I don’t know about you, but I absolutely love hearing and reading other moms’ birth stories. I loved it when I was pregnant, as it gave me a glimpse into all the possibilities of how my birth experience could go. And I still love it now, as a way to connect with other moms. So, I thought I would share my own birth experience! I was very lucky to have an extremely positive birth experience - I hope any moms-to-be reading this will have an equally positive one.
Two weeks before my due date (okay, technically one week and six days before), my husband and I had planned a “last date night before baby” on a Saturday night at The Melting Pot. We love going there on occasion because fondue is such a fun experience, on top of being delicious. Earlier that day while we were out running errands, I had felt a few of what I assumed were Braxton Hicks contractions. They definitely hurt, but didn’t seem to have any kind of pattern and had happened sporadically throughout the day.
As I was getting ready and we were driving to the restaurant, they started to happen a bit more frequently, so I began to question if they were Braxton Hicks, or if they were the real thing. We proceeded to the restaurant anyway, and were seated in a private outdoor igloo (our local restaurant has had these ever since COVID, and they’re so cute!). By the time we had ordered and started our first course (the cheese - possibly my favorite part of fondue), my husband had opened up the contraction timing app he’d downloaded on his phone. And by the time we got to the main course, we were both quite confident that these were not, in fact, Braxton Hicks, but that I was in full-blown labor.
Although it was clear that these contractions were the real thing, I wasn’t anywhere near the 5-1-1 rule. This rule outlines that if your contractions are five minutes apart, last for one minute each, and have been this way for one hour, then it’s time to head to the hospital. I think at this point, my contractions were closer to ten minutes apart and lasting for about 30 seconds each, so we decided to stay and finish our dinner. After all, I was going to need all the energy I could get soon enough! Thinking back on this early part of my labor makes me chuckle - I just picture the two of us, sitting in this igloo eating fondue, me pausing every few minutes because I was gripped by pain, but then going right back to dipping my skewer in whatever bubbling pot was in front of me.
After finishing our dinner and dessert, we headed home and I called my doula from the car to give her an update and ask her advice. Based on my contraction timing, which had still not reached that 5-1-1 threshold, she recommended I go home and try to get some sleep if I could. When we got home, I double checked my pre-packed hospital bag and crawled into bed. Thankfully, I did manage to fall asleep in between contractions and get a few hours’ sleep before the pain started waking me.
By 4 AM, I couldn’t sleep anymore. I started timing my contractions again, and they were still not quite at 5-1-1, although they were getting closer. I continued laboring at home for another couple hours in my bedroom and bathroom. Around 7 AM, my contractions were five minutes apart, lasted about a minute, and had been that way for an hour. When I called my OBGYN and told her all this information, she asked something along the lines of “Are you sure? Your voice sounds awfully calm.” But I assured her that those were the facts, so she told me to meet her at the hospital.
We got checked into the hospital around 8 AM by a very sweet young nurse named McKenna. After completing some paperwork and checking my vitals, she also conducted a cervical check to see how far dilated I was. After checking my cervix, she calmly said, “give me one second, I’ll be right back” and left the room. My husband and I looked at each other and both shrugged, a bit confused. She came back with a second nurse, who introduced herself and asked if she could also check my cervix. I replied that she could. After checking, she told me I was five centimeters dilated - halfway there! My original nurse confessed that she had called for a second person to check because she had second guessed her own measurement. She, like my OB had on the phone, said, “you’re just so calm, I was sure you couldn’t already be that dilated!” All I could do was laugh.
I had already decided that I would likely want to get an epidural at some point during labor, but my pain was still pretty manageable, so I wanted to hold off until I felt otherwise. I sat in bed, layed in bed, stood, sat on the birthing ball, walked around, and even got in the bathtub for a little while. During contractions, my husband held my hand, rubbed my back, pointed my portable fan at my hot face, squeezed my hips, held a rebozo (Mexican labor scarf) like we had learned in our birthing classes, and even changed into swim trunks so he could get in the tub with me. He also played DJ throughout the day, with a playlist dominated by John Mayer tracks, which was the perfect calm but happy music.
Around noon, I had just about reached my pain threshold. I was dilated to 7 centimeters and my OB broke my water at this point. I decided I wanted to give nitrous oxide (aka laughing gas) a try, but immediately hated it as soon as they got it hooked up and I took my first inhale - it made me feel crazy nauseous! So, I announced that I was ready for the epidural. I know there are so many opinions about epidurals and so many varying experiences with having them placed. Personally, I’m extremely glad I chose to go this direction when I was ready to do so. The anesthesiologist who placed the epidural did an amazing job, and I barely felt a thing as the catheter needle was going in. I also had a good balance of no pain, but still some level of sensation where I could feel pressure.
After getting the epidural, I was able to sleep on and off for several hours. My nurse and my doula would help me change positions in bed regularly to help keep labor progressing. I was quite comfortable with the epidural, so it was great to get some good rest. I was especially glad I brought my own pillow from home at this point - this is a must-add to your hospital packing list! In addition to napping, I passed the time by watching football (it was a Sunday, after all) and eating easy, light snacks like applesauce pouches and honey sticks.
I was fully dilated to ten centimeters by 8 PM, 12 hours after arriving at the hospital, and it was time to start pushing! There had been a shift change shortly before that, so I had a new nurse, along with a nursing student in the room when I started pushing, in addition to my husband and my doula. My OB was down the hall with another mom whose baby was in distress - everything was going smoothly for me, so they needed her attention much more than I did. Since my doctor was occupied, the nurse asked another on-call doctor to come into my room. I was a bit disappointed at the thought of having a doctor who was a stranger to me be the one to catch my daughter, but I didn’t dwell on it, and instead focused on how close I was to finally meeting her! Just as the on-call doctor was getting his gown and gloves on, my OB came running into the room, shouting, “I’m here! I made it!” and she quickly took the other doctor’s place. After about 30 minutes of pushing and 25 hours of labor, our perfect, beautiful daughter was born at 8:39 PM at 5 lbs, 14 oz and 19 inches long, with a full head of dark brown hair.
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