Brighton's Birth

Disclaimer: I am not going to share every intimate detail of my labor for our own privacy's sake, but I'll share the pieces of it that are ok for public knowledge.

As I mentioned here, we had a 41 week appointment last Monday where they did an ultrasound to check her size, my fluid levels, placenta etc, a non-stress test, and an exam to see how far along I was.  Everything checked out fine and I was dilated 3cm and was 70% effaced. The nurse-midwife discussed our options and we decided that the best thing would be to continue to allow my body to progress naturally. They went ahead and scheduled an induction for August 22, the last possible day they would allow me to be pregnant (at 42 weeks) and told me to call them if my water broke or my contractions were 5 minutes apart, 1 minute in length and I was having them for over an hour at that rate. 

I went home thinking I wouldn't be going until labor for another few days to a week. That night I decided to go to bed around 9pm. I was having mild contractions at that point, but they were so infrequent, I thought nothing of them and went to sleep.  When Matt came to bed around 11pm, I had a contraction, but this time it wasn't mild - it was really uncomfortable. About 11 minutes later, I had another one, then another. I got out of bed, went into the living room and started timing them.

Around 12:30 a.m. they became regular at about 1 minute in length and 8 minutes apart. By 4am, my contractions were 5 minutes apart, 1 minute in length and I was unable to talk through them. I knew it was time to wake up Matt and call the nurse.

I woke Matt up and told him to pack a bag. He asked if my water had broken, but before I could answer, I was hunched over the bed, my face in a pillow, screaming through a contraction. I know this sounds really dramatic, but it was so painful I felt like my uterus was being ripped in half. (Whomever said contractions feel like a strong period cramp are liars! It's way WAY worse than that!) Matt starting packing, and I called the nurse. They had the midwife on duty call me back and after listening to my symptoms she told me to go to the hospital asap. I was in definitely in labor. 

We arrived at the hospital around 4:45 a.m. and were checked into the L&D room by 5am. 

All this time, I was having contractions and they were coming at 3-5 minutes apart. As I was changing into a hospital gown, trying to breathe through each one, I knew I couldn't do it any more without pain relief. I asked for an epidural so they started me on fluids and ordered the anesthesiologist. I was Group B Strep positive and I ended up having an allergic reaction to the first IV antibiotic, so as they were researching what else they could administer, the anesthesiologist came in and gave me the epidural. 

To say the epidural was a relief is an understatement and I don't regret my decision in the least. I was able to relax and think straight for the first time in almost 7 hours.

Matt called our parents, sent out some texts to our friends and we started the wait. My in-laws and my mom came in the room to wish us well around 8:30am. After they left, Matt and I took some time to pray - we asked that God would protect our sweet girl, that we would have peace if we had to make big decisions due to complications, and that labor would go as best as it could. 

Around 9am, the nurse-midwife checked me and I had progressed from 3cm to 7cm in a span of 2 hours (they checked me at 7am and I was still at 3cm). Finally the nurses found an antibiotic they could give me for the strep, but weirdly enough, after the antibiotics were given and complete, I had another allergic reaction so they gave me a half dose of benadryl in my IV. I promptly fell asleep.

When I woke up around 12pm we realized that my water broke on it's own. They checked me again about 30 minutes later and I was 10cm. I was ready to start pushing so the nurse and the midwife came in and taught me what to do. They reduced my epidural so I could feel the pressure of the contractions and also have complete control of my legs. 

I pushed in 15 minute intervals, taking 15 minute breaks between them to let my body rest and also do what it was designed to do. Matt held one leg and the midwife or the nurse held the other each time, all three of them cheering me on during each push. I pushed for about an hour like that when they noticed that Brighton's heart rate was dropping a little at each contraction - she was so close to being born, but not moving forward any more regardless of how much I pushed. 

The midwife asked if they could use a vacuum to help pull her out and asked the OB on call from our practice to come in and help. They both assured me that it would only take another 15 minutes maximum because she was already crowning. Matt and I agreed that it was the right thing to do - we didn't want to have a c-section and that would have been the next step if the vacuum didn't work or if we had chosen not to use it.

As they started to insert the vacuum, I looked over at Matt and started to cry. I was so worried about our daughter's heart rate, but the realization that I was about to meet her and become her mother in a few minutes was overwhelming. Before I had a moment to get my emotions together, they said they were ready for me to push again.

Three pushes in and the OB and midwife called my name, telling me to look up because my daughter was coming. I looked up and felt her body leave mine. They held her up and she wailed as she came into the world. I burst into tears at the sound of her cries and Matt leaned over to kiss me, tears streaming down his face. We were parents and our miracle baby was finally here.

They had to take her to a small pediatric table in the room as she had a little meconium on her. She hadn't ingested any, thank god, so they suctioned her, wiped her down and checked her vitals. The midwife told me that the cord had been wrapped under her armpit and loosely around her neck, so that was why her heart rate was dropping and she wasn't moving forward with my pushes.

 They laid her on my chest skin to skin. She was totally alert, still whimpering a little, and we put our hands on her tiny body and told her how much we loved her, how long we had waited to meet her.

From start to finish, I was in labor for about 13 hours. It went by so fast, and came so unexpectedly that after she was born and I was holding her in my arms, I was still in shock that she was here with us. My mother in law told me before I went into labor that a friend of hers was praying for me and felt like she should pray for a short and fast labor since we had "labored" for almost five years for this child. God granted her prayer! I am so thankful for the experience I had. 

This sounds so cheesy, but my labor was a labor of love. My daughter came into the world safe and sound, healthy and whole. We are thankful. We are blessed. We are in love.

A huge thank you to the staff at Carolinas Medical Center and my nurse-midwife team at Charlotte OB-GYN. My experience with you was fantastic!