The Birth Story

My due date was August 10^th, 2019 and I was eagerly waiting to push out this baby. The summer season felt exceptionally brutal and hot that year or maybe it was just my hormones. The baby was growing and becoming heavy week after week. I was unable to sleep well, turn sides or even walk at a decent speed. I had started waddling around and sleeping at every opportunity I got. I was tired, exhausted and hot. Everyone started asking me when the baby was coming which irritated me to the core. How am I supposed to know when is he coming?

We had taken childbirth classes which were offered at the hospital. We had made a note of all the possible pain management strategies we were going to use first try walking and moving around then Nitrous Oxide and finally Epidural. My focus was on trying not to use the epidural and keep it as drug free as I could. At least that is what I was thinking about doing. The birth plan was ready. My husband and I had discussed a few possibilities about how we would be managing several scenarios.  We felt like we were very ready and prepared.

Week 36- We went out for our babymoon to Virginia Beach, VA. It was a much-needed getaway before the craziness of parenthood started. Even though the OB-GYN did not quite recommend it we decided we really needed to get away for a few days. Sometimes you just need to do what you feel is the best for your mental health.

Week 37, 38, 39- I was getting bigger and heavier and the heat was taking a toll on me. I was running in and out of the toilet all night long and it was impacting my sleep. I was busy handing over my job responsibilities to my backups and ready to head out on maternity leave. We were seeing the OB-GYN once every week and the baby was doing good. I was experiencing some Braxton Hicks. They were not bad at all.

August 9^th, 2019- I was one day away from my due date. We went to the OB-GYN for our weekly checkup. She checked and confirmed that dilation had not started yet. We were informed that if dilation did not start for another week, they would have to induce me. To be honest I was ready to be induced but my husband was not. He insisted everything to happen naturally. Little did he realize how uncomfortable I was. We were suggested to return after 02 days for another checkup and if the dilation had not started, they were going to schedule the induction for the following week.

August 12^th, 2019- Still no dilation. We scheduled the induction for August 15^th evening. I made sure we had all the groceries we needed, I cleaned the house and made sure I got some rest. I was very excited.

August 13^th, 2019- I spent the day cooking and freezing food. My husband was at work all day long. We went out for dinner and I just could not eat much. I was feeling weird. We came home and I was very tired, and I went to bed.

August 14^th, 2019, 1:58 AM EST– I woke up to go to the toilet and while I was walking towards the toilet it felt like I peed in my pajamas. I ran towards the toilet and it did not take me too long to figure out that my water broke. I called my husband. Much to my surprise he heard me in one go (which is usually not the case, he is a good sleeper). There were no contractions at all. I called the on-call OB-GYN and was advised to come to the hospital. My hospital bag was half packed. I took a shower, got dressed, put some make up on, did my hair and then packed the hospital bag and off we were to the hospital. On the way I called the parents and the in laws informing them about it. I must say, my mother did sound a bit worried.

little after 3:00 AM EST- We arrived at the hospital. My husband offered to drop me at the entrance door, but I insisted I wanted to walk. We parked the car, got our stuff out and walked towards the entrance. Checked in and in a few minutes, we were in the ER. Anyone looking at me could not say I was in labor. I was laughing, giggling and very chatty. They checked and confirmed I was 1 cm dilated and was advised to rest as much as I could as it was going to take a lot of time to get to 10 cm. The baby was doing well. We were moved into the labor and delivery room.

Around 6:00 AM EST- The contractions started picking up and I started feeling the pain. We had taken the childbirth classes and had learnt walking makes things easy. So, we started walking around in the hallway. Could not go too far, I started throwing up. We tried again after some time and I threw up again. We were back in the room and was trying to walk a little bit inside the room. The contractions were really picking up fast, they were painful. Nothing like the normal usual pain one is accustomed to. I was in pain and could be heard shouting every time a contraction came. We decided to go for Nitrous Oxide. Yes! The laughing gas. They brought in the oxygen tank and gave me the face mask. Every time the contraction came in, I inhaled the Nitrous Oxide. It made me feel high and I did not feel the contraction. Each time I would inhale the gas, my eyes opened wide and I looked drugged. Must have been a funny sight for my husband. I felt very high. The Nitrous Oxide helped me deal with the contractions for good 3-4 hours. However, the only downside was that I could not rest at all and I was getting tired.

Around 10:30 AM or may be 11 AM EST- Contractions were getting very strong and at this point Nitrous Oxide stopped working for me. The nurse highly recommended getting epidural. We agreed. That seemed to be the best thing to do at that point. I was only about 3 cm dilated. 15- 20 mins later I got the epidural. I was dreading getting the epidural however I did not feel a thing when it was done because the contractions were so painful. The contractions were painful, very painful. I was holding on to my husband. Both his arms were badly scratched. I was holding on to him. The epidural worked like magic. Within minutes I felt nothing- waist down everything was numb and the contractions could not be felt at all. It was the best decision. I was able to rest well, get some sleep. My husband also got a nice little break, he was able to grab some food and get some rest. We both were getting ready for the much-awaited moment.

Around 3 PM EST- The nurse checked and confirmed I was 10 cm dilated. My OB-GYN came in and checked and suggested to wait for another hour or so before we started pushing as the baby was not where he should have been.

Around 4 PM EST- I felt a lot of pressure and the urge to push was high. The nurse was called for support. I started breathing like we were taught to in the childbirth classes. We started the pushing process. It was hard. It felt like a never-ending process. The baby was still not exactly where he should have been. I was pushing, pushing and pushing and at one point it seemed like all efforts were going in vain and I was getting exhausted.

Fast forward to after 7 PM EST- I was already pushing for about three hours with no luck. The OB-GYN suggested Pitocin to help speed up the process. We agreed. Before I talk about what happened next, I want to take a minute to talk about Pitocin. In the childbirth classes when we were explained how induction works, we were educated about Pitocin. Pitocin helps to trigger the contractions however the downside to using Pitocin is that the contractions are irregular. So, when we were suggested the use of Pitocin it did not make sense to me because I was already in labor. My OB-GYN explained that they were going to use Pitocin to help the contractions pick up so the baby could move where he needed to be for him to make his way out.  IV Pitocin was started. I could feel the contractions picking up. They were not painful but every time a contraction came in, I felt some pressure. I was pushing, pushing, pushing. It almost felt like the baby was happy in there and had no plans of coming out.

Around 8 PM EST- The OB-GYN checked noticed some meconium. I could see everyone getting ready. There was a sense of urgency in the air. Within a few minutes the room was filled with so many people. There was a team of three people waiting for the baby. There were a few nurses by my side. The OB-GYN told me “Isha, there is meconium and the baby might inhale it which would cause issues. We need to get him out. We have two options- either we can pull the baby out using vacuum and you use all your energy and push him out or we could do an emergency C-Section.” It was overwhelming. We decided to push. 1,2,3 and I was pushing again. My husband saw the head coming out and then shoulder and within seconds he was out at 8:24 PM EST. All I could see was the doctor’s face, a lot of blood and so many nurses around.

Per our birth plan, we had requested for delayed chord cutting and for it to be cut by my husband. However, the doctor did that and very quickly he was handed over to nurses who were waiting for him. The meconium was sucked out. After a few minutes we heard him cry. The first time I saw him was him on the weighing scale while my 3^rd degree tears were being fixed. Doctor told me I had lost a lot of blood and they would be monitoring if I needed blood transfusion. He was cleaned and there he was. This perfect little young man. Someone I created.

After about half an hour we were moved to the postpartum room. One of the things I made sure to do was to get out of the bed, get a shower and walk around the room. It made me feel good. Being in the bed made me feel as if I was sick which I was not. I stayed mobile as much as I could. This little guy was with us- happy and healthy. His head looked cylindrical, but it started looking normal soon after. He was very tiny and very calm, very observant.

48 hours later, we took this young man home.