The Birth Story

We were scheduled to go to the hospital Thursday, July 16th at 7 am.  I got ready, ate breakfast, and had my dad and Dan give me a blessing, then we were on our way.  By the time we checked in, got changed, hooked up to the iv, and filled some paperwork out, it was close to 8am.  Dr. Morgan came in and checked me.  I was still at 3cm and baby's head was down.  We then discussed breaking my water.  I had expressed to him earlier that I did not want to immediately get put on pitocin since it can really make your contractions more painful.  With Brylen, I was able to go into labor on my own without pitocin.  And with both of my girls, once my water breaks, things really get going, so I was convinced that breaking my water was the best option.  Dr. Morgan told me all the risks and said that if progress wasn't happening by noon, then I would have to consider being put on pitocin to get things going.  I was ok with that so he went ahead and broke my water at about 8am.  It was not as painless as it was with Brylen.  He had to really try to get it to break.  Soon water was gushing out and I could sense a slight concern with Dr. Morgan once most of the water had come out.  He said the head had turned.  It was sitting crooked and not down like it was before he broke my water.  So he physically was moving the baby by moving my belly.  It was extremely uncomfortable.  

He told us that he would come back around 10am to check on me and see if I had made any progress. It didn't take me long to start feeling contractions which progressively got stronger.  Ashley, my nurse came and took some blood to check my blood platelet count.  It had been kind of low earlier in my pregnancy so they had been keeping an eye on it.  It had gone back up, but they wanted to check it one last time.  Then she administered the first dose of penicillin for the group b strep.  Once the 30 minute dose was over, she said I was free to walk around if I needed.  

My contractions were quite steady and this time around I really wanted to focus on my breathing, relaxing and visualizing.  I also have been using essential oils for a few years now and I wanted to incorporate some of those as well to see if they would help ease the pain.  Dan was great!  He was happy to apply oils to wherever I needed and he was the perfect support.  I know how much he feels helpless and he wants to do more for me, but he is so supportive and amazing, I can feel his support, even if he feels differently.  He truly is my biggest cheerleader.

At 10am Dr. Morgan came back in to check baby's head.  It still was turned and he once again spent some time moving the baby around.  Which, again, was extremely uncomfortable.    I could tell he was a bit concerned again, but he did not let that seem to affect the mood or overshadow anything.  He was glad to see that I was contracting.  And he said they got the results for my blood platelet count.  It was 96.  And after talking with the anesthesiologist, he found out that they will not give epidurals if your platelet count is under 100.  Dr. Morgan said that since it was slightly under 100, he thought it wasn't a big deal, but the anesthesiologist was adamant that he would not do an epidural for me.  I joked with Dr. Morgan that it was a good thing I had prepared myself for no epidural anyway.  The only difference was my back up plan was gone.   This news didn't really bother me at all because I truly had mentally and physically prepared to have a natural, drug-free child birth and I was ok with that.

I continued to labor for a couple more hours before Dr. Morgan came back to check me again.  My contractions were definitely stronger and closer together.  I was really working on my breathing.  At 12pm Dr. Morgan checked me and I was at a 4.  To say I was discouraged, would probably be an understatement.  I was at 4.5cm when I went into the hospital to have Alayna and I was at 4cm when I went in with Brylen.  So I started at what I had labored for 4 hours for this time.  This little boy really was not in a hurry to get here and I was a bit frustrated.  I expressed to Dan my frustration. I just couldn't believe that with my consistent contractions, I wasn't dilated more.  I decided to get up, use the restroom, and change my position some to see if I could get things rolling.

And things did seem to get more intense.  My contractions were definitely strong.  I was really having to concentrate and breathe through them. And I was beginning to shake some.  That tends to happen for me when I get close to the end.  Around 1pm Dr. Morgan came to check on me.  He said I was at 6cm.  I was glad and a bit disappointed at the same time. I was hoping to be a bit more dilated, but I knew that things could go quickly from this point.  Dr. Morgan said to call the nurse as soon as I felt the need to push.

Another hour went by.  Things were quite intense.  I was not loving life and Dan could tell I was tired of labor.  I was feeling a lot of pressure, but unsure as to whether I needed to push just yet, but at a little after 2pm we called the nurse in and told her that there was lots of pressure.  I wasn't sure as to whether or not I needed to push, but I just wanted her to check and see if I had made any progress.  She called Dr. Morgan to see if he wanted to come down and check me or if she should just check.  He gave her the go ahead to check me and she said I had just a slight lip, but that I basically was at a 10.  She called Dr. Morgan to come down and check things out since it wouldn't be long 'til baby was born.  

Before I knew it, Dr. Morgan was in my room getting all dressed and ready.  Other nurses were coming in and setting things up.  I was ready to be done!  As soon as Dr. Morgan was all set, he gave me the go ahead to push on my next contraction.  I started pushing at 2:39pm and had to push through nine sets of three before our baby was born.  I have never pushed so hard in my life.  I really was struggling.  I was literally breaking a sweat.  Dr. Morgan said his head was still turned to the side so I was trying to push out the wider part of his head.  And I distinctively remember telling Dr. Morgan 4 times to PLEASE just get him out.  Towards the end I was beginning to wonder if he was going to come out.  Because of the position of his head, and the fact that he was a big baby, Dr. Morgan decided to use a vacuum to help me get his head out.  

And at 2:51pm our sweet baby, McCoy was born!  He was a big boy.  Much bigger than I ever thought.  He was 8lbs. 10oz  and 20.5 inches long.  I was SO grateful that he was here and healthy!

We are completely in love with this little chunk.  He is such a sweet babe and we are just thrilled to add him to our family.  I am overwhelmed with gratitude to my Heavenly Father for giving me this little boy and trusting me with three beautiful children.  I am so incredibly blessed!