My Delivery Story

I actually have to start this story with what happened the day before at my OB appointment.  I met with a Dr that I had not yet seen and right when he saw me he said he was worried about the size of this baby.  He felt my belly and said he thought the baby was big and checked me and thought I was between a 1 or a 2.  He told me to go get an ultrasound and come back to discuss my options.  The ultrasound revealed that he was 9 lbs 13 oz (give or take a half a pound) and that I had way too much amniotic fluid.  A normal number is anything 25 or below and I was at 38.  The ultrasound tech said I had enough fluid for twins!  Because of this it was really easy to see a clear picture of Reid.  He had so much room because of all the fluid.  No wonder my belly got so big!  Seriously, I had multiple people ask me if I was having twins.  So with these results I go back to the Dr's office and he begins by saying how worried he is that Reid is such a big baby.  He was looking at my past history and having a 4 degree tear with Hayden who was only 7 lbs 7 oz.  He said that with a history of tearing like that you like to see the next baby around the same size or smaller, not bigger.  He also said with my fluid levels being so high there was cause for concern because my uterus was so stretched out that it would not be able to efficiently contract and I would not be able to progress through labor.  He told me that I needed to come in that night for an emergency C-section.  The scary thing is, that if I hadn't take all those classes and learned somuch I would have just said, "ok, sure, you're the doctor, I guess you're right!"  He knew from my chart that I wanted a natural birth and knew that I had taken the classes, so he told me to take all the data they gathered during the ultrasound and call my teacher and if she agreed with him then I needed to come in that night.  He was fairly confident that she would agree.  So I call Paul in tears because this is NOT the experience I wanted and he starts making the phone calls.  Paul read all the numbers to a few midwives and they said that an emergency C-section did not make sense because the last number was an 8/8 which meant that Reid was perfectly safe and content in there and was under no stress at all.  Natural childbirth actually helps a women not tear and helps labor progress more quickly, so they also did not agree that I needed a C-section just because he was a big baby.  The Dr. made me schedule another appointment for Friday and if I hadn't gone into labor they were going to induce me.

So the midwife suggested I get a 2nd opinion from a Dr in Atlanta that is more supportive of natural child birth.  If he agreed that I needed a C-section I would have done it no questions asked, but I was doubtful that this was my only option.  When I asked the first Dr. if I could be induced first and not do a C-section he said, "I'll humor you, but it will lead to a C-section."  It just made me so upset!  So Paul got us scheduled with Dr. Bootstaylor for the very next morning to get a second opinion.  That night we did every natural thing to induce labor like we'd been taught in our classes.  We even went to Scalinis which has an Eggplant Parmesan dish that is suppose to induce labor! Here I am hoping this works!

Well, it all worked because around 4 am I woke up only because my neck was hurting and realized that my water broke.  At first I was very upset to see this.  My good friend just barely took hypnobirthing classes and her water broke, but labor did not start, so they induced her, she labored forever without drugs, and then had to have a C-section.  So my water breaks and I am thinking, great, here comes the C-section.  I knew the Dr that wanted me to have a C-section was still on call that night so I really didn't want to go to the hospital while he was still there.  Thankfully my contractions did start shortly after my water broke!  Maybe it's just in my head, but as the water kept coming out, I felt so much more relief!  I could breath, I didn't feel nearly as uncomfortable.

Around 4:30 ish I decided to take a shower because I knew that even if my contractions didn't last I had to go to the hospital soon.  I got out of the shower and right at 5 am Hayden comes running in our room and says, "my brother is coming today!"  She NEVER wakes up this early, it was crazy, she just knew.  Hayden loves to act and mimic so the whole time I was laboring, so was she, looking back it was pretty hilarious.  My friend Stephanie came and picked her up around 7 am and my labor stopped again around this time.  Again I began to tear up and worry that all our preparations were for not.  If I went to the hospital with no contractions, I'd get pitocin and there was no way I could labor naturally for long on that stuff!  To be honest I was really depressed at this point and didn't even try to get labor going again. I just laid down and fell asleep feeling really hopeless.  I woke up a few hours later, called my Dr. office and they told me to come in.  I ate breakfast and got my labor going again.  On the way to the hospital around 10:45 my labor had picked back up and I again regained some hope that all would be well.  When I got to triage they checked to see if my water had in fact broken and checked to see how dilated I was.  Yes, my water broke and I was already at a 6!  I was so happy to hear this, I honestly didn't believe her!  Labor hadn't been that bad yet and I was already at a 6.

By 2:30 they checked me again and I was only at about a 7.  But again from my classes I knew that this meant very little and to not get worked up that I hadn't progressed more.  Paul and I walked the halls the entire time except when they needed to hook me up to the fetal heart rate monitor every hour for 15 minutes and they had to give me antibiotics because I was positive for the group strep B.  Laboring to a 7 was really not that bad, I did have some double peak contractions that were rough, but I really felt good.  My Dr., Dr Huffman and Dr. Kelly saw me in the hallways walking and couldn't believe I was at a 7 walking around!

Then around 3-3:30 ish, I hit the transition phase and everything changed!  Labor got very serious at this point and I knew there was no turning back!  I had one fleeting thought at this point, "I could have been induced and gotten the epidural or had my C-section, I had my out, I didn't take it, so now this is what I have chosen."  I had one contraction after another and could not talk or communicate at all.  Paul was right by my side helping me remember to relax as much as I could through each contraction.  I was in the side-sleep position and holding onto the rails of the bed.  As each contraction peaked, I thought of all the inspiring women who had given birth naturally, picturing their faces was so incredibly helpful for me.  I also thought of people who believed in me and the "haters" as I like to call them, the people who thought I wouldn't be able to do it.  Unfortunately, although my nurse was nice, she was on this list, I could tell she didn't think I had it in me, which only fueled me on more!  But once I hit transition, I heard her tell Paul, "she's got this, she can do this." After the delivery she told me she was sorry for not being as supportive as she could have been early on.  She said she hears many women say they are going to do it and then they don't so she grouped me with them.

My transition lasted about 1-1 1/2 hours.  One second the nurse checked me and I was at an 8 and about 5 minutes later I slowly got that urge like I HAD to push.  She checked me again and I only had a lip left.  After clearing out my bowels several times over (most embarrassing thing I have ever done), they cleaned me up and got me in a better position to push.  The doctor was not there yet and my nurse kept saying, "I am trained to deliver babies, but she knows a lot more techniques to get the baby out, so let's wait for her."  But I couldn't help but push, you just have to do it!  Some women describe pushing as a great feeling, a relief from the pain.  This was not the case with me!  It was seriously the most painful thing I have EVER done!  Something else that also shocked me is that I SCREAMED with each contraction as I pushed.  I am usually a quiet person when I am in pain, but not in this case!  I was so loud and kept apologizing between each push.  I think part of the reason it was so painful for me to push is the position Dr. Huffman requested I be in.  She had my legs up in stirrups and everything in my body wanted to be higher than my legs.  So with each contraction I lifted my body up by my arms.  My arms were shaking out of control and Paul kept telling me to relax my arms, but I couldn't, I had to try and get my body higher than my legs.  I really wish that I had been at a more pro natural hospital where they would have allowed me to push in a squatting position, I really think that would have felt best for me.  I pushed for about 15-20 minutes.  Everyone was really encouraging me at this point telling me I could do it.  They kept saying how close I was, but I honestly didn't believe them.   Then I started to really feel that "ring of fire" and started to believe that he was almost here.  Paul was really good about keeping a cool towel on my forehead, I was so hot from working so hard.  He was encouraging and stayed right by my side the entire time.

The relief I felt when I finally pushed him out was amazing!  Everyone was so excited for me and it was an amazing feeling to finally see him.  He looked so much like Hayden to me and still does most of the time.  Their eyes and nose are identical!  They immediately put him on my chest and let me hold him skin-to-skin for quite awhile.  I nursed him and held them while they took care of me.  I then I had to deliver the placenta which was way more painful than I expected.  I also thought I'd feel a cessation of all pain once he arrived, but my body was still contracting until I delivered the placenta.  I don't know why but they stitched up my 2 degree tear first, while I was still contracting, and then had me push it out.  I would have rather reversed the 2!  I couldn't believe I had done this with no complications and a minor tear.  Everything I learned from the Bradley Method had occurred.  I had not needed a C-section, all the complications with Hayden were in my opinion a direct result of all the unneeded medical interventions.

My mood and temperament were also night and day different this time around.  I'm sure part of it was that this was my 2nd and I knew what to expect a bit more, but I really believe that I am overly sensitive to all the drugs they gave me with Hayden and they made me feel horrible.  I enjoyed holding my baby, I was happy, and felt so proud of myself.  Now, I have to admit that after it was all over I said to myself that I NEVER wanted to do that again.  But now with some distance from the event and now that I know how much better my recovery was, I would have to do it natural again!

So I delivered Reid Gibson Pratt on his due date, December 5th at 5:14 pm and he weighed 9 lbs 5 oz and was 21 inches long.  We stayed in the hospital Thursday night through Saturday afternoon and then finally got to come home.  I can't stand staying in the hospital.  Those nurses coming in all hours of the night drive me crazy!  Reid's personality is way different than Hayden's.  All the nurses told us that Hayden was a stubborn fiesty one and that has been true!  All the nurses couldn't stop remarking about how calm and easy going Reid was, so I'm hoping this also comes true!  So far, he really has been really easy going and so much calmer than Hayden.  Even during labor, the nurse was shocked at how steady his heart rate was, nothing stressed him out...

We had Hayden skip preschool on Friday and my friend Stephanie Heinhold brought her to come visit.  She was so quiet and in awe when she walked in the room to meet her brother.  She was just in heaven and loved holding him and looking at him.  It was really sweet to watch her interact with him for the first time.  We sang happy birthday to Reid and let Hayden open a present Reid brought for her.

Hayden came just in time when the hospital photographer came to take pictures so we got a few of them together!

First family picture

Everything went great in the hospital, no further complications, although nursing was painful all over again and the lactation specialist thought he was tongue and lip tied.  We had this clipped a week later and it helped a bit, but currently I'm at 6 weeks and not totally pain free yet.  Still so much better than Hayden, but I can't wait for it to be pain free :) Here we are ready to go home.  We missed Hayden so much and I think she missed us.  My friend Stephanie was amazing and let Hayden stay with their family and really spoiled her while we were away.

I can't believe we are a family of 4 now.  Hayden did remarkably well with the adjustment and adores her baby brother!