Heath's Birth Story: Part 2

While in triage with Nurse Abby she stated/asked 'so you are going to do the whole epidural thing then?' I said a little sheepishly 'I was not planning to use any drugs if that is possible.' OK. A little later Abby told me the anesthesiologist was leaving for the night and he wanted to know how sure I was about this plan or if he should just sleep in their break room at the hospital until I essentially changed my mind. I didn't know how to respond and was SO thankful for Candice at this point who stepped up for me and said you can send him home. Then looked at me and said we can always call him back if we need to but we'll stick with your plan. :)

10:30 PM We are moved to our labor and delivery suite- a really nice spacious set up that included our own shower and bathroom in the room. Shortly after getting in there I asked about the tub down the hall hoping it wouldn't be booked and Abby said nope it is all yours I'll go get it ready. I asked if a lot of women use the tub (thinking I would literally have to take a number) and she said not really- most women just go straight for their epidural when they come in and stay in bed from there. I was shocked, but thankful that meant I didn't have to worry about hogging the tub. We enjoyed a good hour and a half in the water which had some jet bubbles and relaxing warm water to help keep my body relaxed during the contractions. After that they wanted to get a check on me and hook me back up to make sure my vitals and Heath's were all doing good. They were and I had moved to 5 cm dilated. Everyone else seemed happy about this news, I was thinking it would have been better if it had jumped to like an 8 or something ;)

4:00 AM After many ice chips and consistent intense contractions (not much else excitement from midnight to 4) I finally hit that 8/9 cm mark and felt better that this baby was coming soon and I wouldn't be in labor forever.

5:00 AM Still had not progressed past a 9 and they suggested having Mari, our midwife, come in to break my water so that it might push me closer to being fully dilated and ready to push. The birthing team agreed this was a good plan and 30 minutes later Mari was awake and at the hospital with us with that magic hook. The contractions afterwards felt like they doubled in pain although Jonathan later said that on the machine they weren't actually spiking as high but he knew I was feeling them more.

6:15 AM 10 cm dilated and we get the go ahead to begin pushing! Abby's night shift was ending at 7am and I thought cool we will be able to stay with her and have Heath. Oh the naivety. She stayed with us until 7:30am and transitioned the morning nurse with all my information as they encouraged me through the pushes. She never said she was leaving or anything like that but J and I both talked later and reflected that with her passing off information we were thinking 'really- how much longer is this going to go on?' Well the answer was a total of 2 hours pushing. It was hard, I was exhausted- but also incredibly determined. Especially when they say you are pushing well and they could see Heath movingcloser there is a new surge of energy to finish this labor and deliver a baby. My team was great- Jonathan was so supportive and did not pass out with all of the medical happenings. Candice was incredibly helpful for both Jonathan and I to have a third body who had been through this journey and it just felt like she knew exactly the right words to say to keep me focused ahead. Honestly I never thought once during labor that I might want to call that anesthesiologist and get some drugs. I loved that Abby did not push the issue and afterwards thought- wow they didn't offer me anything at any point- that's kind of cruel, didn't they see how much pain I was in? :) But oh how thankful I was that everyone was on the same page and supportive.

8:18 AM Heath William Manz was delivered into our lives, exercising his lungs right away. They put him on my chest almost immediately after Mari cleared his airways and he looked straight into my eyes. The moment is unforgettable. I kept telling him how good we did and how proud I was of his heart rate staying strong so I didn't have to have any other interventions. They weighed him in at 8 lbs 4 oz and 20 3/4 inches long. I was relieved to hear he was a good sized baby and felt proud of my pain tolerance- almost justified knowing he was a big boy and natural birth was still possible. 31 hours after my contractions began we were officially a family of 3.