A Birth Story

Saturday started off like any other day.

I wrote a post about the adventure we’d been on Friday night.

I hung out with the boys while DJ and his dad ran up to retrieve the remainder of our belongings from storage.

I didn’t feel, for a moment, that I was going to have the baby.

I wasn’t having any regular contractions.  I didn’t feel “off.”

DJ got home and we got busy unloading the trailer and trying to figure out where in the hell we were going to put everything.

And suddenly something…happened.  Right there in the middle of my garage.

There was no huge gush of water.  There was no popping sound.

It was just…different.  And wet.

But I wasn’t willing to admit that it was my water breaking.

Because, it was really awkward timing.

So I went into the bathroom to investigate.  And didn’t come to any further conclusions.

I told DJ that my water *might* have broken.  And I called my mom to tell her the same thing.

I decided to take a shower to give myself some time to figure out what exactly was happening.

DJ called his mom and she came over so she’d be here to watch the boys, just in case.

I was still not 100% convinced that it was my water breaking and not just awkward pregnancy issues.

But eventually I realized that either way, I couldn’t just sit around and wait.  I needed answers.

So DJ and I packed up and headed to the hospital.  I think it was about 1pm.

At the hospital they checked me in and took my word for it.  I assumed that they’d check to make sure it WAS in fact amniotic fluid.  Especially since I wasn’t really contracting.

But they didn’t.  The hooked me up to monitors and away we went.

Not a whole lot happened for a while.  We just sat and waited for the “real” contractions to start.

By 4pm, Heather had arrived.  As had the anesthesiologist, so she and DJ had to leave the room.  Which worked out well for DJ, because he was bored and we were supposed to be at a birthday party up the street.  So he took the opportunity to take a break and pop into the party.

After my epidural was in place, Heather came back and kept me company.  Which worked out way better for me than it did for her.  Because the epidural had left me numb and gassy.  Not a good combination.

By 5pm I’d started contracting on my own, and the Doctor had come in to check on me.  She ordered pitocin to help move things along.  But, by this time I could feel some of the contractions and they were definitely uncomfortable.  I predicted the baby would be born by 6:30pm.  I was still 5cm.

The next hour went by uneventfully.  I was having regular contractions but wasn’t feeling any sort of pressure or urge to push, thanks to the epidural.  DJ had returned and he, Heather and I had been having a fun time with my awesome nurse.

At a little after 6pm, my nurse decided to check me to see what was happening.  It was a  good thing, because as soon as she, uh, got her hand up there, her face lit up and she said “He’s RIGHT there!”

To which I replied “SHUT UP!  You mean it’s time to push?!”

She nodded and went into the hallway to find the Doctor. The next few minutes were a bustle of activity while they ran around getting things set up.

Once they were ready, I started to push.  His head was out after a few pushes on the first contraction.

She delivered his shoulders after my first push on the second contraction.

And then, at my nurse’s insistence, I kind of…pulled him out the rest of the way.

Oliver made his entrance into the world at 6:22pm.

8 minutes before my 6:30 deadline.  He’s such a good boy.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures of his first few minutes of life.  All lovingly taken by Heather.  If you’d like to see more, you can find them here.

Also, keep an eye out for my “Daily Ollie” feature.  I *hope* to be adding a daily picture of my little guy.

Related posts:

1. Sleepless in Santa Barbara – Alternately Titled “HELP!!!!”