Our Beautiful Three: Pregnancy Recap Part 6: Baby No. 3

The Birth Story

{last picture of me in my pregnant state}

Here it is. The final installment of my pregnancy recaps for this pregnancy. I'm honestly a bit sad to put it behind me as it was (more likely than not) my last pregnancy.

I'll preface this story by saying that I had assumed I was going to go the distance and get to my 39th week (and c-section) without event.

To some degree that was comforting, but also a little disappointing because I actually wished I could have a spontaneous labor experience and all the excitement that goes along with it.

In any event, when I got to my 36 week appointment (Friday 3/14) I was anxious to schedule my c-section in order to be able to make arrangements with work and have a definitive time frame for us at home.

During the appointment my OB asked whether I had been experiencing any Braxton Hicks contractions. I told her I was having contractions, but that they were actually mildly painful (versus painless BH contractions). I explained that the contractions came every night and were starting to come in the daytime as well.

That prompted her to ask my permission to do a cervical exam to which I obliged.

Again, I was anticipating going the distance as I did with the boys and so you can imagine my surprise when she told me that I was 2 cm dilated and 50% effaced.

Typically that could mean nothing at all, but in my case it was startling considering I had never made so much progress pre-labor with the boys and also since it confirmed that the contractions I was feeling were real contractions and not BHs.

My doctor instructed me to head into labor and delivery if the contractions intensified or started to become regular.

After receiving that news I was sort of on heightened alert and was all the more anxious to get things done in preparation for baby.

That weekend, the boys both came down with colds which kept us homebound. I was happy to stay home so that I could finally work on baby girl's "nursery nook" as I call it and assembling her crib.

I was in major nest mode for sure.

The following Monday (3/17) I went to work as usual. On my way out for lunch I got a really intense contraction that stopped me in my tracks, but I kept that to myself because I was trying not to psych myself out.

I made a pit stop at my old office to pick up some paperwork and while I was there my ex-coworkers commented that I looked really tired. I told them about the contractions and how they kept me up at night and said I was expecting that to go on for the next few weeks until my c-section.

At some point in the preceeding weeks, I told Aaron that I felt like she wanted to come earlier, but that the constraints of my ill positioned pelvic bone would probably keep her in.

Throughout the rest of the day on Monday I continued to contract, but with no regular pattern.

But then things started to change...

***TMI WARNING***

When I came home from work I was really exhausted and started experiencing loose stools. I wasn't sick to my stomach or anything like that, I just could not stay off the toilet for long. My body was totally flushing itself. At one point I noticed the smallest chunk of mucous which looked similar to my plug when I lost it with Mac.

With all that went on that day, I finally texted Aaron and asked him to get home as soon as possible after work (sometimes he stays after talking or goes to meetings).

I still didn't think I was in labor, but I knew I might have to go and be evaluated if things continued as they were, so I wanted him to get home sooner rather than later.

When he did finally get home things had calmed down, but he suggested I should take the next day off to rest because he thought I was pushing myself too hard.

I resisted because I just assumed this would be the nature of things until the c-section and I didn't want to call off of work every time I had a pregnancy related discomfort.

Finally, I agreed to call off to take a day of rest, but on the condition that he would go with me to see my OB the next day to get some guidance from her about whether it was safe to keep working.

He agreed, but when I called for an appointment the next morning the nurse instructed me to go to labor and delivery ASAP.

I frantically started to pack all of our bags which had on my to do list for the following weekend.

As I was packing I felt really sharp cramps, but I didn't tell Aaron that.

I loaded the boys in the car and the three of us waited there for Aaron. As I sat there I felt the contractions coming regularly. They continued that way during the drive to the hospital (about a 30 minute drive).

Just before we got there I told Aaron that I thought I was causing the contractions from my anxiousness. He told me I should just relax.

We checked in and I was put on monitors for an hour before the doctor came to check on me. As much as I tried to stay calm, the comtractions kept coming and after an hour the doctor came in and told me I was having irregular contractions (about 5-7 minutes apart). She did a cervical check and told us that I was still just 2 cm, but very soft.

The next thing she said was that she personally did not think I was in labor, and was comfortable releasing me, but said I could stay for another couple of hours and be re-checked.

I knew it would throw Aaron's day out of whack to stay another couple of hours if I wasn't in real labor, but I didn't want to risk being sent home at that point.

I hadn't said much, but by then I knew I was in labor and I was starting to get scared.

As I figured, Aaron was frustrated that I asked to stay. He was confused that I went from wanting to go to work to now wanting to stay and wait for another check.

It was also hard having both boys in the triage room while we waited so I suggested that he should take them to get lunch and then meet me back in time for the next cervical check which the doctor said would be 2pm.

He left, but called my mom to come swap out with him because he had to be at work by 3.

My mom met up with me just before the doctor came to do the next check. I gave her the rundown and told her that was still contracting, but with greater intensity.

I literally said, "If she comes back in here and tells me I'm not in labor again, I'm gonna be pissed because if this isn't labor then what the fuck is it?"

Pardon my French on that one!

Aaron was still not back when the doctor came in (approx 1:30 pm), but I let her check me anyway. It took her a bit to make a detrmination. She kept saying, "you're so soft, I just want to be sure." And then in the most casual manner she finally said, "yeah, you're at least 3 and a half now. It's time."

I actually assumed that she said I hadn't made any change because her time was so nonchalant, but once I processed the words I realized that I was truly in labor.

My mom was on the phone with Aaron wen the doctor said I was 3 and a half cm, so she told Aaron as much. Then she asked, "what does that mean?" And my doctor said "means we're gonna have a baby."

With that I started to cry.

I'm not even sure why I cried. I wasn't scared, I wasn't shocked, I guess maybe I was relieved that I had asked to stay.

Then she started to give me the rundown on the risks of c-section and all that mumbo jumbo. I signed some consent forms and the hussel and bussel continued as the team got prepared for my c-section.

In all the chaos, Aaron told my mom he was dropping the kids off there with her so he could go to practice. When she told me that I asked to go to the restroom and then called him.

He asked "do you not want me to go in?" To which I replied, "of course not, we're about to have a baby!"

I think he was in a bit of shock that it was happening because he left to lunch assuming that I was going to be released!

He simply said, "ok" and then showed up again soon after that. I had just enough time to give the boys kisses before it was go time and then things were under way.

She was born at 4:10 pm. I did not get to hold her immediately nor did I get a good look at her.

Her breathing was labored and they tried to get her airways cleared of all the amniotic fluids, but her oxygenation levels were not sustaining and so they decided she needed to go to the NICU.

For some reason that did not scare me at all. I assumed that it was a precaution and also figured it was completely normal for her to need a little help considering she was a late pre-term baby and she didn't have the benefit of passing through the birth canal which would have helped expel the fluids.

The doctor actually explained it to me exactly that way and so I was really confident that she was going to be fine.

Aaron took a picture for me before he left to the NICU with her and I was taken to recovery.

{she's holding daddy's finger here - she had him wrapped around her finger from the moment she was born!}

I got to visit her in the NICU that night and the mommy guilt hit when I saw her with the C-PAP on.

By the next day she was doing well on her own and I got to see her beautiful face.

She did great the entire time we were in the hospital. In fact, had the hospital's policy not changed, the NICU doctor said she would have been released from NICU and could have stayed with me, but the new restriction was that all babies with respitory issues may only be released to the home. She could not be released to regular care.

The nurses called themselves "over-paid babysitters" because she really did not require any special care and was the biggest baby in her unit.

Ultimately, she and I did well/are doing well and I got a more exciting birth experience than I expected!