Two Small Pushes and a Baby’s Here*

*Thank you Beck for inspiring the title of this blog.

We had a prenatal visit on Thursday, at which I mentioned to my doctor that Samuel is low. He has been a low rider the entire pregnancy which has made ultrasounds incredibly uncomfortable. I also stated I was really over this pregnancy thing. I explained I was ready to have this baby, as I felt miserable. My doctor laughed and said I didn’t look miserable. I corrected him and told him I was definitely miserable. He assured me Samuel wasn’t coming anytime soon. The next day or so, I began feeling “sort of crampy?” “maybe crampy?” “a little crampy?” and touched base with friends and family who reassured me the last few weeks of pregnancy were uncomfortable as my uterus is stretched with the baby growing so much.

Sam's Update Corner on our prayer board.
We woke up Sunday morning and changed the count down to 37 weeks/3 weeks to go.
Apparently, I had my dates wrong. We were still 36 weeks.

Kyle and I woke up on Sunday and headed to church, late as usual. Throughout the service, I felt uncomfortable, but I have been uncomfortable for over a month, so I just figured Samuel was doing his usual thing. A few times during worship, I had to stop singing and just breathe. Once again, this was not unusual, as these last few months have been pretty tough. (I want to apologize to those who attended our baby shower, as I am sure I didn’t seem excited about much. I did my best to put on a brave face and push through the miserable feelings. Samuel has been knocking on the door for a while!) After church, we went to Costco for lunch- $1.50 Hot Dog & Soda combo!!—and walked around shopping for about an hour. I called my friend and told her about my discomfort and actually stated I felt like my baby was hanging out of me. We laughed and I clarified I was really just trying to figure out if that meant he had finally dropped. We left Costco and began searching for the one item I still needed for my “go bag:” travel baby wipes. I was looking for a specific brand and could not find them anywhere. We checked Kroger, Target, and a couple of other stores. We finally went home empty handed.

 Sunday morning before church.
36 weeks.
(Does this look like a lady in labor???)

Baby Shower
 (Yes, that is Abner behind the plant!)
Thanks to pregnancy swelling, my "pregnancy boots" no longer fit.

I spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning and just doing my usual routine and watching a movie with Kyle.  Around 8pm, we headed out to return the movie to Redbox, and I stopped in Dollar General to check for wipes. I found some that would work and excitedly told Kyle I was ready for Labor and Delivery, as I had found my final item for our bag. When we returned home, Kyle began working on his project, and I settled into bed to work on finalizing our Birth Playlist. I finished the playlist around midnight or midnight thirty while I chatted with a friend on Facebook.  Around 1 AM, I felt like something wasn’t right. I stood up to go to the restroom, and noticed a wet spot on our sheets. I doubled checked that I hadn’t accidentally tinkled (TMI? Whatever! Welcome to pregnancy!), but I was certain it wasn’t. I mentioned it to Kyle, and asked if we should go to Labor & Delivery. He didn’t think we needed to just yet, as it didn’t seem that my water had broken. Given how gross I felt, I decided I should take a shower. After my shower, I went to the restroom, but felt like I needed to wipe again. The second time, I noticed pinkish red blood. I asked Kyle to come to the bathroom and look. He immediately agreed we should go to Labor & Delivery. We were both nervous, as we were still 36 weeks into the pregnancy and had bleeding when we lost Duncan. Neither of us mentioned this, but we looked at each other and acknowledged the fear in each other's eyes.

We grabbed our newly-completed “go bags” and headed towards the hospital. As I walked down the hall, I had my first contraction. I was pretty sure it was a contraction, as it felt like a real cramp. We loaded the car and headed to the hospital. I called the on-call OB from the car and left a message for him to call back. I had several more contractions, but I wasn’t in the state of mind to count them, nor time them. (Laboring Mom Fail)  As Kyle pulled up to the front of the hospital, I grabbed my purse and told him park the car and meet me in L&D. The security guard at the front desk chauffeured me via wheelchair to L&D where I checked-in and proceeded to triage.

My Go Bag Lists & instructions for Abner's care.
(I prepared these well in advance.)

In Triage, Samuel’s heartbeat and my contractions were monitored. The doctor checked my cervix and stated I was completely thinned out, but I was only dilated 1cm. She stated Sam was low, but given my 1cm dilation, they would watch me for an hour or so and probably send me home.  As Kyle and I waited, my contractions continued. As they became more intense, we decided we would walk the hallway, as I remembered our Birthing class stated walking around would make things a bit more comfortable. As we walked, I had to stop several times, as the intensity was incredible. I even leaned on Kyle, in his arms, as  it was difficult to support myself standing up. I asked Kyle if we could just go back to the triage room where I could lay down. The contractions were becoming uncomfortable, and when the nurse returned, Kyle told her how I was really struggling, holding on to the bed and breathing really hard. I told the nurse I felt I just wanted to use the restroom. She said I couldn’t go before they checked my cervix again. She called the doctor who said she couldn’t come yet, as she was in an emergency delivery. The nurse said she wanted to watch the next contraction and then she would check my cervix herself. The next contraction was about a minute after the first one. She kept telling me to breathe really hard, so I did. She then quickly checked my cervix and exclaimed, “you are nine centimeters. The baby’s head is right here. Don’t push!” (Whaaaat??? I had just told Kyle I wanted to get some medication, as we were only an hour and a half into this, and I couldn’t do this anymore.) She yelled out the door and in a flash, our room was filled with nurses and doctors. One doctor jumped on the foot of the gurney and said we would deliver the baby right there in triage. (Whaaaat???) The nurses and docs kept telling me not to push with every contraction. I responded, “I’m not, but something is happening. I am going to poop!” They quickly decided they could wheel me down the hall to an L&D room, but before we left triage, my water exploded broke. They kept saying "Don’t push!" as I watched ceiling tiles pass above my head like a scene from a movie. Just two hours after checking into triage, as my tush met the L&D bed, I said “something is happening” and Samuel pushed himself out. I didn’t even push him. He tore out on his own. (Possibly a sign of a strong-willed child??) As soon as his head was out, the doctor told me to push, and I delivered his shoulders and body with that one push. A minute or so later, the doctor asked me to push to deliver the placenta. Once again, with one push, it came out and they began to prep me for sutures. 

Baby Samuel, fresh from the oven.

I had previously decided I wanted to see how far I could make it into delivery before requesting an epidural. I didn’t realize I wouldn’t have time to even think about that. We also never had a chance to talk about our birth plan, play our birthing playlist, nor even realize we were in labor. As she prepped me for sutures, the doctor realized the local anesthesia wasn’t helping, so I was given a shot of fentanyl. That was the only medication I received, and it was after delivery. (AHHHHHH!!!) 

Fresh Baby Swaddle

Sam did really well, with APGAR scores of 9 & 9. Although he was premature by date, his weight was that of a full term baby. (Oh, imagine delivering him at full term!) He appeared healthy and happy, and we immediately attempted skin-to-skin contact and his first breastfeeding. Soon, we were taken to the L & D recovery floor to settle in for a couple of days. 

Brooke, Sam's first visitor! 

As we settled into our room, I entered into a state of shock. My body and brain didn’t process we were in labor, nor did it process I had just had our baby. I kept looking at Samuel and thinking, “why is there a baby in my room?” I had a hard time thinking he looked like us or that he was ours.  Sam had great difficulty waking up, as he was not only a newborn but also a preemie. We attempted breastfeeding so many times, but he would not wake up to eat. 

Mom and Sam both awaiting their first nap!

We were discharged on Thursday with the information to follow up with his pediatrician the following day, as his bilirubin was high and he had lost a lot of weight. Armed with that information, they wheeled us to the front door of the hospital and entrusted us to begin our lives together. 

Ready to leave the hospital.

Sam getting ready for his first car ride!

"For this boy I prayed, and the LORD has given me my petition which I asked of Him." 

 1 Samuel 1:27