Mason's Birth Story

This is probably going to be a long post and it might take 

me a while to get it all written down, but I really 

want to write down all of the details that of Mason's birth 

before I start to forget them.  I really wish I would have done this with Micah because I feel like I don't remember a lot from his birth.

I seem to have a knack for crazy births.. Everybody has their trials right? haha So Mason's story start the Saturday before he was born.  That Saturday morning I had been noticing that he wasn't moving very much, which was weird for him, usually he was always on the move.  So I layed down on my side, drank water and soda and tried to get him to kick, but he only kicked a couple times that hour. 

So I called my midwife and she said I should go in.

So I left Matt and Micah at home and went to labor and delivery.  They strapped me up to all the monitors and monitored me for an hour.  Mason was doing great and I was having little contractions! I was so excited.  I could barely feel them so I didn't figure they were doing much, but I was so hopeful that something was about to start.  So she checked me and I was dilated to a one and like 70% effaced.  Nothing much but I was still excited that contractions were happening.  

I went home and we spent that weekend on edge just knowing that I would go into labor at any moment.  It really put Matt in the mood to finish up projects.  So he ran around getting stuff done while I rested.  Nothing happened all of Saturday.  We went to church on Sunday and I didn't even make it through Sacrament meeting before I had to go home.  I was pretty miserable.  Sunday came and went and still nothing happened.  

I woke up early Monday morning with some pretty bad cramps.  Once again I just knew this was the day! I had an appointment at 10 and I was really hoping I'd have to cancel and just labor instead.  But no luck.  Even though I was having contractions they were super spread apart and not bad.  So we went to the appointment (which was on my due date) and I was still only dilated to a one.  It was pretty sad news haha So we went and got some food and did a little grocery shopping (even though I could barely walk haha) As we were walking in a lady patted my arm and said "hang in there!" haha I'm sure I looked so miserable.  

As Monday went on my contractions got closer together! By the time my mom got here around 3 or so they were only like 2 or 3 minutes apart, but they were super light.  As soon as she got here we got the car all packed and ready to go and we just knew that we would be headed to the hospital at any moment.  

A little side track.. It was kinda crazy how similar this labor was to Micah's.  They were both on a Monday, they both started early in the morning and then got harder as the day went on.  With Micah my water broke around four or so.  Everything else was so similar that I was just waiting for my water to break all of Monday.  Well Monday came to an end and the contractions were still super light.  So we went to bed early that night just knowing that we would be up and headed to the hospital sometime that night.  Well instead the contractions slowed down and we were still around tuesday morning. 

Tuesday the contractions were a lot harder, but they were more spread out.  I don't think they ever got closer then five minutes but they were pretty intense.  I called the midwife on call and she told us a few options and said we could come in and see if I was progressing and and if I was far enough they might could do something to speed things along, but most of all she wanted me to try and rest.  So I went to bed that night and the contractions basically stopped.  Which was actually a relief.  I had been having contractions for two days and I was tired!! It was so nice to get some rest.  

Wednesday morning we went into labor and delivery.  They monitored me for an hour again (which was super uncomfortable)  and baby looked great, but my contractions were almost not even there.  So the nurse checked me and I was dilated to a three and almost completely effaced.  Thank goodness the last few days had done something! haha 

The midwife on call said she would rather not try and do anything like break my water or any of that because my contractions had stopped and she didn't want to force my body into something it wasn't ready for.  We agreed and I just wanted to go home and labor there.  So we went home and tried to rest a little.  That night contractions really picked up.  They were still far apart, but they were the most intense they had been.  I was pacing and bouncing on my ball and finding all sorts of ways to get through them.  I was excited that things seemed to be picking up!  By the time midnight rolled around I was so tired.  So I decided to try laying down and just like that the contractions pretty much stopped and I slept most of the night.  

The next day I had had enough.  I was done resting I just wanted this baby out!! So I walked and paced most of the day trying to get the contractions to start back up.  By the time noon came I was ready for a nap, but I opted for walking instead.  And it worked! It took a while, but eventually contractions came back.  They were pretty spread out though.  Later that afternoon I just felt like my water was so close to breaking.  With each contraction it just felt like it was about to pop.  At one point I came and kind of laid on my side on the couch and there was this weird pop inside of me.  I sat up and got off the couch onto the floor (not sure why haha) I told my mom that I was pretty sure my water just broke! I got up and started walking to the bathroom slash calling Matt and it just started gushing out.  I was laughing as Matt answered the phone and I told him it had broke and he started home. 

It was about 4:55 when my water broke.  I remember cause Matt would have been done with work in five minutes haha 

After my water broke i had one long, intense contraction.  

My mom had just gotten dinner ready, and I kinda wanted to eat it, but at the same time my contractions were out of control! It was crazy and I was getting a little nervous cause several people had said that once things picked up that I would dilate pretty fast.  

So as soon as Matt got home we jumped in the car and headed to the hospital.  ( a very painful trip I might add) Once we got there they put us in triage and did this little check to see if it was actually my water that had broken.  They couldn't really get any of the fluid on the test so they didn't think it had broken, I was SURE that it had broken, but I didn't fight it haha

They checked me and I was a 5 plus!! Yay for progressing! After she checked me she said well I just need to tell you that we are pretty much all full tonight, but don't worry we will find a place for you.. WHAT?? why would you even tell me that!? haha here I was in so much pain ready to just have a baby and there isn't a room for us.  haha but don't worry it only took a couple minutes for them to say good news we found a room.  We headed over to a delivery room and got settled in.

By settled in I mean they tried over and over to get an iv in me haha try being in crazy amounts of pain from labor and then have them have to poke you several times to get your iv in... NOT fun. 

She called the charge nurse after a few attempts cause she felt bad.  The charge nurse got it in first try and right after that the midwife came in.  She kept telling me that I looked so great and she was so happy and positive! She was so awesome and I was so grateful to see her.  However the person I was most grateful to see was the anesthesiologist.  He came in next and got me my epidural. 

I really wish I was awesome and could go without an epidural.  Everything about them scares me and getting it was not fun, but oh the sweet relief!!! After being in labor for four days I was SO DONE!! I didn't think I could handle the pain of another contraction without just loosing my mind.  

The epidural slowly started to kick in and I was so happy.  Basically giddy haha I was smiling and laughing again and it was so great.  Then shortly after we got the epidural she asked me to roll on my side to help the baby's heart beat.  Talk about deja vu.  That's when the happiness kinda got sucked from the room and worry set in.  All I could think was not again!!! Why is this happening? I rolled onto one side and his heart rate got better, but then worse so I rolled on the other side and it improved a bunch, but being on that side put me in a ton of pain, which was weird considering I had an epidural.. My midwife was pretty worried about that, but they rolled me around until I was in a comfy enough position that the pain mostly went away.  

The baby was looking good and I was pretty comfortable and now it was just time to wait.  We didn't have to wait long though.  By 9:30 or 10 the midwife checked me and said oh, it looks like your complete! Matt didn't realize what complete meant so he was a little lost till she explained that I was at a 10! Then he started to get really excited! He kept telling me that this was it, he was so proud of me and he was sure that I was gonna get my vbac.  All I could do was look at him and smile because for some reason I just had my doubts..

When the midwife checked me she said the baby was still pretty high.  She wanted me to continue to labor for a little bit and see if he would come down a little before I started pushing.  She left the room for a little and then came back and said we could go ahead and start pushing. I'm not really sure what changed her mind about having me labor for a little bit more... I think it might have been because I was having these weird sharp pains all throughout my stomach.  I couldn't feel the contractions, but I could feel these pains despite my epidural and that was worrying the midwife.  She was afraid of my uterus rupturing because of my first c-section.  So I think thats why she decided it was time to get the baby out.. 

We got all set and I started pushing.. I had no urge to push (maybe from the epidural) so I felt a little lost, but they did an awesome job at coaching me through it.  My contractions were all over the place which was another thing that was worrying my midwife.  

After pushing for a while Mason's heart rate started to struggle again.  It was only when I was pushing that his heart rate would go down, when I stopped pushing it went back to normal. So it wasn't an emergency just yet.  The doctor came in to talk to us, turns out he had been watching the monitors from outside the whole time.  He was getting worried about the baby.  He told us that we could push for a while longer to see if anything changed, but he was worried and he wanted us to know that we were in good hands with the midwife and that he would be watching.  He was really awesome.  

After he left we talked some more with the midwife.  She said that I could continue to push, but probably only for like 15 more minutes.  This was technically my first time having a baby and I knew that he wouldn't be coming out in 15 minutes.  I figured it would take hours of pushing and that probably wouldn't be ok because his heart rate was getting worse.  But I also knew that I wanted to try as hard as I could to get this baby here without a c-section.  So I said lets keep pushing. 

We pushed longer then 15 minutes because his heart rate was dipping, but not dangerously yet.  After pushing for almost an hour and a half though it did start to get scary.  His heart rate was dipping too much.  At one point the midwife stopped and said I really hate to tell you this, but I thought the baby was coming down, but its actually just his head swelling.  So the baby hadn't budged in over an hour of pushing and his heart rate, my contractions, and the pains I was having were all a concern.  

A different doctor came in and said that we could try to keep pushing, but ultimately that would probably end up stressing the baby and then we might have to have a c-section anyways and have a baby that had to go to the nicu and all that.  That's what really helped me make up my mind.  Having Micah have problems was so hard and I really didn't want that again.  As of right now the baby was doing good as long as I wasn't pushing so if we did a c-section then at least he would be healthy.  

So we decided to go ahead with the c-section.  I kept asking my midwife if she thought it was the right decision.  She told me that she was very supportive of a vbac and thats what she really wanted for me, but she was starting to get discouraged, and if she was discouraged then it was a pretty good indicator that a vaginal birth just wasn't going to happen.  It made me feel better knowing that she felt like a c-section was pretty much the best option. 

So we started prepping for the surgery which basically includes them giving me a bunch of different drugs haha they explain each one and its purpose, but I definitely don't remember them. They gave Matt one of those gown and hat things to put on and then take me to the operating room and tell him they will be back for him.  I'm not sure why, but they don't let him in until I'm on the operating table.  It kinda freaks him out haha especially with Micah cause he had no idea what was going on. 

It was kinda nice to know what to expect this time.  They were about ready to start and they still hadn't put up the curtain that makes it so I can't see whats going on.  I asked about it and they said oh we can put up a clear one so you can see!  haha no thanks!! I really didn't want to see and I didn't want Matt to be able to see either.  So they put up the regular curtain and then brought Matt in.  
Everything was much more chill with this c-section then it was with Micah's.  Micah's was so scary, but luckily Mason was still doing good so I didn't have to worry so much about him.  It only took them a couple of minutes to get the baby out.  I didn't feel any pain, but there was a ton of pressure as they pulled him out because he was so stuck.  

One of the first things I heard was comments on how huge his head was.  He didn't cry for a minute which scared me, but my midwife was so upbeat and reassuring telling me that he was doing great and he was so beautiful.  Pretty quick he let out a few little cries.  Next they weighed him and I was shocked when they said 9 lbs 4 oz!! I mean I got really big with Micah too, but he wasn't a big baby so I just figured I'd have another normal sized baby even though I was huge haha 

So throughout all of this i couldn't see anything.. It kind of stinks to be the last one to see your baby! But they finally brought him over and I got to do some skin to skin! I was so happy to be able to do this cause I didn't ever do it with Micah.  It was hard though because I was laying flat on my back and it was an awkward position to hold a baby in.  And after a little bit my arms started to get shaky and weak so I asked them to take him away.  Matt got to hold him for the rest of the time after that. 

So after the surgery they told me that Mason was posterior so he was facing up instead of down like he should have been.  That combined with his weight and head size (and apparently I have a funny shaped pelvis too they were saying)  And it makes sense why he was so stuck.  The doctor also said that I should have a better recovery this time since it was the same incision as last time and I feel like that has been true, so that's nice! 

The rest of the night was kind of a blur.  They took us back to labor and delivery for some monitoring and after a while they took us to our recovery room.  The one thing I really remember is after things settled down a little I got several hours of skin to skin time with Mason and it was absolute heaven!! 

I have lots more thoughts and things but that will have to do for now because Mason is waking up :) I'm just so glad he is here! He is the perfect addition to our little family and we love him so much!