Matthew's Birth Story, Part Two: He's Here!

Nathan and I woke up at around 6:00 or so on Saturday, the 5th. I was getting ready to head to the grocery store to pick up some last-minute inventory items, with the thought that no one would feel like running out to grab anything once the baby was born. Starting at around 7:00, I started having those very familiar Braxton Hicks contractions very regularly. I told Nathan, and he and I both thought I should wait it out, because we were already told that prodromal labor can come and go and last for a long time. Until things intensified significantly, I decided to stay at home and see what would happen. I figured my body was just messing with me again, and I knew better than to get my hopes up.

After waiting a while, I noticed that the contractions were getting a lot more intense. I finally told Nathan that we should probably just go ahead and head to the hospital, just in case, because I didn't want to have the baby at home. I was really hesitant, because I didn't want to spend another day in L&D for something that was just a false alarm. After going back and forth about it for a little bit, we got into Nathan's truck and started the drive to Austin. 

Once we were about halfway there, I realized that the trip would not be a wasted one. In fact, the closer we got to the hospital, the more terrified I became, because everything was starting to get extremely painful and really intense very, very quickly. I was desperately watching the road and all the familiar landmarks, mentally checking them off as we drove, thinking, "Okay, we're getting closer. Okay, that's another five miles." When Nathan pulled up to the entrance to the Women's Center and I got out of the truck, I almost burst into tears with pure relief. I didn't even wait for Nathan to go park the truck. I went inside, took the elevator, and marched myself into L&D as quickly as I could. I was met by two nurses who took one look at me and immediately ushered me into a room and started getting everything ready. It was a great relief to be in an actual room and know that this time was the real deal.

We arrived at the hospital around 9:00 a.m.

Getting into the hospital gown was interesting. I'm sure that it would have been hilarious if someone had been watching. It was like a strange, painful version of Bathroom Twister or something. Shirt off...contraction...pants off...contraction..."Where'd I put the gown?"...contraction..."How am I going to get my shoes off?"...contraction...

Once I was in the bed, one of the nurses started on my IV very quickly. I was Group B Strep positive this pregnancy, so they wanted to get antibiotics into my system as soon as they could. Meanwhile, the other nurse (who was my nurse through this whole experience), Cyndi, was trying to get things in place for delivery. She asked me if I wanted an epidural. My answer was, "OH, YES! But I don't think I'll have time to get one." Normally, the nurses are a little condescending and tend to think that their patients are being dramatic. Cyndi wasn't like that at all. She was a huge advocate for me throughout the entire delivery and she really listened to me. She said, "This is your fifth baby, and you probably know better than anyone how this is going to be." I appreciated it so much! Anyway, after she asked about the epidural, she told me that she would go ahead and start pushing some fluids into my system and get my labwork out so we could get it going as soon as possible. I knew it was going to take a while, so I didn't get my hopes up at all. Once the IV was all hooked up and the juices were flowing, Cyndi checked me to see how far I had progressed. I was already at 7 cm. at that point, only about 2 hours into labor.

Another thirty minutes of contractions or so, and Cyndi told me that my labwork came back just fine and I was all clear to have the epidural if I wanted one. Of course I did, but I knew that I probably didn't have a realistic shot at it. I was in too much pain, and the contractions were coming almost right on top of one another. I had to be close. I asked her to go ahead and get everything ready, but wondered whether she might go ahead and check me again before actually calling anyone. So, she brought in the anesthesiologist's cart and got ready to check me again. Yep...I was at 9 cm. No time for drugs! I asked her if we could go ahead and break my water so we could just get to pushing. She had no problem with that at all. I told her that I was worried that it would all happen very quickly, so she probably should page the on-call OB and tell them to start heading this way. (Dr. P was in Colorado during this time, skiing. What a turd!)  Apparently, the OB that was taking care of all Dr. P's patients didn't think there was any reason to rush, and she said to just give her another ring when I was ready. Cyndi said, "Well, I delivered a baby last week, and I'll do it again if I need to!" So, she got ready to break my water. I didn't even know that the nurses could do that, because I've only ever had a doctor do it (and it broke on its own when Anna was born).

So, Cyndi came over and broke my water. Boom. This is the part where the details get fuzzy. My pain level went from "ouch, ouch, ouch...that really hurts" to "oh, sweet baby Jesus, I'm being run over by a freight train and burned alive!!" in about two seconds. I remember her saying something about how I still had a tiny bit of cervix left that she was pushing aside, but all the pain melted together and I didn't notice anything specific. Suddenly, I wanted to push more than anything I've ever experienced. The OB was apparently coming into the room and getting ready, but I didn't feel like waiting for her to finish messing around (especially since she took her sweet time getting there in the first place). I announced loudly that I was going to push, and someone better get ready to catch the baby.

I had my eyes closed, so I don't really know what happened, specifically. I just pushed as hard as I could. That "ring of fire" thing is no joke, by the way. Holy OUCH. I know that his head was delivered with one huge push, and then the OB told me to stop pushing so she could deliver his shoulders. Then, with one small push, he was out.

They handed him to me immediately, and I held him for a couple of minutes, but I didn't really trust my arms at that point, because I started shaking uncontrollably and couldn't stop it. I was afraid I was going to drop him! Daddy cut the cord and we just took a second to enjoy the fact that he was finally here with us!

The nurses took him and started to clean him up, assess him, and take all the measurements, and Daddy got the camera ready. We didn't have any pictures up until this point because of how quickly everything moved.

Matthew James Alexander

1/5/13 - 10:06 a.m.

8 pounds - 21 inches long

He seemed really great, and I asked the nurses if he was okay. I could hear him crying, so I knew that he was breathing, and he was very pink. His Apgar scores were great (9/9, I believe), and everything seemed to be just fine. A few minutes later, though, things changed a little bit.