked at me and said, "Nope. You don't need one!" I am so thankful that God gave us Cindy as our nurse because most nurses would have called the anesthesiologist right away. Again, no shame in having an epidural, but I really never wanted one. I am so glad that it all worked out the way it did.
Not gonna lie, transition labor was HORRIBLE. I still haven't forgotten how bad it was. It is all very fuzzy in my memory, but it's clear enough, let me tell you. Tyler told me I screamed a few times but then kind of buckled down and got very determined. During pregnancy, I really thought I would be all about changing positions while in labor. I was dead wrong. I laid on my right side pretty much the whole time. I was just in so much pain that I couldn't even think about moving. Even and measured breathing was what really saved me. Tyler and my mom were absolutely amazing.
Between 6:00 and 6:30, Cindy checked me again and said that I was nearing 10 cm. My doctor started back to the hospital. At 7:00, things really picked up. Cindy's shift ended which made me so sad. I wanted her to stay with me. Just before shift change, my labor changed BIG TIME. I felt a noticeable difference and all of a sudden, I had this incredible urge to push. I started pushing at 7:00 and my doctor got there shortly after. Cindy left and my new nurse, Shannon, came in and was there for the rest of the birth. She was wonderful as well! I remember watching the clock while I was pushing and every 15 minutes, I would think, "In the next 15 minutes, I will have him." At about 8:15, I just felt like I was totally done. Sure enough, Griffin was born at 8:33 PM!
The moment he was born was absolutely the most joyful and breathtaking moment of my entire life. I still tear up just thinking about the moment that my doctor put him on my chest and I saw him. He was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen with a head full of hair! I did not expect that. Tyler was up by my head and Griffin opened one eye and then the other. He didn't even cry that much! I love that the first thing he saw was his mommy and daddy together. I started telling him that I loved him and just cuddled him close. It was absolutely the best moment of my entire life!
The next few hours were a whirlwind. We spent some sweet time as a family before they took him next to my bed to clean him up. Our hospital has a tiny room connected to the labor and delivery suite where they clean up the baby and get them all cozy in their blanket. The whole "post-delivery" ordeal was very easy and I didn't think much about it. The first meal that I ate was a turkey sandwich and it was the best thing I've ever eaten. Seriously. Deprive a girl of food for almost 24 hours and make her labor through most of it and she'll eat just about anything.
We had a great hospital stay with lots of wonderful visitors and excellent medical care. I can't say enough about my nurses, especially my labor and delivery nurses. Griffin and I actually went back to visit Cindy when we had a follow-up appointment at the hospital when he was 6 weeks old (more on that another time). I could have stayed in the hospital FOREVER.
I obviously really, really, really loved my doctor. I felt like he went way above and beyond to make sure that we were as comfortable as possible and that our birth plan was followed as long as Griffin's safety wasn't compromised. If you're having a baby (especially a first baby), I would strongly recommend you find a doctor you're very comfortable with. I trusted him 100% and would have done just about anything he told me to do. My doctor was in a practice with only two physicians, and I felt this way about both of them! I asked them so many questions during my pregnancy and they always validated me and helped me to calm down. All in all, Griffin's labor and delivery and our hospital stay was fantastic. You know, minus the horrible pain that I still haven't forgotten.
And to those of you who were wondering, I did end up have a completely natural Bradley method birth. The only medication I got was some ibuprofen after they cut the umbilical cord. I didn't even need an IV (just a heplock in case of an emergency). This doesn't make me a he-woman or anything special; trust me, any woman could do this. It was just a personal choice that I am completely satisfied with. I wouldn't have done anything different and if we have any more children, we will do the same thing. When Griffin was born, he was SO alert and bright eyed and stayed that way for a few hours. It was just amazing! I'm planning on writing a post on the Bradley method and how it worked for us, but in the mean time, if you have ANY questions about it or would like to see our birth plan, just email me or comment and I'll contact you back. I'm super passionate about natural birth, but again, I would never make anyone feel bad for their preferred birth method. Different strokes for different folks, especially when there is medical issues involved for mom or for baby!
Actually, she was really nice other than that first little interaction. My mom asked very sweetly if there was someone who could come in to check me who would know exactly how dilated I was. I about died laughing at my mom's next question-- "Um... are you going to be her nurse?" Well, as much as one can die laughing while contracting something fierce. Luckily, she wasn't going to be (praise ye the Lord) and they sent the charge nurse in to check. She quickly was able to figure out that I was about a 6. I was so afraid I was going to be a 3 or some low number like that.
My water hadn't broken at this point, but I really wanted it to break on it's own. This was part of our birth plan. They told me that they could easily break my water but I really didn't want them to at that point. I decided to walk around the labor and delivery floor for an hour and see if that would help. I'm not sure why I felt like this was a good idea because walking while contracting? Not fun. Poor Tyler had to basically hold Big Momma up every time I had a contraction and they were coming every 3-4 minutes at this point. He gained some good strength that day. I also didn't have the foresight to think about how embarrassing it would be if my water broke in the hallway.
I didn't need to think about the embarrassing factor, though, because my water didn't break. After about an hour, I'd had it and Tyler and I decided to have them break my water. We said that if that was the only thing that didn't go according to our birth plan, we'd be happy. When the nurses called my doctor, he told them to wait and that he would come to the hospital to break my water himself. Have I mentioned that I LOVE MY DOCTOR? He came and double checked that this is what I wanted. He knew that it was a part of our birth plan and wanted to be very, very sure I was okay with the deviation. We were okay, so he proceeded. That was at 3:30 pm.
The next 3.5 hours were a blur. I had the best labor and delivery nurse named Cindy who was very on board with our plan. I distinctly remember begging for an epidural one time (see, I'm not so tough!) and she looked at me and said, "Nope. You don't need one!" I am so thankful that God gave us Cindy as our nurse because most nurses would have called the anesthesiologist right away. Again, no shame in having an epidural, but I really never wanted one. I am so glad that it all worked out the way it did.
Not gonna lie, transition labor was HORRIBLE. I still haven't forgotten how bad it was. It is all very fuzzy in my memory, but it's clear enough, let me tell you. Tyler told me I screamed a few times but then kind of buckled down and got very determined. During pregnancy, I really thought I would be all about changing positions while in labor. I was dead wrong. I laid on my right side pretty much the whole time. I was just in so much pain that I couldn't even think about moving. Even and measured breathing was what really saved me. Tyler and my mom were absolutely amazing.
Between 6:00 and 6:30, Cindy checked me again and said that I was nearing 10 cm. My doctor started back to the hospital. At 7:00, things really picked up. Cindy's shift ended which made me so sad. I wanted her to stay with me. Just before shift change, my labor changed BIG TIME. I felt a noticeable difference and all of a sudden, I had this incredible urge to push. I started pushing at 7:00 and my doctor got there shortly after. Cindy left and my new nurse, Shannon, came in and was there for the rest of the birth. She was wonderful as well! I remember watching the clock while I was pushing and every 15 minutes, I would think, "In the next 15 minutes, I will have him." At about 8:15, I just felt like I was totally done. Sure enough, Griffin was born at 8:33 PM!
The moment he was born was absolutely the most joyful and breathtaking moment of my entire life. I still tear up just thinking about the moment that my doctor put him on my chest and I saw him. He was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen with a head full of hair! I did not expect that. Tyler was up by my head and Griffin opened one eye and then the other. He didn't even cry that much! I love that the first thing he saw was his mommy and daddy together. I started telling him that I loved him and just cuddled him close. It was absolutely the best moment of my entire life!
The next few hours were a whirlwind. We spent some sweet time as a family before they took him next to my bed to clean him up. Our hospital has a tiny room connected to the labor and delivery suite where they clean up the baby and get them all cozy in their blanket. The whole "post-delivery" ordeal was very easy and I didn't think much about it. The first meal that I ate was a turkey sandwich and it was the best thing I've ever eaten. Seriously. Deprive a girl of food for almost 24 hours and make her labor through most of it and she'll eat just about anything.
We had a great hospital stay with lots of wonderful visitors and excellent medical care. I can't say enough about my nurses, especially my labor and delivery nurses. Griffin and I actually went back to visit Cindy when we had a follow-up appointment at the hospital when he was 6 weeks old (more on that another time). I could have stayed in the hospital FOREVER.
I obviously really, really, really loved my doctor. I felt like he went way above and beyond to make sure that we were as comfortable as possible and that our birth plan was followed as long as Griffin's safety wasn't compromised. If you're having a baby (especially a first baby), I would strongly recommend you find a doctor you're very comfortable with. I trusted him 100% and would have done just about anything he told me to do. My doctor was in a practice with only two physicians, and I felt this way about both of them! I asked them so many questions during my pregnancy and they always validated me and helped me to calm down. All in all, Griffin's labor and delivery and our hospital stay was fantastic. You know, minus the horrible pain that I still haven't forgotten.
And to those of you who were wondering, I did end up have a completely natural Bradley method birth. The only medication I got was some ibuprofen after they cut the umbilical cord. I didn't even need an IV (just a heplock in case of an emergency). This doesn't make me a he-woman or anything special; trust me, any woman could do this. It was just a personal choice that I am completely satisfied with. I wouldn't have done anything different and if we have any more children, we will do the same thing. When Griffin was born, he was SO alert and bright eyed and stayed that way for a few hours. It was just amazing! I'm planning on writing a post on the Bradley method and how it worked for us, but in the mean time, if you have ANY questions about it or would like to see our birth plan, just email me or comment and I'll contact you back. I'm super passionate about natural birth, but again, I would never make anyone feel bad for their preferred birth method. Different strokes for different folks, especially when there is medical issues involved for mom or for baby!
Right after Griffin was born! Tyler was an amazing support.
Our big boy!
His first bath
The picture on the left is the part of his personality that he gets from Tyler. The picture on the right the part of his personality that he gets from me. Ha!
Grammy and Papa!
Grandpa and Grandma Haney
My precious little family!
Getting ready to go home!
In the end, we got our boy. I can't stop thanking God for a perfect and healthy baby! He is so precious and beautiful. Sometimes, I'm just overwhelmed with tears when I look at him because of how much I love him. The Lord has done GREAT things for us!!
