I was 40 weeks and 2 days when I delivered which is funny because a month before I delivered the doctor said that I was most likely going to have this baby early because I was progressing faster than usual for a first time mom.
But no such luck.
On Tuesday Andrew and I went to my doctor's appointment and the doctor said I should be induced before the baby got any bigger and I hadn't made any new progress in weeks. We asked him what timeline he would recommend and he immediately said, "tonight," which is not what we were expecting. We were thinking maybe a few more days at least but he said the hospital might be booked for the night so it was a slim chance I would get in. He called the hospital wanting to know the earliest I could come and they said I could come that night. We talked about the benefits and the risks and the risks for the baby and for a C-section were going to go higher the longer I waited.
Andrew and I were suddenly on a tight timeline that we had not planned on. We had just gotten the keys to our house the day before and we were planning on moving everything in on Tuesday (that day). We didn't tell anyone what the doctor said but just kept moving our stuff. The one thing I wanted done was to have our bed setup because I did not want to come home with a brand new baby and no bed. And we did manage to put that together. Thank goodness!
Once we were alone in our house I asked Andrew to give me a blessing. Looking back at all that happened, everything that was said in the blessing was inspired. I truly believe that everything that was said is what helped me get our sweet baby to earth.
I delivered at Utah Valley hospital and I cannot say enough good things about them! All the staff were amazing and so helpful! It was also a little special because both Andrew and I were born there. The actual building were we were born has been demolished, but it still makes me a little happy that we all were born at the same place. We got the call to be at the hospital at 6:30, but arrived there closer to 7:00, oops. We went up to the 4th floor, Labor and Delivery and were admitted!
This may seem odd, but at the time while I was having all this pain (aka contractions), I did not realize I was in active labor because I was thinking that would start when I started the pitocin. But no, I was very much in labor. Around 12:45am I was sitting down having a contraction, as soon as it was over I stood up to move and 5 seconds later I had another contraction and right there my water broke. People say that when your water breaks it's usually slow and never a big thing like they make it out to be in the movies. Well, mine was straight from a movie. Andrew ran out to the hall to tell the nurses my water broke and to tell them I was done and needed an epidural. I think that's when it hit me that I was in labor. I only needed one dose of cytotec and I never even needed the pitocin.
As soon as Andrew told them there were several nurses who came in as well as the anesthesiologist
(who was just about to go off shift). They helped me over to the bed and helped me lie still to get the epidural. The epidural stung a little but that stinging pain was nothing to contractions. When that epidural kicked in I was in heaven!
I was having constant contractions- one on top of another (and I did not feel one single thing!), and it was not giving the baby time to rest in between. They compared it to being dunked in a pool with only a few seconds rest in between to catch your breath. He was distressed so they gave me a drug to help slow my contractions. Once the drug kicked in, our baby started doing much better.
They kept checking me through the night and I kept progressing. At one point the nurse said that my uterus loved being in labor because it kept putting out strong contractions. Andrew and I both tried to get some sleep but I think the most we both got was 30 minutes near the end. Through the night while I was lying there I just prayed a prayer of gratitude for everything that had happened in the past few hours (especially for that epidural).
Around 7:30 I was at a 9.5 and they gave me a peanut ball to put between my legs to get to a 10 faster. Sure enough it worked and I was ready to start pushing. The doctor said he could tell baby was head down but could not tell his head position, but would soon be able to tell once I started pushing. Shortly before 9:00am is when I started pushing and the doctor was able to tell that his head was turned sideways which made it more difficult for him to come out. I pushed, no progress. His head was stuck. The doctor told me my options.
1. We could try a vacuum but I was more likely to tear or
2. Go to a C-section.
A C-section was the last thing I wanted so we opted to try the vacuum first. Andrew and I prayed that the vacuum would work and/or the baby would turn his head. After pushing for an hour with no progress and having the baby's heart rate go down with every push we had to go to option 2, and I needed a C-section.
The next moments really are a blur. Everything happened so fast and they must have given me some drugs because I was so out of it. From what I do know is they gave me more stuff to numb me up, quickly took me to the operating room, asked me if I could feel anything, and then a few moments later he was born. Andrew was by me the entire time and as soon as he saw our baby he said, "He's out!" From the time they announced I needed a C-section to him being born it took maybe 15 minutes. The nurses had Andrew follow them with our new baby as I stayed there (obviously). Andrew brought our sweet baby boy to me and I got to see him. All I could do was stroke his cheek. I only got to have a few minutes with him. He needed more care. I don't know how long it took (I was so loopy and I was in and out of sleep), but at one point Andrew did come back and we went down to Mother & Baby.
Andrew was gone a lot with our baby and our baby's blood sugar was low. The drug they had given me so slow my contractions when I was in labor, a common side effect is that is causes a low blood sugar so they spent hours trying to get it back up. Finally I was able to see him and hold him.
When we first checked into the hospital, my first nurse told me when you have your baby there is an instant love and connection that cannot be described. It's stronger than being pregnant, that love magnifies and you can only understand it by experiencing it. Andrew and I both feel we didn't get that experience. Everything was so rushed and hectic, I don't think we were fully able to comprehend everything. I was loopy and Andrew later told me he was so worried about me. He was trying to balance being there for our baby and being there for me while we were in different parts of the hospital. But once things slowed down and I was able to hold our baby boy, that is where I felt that strong connection. I couldn't believe he was mine. This was the one that I felt kicking me at all hours of the day.
This is the one that I could see moving inside me (one of my favorite things about being pregnant). Now he was here, and I was holding him.
We stayed an additional 4 days in the hospital for my C-section. Those days are so special to me because it was only the 3 of us and we got to spend so much time together. And with the hospital staff I got some much needed rest. Andrew would leave occasionally to go up to our new house with his parents to help make it livable which was a big help. At the end of the 4 days I was ready to go. I hadn't been outside for days and I was ready to be home and start this new stage of our life.
We came home Saturday and we all spend our first night in our new home together.
A C-section was the last thing I wanted, but I don't think there was anything else that we could have done differently to prevent it. My body was ready to go into labor, it just needed a little help. If we went earlier or later to the hospital, I think his head would have been the same position. The thing I wanted the most was a healthy baby regardless of how he got here. He is the most perfect thing and I am so grateful to have him here with us.
Hudson Andrew Earl
7 pounds, 12 ounces and 20 inches long
