April 13, 2017
Oliver Richard’s Birth Story
The week leading up to Oliver’s birth, I was going a little
crazy. I didn’t trust that my body would go into labor on its own and I didn’t
really want to be induced. I wanted him born as close to his due date as
possible because Troy as a teacher, had the week off of work for spring break
and this would give him more time at home with us to help out and spend
together as a little family of 4.
I tried the typical eating spicy foods and walking to induce
labor with no help. The day before Oliver was due, we went to the zoo with my
mom, Troy, Adalyn and I. We walked all around and had a great time. Later that
afternoon, we went on a walk with Adalyn and pulled her in the wagon and let
her walk the dogs. I made a big dinner that I will probably never forget because
I went into labor shortly after.
The night before labor started, I was having some
contractions before I went to bed. They were not painful though and were more
like Braxton Hicks contractions. They were 6 minutes apart though but a few
nights before that, I had some contractions that were pretty regular that ended
up going away so I was not convinced that anything was actually happening.
Labor started quick at 1:15 AM on 4/2/17 which was my due
date. I woke up with painful contractions. I thought, this may be it! I laid in
bed and then at 1:30 AM, I heard a “pop” sound, stood up and realized that my
water had broken. I could not believe it because with Adalyn, my water did not
break on its own and they had to do it in the hospital quite a while into labor.
When I stood up, there was literally water pouring out of my body. Crazy!
I woke up Troy to let him know. I figured that we had quite
a few hours being at home still but since it was the middle of the night, I
wanted to let my mom know since she would be taking care of Adalyn while we
were gone. She came over right away which was a blessing because we ended up
needing to leave much sooner than I expected. Being the crazy person that I am,
I quickly finished straightening the house before we left (last minute
nesting).
My contractions were about every 2 minutes and already quite
painful which was crazy. I was expected a slow start to labor with having
plenty of time to take a shower, sit in the bath, clean, pack, etc. I couldn’t
talk through them and just kind of waddled through them around my house. I knew
that it was time to go to the hospital just 45 minutes after my first
contraction began! We left the house at 2 AM.
I had 2 painful contractions on the car ride over to the
hospital which was only about 5-7 minutes away. During my walk into labor and
delivery, I continued having painful contractions very regularly (3 just in my
walk in). I checked into triage at 2:10 AM and they told me that my water had
indeed broken, that I was 4 centimeters dilated and that I was getting
admitted.
They had me lay in the bed and had the fetal monitor on my
stomach. My contractions were very painful at this point. Troy was lightly
rubbing my shoulder when I had a contraction which I told him that I liked and
to continue doing. By the next contraction, I hated that and moved his hand
away quickly. It was crazy and I didn’t know what I wanted. I wanted him next
to me but away from me at the same time. Pain is a crazy thing!
They started my IV and let me know that I had to get the
whole bag of fluids before I got an epidural. Things progressed quickly and I
was hoping for the IV to go in quickly so that I could get the epidural. We
transferred to our birthing room and I could not sit down. I grabbed the bed
rail while standing during each contraction. I never cried or screamed during
labor but I did wimper and moan a little bit.
Then, the anesthesiologist came in at 3:40 AM and gave me my
epidural. Right away, I felt a ton of pressure like I needed to push. That
couldn’t be- I was just 4 cm dilated! The nurse said that she would get someone
to check me. On the next contraction, I was like “get someone to check me now
please!! I feel the need to push”. They did and I was 10 cm dilated. So, so
crazy! I can’t believe how quickly my body progressed from 4 cm to 10 cm
dilated.
I was at 10 cm dilated before anything from the epidural
even kicked in. This did not fully surprise me as the contractions were so much
more intense this time than when I was pregnant with Adalyn. I never experienced
any pressure to push with her so this was totally new for me. Before, my
epidural worked so well that I felt no pain or pressure. It was a lot different
this time.
They called the doctor at 4 AM that would be delivering me,
Dr. Mahoney and thank god, he was there within 10 minutes. I started pushing
right away at 4:10 AM. I felt so much pressure to push and could feel each
contraction. Like I said, with Adalyn, I felt nothing, so this was crazy. It
was a lot more painful but also helpful to know when I needed to push instead
of having to have the nurse or doctor tell me when to push.
They asked me if I wanted to see the crowning of the baby’s
head in the mirror and I said sure. I did not look with my daughter but decided
to look this time since Troy loved it so much last time. I thought they were
going to give me a little handheld mirror but instead, they brought in this
huge standing mirror! I took one look, saw a little blood and decided not to
have the mirror there anymore.
They recommended to me to keep it to help motivate me to
push hard when I saw the baby’s head coming out and I decided to try it. The
doctor kindly washed the blood off so I wouldn’t be freaked out by seeing it. It
really worked! I was having contractions about every minute or so and would
push a lot differently than if I didn’t see it.
The nurse was so helpful in instructing me how to push the
right way (compared to last time when I pushed too much in my face and ended up
vomiting). I was really hot during labor and they got me a wet washcloth for my
forehead which was helpful. Dr. Mahoney and my nurses at St. John Hospital did
an awesome job coaching me and helping Oliver get here quickly and safely.
At 4:25 AM, we could see his hair! There was lots of it.
Just like with Adalyn. I continued to push for about 35 minutes total. At 4:46
AM, Oliver Richard Hernandez was born. The doctor let me literally pull him out
of me with my hands which was about the coolest thing of my life. He was
covered in vernix and had a very healthy and loud cry. I was so happy that he
was here!
I did end up tearing but my pain is so much less than when I
had an episiotomy with my daughter. I was able to get out of bed so much faster
and was not numb because the epidural never fully set in. This was actually a
blessing and I think that I ended up feeling better after delivery quicker
because I did not have as much medication in me.
So if you caught onto all my times, he was literally born
just 3 ½ hours after my first contraction. We cannot believe it. The pain was
so much more intense this time. The epidural didn’t have time to really set in
before he was born. Labor with Adalyn was 39 hours. This time it was 3 1/2-
what a difference! If we have any more children, we better be right near the
hospital!!
Oliver weighed in at 7 lbs 14 ounces which is almost a pound
more than his sister. He is 21 inches long and his head is 12.5 inches. He
breastfed shortly after delivery which is going well.
Oliver is such a blessing to our family and we are so
thrilled to have him. Adalyn is the best big sister and after getting ready for
her brother for the last 8 months or so, is very happy to finally have him
here. She loves to give him kisses, say “it’s okay Oliver” if he is crying and
cover him in blankets. God is good and we are so thankful for a healthy baby
boy!
Share this post:
Oh gosh, such a happy story - I'm tearing up!!! Quick births are such a blessing, right?! Love that you were able to watch in the mirror to help pull him out. Such a miracle. Congrats on the new addition -- love watching your family grow! Welcome tot he world, Oliver!
ReplyDeleteMy daughters and I enjoyed seeing all the cute photos of Oliver. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, the baby is beautiful! Best wishes.
ReplyDeletetwinkle at optonline dot net
He is beautiful! I can't believe how short the labor was. Hope you are all doing well! Enjoy your first Easter as a family of four!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the birth of your adorable baby boy! Glad things went well for the most part. He's got the cutest head of hair.
ReplyDelete