Sep 6

Sep 6 Luna Poppie's Birth Story

This post is not medical advice. I am just a mama sharing my experience.

We spent a lot of time resting the last few weeks.

EARLY LABOR

Around 37 weeks pregnant I started experiencing prodromal labor. I had contractions that felt like bad period cramps and it felt like I was in early labor. One Friday evening, the cramps were really bad, and moved into my back. I called my OB, who told me to call L&D. The nurse told me to drink a lot of water, take Tylenol and rest. If it didn't get better within 2 hours, I should come in.

Two days before labor, trying to encourage baby girl to come out, and get some pain relief in the water.

It didn't get better, so later that night I went in. I knew I wasn't in active labor, but I thought perhaps labor was starting. You'd think as a third time mama I'd know better, but the last time I went into labor was over seven years ago. I was evaluated and it was determined I was in early labor, but could go home to continue laboring until I was in active labor. This could take anywhere from days to weeks.

Unfortunately for me my contractions continued to get worse, but never very close together or super intense. Painful contractions happened after activity and at the end of the day. Then by 38 weeks I was painfully contracting no matter what my activity level. Between this and my pelvic pain, I could hardly walk, let alone do normal mama stuff for my kiddos. Being in the water felt good but anything else was a challenge.

I still really wanted our baby to come on her own, and didn't want to be induced, so at my 38 week appointment, I declined setting up an induction date. This was the longest I'd ever been pregnant and I was in so much pain, but hopeful my body would go into labor when ready. The contractions continued to get worse but always stopped late at night. By my 39 week appointment, on a Thursday, I was in tears, and begging to be induced. I couldn't be scheduled until Tuesday, May 17th, 3 days before my due date. I was bummed, and sure I wasn't going to go into labor on my own.

GO TIME

Saturday, May 14th was the kids' last soccer game of the season. I woke up around 6am with sharp cramps, but tried to go back to sleep. This happened several times until I realized I was waking up every four minutes! Eeek!

I got up to go to the bathroom, thinking maybe I just had to pee. On my way back, I felt strong pain in my front and back that stopped me in my tracks. I was hesitant to believe I was really in labor, given the past few weeks. But as I continued about my morning, I felt that strong pain that took my breath away, every 4 minutes. It scared me, hurt bad, and I yelped. Sawyer came in from the other room asking "why did you scream?" I told him, "I think your baby sister might actually be coming today." He responded with "Ok. Where is the remote?"

The sweet big brother who really wants to see the baby come out.

A little before 6:30am, I woke Paul up, asked him to call our neighbors and my mom, and was frantically packing my last minute items. The contractions were getting stronger. Every 3-4 minutes I had to stop what I was doing, hold on to something, and breath. Sawyer heard me breathing hard and came in to ask why I was doing that. I told him it helps with the pain and he asked "well why does it hurt if the baby is coming out?" He watched me for a few seconds, then confidently stated “well if you screamed AND you’re breathing like that, she is probably coming today for real.”

He was right! I called the hospital to let them know I was on my way, a third time mama, and needed an epidural. I begged the kind nurse to have the anesthesiologist available. I was afraid if we had to wait for him, it would be too late. I remember grabbing the kitchen island and curling up in pain while on the phone. At this point the contractions felt like VERY strong period cramps. They had a clear start and stop, and were too intense to talk thru.

We dropped off Sawyer and Lincoln down the street at our friends’ house a few minutes later. I was hoping we could get there in between contractions but the contractions were coming even closer together. I tried not to make any noises that would scare the kids... which was a challenge. Luckily they were excited to go play with their pals and they happily ran inside as we drove away.

HOORAY HOSPITAL

When we got to the hospital we walked straight to Labor & Delivery, as we were instructed to do. It was about 7:15am and empty in the hospital. As I waddle ran to the elevator, I was scared the baby was going to pop out in the hallway. The contractions were closer and stronger. Then I heard a woman yell “excuse me ladies! ladies! Ladies!” I wondered who she was yelling at then I realized Paul’s hair was in a ponytail and she was talking to us. 😂 I turned toward her and I continued walking and yelled from down the hall “we’re going to L&D!” She didn’t realize I was pregnant as she only saw the “ladies” from the back.

When we got to the second floor, we were greeted by a team of nurses. The great thing about a small hospital is they know who you are! My amazing nurse said she could tell I was in active labor but the hospital requires a cervical check to admit patients. I had declined every cervical check except one this pregnancy as they are always extremely painful for me. I also don’t believe they provide much usable information since your cervix can change at any minute. My sweet nurse, Keri, remembered I don’t love cervical checks, and that I have endometriosis and pelvic floor dysfunction. Keri was also my nurse when I came in with prodromal labor 3 weeks prior. I asked if I could have the epidural before the cervical check. I reminded her that with my labor with Sawyer, my body didn’t progress until I had the epidural.

A NEW OB, EPIDURAL & A TEN LB BABY?

Keri called the doctor on call, who was a new OB, working weekends to help the small practice that delivers at this hospital. The OB said it was fine to give me the epidural since I was obviously in active labor. That was a huge relief for me.

I only had to wait a short time for the anesthesiologist. During this time I stood next to the bed, trying to relax my pelvic floor muscles, and used my heating pads on my back and stomach. The contractions continued to get stronger. I began panicking because the pain was intense. Around 8am the anesthesiologist came in. By that point I didn’t care how placing the epidural felt, as long as it dulled the pain. Luckily the epidural placement was easy. This was my third epidural and each time I let them know I had scoliosis, and everything went ok despite my worries. I didn’t feel relief right away, as epidurals takes time to work, and sometimes the dose has to be adjusted. I focused on my breathing to relax.

Then the new OB came in. She looked to be about my age, seemed kind and calm. I didn’t absolutely love my OB this pregnancy so I was happy to have someone younger, kind and hopefully smart. She went over my long history and it was clear she has read my chart. Yay! Then they performed a cervical exam, which hurt like hell, and I was at a two. A TWO! I was so upset. How could I be in this much pain and only a two?!

Then, while I was in labor, waiting for the epidural to fully kick in, the OB tells me she’s worried about my baby’s size. I was confused as I’ve been treated by a maternal fetal medicine doctor who specializes in high risk pregnancies and who I trust very much. He wasn’t worried about size unless I went significantly past my due date, which I wasn’t. And my OB had told me just a few days before he’d “bet his house and his mortgage” I could deliver vaginally again. We decide to break my water to speed things up.

BEDSIDE MANNER MATTERS

The new on call doctor then tells me I might need a C-section, but if I want to try pushing, I need to make sure to listen to her while I am pushing. If I don’t, my baby girl could get stuck in the birth canal, resulting in the doctor having to “break her clavicle” or "she could DIE".

This is where I’m really glad I wasn’t a first time mom because if I was, I think I would have lost my mind completely, not partially, or just opted for a C-section. I was super scared and asked if we could measure the baby to see if she’s really too big before I started pushing. The doc says yes, gets an ultrasound machine, does one measurement, feels my uterus, and says “yup, she’s at least ten pounds. This could be wrong but it’s showing at least ten.”

I didn't believe it as Sawyer and Lincoln were both six pounds. The doctor was not encouraging at all and I started feeling really nervous. What if my baby dies during birth? What if I’m not strong enough to push her out and she gets stuck? As these thoughts race through my mind, I agree for the OB to break my water and do a second cervical check. The epidural has been in for less than 30 minutes. During that time I progressed from a 2 to an 8! WOAH. My body was doing what it's supposed to but now the doctor has me doubting that.

CUE THE COMPLICATIONS

It’s cool you can see contractions. I mean I didn’t think so at the time, but now I do.

My blood pressure sky rockets and baby doesn’t like it. Her heart rate goes up and the medical team gets worried. They call in the anesthesiologist who gives me medication to lower my blood pressure. The anesthesiologist doesn't leave, which I find strange as they usually don't stick around. The doctor has me start pushing, so we can get baby out faster. She says it’s a bit early as I am now a 9, but we will try anyway. I push laying on my side, to avoid hurting my pelvis. (I don’t have any photos of that or the rest of labor.)

A few minutes later I feel super dizzy, nauseous and like I’m about to pass out. The nurses lowered my bed and asked Paul to turn off our music, so they could hear better. Paul told me later this is when he got nervous. I don’t remember exactly what happened next except I thought I was going to die. I opened my eyes and saw at least eight RNs all around me, reading the monitors, whispering to get the surgical team ready. The anesthesiologist was talking about my BP, which had now plummeted.

The quick change in blood pressure caused me to almost pass out. He gave me a medication to bring my blood pressure to a normal level, and had me smell something to stop me from passing out. I started to feel better as my BP and baby's improved.

Once baby was in a better spot, everything relaxed a bit. I took a break from pushing and waited for baby to lower, but the contractions were still coming regularly and were very painful. We debated more meds in the epidural. The pro was pain relief but the con was possibly not being able to feel when it was time to push. We decided to try a little more, thinking it wasn’t time to push yet.

BUT IT WAS TIME TO PUSH

The meds helped relieve the pain, but I progressed quickly and it was time to push sooner than expected. I couldn’t feel anything below my waist except unchanging pressure. You’d think this would be good but pushing out a human being without feeling anything, even at least a change in pressure, was a problem. I begged them to reverse the epidural as I was afraid the baby was going to get stuck. Unfortunately that wasn’t an option.

Thank goodness I’ve been in pelvic floor physical therapy for awhile now. I thought about everything I’ve learned about pelvic floor muscles and used that to push even though I couldn’t feel what was happening. It was such a strange sensation. The amazing nurses helped talk me through what to do with each contraction. When a contraction started Paul would help me curl over, while the nurses talked me through pushing and breathing. The doctor said incredibly not helpful things like “harder! Harder!” Not feeling anything made it impossible to know if I was pushing harder. The nurses told me I was doing great but I thought they were just being nice. I began to panic that my giant baby was going to get stuck and die. Keri assured me that wasn’t going to happen and that baby was already making her way out.

They offered to bring a mirror over so I could see and hopefully feel better about my progress. I’ve never watched my other babies come out and it was definitely a sight to remember but also forget. I could see her hair but she wasn’t all the way out. It seemed like it was taking way too long and I was sure something was wrong. I was also worried we weren’t going to get Sawyer’s photo. (If you follow me on Insta, you already know, but big bro REALLY wanted to see the baby coming out.) At this point baby’s heart rate was unhappy again. I don’t remember exactly what happened but there was a lot of commotion in the room that freaked me out.

I kept breathing — as slow as I could, and relaxing my pelvic floor. I think I pushed for maybe 30 minutes total but it felt like hours. Keri directed a team of several nurses, kept me calm, AND managed to snap the photo.

A RAINBOW IS BORN

This was taken on our last day at the hospital. It took 3 full days to find time to take this photo!

Luna Poppie was born at 12:17pm. She weighed 7 pounds 11 ounces and was 20 inches! I held her in shock, while the nurses used the bulb syringe on her. Her cry was muffled. Paul cut the cord after a bit. Then they rushed Luna to the incubator. Something was wrong. I kept asking if she was ok and they told me not worry but the hustle and bustle around her made that a challenge. Luna finally cried loudly as I pushed out the placenta. Her cord was wrapped around her neck, which is why her heart rate was unhappy! She also had meconium in her lungs that needed to be cleared. I had been worried about a cord accident. Hearing her cry loudly was such a relief.

I was bleeding more than normal, but not a hemorrhage, according to my doctor. They gave me Pitocin to stop the bleeding. As they worked on Luna, my lovely OB stared at my vagina. She was trying to figure out how to stitch up my tear, while keeping my legs from being in the typical stirrup position that could hurt my pelvis. The nurses gave the OB some suggestions but her response was “I just can’t envision how this should go.” NOT something you want to hear your doctor say while staring at your torn vagina. I had a second degree tear which was a re-tear of scar tissue from my previous births. She finally stitched me up, as they brought me my beautiful baby girl.

I stared at Luna in disbelief. She was actually here and she was perfect. I mean, her tiny face was a bit squished but she was perfect none the less. Luna made a dramatic entrance into this world, but we did it! Luna latched on right away and I couldn’t have been any more relieved. I was and am SO grateful to have a healthy baby.

(I spent the next 3 days telling this story to the nurses who had heard there was an eventful birth. Turns out the OB had NEVER delivered in this hospital and none of the nurses had worked with her before me. I sincerely hope my feedback helps her beside manner, especially for first time mamas!)

We cuddled with skin to skin for four hours and then it was the moment I had waited so long for — Luna got to meet her brother and sister!