James Birth Story

Let's start from the beginning...

First of all, I had been given two different due dates, and I am not sure which one was 'correct.'  The first due date I calculated was Wednesday, October 30 and the one my doctor used was Sunday, October 27.  I was set to be induced on Tuesday, October 29, partly because Miles was 10 days late and 9 lbs, and partly because my doctor is really chill and let me pick the date.

Since Friday I had a few contractions, but not many and nothing consistent.  On Monday I ended up not napping so that I could finish some compliance requirements for work.  After sitting in my desk chair for several hours, I noticed around 5pm that I might be having contractions in my back (I also had back labor with Miles).  I kept working until dinner at 6pm.  Through dinner I was noticing the contractions were pretty regular so I started timing them with an app on my phone.  They were consistently 4 minutes apart!  I was confused because those were pretty close together, but I was managing the pain rather well.  I decided to lay down on the couch after dinner.  At about 6:45pm I went upstairs to lay on our bed and call my doctor to see what I should do.  I guess I kind of downplayed the situation, and he said I could either come in to the hospital or drink two glasses of water, lay on my side and see if they slow down/stop.  I decided to drink the two glasses of water, but after 15 minutes called my doctor back to say I would like to come in.  I figured this was probably real labor and the hospital was 45 minutes away, so I better get started. Richard and my dad were relieved!  Richard had already packed the car, so at around 7:15pm we headed to the hospital.

We arrived at 8pm and decided to bring in all of our luggage, since we figured we would be admitted.  They checked me and since I was 3-4cm (compared to 1.5 at my doctors appointment on Friday) and having regular contractions, they admitted me.  By the time I was checked in and had one IV of fluid, I was at a 4.  My doctor said I could have an epidural, so I said yes!  It was wonderful that the anesthesiologist was already there and came quickly.  After an hour and a half I started to feel contractions again, so they had the anesthesiologist come back and give me a boost/top off.  After less than an hour after that I started feeling contractions again!  I was worried that the epidural was not working properly.  Before asking him to come back again, the nurse checked me.  She said I was at a 10 and James was right there.  So that's why I was uncomfortable!

My doctor quickly came to the room and told me to wait until he got his gloves on before I pushed, because he was going to be out really quickly.  I pushed through 2 contractions and James was here!  What a difference from the hour of pushing it took to get Miles out.  This was a piece of cake in comparison!

Overall I feel like my labor and delivery experience with James couldn't have been better.  I was surprised and excited that I went into labor on my own with no Pitocin.  The labor was only about 8 hours and very manageable in the beginning.  I loved delivering at a small hospital and having the nurses not be stretched too thin.  I felt like they had time to explain everything and were right there when I needed them.  I felt very safe with my very experienced doctor.  And I only had to push for 5-10 minutes and James was only 7 lbs 12 oz!
As my doctor was stitching me up, I started talking about how I could do this again and hoped it went this well for our third child.  They thought I was little crazy...

Lying down after dinner counting my contractions

Heading to the hospital around 7:15pm

Saying goodbye to Miles

James is here!