If you checked out my last post, you'd know I left off with checking into the hospital to be induced with my son at 37 weeks due to high blood pressure. We knew it was coming, so we'd had weeks to prepare. An anxious person by nature, I appreciated the fact that I knew exactly when it would be happening, instead of waiting around for something to happen.
We checked in at 9:00pm on Sunday, Sept. 1, 2019. I was in my room and in a gown by 9:30.
In order to get things going, the nurses were going to give me a few doses of Cervadil and then start pitocin the next morning. Before they could start anything though, I had to have an IV. I'd never had an IV before, but I normally don't have any problems getting blood drawn, so I didn't think it would be a big deal. Boy, was I wrong! It took 3 different nurses FOUR tries to get an IV in. They eventually just put it in my hand, and left my arms looking like this:
(it was the talk of the floor...every single person who came in my room the next several days said something about it!)
I finally got my first dose of Cervadil around 11:00 and then we settled in to sleep for the night. They came in to check me around 3:00am and gave me one more dose. Around 6:00am, I woke up and went to roll over and my water broke. The nurse came in to check it out and told me I was in active labor, and moved me to the labor and delivery room. Since I went into labor on my own, they decided not to do pitocin unless I would need it later. We called our parents and told them there was no rush, but that they could come whenever they'd like.
I had contractions for HOURS and they steadily increased. It was Labor Day (fitting), and there was a Notre Dame football game on that night at 8:00pm. The doctor and a few nurses told me I would definitely have him by the time the game came on. Well the game started. No baby.
I believe about halfway through the game I decided to get an epidural. I was really anxious about it, and needed some major convincing, but I did it. It was painful, but it worked for awhile, and allowed me to get some sleep while I had relief from contractions. The thing I'd been most anxious about in regards to the epidural was not being able to feel my legs. I was actually able to both feel and utilize my legs the entire time (which was good for my anxiety, but meant that my pain must not have been completely managed.)
The Notre Dame game ended around 11:30pm. Still no baby.
I believe it was around this time that I was stuck at 8cm and they finally decided to start the pitocin to get things going. I'd been in active labor for over 12 hours. Then, the baby got stuck in my hip bone, and the epidural seemed to start wearing off. It was incredibly painful. The nurses had me getting into all these awful and very uncomfortable positions to try to get the baby unstuck. I'm not entirely sure how long it took to get him out of my hip bone, but it felt like hours. It was excruciating. I cried. I screamed. I said I couldn't do it anymore. Finally, one of the positions worked and he moved into position. I started to get the urge to push, and they got the doctor.
**This is where I will give a major shout out to Ty and my mom. They were with me the entire delivery, and they were working too! My eyes were closed most of the time, but at one point I looked around and my mom held one of my legs, Ty had the other (and an oxygen mask he was holding up for me to breathe into), and they were both encouraging me. I have no recollection of anything they said, but I know that they helped me get through it. I couldn't have done it without them.**
While I was pushing, the monitor wasn't picking up Bryson's heart rate as well, so they had to put a monitor on his head while he was still inside me. His heart rate dropped to a level they were a bit concerned about, and told me that I needed to breathe through a few contractions and not push. Breathing through those contractions and not pushing was also excruciating. I screamed and yelled all kinds of swear words that I would never say in front of that many people. I really didn't think I was going to make it. I pushed for about 30 minutes and he was finally here! The doctor had called NICU in to check him out since his heart rate had dropped earlier. They were still my room though, and Ty went over to be with him while the doctor finished up with me. Bryson didn't really cry, but he was very alert and looked around at all the lights. I was also told that when I said something, he turned his head toward my voice (heart. melted.) His oxygen levels weren't quite where they wanted to be, and they were talking about taking him from the room for extra support, when he finally got his levels up on his own. He was able to stay with us the whole time and didn't need any other help.
Bryson John was born at 1:23am on September 3, 2019. He was 7lb 2oz, and 20.5 inches long. He had a full head of brown hair and he was absolutely perfect.
While they did all the newborn stuff with him, I was losing a decent amount of blood due to a condition called uterine atony. To this day, I believe that was the worst part of the entire experience. I'll spare anyone reading the gory details, but it was incredibly painful and I still feel a little traumatized when I think back to it. After awhile though, they got it taken care of and I was finally able to hold my baby.
I had never known anything was missing in my life until Ty placed that baby in my arms. My heart was finally complete.
It was over. I was instantly in love with my sweet baby.
And hungry. It had been nearly 24 hours since I'd eaten anything. At 3:30ish in the morning, all I wanted was a cheeseburger and fries. My dad ran out to Burger King at that ungodly hour and delivered food to us. To date, it may be the most satisfying meal I've ever eaten.
It was then time to move to the Mother/Baby Unit. But not before a visit from my favorite nurse, Alleah (who'd been with me since before my water had broken all the way up until getting the epidural.) She was coming back to work for her next shift and couldn't believe we were still there! She wanted to come check on me and meet the baby. The nurses I had during labor and delivery were absolutely phenomenal. I literally cried each time one of their shifts ended and they left me. They were the most amazing girls, and just like Ty and my mom, I wouldn't have been able to do it without them.
So that's Bryson's birth story. It was long and painful at times, but it was also amazing. We are so grateful for the experience and are so blessed by Baby Bryson.
We checked in at 9:00pm on Sunday, Sept. 1, 2019. I was in my room and in a gown by 9:30.
In order to get things going, the nurses were going to give me a few doses of Cervadil and then start pitocin the next morning. Before they could start anything though, I had to have an IV. I'd never had an IV before, but I normally don't have any problems getting blood drawn, so I didn't think it would be a big deal. Boy, was I wrong! It took 3 different nurses FOUR tries to get an IV in. They eventually just put it in my hand, and left my arms looking like this:
I finally got my first dose of Cervadil around 11:00 and then we settled in to sleep for the night. They came in to check me around 3:00am and gave me one more dose. Around 6:00am, I woke up and went to roll over and my water broke. The nurse came in to check it out and told me I was in active labor, and moved me to the labor and delivery room. Since I went into labor on my own, they decided not to do pitocin unless I would need it later. We called our parents and told them there was no rush, but that they could come whenever they'd like.
I had contractions for HOURS and they steadily increased. It was Labor Day (fitting), and there was a Notre Dame football game on that night at 8:00pm. The doctor and a few nurses told me I would definitely have him by the time the game came on. Well the game started. No baby.
I believe about halfway through the game I decided to get an epidural. I was really anxious about it, and needed some major convincing, but I did it. It was painful, but it worked for awhile, and allowed me to get some sleep while I had relief from contractions. The thing I'd been most anxious about in regards to the epidural was not being able to feel my legs. I was actually able to both feel and utilize my legs the entire time (which was good for my anxiety, but meant that my pain must not have been completely managed.)
The Notre Dame game ended around 11:30pm. Still no baby.
I believe it was around this time that I was stuck at 8cm and they finally decided to start the pitocin to get things going. I'd been in active labor for over 12 hours. Then, the baby got stuck in my hip bone, and the epidural seemed to start wearing off. It was incredibly painful. The nurses had me getting into all these awful and very uncomfortable positions to try to get the baby unstuck. I'm not entirely sure how long it took to get him out of my hip bone, but it felt like hours. It was excruciating. I cried. I screamed. I said I couldn't do it anymore. Finally, one of the positions worked and he moved into position. I started to get the urge to push, and they got the doctor.
**This is where I will give a major shout out to Ty and my mom. They were with me the entire delivery, and they were working too! My eyes were closed most of the time, but at one point I looked around and my mom held one of my legs, Ty had the other (and an oxygen mask he was holding up for me to breathe into), and they were both encouraging me. I have no recollection of anything they said, but I know that they helped me get through it. I couldn't have done it without them.**
While I was pushing, the monitor wasn't picking up Bryson's heart rate as well, so they had to put a monitor on his head while he was still inside me. His heart rate dropped to a level they were a bit concerned about, and told me that I needed to breathe through a few contractions and not push. Breathing through those contractions and not pushing was also excruciating. I screamed and yelled all kinds of swear words that I would never say in front of that many people. I really didn't think I was going to make it. I pushed for about 30 minutes and he was finally here! The doctor had called NICU in to check him out since his heart rate had dropped earlier. They were still my room though, and Ty went over to be with him while the doctor finished up with me. Bryson didn't really cry, but he was very alert and looked around at all the lights. I was also told that when I said something, he turned his head toward my voice (heart. melted.) His oxygen levels weren't quite where they wanted to be, and they were talking about taking him from the room for extra support, when he finally got his levels up on his own. He was able to stay with us the whole time and didn't need any other help.
Bryson John was born at 1:23am on September 3, 2019. He was 7lb 2oz, and 20.5 inches long. He had a full head of brown hair and he was absolutely perfect.
While they did all the newborn stuff with him, I was losing a decent amount of blood due to a condition called uterine atony. To this day, I believe that was the worst part of the entire experience. I'll spare anyone reading the gory details, but it was incredibly painful and I still feel a little traumatized when I think back to it. After awhile though, they got it taken care of and I was finally able to hold my baby.
I had never known anything was missing in my life until Ty placed that baby in my arms. My heart was finally complete.
Never been more exhausted or happy in my entire life!
It was over. I was instantly in love with my sweet baby.
And hungry. It had been nearly 24 hours since I'd eaten anything. At 3:30ish in the morning, all I wanted was a cheeseburger and fries. My dad ran out to Burger King at that ungodly hour and delivered food to us. To date, it may be the most satisfying meal I've ever eaten.
It was then time to move to the Mother/Baby Unit. But not before a visit from my favorite nurse, Alleah (who'd been with me since before my water had broken all the way up until getting the epidural.) She was coming back to work for her next shift and couldn't believe we were still there! She wanted to come check on me and meet the baby. The nurses I had during labor and delivery were absolutely phenomenal. I literally cried each time one of their shifts ended and they left me. They were the most amazing girls, and just like Ty and my mom, I wouldn't have been able to do it without them.
So that's Bryson's birth story. It was long and painful at times, but it was also amazing. We are so grateful for the experience and are so blessed by Baby Bryson.
What a beautiful story and then your family was complete. I will be waiting
ReplyDeletefor all of you blogs to document Bryson's life from birth. Love you Grandma Sue