Harrison's Birth Story

This is an uncensored account of the time that I pushed out my sweet baby Harry. If that's not your particular cup of tea, please don't read this.

About 10 days before Harry was born, I was praying and thinking about what I needed to do to have a good birth experience, and I felt like I needed to relax and it would happen. The next day I went to my 38 week appointment and my blood pressure was borderline high. The doctor said that my cervix was dilated to 2 cm and because I'd been feeling really crampy, I could go into labor at any time. Later that day I lost my mucus plug (which was gross) and I was convinced I would go into labor within a day or so.

Fast forward to Wednesday October 4th, and I'm pretty miserable. Still pregnant and super crampy. I went to my 39 week appointment with my favorite doctor and my blood pressure was still a little high, cervix was 3 cm dilated. The doc told me that I should think about scheduling an induction for the next day because she would be on call and high blood pressure is no bueno. I asked her to strip my membranes, hoping that it might speed things up a little. After praying and thinking about it that afternoon, I decided to forego the induction and relax, like my earlier impression suggested. That night I had a little bit of bloody show, and I went to bed feeling peaceful.

The next morning while Greg was walking Charlie to school, I was at home and my water broke (also gross)! I was so excited because I knew it meant that I was going to meet my baby soon! When Greg came home he was excited, too. We both got ready for the day and I started feeling some little contractions around 8:30 or so. I didn't feel ready to go to the hospital yet, so I started cleaning the house. Greg kept asking me, "Is it time to go yet?" and I would cryptically reply, "Soon." I called my doctor's office and told them, and they told me to head to the hospital to meet the doctor (my favorite doctor!). Around 9:45 I decided that the contractions had gotten strong enough, so we headed out.

"Greg, take one last pic of me with baby on the inside!"

We dropped off some stuff for Charlie at Greg's parents' house, and got to the hospital around 10:30. It took forever for us to get checked in and everything. The nurse announced that my cervix was dilated to 4 cm. We met the doc, and we discussed my "plan for pain management". I told them I was planning to go without pain meds, and they looked skeptical, but didn't argue with me. The doc also initially said that they would let me labor for an hour or so and then start Pitocin. I politely interjected with, "My first labor was 3 hours", to which she replied that Pitocin would probably be unnecessary. She wanted me to be on the fetal monitor for 20 minutes of every hour and to have a cervical exam every hour because she was paranoid about missing the delivery. The nurse also started IV antibiotics for me because I tested positive for Group B Strep.

I was ready to get moving around by that time, so Greg and I started walking laps around the Labor and Delivery floor. I was still feeling calm and able to relax through the contractions. They were subtly increasing in intensity but I could still breathe through them without any encouragement from Greg. Finally around 1 or 1:30 the antibiotics were done, so I asked them to disconnect me from the IV fluids. Freedom! After another round on the monitors, they checked my cervix and it was a 6 or 7 (I don't remember a lot of details because I was in The Zone), and then I asked the nurse to cover up my IV port so I could get in the shower.

SO GLAD that I made use of the shower! The nurse put a chair in it and turned the jets to spray hot water on my lower back. There was also a detachable shower head that Greg would use to spray hot water on my belly during contractions. I was feeling tired and overwhelmed at this point because LABOR IS A LOT OF WORK so I cried a lot in the shower, and actually felt more relaxed and calm afterwards. After about 20 minutes in the shower they got me out so I wouldn't get overheated and it was back on the monitors. Another cervical check revealed that my cervix was dilated to an 8. During the exam my water broke for a second time (apparently only part of the bag broke the first time?) and after that I needed Greg to do counterpressure on my lower back to get through the contractions. As she left the room, the nurse told Greg that if I felt like I needed to push then he needed to call them back in ASAP. After another round or two of contractions, I suddenly couldn't breathe calmly through the contractions anymore. I started loudly moaning through each one and for the first time felt some panic about the pain (AKA transition). I started to feel like I needed to push, so Greg called the nurse back in, and a few minutes later the doctor came in and got everyone organized.

I tried pushing in various positions but I couldn't get comfortable in any of them. I finally ended up lying flat on my back, which surprised me. I really hated pushing because it hurt so much but I kind of liked it because I was almost done! After 45 minutes or so of coached pushing, Harrison was born! They immediately put him on my chest and it was the BEST FEELING EVER. I remember that I kept saying to Greg, "Best day ever!" It was so intensely spiritual. Greg described it best when he said that our souls connected in that moment.

Baby Harrison

Our Harrison was born at 4:09 pm, 8 pounds 9 ounces: two whole pounds bigger than Charlie was at birth! After taking care of everyone, the attendants all left and Greg and I spent the first hour with Harrison, just the three of us. It was magical.

Looking back, I am very happy with my experience. Not only did I get a wonderfully healthy baby, but the birth was attended by the doctor I wanted, the nurses were supportive and hands-off, I went into labor spontaneously, and never had a needle in my spine! The pacing of the labor was so nice, too: not too fast, not too slow. I feel so empowered and peaceful about it all.