Let me start by saying that I always have good intentions for wanting to write about big events in my life. I want to because I don't want to forget anything. Unfortunately, I get overwhelmed just thinking about the task so, oftentimes, I end up not doing it. This is not going to be one those times because I'm not sure I have ever been more proud of myself in my entire life. I've always dreamed about having a baby and imagined what labor would be like. Women's bodies are literally designed to create life. It's quite trippy when you think about it. So, in this blog I will be documenting 3 birth stories. The birth of Edison Andrew Huff, our sweet baby boy, and the births of a mom and dad. It might have some moments of TMI, but that's labor for ya! I hope you enjoy. If not, well, at least I have it written down so I can look back on a moment in my life that I am so incredibly proud of.
You might wonder why I included this story on my yoga blog. First, I met my Doula, Vanessa, during my Yoga Teacher Training, 3 years ago. Second, yoga prepared me physically and mentally for pregnancy and labor. Without my training, I don't think my experiences would have been as positive as they were. With that said. Here we go...
Let's start with Wednesday, September 2, 2020. This was the day before my due date. I have this tradition with my sister and her 2 girls where I come out to their house on Wednesdays for dinner, then stay to tuck them in to bed. It's called "Wahoo TayTay Wednesday." And, yes, I basically go out to their house every Wednesday - this Wednesday was no exception. I was feeling good so I headed out to their house in Escalon. I came home earlier than usual because I was tired. Being 40 weeks pregnant will do that to you. Once I got home, I just had this feeling that I needed to sit on my big yoga ball for a while so I watched the live action version of Cinderella on Disney + while I sat on the yoga ball. It was after this yoga ball session that I felt like things were getting started.
During that night, I had to get up a couple times to pee (shocking, I know), and I noticed that when I did, I had started spotting. Hmm...is that normal? My stomach feels a little crampy...is that a contraction? In the morning, I decided to text Vanessa. It's so nice to have someone you can text for questions! She made me feel better. Plus, I had a doctor's appointment at 10:50am that day -my due date. When I went to my appointment, the nurse told me I would probably be in labor by that evening (Oh gosh!). My doctor, Dr. Reisinger, checked and I was 2cm dilated and 70% effaced. She said she wouldn't be surprised if I had the baby this weekend (double gosh!). That would work out nicely though, since she was the doctor that was on call! Wahoo!
After my appointment, Andrew and I met Vanessa downtown at the Farmacy for a bite to eat. I was not very hungry because I was nervous and not very comfortable. I'm pretty sure early labor had already started, but it was good to keep me distracted. After lunch, I came home and took a 3 hour nap because I wanted to be as rested as possible for when labor actually started up. That evening, Andrew kept me occupied by teaching me a new game (Twice as Clever). It is a complicated dice game, but I'm proud to say I beat him twice, all while dealing with mild contractions every 15-20 minutes. After our game, we headed to bed. I did not sleep well because by this point the contractions were coming every 7-8 minutes and were difficult to sleep through. I didn't wake Andrew because I wanted at least one of us to be rested.
Side note: I was supposed to teach yoga in the park the next day, but luckily I had Kaycie on stand by. I found out after having Edison that two very good friends, Alicia and Anita, came to the class and they dedicated their practices to me. I'm pretty sure that helped with my labor too!
The next morning, Friday, September 4, 2020, my contractions were about 5 minutes apart, so I texted Vanessa. We agreed if the contractions kept up that way for an hour that she would head over. They did, so over she came. Of course, it seemed like once she came over they slowed down. We decided to make some breakfast and head out for a walk to see if that got things moving again. I had only had one contraction on our 30 minute walk so we all agreed I was still in the early labor stage. Since there really wasn't much for her to do, Vanessa headed out to go to her other appointments. Andrew and I relaxed at the house and I decided to take a nap... gotta love naps (and gotta get them in while I can)!
After I had been sleeping for an hour, I was awakened by a contraction. This one definitely seemed stronger than previous ones. Looking back, I'm pretty sure the nap allowed my body to relax enough to really get things going. This was around 2pm on Friday, which was when active labor officially started.
I really don't know how to explain what a contraction feels like. I've heard it described like really bad period cramps, but they didn't feel like that to me. That said, I don't have a better analogy, so I guess we will go with that. I labored downstairs for a couple hours. Andrew was a huge help. Just having him hug on me during a contraction made me feel better. After the couple hours downstairs - changing from position to position - we decided to head upstairs. I think it was around this time that we sent another message to Vanessa saying something along the lines of "you should probably come back now." She was over in Tracy so it took a little time for her to get back. During this time, I labored in the shower for a bit - the warm water was soothing. We have a little seat in our shower that I used for support, which was helpful. Andrew was my official contraction timer. I would say "Yup" when a contraction started and "OK" when it ended. By this time, my contractions had been 5 minutes apart, lasting for 60 seconds or longer, and had been going like this for an hour or two.
After the shower, I laid on our bed to relax as best I could. I was able to completely relax between contractions, which I think made them stronger - or at least it seemed that way. I was only able to stay in the different positions for so long before I needed to change it up. I think I was leaning over the bed with my feet on the floor when Vanessa showed up. She and Andrew made the perfect team. They rubbed my back, used counter pressure on my hips, let me squeeze their hands, etc. Vanessa was especially good at verbal encouragement. She would help talk me through contractions. One thing I remember her saying is: "it's okay to get mad at the contractions." Heck yes... those things were starting to tick me off by this point!
After being at the house for another hour or two after Vanessa arrived, we all agreed it was time to head to the hospital. Getting to the car was more interesting than I thought it would be - it probably took at least 10 minutes to get me into the car. Thankfully, we only live 2.5 miles from the hospital, so I didn't have to be in the car for long. Andrew was an excellent driver and that stop light we went through was still yellow, I swear!
All the excitement started when we got to the hospital. With COVID still going strong in the U.S., it made hospital precautions very irritating, but luckily we were prepared. One of the new precautions was that Andrew and Vanessa could not come in with me at first. The way it works is: the laboring mother is sent to triage first, which is where they determine if you are actually in labor (sigh). Once they determine you are in labor, then you get admitted. It's at this time that you are allowed ONE person to be with you. This is the second irritation... I want both of my team, darn it! As I previously mentioned, we had done our research, and according to Memorial Medical Center, Doulas are deemed essential medical personel. All of us made sure to make this very clear to the hospital staff and, fortunately, we didn't get a lot of push back. Vanessa just had to show a medical I.D. and we were good to go on that front.
Taking a couple steps back to my time in triage, I was in there by myself for about an hour and 15 minutes. We had arrived at the hospital around 7:30pm. By this point, I had been in active labor for about five and a half hours and was used to being able to move around as I wanted. That was not the case in triage. I had to lay on my back hooked up to monitors. The nurse checked me and said I was four and a half centimeters so she was pretty sure I was going to be admitted. That's when all the questions started. Do you know how difficult it is to answer questions in active labor? Short answer... very difficult!
While I was in triage, Andrew and Vanessa waited outside. During this time, Andrew was mentioning our top 3 names we had picked out - Edison, Thelonious, and Ellington. He knew Edison was my favorite. He also knew I would be missing him, so he sent me a couple text messages, "You're doing a great job... Even if we're outside still..." and "Also, I love you and Edison Andrew, too"! Gosh I love that man.
I would have liked to stay at home longer because home is far more comfortable than the hospital, but at 36 weeks I tested positive for GBS (Group B Strep - a common bacteria) and they wanted me at the hospital at least 4 hours before delivery so I could receive antibiotics. The rule of thumb is that you dilate 1cm every hour, so, if this was the case, I had about five and a half more hours to go, which was plenty of time... or so I thought. It took a while to get a Labor & Delivery (L&D) room because they were full of other women giving birth... it must have been the full moon! On the way to my L&D room, I saw my doctor and said, "Hey doc! Long time no see." Once I finally got to the room, they wanted to place an IV. The nurse from triage tried twice, but was unsuccessful. That's when Andrew and Vanessa came in. Andrew was not thrilled by the fact that his wife's arm was bleeding when he walked in and then he had to watch another nurse fail yet another IV attempt. Let's just say my man is very protective of his family and he had to have a word with the nurse out in the hallway. After that, they sent the House Supervisor and she placed the IV no problem! Thank goodness, because sitting still through this whole process was quite a challenge. Since it took so long to get the IV placed, it was only three and a half hours before delivery that I received the antibiotics. Luckily, Edison didn't have any negative side effects, so it all worked out.
Labor continued to progress. Gosh it hurts so bad. There was a shower in the room, but I didn't use it. I mostly just used the peanut ball. We had asked for a large yoga ball multiple times but we never received one... oh well. The hospital bed could change into multiple positions so that is what we did. Andrew and Vanessa continued to help physically and mentally. Mentally, I was starting to break down because it hurt so bad and there didn't seem to be much (if any) break in between contractions. I had made a playlist since that's what I do :) but I never used it. Maybe next time. Side note: Andrew found it very intriguing to watch the contraction monitor. He had asked for the papers afterwards but the nurse said they needed to keep it for their records. Boo.
It was at this point that I knew I was in the transition stage of labor (8-10cm), because I was constantly saying, "I can't do this." At one point Vanessa told me,"I'm hearing a lot of negativity. Try saying positive things." That seemed to help for a while. Apparently, it also helps to make a "moo" sound low and deep like a cow. Andrew did this with me. Looking back, it sounds so ridiculous, but, at the time, it helped me through a few contractions. You gotta do what you gotta do. During this interval, my water broke multiple times. I had no idea there was so much water!
It's safe to say by this point, I was in complete misery. I made it to nine and a half centimeters, but apparently there was one piece of my cervix that didn't want to retract back. This is when they had me get into a Child's pose with my hips up in the air. The purpose of this position was to get his head to back away from my cervix so I could become fully dilated. I remember thinking that a Child's pose should help me feel better but NOPE! It hurt like hell! Thankfully, it did what it was supposed to do and I started pushing shortly after.
Before this point, the nurse had made me promise I would let her know when I needed to push because the doctor had to be there. Moving was very difficult at this point but I flipped over onto my back so the nurse could check me again (which hurt, of course). Since I was fully dilated, the nurse prepped me to start pushing. I figured she would have called the doctor by this point, but she had not. I'm guessing she wanted to give me a couple practice pushes. I have heard that pushing can take a long time. Well... apparently I was a little better at it than the nurse had anticipated, so she made me stop! Say whaaaat?! She even took my legs out of the stirrups! Pushing definitely hurt, but it felt good to be doing something productive, so stopping was EXTREMELY difficult. My doctor lived 7 minutes away, which doesn't sound like a long time, but in this situation it was a very long time. Side note: Remember, I just saw her at the nurses station not that long ago (exasperated sigh)! Once the doc arrived, it was game on! Vanessa had previously been providing counter pressure, but they wouldn't let her keep doing it. I was a bit bummed about this, because I've heard it helps prevent tearing, but I was in no state to argue. I just wanted him out.
Everything after the doctor arrived seemed to fly by. I was prepped and then instructed on how to push. I am happy to say it took 3 rounds of 3 pushes each (about 5 minutes) and he was out! Our baby boy had arrived! He was immediately placed on my chest, wiped off with a towel, then covered up with a clean towel. They did take him away for a couple minutes because he had a lot of amniotic fluid that he was having trouble clearing out. After they brought him back, he laid on my chest for at least an hour (the "Golden Hour"). I asked that they not wipe off his hands, because the smell of his hands is supposed to help guide him to breast feeding. I think he was a bit tired from his recent ordeal that he didn't initiate breastfeeding on his own, so, the nurse helped me. She was immediately surprised at how strong our boy was because he would press his head into her had when she would try to get him to latch onto me. We were finally able to get him to latch in the football position for about 15 minutes. I was in heaven. I've always wanted to breastfeed - it was incredible to finally be doing it.
During the Golden Hour, a few things happened. Vanessa cut the umbilical cord, since that was a bit much for Andrew. They waited until the cord was flaccid before cutting it. After that, I delivered the placenta - which wasn't bad at all. I wanted to have my placenta encapsulated, because it helps balance hormones and prevent post-partum depression. Vanessa does placenta encapsulation, so she took the placenta with her when she left (which was about an hour after I delivered, since she had another birth to go to, busy lady!). The last thing that happened during Golden Hour was the doctor stitched me up since I tore in a couple places. I remember I couldn't keep my legs from shaking. This is apparently normal, since there are so many hormones rushing through the body. The stitches were uncomfortable, but anything after labor seemed like a walk in the park.
During all this craziness, one of the nurses asked what his name was. I looked at Andrew and he just nodded his head. Edison Andrew Huff was his name. He was (and is) so beautiful.
After our hour together, they took Edison to get his stats. He was 8lbs 12oz and 21 inches long. The doctor thought he was going to be a small baby, but he definitely was not! The nurse swaddled him up (he was really good at escaping a swaddle) and then gave him to Andrew. I think it was at this time that I called my Mom. It didn't matter that it was the early morning hours, I knew she would want to be woken up. It was so fun to finally tell his name too! After my chat, I was helped to the restroom. Thankfully, this experience wasn't too bad, and once I was all set, they put me in a wheelchair and we waited to be moved to a post-partum room. We waited a while... It was during this time that one of the nurses asked me about having a Doula - I highly recommended it to her!
We finally made it to our other room - which happened to be the last private room - which was unfortunately lacking a shower. I'm glad I brought some pajamas, but I definitely over packed. Oh well, now I know for next time. (Or was it here that I called Mom? I think it was while I was still in L&D. Now you know why I wanted to write this down - I'm already forgetting!)
We tried to get some sleep while we were at the hospital, but it is quite challenging. I appreciated that my OB checked in on Saturday and Sunday. Edison's doctor, Dr. Bluvshteyn (aka Dr. Blu), also came in to see him both days, even though she was on vacation! We definitely picked the right doctor for him. There was a lot of time spent on our phones updating everyone. Multiple attempts were made to get the little guy to breastfeed. Let's just say it did not come easy to us, though we're practically pros now.
Side note: Edison did get the Vitamin K shot, but there were a couple things we passed on. We did not have them put the Vitamin A ointment on his eyes and he did not get his first Hep B shot at this time, (he got it at his doctor's office later). I think for the next kid though, we will just have him/her get the first Hep B shot at the hospital. Also, his first bath was at home a couple weeks later, not at the hospital. Before you get all grossed out, babies don't do a whole lot, so they really don't get dirty. Also, he was wiped off very well after birth. Andrew and I had done our research beforehand and this was why we made these decisions.
Moving on. Different tests were done on the little guy. He passed everything. The only concern was he tested intermediate to high risk for jaundice, so we would have to keep an eye on that. Technically, we were supposed to stay for 48 hours since I was GBS positive, but Dr. Blu was okay with letting us go home on Sunday as long as we brought him back Monday for another Tbili test (a test for jaundice). We agreed, and were discharged home Sunday, September 6th at 12pm. He didn't seem to mind being in his car seat, so that was a major plus!
We made it home - our first time in our house as a family on three. It was strange. I was a little sad, because it was the end of my first pregnancy, but finally being able to snuggle with my boy and smell his sweet baby smell made me so happy. Watching Andrew with him made my heart melt. Even though one adventure had ended (my first pregnancy), another was beginning (motherhood). I am so blessed to have had a positive pregnancy and birth experience, but it was time for the next step - raising our sweet baby boy.
I am so excited for this new adventure Andrew, Edison, and I are embarking on. I think it is going to be our biggest adventure yet!
Thanks for reading friends. If you have any questions please let me know.
Namas(tay).
The Huff family with our amazing Doula, Vanessa.
Our handsome boy.
Isn't he beautiful?! I'm not partial at all!
Me in labor. Not the most flattering picture but it's an honest picture.
Comments
Post a Comment