My Birth Story- Liams Voyage

  We had the induction scheduled for Friday afternoon. I wasn't thrilled about having to be induced but I trusted Dr. Codd when he suggested it and the nice part about an induction is that you know when it's happening. Chad and I spent the whole week preparing physically and mentally, to be induced on the 17th, so we were a little caught off guard when the hospital called us the day before and said they needed me to come in right then. They had a large group of women that were expected to be admitted on the 17th  from natural labor and since I was to be induced, they said if I didn't come in right away, I might not get in until the following Monday (four days later). I got off the phone with the hospital and called my mom and my sister and tried to make them make my decision for me.
   I was so torn. I didn't want to be induced anyways, so maybe I should wait till Monday and try to go into labor by myself (which I was pretty sure wasn't going to happen.) but then again, I can't wait any longer, I need this baby out of me, the doctor said that at week 37 he was around 7 pounds so I was worried that he'd be too big for me to deliver vaginally, and I've prepared myself for the induction, plus my favorite doctor would be on call when the baby would most likely come. Both arguments were very compelling. Chad and I prayed real hard. I even called my doctor and asked him what I should do. He explained that "nothing good happens after week 41" and that's where I would be if I waited. He explained some other risks and advantages and suggested that I go in right away. We love Dr. Codd an trust his opinion so Chad and I prayed about it and it felt right so Chad gave me a blessing and we picked up our bags and headed up the hill to Madison Memorial Hospital.
  I was surprisingly calm, I can honestly say I wasn't nervous at all! I was a little anxious to meet my son but that's how I've felt for the past 9 months so it wasn't anything out of the norm. Chad on the other hand was very nervous. He was calling everyone and letting them know that we were going in. Each call he made, he would say "Man, I'm so nervous, I can't believe we'll have a baby by tomorrow, I don't think I've ever had this many emotions in my body at once!"
It was darling.
   We had just gone to the hospital the previous evening because Liam wasn't moving so the hospital already had all of our information and check in was quick and painless. Our first nurse, Aubry came in and got us all set up. She was wonderful. She explained everything before she did it and kept us in the loop on everything. We told her our birth plan (which was pretty much "Get this baby out of me") and she made sure we knew every step that would be taken within the next 6-8 hours.
  She came to put the IV in and failed...three times! Finally she called another nurse in who poked me twice and dug around and finally found a vein she was happy with. I'm used to needles so it wasn't a big deal but those poor nurses felt so bad.
  Aubry then explained to me that Dr. Lovell would be coming in to break my water in the next 30 minutes and depending on my contractions, we would start the petocine if needed, Dr. Lovell broke my water and I think that was the weirdest feeling I had ever felt. I was told before in previous appointments that I had a large amount of fluid but seriously, the initial amount wasn't unbelievable but throughout the next hour, it felt like my water broke 4 or 5 times over with more fluid each time! SO crazy! Chad just laughed because I'm a very clean person and I wanted to get the sheets changed every 30 minutes, but my sweet nurses would kindly remind me that I was going to get much much dirtier in the next few hours. Here's Chad and I, contracting away, anxious to meet Liam!

   Fortunately, I started to contract pretty regularly on my own after my water broke! I was so excited! I might not have to get induced! After about 2 hours of mild contractions the babys heart rate went way down. Aubry asked me to move to my side, then the other side and with no change in his heart rate, she called in the other nurse. she asked me to quickly move to my hands and knees. The nurse pressed a button and 2 more nurses rushed in with new equipment and cords (that surely would be attached to me soon.) I started freaking out a little...ok a lot. They had me move into a few more positions as quickly as possible and with still no change in Liams low heart rate they decided to place a scalp heart monitor, which is basically a small hook that they attached to the skin on the babys head that is attached to a wire that is hooked up the the screen so that we could have a more accurate reading of his heart rate. It was an ordeal. It was amazing that they could reach his scalp but sure enough, after a few painful tries, they attached the monitor and Liam was doin fine. The extra monitor made it hard to get around but  I was glad to see his heart rate regulate. My mom showed up shortly after I started feeling my contractions with more pressure. Her flight had been redirected to Belgrade MT because the airport landing strip was too icy but they put her on another plane and got here here, just a few hours late, thank heavens for Sam and Preston who got her to the hospital for us. I was so happy to see her! I knew Chad would be taking care of me but it was nice to have my mama there, i just love her! She was so excited and was real good at sympathizing with me. The nurse would come in periodically and ask me where my pain was on a scale of 1-10 and after I'd answer, my mom would always chime in "No, she more of a (number high than what I said)" Its funny, when you're going through labor for the first time, you don't know how bad it can get, so no matter how much I hurt I assumed it was a small number because I wasn't at a 10...its hard to gauge your pain for the first time, but mom help with that.
       I contracted regularly for about 5 hours but I was moving too slowly, luckily it was a Thursday night so I had Parenthood to help me keep my mind off the pain (great episode by the way). Aubry got permission from the doctor to start petocine. I wasn't thrilled about being induced but I was really ready to get going with more productive contractions. The petocine kicked in right away and my contractions became stronger and longer! It was horrible and wonderful. I don't know what was worst, the contractions or the stinging surges of pain from my wrist to my shoulder blade from the antibiotics they were pumping into me every 2-4 hours...ok the contractions were worst but not by much, that antibiotic was horrible.
   By this time, i had been laboring  for 9 hours and had progressed from a 2 to a 4...doesn't seem like much but if felt substantial. I labored until about 5 in the morning and the nurse was unable to raise the petocine level, i was in way too much pain from the petocine. Since I was at a 4 and my contractions were regular and moving with consistency, she called in the anesthesiologist to give me the epidural. The pain was incredible so I thought I would be so relieved to get the epidural but I was horrified. He came in and I made Chad come around front to hold my hands and help me breath through contractions. They were so close together at this point that I guessed that I would have at least two while he was putting the epidural in. I had to calm myself down in order to stay still, i was shaking with fear. The anesthesiologist was extremely helpful. He stepped me through everything that I would be feeling. It was so weird and the whole time I was so worried about  moving and when my first contraction came i squeezed my pillow and chads hands and held a still as I could. The epidural was in before I knew it and it was surprisingly painless, (minus the first pinch, that was a little rough, but nothing compared to the petocine so I was happy). The Doctor explained that I would feel the epidural within the next ten minutes and that if it ever starts to wear off, i can press this button and more meds would  be pumped in. Almost immediately I would feel the epidural in my legs and almost down to my toes! It was amazing, even euphoric! For the first time in over nine  months, i felt 100%.. and what did I do with my new found energy? I slept, yes i slept through my last few hours of intense labor. Which was perfect because I had not planned on having to start labor on Thursday so I didn't get a good nights rest, infact, I had worked out and ran errands all day before labor so i needed the rest for the pushing. I slept from 7am to 9am until I reached  a 10 (so incase you didnt do the math there, I when from a 5 to a 10 in my sleep...oh the beauty of modern medicine). I woke up excited and ready to push! Chad was excited too, we were both so ready for the next few hours of pushing!
   The doctor came in and said I could sit at a ten or push at a ten. This pretty much meant that they could help me push until we saw progress or I could sit and let Liam do the work naturally. Either way he was going to come at the same time, but the later allowed me o rest and get prepared for the pushing (which at the the time, I had no idea of just how much strength I would need) but I'm glad I chose to wait. While I was wait for Liam to arrive, I heard the happy birthday song played over the intercom 3 times (it's played every time a baby is born) so i knew Dr. Codd had his work cut out for him, but I couldn't wait til that song played for Liam. I was at a ten for another hour and a half until the doctor came in and said it was time. At this point my epidural was starting to wear off for the first time since I got it but I chose not to press the button, I wanted to be able to feel it enough to push efficiently. So at 10:40ish I began to push! Chad on one side and a very sweet, very new nurse on the other.
   I was so glad that I was able to feel the contractions enough to tell them when I was going to push instead of them telling me. It made me feel more in control of a very out of control situation. It took a few tries to get used to "pushing properly" but once I had it down, it was like a game, "How long and how hard can you push this time?" The nurses kept complimenting me on my breath support, (Thank you Mr. Acker for all those breathing exercises in choir, they paid off...probably not what you were going for but, all the same, they paid off). Each push brought progress which was very reassuring. I was getting so excited! I kept telling Chad, "I'm so glad I got an epidural!" I think i said it one or two too many times because Chad would laugh when I said it after a while. But it's true, I was so rested and in the moment, it was all so exciting and wonderful!

   My moms over in the corner checking instagram..her relaxed demeanor put me at ease. I continued to push until the nurse saw his head. She called Dr. Codd in to take a look and get this baby out, which was good because I can only push on adrenaline for so long, I was getting very tired. I pushed with the Dr. for a while and he said that Liam wasn't turning like they had hoped that he would, he was sideways. With the next few pushes he got in there and tried to turn him with his hands....yeah i felt that. I almost pushed my epidural button but this was still kind of like a game to me, I wanted to win!
   After a few more pushes with Dr. Cod trying to man-handle my little baby it became clear that he wasn't going to move. That's not good. We had to take a different approach. Dr. Codd was wonderful though, while I was pushing he calmly explained that he would need to try to get him out using the vac and he went over all that that entails . I understood the risks and knew that if this didn't work, we were looking at a C-section so I gladly proceeded. I was nervous, I had done too much research about the risks and complications involved with using a vac so i was praying, pushing and praying more that everything would go smoothly.  I felt him connect the vac and I pushed with all my might, I could tell that there was something helping him on the other side, and it hurt. But pain is good when it means your getting closer to meeting your baby so I pushed harder. With the second push I felt even more pressure so I pushed even harder and then suddenly.
POP!
 I felt a powerful pressure shoot back into me and blood everywhere, all over the doctor and all over Chad and the nurses. Lots of blood and the pressure was gone! I flipped! Horror filled my whole body as I said in a very tired breathless voice, "is he ok! is he ok! what just happened!?" I know it sounds funny but with such a strong pop and so much blood i thought they popped his little head off! The doctor calmly smiled and reassured me that the suction just broke and that it's normal and it happens sometimes. I was still wildly concerned and was anxious to push again. With everything in me i pushed as long and as hard as I could, he was stuck with the cap of his head out for about 20 minutes and my epidural was wearing fast! Chad and my mom were comforting me helplessly from this point on, I was in a lot of pain and i could tell Chad was pained by his helplessness of the situation but he did everything he could to comfort me and help me push. For the next 5-6 pushes I had oxygen to help me keep my breath (so much for my "singers lungs") Between pushes, I frantically asked for something to throw up in (which I thought was impossible, I hadn't eaten in 24 hours at least, but no, it IS possible...i threw up twice. The pain was intense and after pushing with each contraction and the Dr. pulling just as hard, I was starting to think the "C" word was going to be brought up but finally at 12:52 pm I gave it one last long hard push and it was like he fell out of me! I looked up in wonder at this beautiful little body as the nurses handed me my son. I looked up at Chad, who was overcome with love; in tears and stroking my hair with one hand and covering his mouth with the other.
It was priceless and I'll never forget it.
I looked at my sweet crying baby and as I comforted him he stopped crying and lifted his head and looked right at me in silence,  just looking at me. I've never loved someone one so much as I loved him, and Chad and I have never been so in love with our family. It was immediate and undeniable.