Liam's Birth Story (long post)

 

 

 

 

 

I wanted to take time to write Liam's birth story before I could no longer remember it. I'm sure this will be long, but not near as long as labor!! I'll try to make sure it isn't graphic, but it will recap labor...never glamorous. Consider yourself warned from here on out- I'm not sure how this one will go....

Anyone who knows me and keeps in pretty close contact with me knows pregnancy was rough. Not 'I feel really tired, moody and threw up a couple times’ sick, but in and out of the hospital, throwing up multiple times a day, drained in every way possible sick. Needless to say, when I was 37 weeks and considered full term I was ready to have him. In that last month of pregnancy, I began getting checked at my weekly appointments, and remained consistently dilated at two centimeters, never progressing more than that, despite the contractions that I was having. We tried all sorts of things with no luck. Week 38 passed… week 39 passed… and then came week 40. No one expected me to make it that far and it looked like an induction was in my very near future.

We woke up November 25^th, 40 weeks and 1 day in, and I was miserable. I could not have been in a worse mood. I was in pain. My skin was starting to tear. I was exhausted. By this time I had resorted to wearing leggings, Toms and oversized men's shirts. I was too sick to go to service that day, but Spence and I tried to continue our Sunday how we normally would. I threw up my lunch and we headed to my parents. I'd been having "contractions" all day, but it wasn't until about 6:00 I decided I should start timing them. They weren't unbearable by any means, just uncomfortable and since it was so late in the game, I was supposed to track everything. By 8:30 it was obvious they were consistent at 4 minutes apart, lasting a minute each. I didn't want to be so sure, so I called to see what I should do. Dr. Wilson, the doctor on call, advised I head to the hospital ASAP, even if they weren't unbearable.

 

Spence and I got in the neon and my Mom and sister were going to follow (these three were my "labor team"). I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous. I started crying in the car telling Spencer I was "really scared" repeatedly. It felt really anti-climatic pulling into the hospital- not at all what I had geared myself up for. I imagined mass amounts of pain and screaming.

We walked through patient tower 1, up to level 3 and checked in. A nurse took me to delivery 2, had me undress and gown up and said they'd be with me shortly. 30 minutes later, they hadnt forgotten about me. The nurse came in and checked me and said I was dilated to a 2 (still) and 80% effaced. The nurse hooked me up to the machine to measure my contractions and our little man's heart rate and said she would be back in an hour to see if I had progressed. I knew I was gonna be sent home and I was NOT happy. Spencer kept close watch on the contraction monitor. I'm not kidding when I say they weren't painful. I would joke through them and there were times where Spence would say "did you feel that one?!" An hour later and we were sent home being told my contractions were close enough together, long enough, but not strong enough to make me dilate further. "Come back when they are worse. If you can't talk or walk through them you need to come in." Sigh. Another weekend gone and no baby.

Spencer and I got home, packed our hospital bags back into the apartment ( again! ) and went to bed. I, of course, was not really able to fall asleep because as painless as the contractions were, they were uncomfortable. Then, it happened. At 2:10 AM I felt like I was being stabbed repeatedly in my lower back. My whole body was shaking in pain. I begged Spencer to help me to the bathroom and he kept saying "lets go to the hospital" while I was trying to convince him I could walk and talk. Notsomuch. We called my Mom, but fearful I would be sent home AGAIN, I wanted to try and time them. Three minutes later, I was being stabbed to death again and bawling. No more timing... LET'S GO!!

I am so happy we live so close to Riverton Hospital. I screamed in pain, legs shaking, the entire way. "WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?!"... "please Jesus, help me!"... "Spencer, I am scared!" ... "please Jesus, help me!" This was way more than I'd anticipated and not the anti-climactic drive to the hospital hours earlier.

After FINALLY making it up to the flippin 3rd floor (why do they not have wheelchairs?!) the woman at the desk wanted to send me to the triage room. Luckily two nurses were standing there and wanted to take me right back to a L&D room. They had Spencer hang back to admit me, and walked me to room 6. "Are you going to have an epidural?" "Yes! Can I have one now??!" My nurse, Amber, helped me undress while I begged for my Momma. Spencer had made it to Room 6, but where was my Mom and why were they keeping her from me? Still dilated and hooked up to the same machines as earlier, it turns out you have to have your IV for 20 minutes before the anesthesiologist can give the epidural. "Has it been 20 minutes yet?" "No, it's been 3." A few minutes later they allowed my Mom and sister in.

After thrashing and crying through contractions, almost biting off Spencer's finger and having Amber talk me through the pain, it was epidural time. They only allowed for my husband to be in the room while i got the good drugs. Feet together, knees down, back arched- the epidural was nothin!! " This is gonna feel like a bee sting" bring it. "You are gonna feel and hear a pop" meh... No thang- for me, anyway. The color drained out of Spencer's face when the "pop" happened and he made some strange comment about a vein in my foot being big. And then... Relief. I am officially an advocate of epidurals.

Following my epidural, our nurse's shift ended, and a new nurse named Amber was assigned to us. I was sad to see our first nurse go, but quickly warmed up to the second nurse. She was EXACTLY what I’d told my “labor team” I’d hoped for when we had discussed how I hoped my labor would go. She talked sweet and soft, calling me “sweetheart” and explaining everything to me as it happened. With the pitocin pumping through me I was able to spend the next 8 hours feeling comfortable. Amber continued to come in and check me and things were progressing quickly. Two centimeters NO MORE!!
Having been in labor since the night before, no one had been able to get any sleep. My exhausted "labor team" kept telling me “go to sleep. Get some sleep!” but I was wayyy too amped to sleep. I was trying to chat and each one of them would dose off. Spencer set up his nook so I could watch Netflix. He admitted it was to shut me up… I laughed. (thank you epidural for making it possible for me to laugh during active labor!) Once it was a decent hour, my Dad brought the crew McD's breakfast. I was starving, but had to stick to the orange slushee from the Nutrition Station. Luckily, my dear husband did take pity on me and smuggled in a pudding for me that I DEVOURED. Visits from Dad, Annette, my Grandma and Aunt Jodi helped pass time.

At 10:00 I was dilated to a 6 and had been for a while. Dr. Twelves came in to break my water to really get things rolling. By 11:30 I had made it to 10 centimeters. Go time. Enter panic. I made sure to hit the" juice button" on my epidural, as I call it, and the nurse said we would start pushing at 12.

 

Amber, my nurse, lowered the big light from the ceiling, the CNA set up 42 pairs of scissors (give or take) and the rest of the labor accessories (most of which scared the crap out of me. Why will they need THAT?!) and it was go time. With directions from Amber on how to breathe and push, Spence with my right leg, Sarah with my left leg, my Mom behind me with her camera and my Grandma in the corner, the time had finally come.

The pushing started out feeling like I wasn't doing much. With my second contraction I started to get the hang of it though. The goal was to get three good pushes with each contraction, and I was determined to do so. The baby moved up under my pelvis after 15 minutes of pushing. Unfortunately, since I had pushed that fast, Dr. Twelves hadn't made it yet and the nurse said I couldnt continue to push until she said. I could feel him stuck under my pelvis and all I wanted to do was push. I. Was. In. Pain. I had been advised that epidurals help with contraction pain, but not pressure pain. Never have I felt a pain like that. This was nothing like my contractions, but I was pretty sure my tail bone was breaking and other things were on fire. My sister helped me keep the panic to a minimum- "you are doing great, Sunny. Deep breath through your nose, out through your mouth." I wanted NO part of the oxygen at that point. I spent the next 10 minutes asking where Dr. Twelves was, begging the nurse to "get him out of me" and then the doctor arrived. Four minutes of pushing and what Sarah calls the "Warrior cry" (the huge scream I let out as Dr. Twelves pulled him out) and there he was. I think I kind of went into shock at that moment. I started sobbing and they put him on my chest. "Look at your baby!! Love on your baby!!" I think my Mom could tell I was completely overwhelmed at that moment. He was perfect and he was here. At 12:29 PM, after 19 official minutes of pushing, William Shawn Morley made his entrance with a full head of hair. Everything from there kind of became a blur. I got him here and then was no longer feeling coherent.

Then, more pain set in. This is the part no one had ever told me about. I know I delivered the placenta. Rather, she pushed it out of me. I’ve heard from so many people that they don’t remember delivering the placenta. I’m not sure that is a pain I will ever forget. Immediate cramps/contractions immediately followed. No, thank you… I had the baby and thought the pain should be over. My epidural had pretty much wore off and they administered a different pain killer into my IV. This is when it all really became kind of a blur. I guess I asked for my Dad, I know I was stitched up and I definitely know I was in a lot of pain. After being cleaned up, my Dad and Annette were able to come in. While giving my pain killers time to kick in, the nurses deemed Liam perfectly healthy and Spencer was able to give him his first bottle.

After a few minutes they brought my 7 lbs 12 oz, 20.5 inch baby boy over to me for some skin to skin. He was absolute perfection, and I was a Mom. I was his Mom. Every second of hell during my pregnancy and labor was more than worth it when I felt my little baby boy curl up on my chest and I was able to kiss his head. We did it, Liam. We did it, Spence. We did it, fam. I did it.