Nolan's Birth Story

On Tuesday, August 31st I woke up knowing that I would be meeting my son very soon. What a surreal feeling! The day was basically spent getting last minute things done (cleaning) and waiting around. Dan and I watched some tv and had dinner at Bob Evans. Finally, at around 8pm they called and asked us to be at the hospital at 9. We finished up dinner and headed that way! We were SO excited.

At 9pm, we were admitted to room 216 and they started my IV. Of course it took two excruciating tries.

I was checked at 10pm and found to be 3cm dilated and about 60-70% effaced. Our nurse called my doctor for his orders.

At midnight, they inserted cytotec to finish thinning the cervix. Prior to that, my parents had stopped by for a quick visit then left for the hotel, knowing that they would be grandparents the next day. Dan and I watched tv and tried to rest. Neither of us had comfortable beds.

At 6:20am on Wednesday, September 1st, they started my pitocin drip. Within about a half an hour I was feeling stronger contractions but was still comfortable.

My doctor arrived at 7:20am and broke my water. The water was clear indictating baby was in no distress. That was a weird sensation though! There was much more than I anticipated and I said to Dan that I was glad it didn't break at home, or at the store, or somewhere else! I kept waiting for it to stop but it never did. Gross.

Between 7:20-9:15am my contractions got stronger and stronger. I had written in my birth plan that I wanted to use a birth ball, etc. for comfort but never really got to. My contractions were right on top of each other and I could not get comfortable. The only thing that helped was standing and leaning over a bedside table. Unfortunately, baby didn't like that and the monitors would lose him every time. The nurse made me get back in bed. I didn't want to see or talk to anyone. I really think I would have been able to last longer had I been able to move around but being confined plus having very strong contractions without a break in between them left me wanting an epidural.

At 9:15am, Dan told the nurse I was ready. They came in about a half hour later and gave me the medication. It was really no big deal at all. I felt a little burn for a second and then nothing else. The nurse stayed by my side for an hour following the administering of the epidural. My blood pressure dropped (this is common) and I had to be given meds to get it to come back up. She checked my BP often and monitored the baby continuously to make sure he handled everything okay.

At 10:30am, I was "feeling good." I was checked and found to be 5cm. I thought it would still be awhile until I got to 10, so I tried to rest.

I was checked again at 1:45pm due to feeling a weird sensation. The nurse asked if I felt pressure and I said "it feels like my bladder is going to explode." I was found to be 7.5cm. Sometime around now baby decided he wasn't happy and his heart rate dropped. The nurse gave me oxygen and turned me on my side and it came back up.

The next 40 minutes went really slowly because that awful feeling didn't go away. I finally told them I really didn't feel right and luckily my doctor arrived at 2:25pm. He checked me and said "She's complete!" I thought to myself "FINALLY. It's time to push!" I was wrong. My doctor left me to "labor down" (meaning give the baby time to move down the birth canal before pushing. It was in my birth plan.)

I had no idea how hard "laboring down" would be. All I could think about was "I WANT TO PUSH!" But, the nurse kept telling me the longer I could make it the better because I wouldn't have to push as long. So, I toughed it out with some deep breathing, ice chips, and low moans. It was pretty miserable though and I could tell Dan was anxious because he didn't know how to help me.

At 4:15pm, my doctor came back and said "wow, the baby didn't move very far." I was SO discouraged. You mean I just went through all of that and he's still up there!? I thought for sure he'd be ready to fall out, haha. It was then that my doctor discovered the reason... baby was in the OP position (better known as sunny side up). I couldn't believe it because I had just had an ultrasound the previous Friday and specifically asked if he was facing the right way and he was. The doctor said "okay, there's not much room here and baby has a big head. This isn't going to be easy, but you can do it." With that, the pushing began.

I could tell I wasn't making much progress. The doctor was trying to encourage me and so were the nurses. My doctor kept leaving and coming back. More and more nurses came in. I think I ended up with about 5 nurses, the doctor, and Dan in the room. It was really hard to push when I couldn't feel the contractions. I could feel the pressure but it wasn't enough to make me really bear down. At one point I looked up to see my doctor getting his gear on, and that's when I got excited. I finally felt like I must be making progress. After a little over an hour of pushing, the doctor told me he thought we needed to use the vacuum. I didn't want to, but I knew if I wanted this baby out "naturally" it was my only option. Plus, I 100% trust my doctor and knew he wouldn't do it if it wasn't necessary. Dan told me once the doctor got the vacuum attached, he was pulling so hard his arms were shaking. Eventually, I could tell they were getting frustrated because I wasn't holding the pushes long enough. It was SO hard! Finally, my doctor said "Tiffany! If you stop yelling and hold your breath while you push, you'll have this baby!" A few more pushes and Nolan arrived at 5:41pm. He weighed 8 pounds 12 ounces and was 21 3/4" long. It was by far the hardest thing I've ever done. It was also the most rewarding, most wonderful experience and I couldn't be happier to have this little man in my life. I'll never forget the sound Dan made when Nolan came out. It was like a laugh of pure amazement. And when they first showed him to me... it's incredible how quickly your whole heart fills with love for this new baby.

After giving birth, I had some complications with blood loss and low hemoglobin levels/fainting spells. Other than that, everything was great with me. Nolan had a touch of jaundice and the two things combined caused us to stay in the hospital an extra day.

He is two weeks old today and is absolute perfection. We are so in love.