Brooks: A Birth Story
Brooks Daniel Robison
Photos were taken by Laney Photography the day after he was born.
We originally scheduled an induction date way back around 32 weeks as a back up. Well it turns out that our back up plan became the main plan when baby wasn't arriving on his own. As most of you know I had no contractions whatsoever during my pregnancy, no signs of labor, nothing. Our sweet baby was too comfy! Of course being induced wasn't my first choice but being almost 41 weeks, we felt it was a good decision for us.
The night before we packed our bags and everything felt very unreal. Dan gave me a blessing and I set my alarm for a bright and early hour, only granting us a couple hours of sleep. Surprisingly I did sleep but when that 3:30 alarm went off I was up and ready to go. I wasn't scared, but I was a little nervous and anxious (but SO excited) for the days' activities. I woke up early because I didn't want to feel rushed and I wanted to eat a good breakfast since I wouldn't be able to eat most of the day. I had oatmeal, a banana, hard boiled eggs and some milk.
Right before leaving.
One day shy of 41 weeks
It was early and dark when we arrived at the hospital just before 5am. They admitted us and took us up to our room. As we waited for the nurse I kept thinking, this is the room our baby is going to be born in! (if everything goes okay of course). I had the day structured in my mind of the 5 biggest tasks that I had to complete:
1. IV
2. Start Pitocin
3. Water Break
4. Epidural/ Catheter
5. Pushing
These are what I was most nervous about and it helped my mind simplify the whole experience and keep my nerves at bay. The first hour was spent changing into the hospital gown, going over paperwork and an outline for the day, charting, medical history etc. They checked my cervix and I was a 2 and 50% effaced. Around 6 am I had a very experienced nurse come and insert my IV in my arm right above my wrist. I didn't even know I had a vein there but she got it first try and it actually didn't hurt throughout the day. IV's I've had in the past have become incessantly achy and painful so I'm thankful this one wasn't because I had it in for a long time! Task 1 was done!
1. IV
2. Start Pitocin
3. Water Break
4. Epidural/ Catheter
5. Pushing
These are what I was most nervous about and it helped my mind simplify the whole experience and keep my nerves at bay. The first hour was spent changing into the hospital gown, going over paperwork and an outline for the day, charting, medical history etc. They checked my cervix and I was a 2 and 50% effaced. Around 6 am I had a very experienced nurse come and insert my IV in my arm right above my wrist. I didn't even know I had a vein there but she got it first try and it actually didn't hurt throughout the day. IV's I've had in the past have become incessantly achy and painful so I'm thankful this one wasn't because I had it in for a long time! Task 1 was done!
We had a short period of time as we waited for my IV fluids to start pumping and we both slept for about an hour. 7 am rolled around and we started the pitocin. Of course they started me out low and slow but I was nervous because I didn't know what contractions felt like, I only had an idea. It's also common that medically induced contractions can be stronger, faster. Regardless, pitocin was started and I was doing great. Task 2 was done!
A little before 8 am my doctor came in to see how I was doing, check my cervix and break my water. No change, 2 & 50% effaced. Side note: I LOVE my OB! If you need a recommendation, she is seriously so great! Before she broke my water I said, "You probably hate this question, but will this hurt?" It didn't, just some small cramping but the membrane rupturing itself did not hurt. It felt just how I thought it would feel only add BUCKETS of water. Seriously it was a lot of fluid and that surprised me. Task 3, check!
We upped the pitocin and by 9 am the irritations on the monitor turned into contractions that I started feeling. At this point they felt how I imagined they were. They were not painful, more just annoying period-like cramps at this point. I think my stomach rumbling and growling hurt more than some of the contractions. Dan and I picked a movie from the list provided by the hospital to pass the time, Star Wars it was! We watched and the nurse upped the pitocin about every 2 hours.
Around noon my mom came to hangout with us and Dan left to go grab a quick lunch. When he got back I started feeling the contractions very strongly. The nurse checked me at 12:30 and I was a 3 and 70% effaced. I was kind of bummed I had only progressed a centimeter all morning and I was really feeling the contractions now. Having to pause to breathe through them, I would put them as a 5 on my pain scale. They were painful but I could still handle them however I know epidurals don't happen right away so I started thinking soon would be a good time. I didn't want to be bent over backwards, in a lot of pain before I requested it.
1:00 pm I told them I was ready for the epidural so they flushed me with fluids and called the anesthesiologist. He was in there pretty quickly explaining the procedure and risks etc. They raised my bed up to his level, showed me the position and he started cleaning my back. Then his pager went off because another lady in labor and delivery was being rushed into an emergency c-section, her baby's heart rate dropped dramatically. I know he felt awkward for a split second and they all apologized but I wasn't mad in the least bit. That's kind of a big deal! He ran off to surgery, we put my room back to normal and talked about secondary pain management options. We decided on a small dose of pain medication to take the edge off until the anesthesiologist would be able to come back which could take up to an hour.
Before the nurse even left the room to get the pain meds, a gentleman walked it whom I hadn't seen before and said, 'I heard we need an epidural!' the nurse was confused and said, 'Well yes, I mean, are you offering?' His name was Greg and he is an anesthesiologist but was only came into the work for a meeting he had. He happened to see what was going on, changed into scrubs and jumped in to help. How nice is that?! I was floored by his willingness to jump in when he saw a need. Maybe he really didn't want to go that meeting? Once again we went over procedure and risks, got the room ready and I assumed the position. He was really good at his job, however we learned that I don't have a lot of space between my vertebrae and he had to take some extra time and effort to figure out a way to make it work. I felt a weird pinch on my right side and tried really hard to be still. Greg did his best to make conversation and distract me. I started thinking about my options if they couldn't get this to work.
After some effort he was successful, got everything in and taped it down and we were good to go. Overall the epidural didn't hurt. I felt the poke of the needle to apply the lidocaine to numb the area. I could feel him pushing on my back but there was no pain other than that weird nerve pinch I felt. Of course when you get an epidural you have to get a catheter because there's no way you can get up and use the restroom when you're numb from the waist down. Once again I asked, 'Will this hurt?' the answer was no and luckily I was already starting to feel the effects of the epidural. They checked my cervix at the same time and I was STILL a 3 and 70% effaced. It was 2:30 and task 4 was done!
I was kind of bummed that my cervix wasn't progressing but I was very happy that I had completed 4 out of the 5 tasks I structured my day around. I felt like I had accomplished a lot at this point and I could focus on the last thing- getting this baby out! At this point they turned down the pitocin because there was no rest between my contractions. They were being weird for the next hour so they took off the external monitor around my belly and inserted an internal monitor in my cervix to get a more accurate idea about what my contractions were doing. I was a 4 and 70% effaced and we were all preparing for a long afternoon and night. I started wondering if the baby was even going to be born that day. At this rate I could labor all night and into the morning.
My nurse was helping next door with a delivery so I had a new nurse come in to help. She let me know that my contractions were spaced out as they should be but weren't strong enough to change my cervix. She let me know we were going to try a couple things to change that. In the back of my mind I was worried if my contractions didn't start changing my cervix if I eventually would have to opt for a c-section. My nurse brought in an exercise ball that was in the shape of a peanut. I laid on my side and put one leg on top of the peanut in hopes it would open up my hips and cervix. 30 minutes later I started feeling my contractions and specifically in my lower back. They were strong. We flipped sides to see if that would help but after another 30 minutes I still had no relief. I was worried something with my epidural was not working and we pushed the button to up the dose. I waited a bit but unfortunately there was no change. The contractions were strong and close together but I breathed through them, tried to visualize my cervix opening and believed my body knew what it was doing.
7:00 pm rolled around which meant shift change for the nurses. We were talking about my pain level and what my contractions were doing when my doctor came in and checked me.
"We are having a baby!"
"What do you mean? What am I dilated to?"
"You're a 10 girl, it's go time!"
I was in complete shock at this point and I didn't believe her until the room started bustling with staff and preparations. I was surprised, nervous but so excited. I couldn't believe that we went from thinking I was going to be here all night to pushing the baby out right now. While they got ready they had me do a couple practice pushes to teach me to push in the right area. With an epidural in to me it felt like I was trying to pass a bowel movement.
At 7:30 pm everything was ready and we started pushing. My epidural was suddenly (and thankfully) working great, I'm thinking it's because I was on my back again? Anyways I was numb enough to just barely feel the pressure of each contraction but I was still able to wiggle my toes. Pushing was hard work but it wasn't painful. Holding my breath and trying to bear down as much as I could was tiring but I had a great coach! Dan was so supportive, uplifting and encouraging. He really helped me stay motivated. The doctor and nurse kept saying that I was pushing so well and seemed really surprised at the progress I was making. I had an awesome team around me supporting me and helping.
At 8:03 pm after 30 minutes of pushing, Brooks Daniel Robison was born. She laid him right on me and everyone in the room- my doctor, nurses, everyone (except Dan) was shocked at how big he was! He was a solid baby and all the nurses kept asking me where I kept that big of a baby! They gave him a small rub down while on me (he actually wasn't that messy) then they immediately put him under my gown for skin to skin. He was precious and I was still in awe that I carried and just birthed this baby! It was a sweet and special moment as Dan and I met our son. We were so happy and so in love already.
Soon out came the placenta and I hardly noticed. Because of his size I did have to get some stitches, but luckily I didn't feel any of that and was too distracted with our new baby. The first 30 minutes after he was born the room was busy with clean up but from 8:30-9:00 it was calmer, everyone left and it was just Dan, me and our baby as I held him on my chest. I got to hold him for a whole hour before we weighed him or anything, it was wonderful.
My nurse came in around 9 pm and weighed him, gave him the vaccines we wanted, took his measurements and gave him his first bath. He was 8 lbs 13 oz and 20.5 in long. All the other nurses who were there during the delivery peaked their head in when they were weighing him because they were curious of how big he was haha! Right after that we started feeding. He was so sleepy at first did not even care, but struggled and kept at it. Finally he was interested and fed for a solid amount of time. (funny side note: I started coming off all the drugs at this point and felt how HUNGRY I was and got nauseous and started throwing up, but 2 minutes later and I was fine) Then we wrapped him up and handed him to Dan for the first time. What a tender moment for me to watch!
While Dan was holding the baby the nurse helped me stand up and go to the bathroom, clean up and change. It was nice to be unhooked from everything but take note- they use a lot of tape to keep everything for the epidural in place. That tape has to come off, ouch! Standing felt weird and walking was hard. What hurt the most was that pinched nerve I felt when getting my epidural. It was almost in my ribs and took my breath away. I had read a lot of blogs about using the restroom after having a catheter and how painful it was but luckily for me that didn't happen. A little stinging was all. She showed me how to care for myself, got me dressed, basically did everything for me then started getting everything ready to go to our recovery room.
We got to our room and settled in. My mom came with 'dinner' (quotes because now it was 11 pm but I hadn't eaten since 4 am so I didn't care what time it was!). What was my dinner of choice? Chipotle. My mom got to hold and spend some time with Brooks until we were all tired and decided to go to bed. It was midnight by now. That first night was quiet and peaceful. We even tried to wake Brooks up to feed half way through the night but he had a rough day and was way too tired to even think about food. All three of us were exhausted and we slept through the night!
A little before 8 am my doctor came in to see how I was doing, check my cervix and break my water. No change, 2 & 50% effaced. Side note: I LOVE my OB! If you need a recommendation, she is seriously so great! Before she broke my water I said, "You probably hate this question, but will this hurt?" It didn't, just some small cramping but the membrane rupturing itself did not hurt. It felt just how I thought it would feel only add BUCKETS of water. Seriously it was a lot of fluid and that surprised me. Task 3, check!
We upped the pitocin and by 9 am the irritations on the monitor turned into contractions that I started feeling. At this point they felt how I imagined they were. They were not painful, more just annoying period-like cramps at this point. I think my stomach rumbling and growling hurt more than some of the contractions. Dan and I picked a movie from the list provided by the hospital to pass the time, Star Wars it was! We watched and the nurse upped the pitocin about every 2 hours.
Around noon my mom came to hangout with us and Dan left to go grab a quick lunch. When he got back I started feeling the contractions very strongly. The nurse checked me at 12:30 and I was a 3 and 70% effaced. I was kind of bummed I had only progressed a centimeter all morning and I was really feeling the contractions now. Having to pause to breathe through them, I would put them as a 5 on my pain scale. They were painful but I could still handle them however I know epidurals don't happen right away so I started thinking soon would be a good time. I didn't want to be bent over backwards, in a lot of pain before I requested it.
1:00 pm I told them I was ready for the epidural so they flushed me with fluids and called the anesthesiologist. He was in there pretty quickly explaining the procedure and risks etc. They raised my bed up to his level, showed me the position and he started cleaning my back. Then his pager went off because another lady in labor and delivery was being rushed into an emergency c-section, her baby's heart rate dropped dramatically. I know he felt awkward for a split second and they all apologized but I wasn't mad in the least bit. That's kind of a big deal! He ran off to surgery, we put my room back to normal and talked about secondary pain management options. We decided on a small dose of pain medication to take the edge off until the anesthesiologist would be able to come back which could take up to an hour.
Before the nurse even left the room to get the pain meds, a gentleman walked it whom I hadn't seen before and said, 'I heard we need an epidural!' the nurse was confused and said, 'Well yes, I mean, are you offering?' His name was Greg and he is an anesthesiologist but was only came into the work for a meeting he had. He happened to see what was going on, changed into scrubs and jumped in to help. How nice is that?! I was floored by his willingness to jump in when he saw a need. Maybe he really didn't want to go that meeting? Once again we went over procedure and risks, got the room ready and I assumed the position. He was really good at his job, however we learned that I don't have a lot of space between my vertebrae and he had to take some extra time and effort to figure out a way to make it work. I felt a weird pinch on my right side and tried really hard to be still. Greg did his best to make conversation and distract me. I started thinking about my options if they couldn't get this to work.
After some effort he was successful, got everything in and taped it down and we were good to go. Overall the epidural didn't hurt. I felt the poke of the needle to apply the lidocaine to numb the area. I could feel him pushing on my back but there was no pain other than that weird nerve pinch I felt. Of course when you get an epidural you have to get a catheter because there's no way you can get up and use the restroom when you're numb from the waist down. Once again I asked, 'Will this hurt?' the answer was no and luckily I was already starting to feel the effects of the epidural. They checked my cervix at the same time and I was STILL a 3 and 70% effaced. It was 2:30 and task 4 was done!
I was kind of bummed that my cervix wasn't progressing but I was very happy that I had completed 4 out of the 5 tasks I structured my day around. I felt like I had accomplished a lot at this point and I could focus on the last thing- getting this baby out! At this point they turned down the pitocin because there was no rest between my contractions. They were being weird for the next hour so they took off the external monitor around my belly and inserted an internal monitor in my cervix to get a more accurate idea about what my contractions were doing. I was a 4 and 70% effaced and we were all preparing for a long afternoon and night. I started wondering if the baby was even going to be born that day. At this rate I could labor all night and into the morning.
7:00 pm rolled around which meant shift change for the nurses. We were talking about my pain level and what my contractions were doing when my doctor came in and checked me.
"We are having a baby!"
"What do you mean? What am I dilated to?"
"You're a 10 girl, it's go time!"
I was in complete shock at this point and I didn't believe her until the room started bustling with staff and preparations. I was surprised, nervous but so excited. I couldn't believe that we went from thinking I was going to be here all night to pushing the baby out right now. While they got ready they had me do a couple practice pushes to teach me to push in the right area. With an epidural in to me it felt like I was trying to pass a bowel movement.
At 7:30 pm everything was ready and we started pushing. My epidural was suddenly (and thankfully) working great, I'm thinking it's because I was on my back again? Anyways I was numb enough to just barely feel the pressure of each contraction but I was still able to wiggle my toes. Pushing was hard work but it wasn't painful. Holding my breath and trying to bear down as much as I could was tiring but I had a great coach! Dan was so supportive, uplifting and encouraging. He really helped me stay motivated. The doctor and nurse kept saying that I was pushing so well and seemed really surprised at the progress I was making. I had an awesome team around me supporting me and helping.
At 8:03 pm after 30 minutes of pushing, Brooks Daniel Robison was born. She laid him right on me and everyone in the room- my doctor, nurses, everyone (except Dan) was shocked at how big he was! He was a solid baby and all the nurses kept asking me where I kept that big of a baby! They gave him a small rub down while on me (he actually wasn't that messy) then they immediately put him under my gown for skin to skin. He was precious and I was still in awe that I carried and just birthed this baby! It was a sweet and special moment as Dan and I met our son. We were so happy and so in love already.
Soon out came the placenta and I hardly noticed. Because of his size I did have to get some stitches, but luckily I didn't feel any of that and was too distracted with our new baby. The first 30 minutes after he was born the room was busy with clean up but from 8:30-9:00 it was calmer, everyone left and it was just Dan, me and our baby as I held him on my chest. I got to hold him for a whole hour before we weighed him or anything, it was wonderful.
Overall it was a great experience. The nurses and doctors were incredible in caring for me and Brooks. We are so happy and thankful that Brooks finally arrived safely and is healthy. We feel so much love and support from everyone around us and it has made the experience that much sweeter. We can't say thank you enough to those who have checked in, brought us meals and shown their love over social media. Thank you! We are so excited to raise our sweet baby boy!
Comments
Post a Comment