The Birth of Jessica Rose

Do you know how to make sure you go into labor? Plan a last date before baby comes with your husband. Adam had bought tickets to see our friend's play on Sunday, April 29th. In hindsight, I started early labor the day before when I was at our church's Spring Salad Luncheon with my mom. I remember having a couple contractions that were definitely more than Braxton-Hicks, but didn't really pay much attention, because I was still 4 days from my due date, and I expected to go a day or two past. But, by 1am on Sunday morning, I was awake with contractions and timed a couple of them. I don't remember waking Adam to tell him that I was in labor, but he says that he remembers being woken up.

Around 6am, I texted my mom to come over and pick up the kids. The plan was for me to labor at home for as long as possible. I've had either an epidural or a spinal with all of the other kids, and this time, I wanted to do it without. I wanted to be able to offer up my pain and unite it to Christ's suffering in His Passion for an intention near to my heart. We figured if I were at home as long as possible, I was away from the epidural as long as possible!

I hadn't really packed up the kids yet, so between the older kids, Adam, and my mom, they got everyone packed and ready to go. Lily came in and kept me company. I don't think she really knew what was going on, but she enjoyed pointing to the mole on my tummy and telling me "mole." (Oddly enough, Jessica at 18 months or so started poking that same mole while she nurses.)

I don't remember all that we did to keep ourselves occupied during the waiting game. I believe Adam dished me up some peaches (the only thing that sounded good) for lunch. Once the afternoon rolled around, I texted my neighbor to see if she had a birth/ exercise ball that I could use. I remember Adam working on one of Nate's many puzzles while I pretty much just watched him and sat on the birth ball.

Once it started getting late, we decided that we wanted to settle in somewhere for the night, so we headed to the hospital around 10pm. I wanted a wheelchair at this point. No more walking around. A nurse came down from the L&D floor to the emergency room entrance to wheel me on up while Adam parked the car. It always seems that when we head to the hospital, my contractions slow down quite a bit. This time was no different. So the nurse brought me over to a triage room, thinking I was not actually in labor. I remember asking why we were there. My L&D nurse, CaraLin, who would end up being a saving grace for me, was kneeling in front of my wheelchair, and the other nurse was asking me to get up and move to the triage bed for examination. CaraLin started asking me questions, like how many kids I had and their ages and such. I wasn't super great at answering, but managed to tell her I had six kids, their ages, and that our oldest died. I wasn't having contractions, even though I felt like I was still in between close contractions. CaraLin told the other nurse that I knew what I was talking about since I was on my 6th child, but I think she was waiting for the proof once a contraction hit. I could tell the others around CaraLin and I were getting a little impatient, and I remember praying for a contraction to hit! And, thank the Lord, it did. They all were then in agreement to admit me and brought me straight to my room.

When you're a VBAC (and definitely when you're a VBA2C!), they want to get a 20-minute "strip" on your contractions and baby's heart rate. I hate being hooked up to them. You can't move to get comfortable during a contraction, because you need to make sure that the monitors don't slip out of place and not read baby's heart rate. I sat on the edge of the bed, somewhat comfortably while we tried to get a 20-minute strip. CaraLin stayed by my side the whole time. My doctor (whom I had never met before), Dr. Chang, stared at the readings on the monitor. He wanted me to lay down on my back (super uncomfortable in labor for me!). The baby's heart rate wasn't variable enough for him. I could feel a calm in the room around me, but an induced panic from him. He started talking, while still staring at the monitor, about how if we couldn't get some variability in the baby's heart rate, that we'd have to do a c-section or the baby could die. Oddly enough, even the mention of our baby dying didn't panic me. Everyone else in the room was calm and unconcerned. I didn't like Dr. Chang. He reminded me of Scary Doctor with no bedside manners.

Eventually, everyone left the room when they had the information they needed, leaving Adam and me alone. After the click of the door shutting, the next thing I heard was Adam's voice, "I don't like him." So I wasn't just an over-dramatic laboring woman. "I don't like him either."

After a few minutes, CaraLin came back in with another nurse, and she knelt down by my side at the edge of the bed I was sitting on. "I understand you haven't met this doctor before, what do you think of him?" I explained that we didn't like him, and she explained our options. There was another doctor, their on-call doctor, Dr. Burroughs, who I could meet, and if I liked him, I could switch. We both agreed that was a great idea.

Dr. Burroughs came in and introduced himself and said that everything looked fine to him, so he let me continue to labor.

(At this point I'm writing the rest of this just before Jessica's 2nd birthday, so it's not as detailed as it could be... But it's my story, nonetheless.)

I know an IV was placed and my cervix was checked. I labored on a birth ball for quite a while, and eventually used the nitrous oxide for some pain relief during contractions. Adam laid on the couch either reading or playing video games or napping. I'm really not sure which. 

(And now I'm continuing when she's almost 4 years old! At this point in time, I don't remember as much as I could have had I written this sooner.)

I remember sitting on the birth ball laboring and trying to rest as best I could in between contractions. At one point, I must have actually dozed off a bit, because I tipped backwards on the birth ball, and lost my balance. Thankfully the IV pole was right next to me, and I grabbed it to keep from completely tipping over! I think after that point I stayed more awake, and I think it actually helped to kick up the contractions a bit. 

I must have moved to the bed at some point, because when I was ready to push, I the nurses asking me how I wanted to position myself. I literally couldn't move and I had no idea what position I should move into. One of the nurses decided to put up the back of the bed so that it was almost straight upright. I used my arms to hang on the edge of the bed and squatted on the part that was still flat. Adam was standing behind the upright head of the bed. One of my top love languages is physical touch, and he was present, but not touching me, so I remember telling him that I needed his hand. As I pushed a nurse, probably CaraLin, held my hips and pulled them down as I pushed each time. I remember that Dr. Burroughs was in the room, but I also thought that he was across the room, and not right by my bedside. I honestly thought that no one caught our baby and that she just landed on the bed. Adam told me later that Dr. Burroughs did indeed caught her!

Once she was born, they helped me lay back on the bed and gave me my newest daughter to hold. I remember thinking in the moment that I would never push a baby out of me again without an epidural, but by the next day, I was convinced I'd try it again. 

4-28 Spring Salad Luncheon @ church - contractions
4-29 Contractions at 1am
head to hospital at 9:30-10pm
11:35pm 7cm
4-30 Jessica born at 3:08am 8# 6oz 21 1/4 inches