Unexpected turns ahead: The birth of Cruz

Our precious son was born at 9:40 a.m. on Thursday, February 20. He had already taught me my first lesson of mommyhood: Be flexible.

I had my birth plan written by my second appointment with my midwife: birthing tub, all natural, no medication. At about seven months, our little man was showing his independence. He was lying sideways. We still had some time, so I did the positions recommended by my midwife each afternoon and evening to encourage him to flip. It made me smile to think that he got both his parents’ independent streaks.

A few weeks before our due date, he still hadn’t flipped. My husband and I chose not to try [an external cephalic] version, we held hope that he’d flip on his own. Just in case he didn’t, a C-section was scheduled a week before our due date.

I continued to work through the whole pregnancy but took the day before we’d meet our little boy off. It took some mental adjusting and accepting that this was how our boy was going to be brought into the world. It wasn’t close to my plan at all but by the morning of the surgery, I was mentally prepared and ready.

Thursday morning my husband and I drove calmly to labor and delivery. We chatted and made guesses about how much he’d weigh and held hands. I tried not to think of the possible complications the OB ran through with me a few days before …

We met my parents and my cousin at the hospital. It was crazy standing around talking just like it was any other day—not the day that our son was going to be born!

My family was able to come with us to get prepped. Our nurse was so nice and upbeat. I immediately felt comfortable. She even suggested trying to flip the baby to have a vaginal delivery—because we were there and all ready.

While we were discussing this, the baby’s heart rate was dropping. Our nurse looked nervous and called in help! I asked my family, except my husband, to leave the room. I knew my mom would be extremely worried, and I needed to focus and remain calm. I kissed them goodbye and held my husband’s hand.

I was put on oxygen, and every few minutes had to switch which side I was lying on. The baby was stable again, but we all knew he was ready to join us. I was the first surgery scheduled that day, and due to him going into distress, they made sure I went in right away.

We met our OB that was going to deliver our son and also spoke with the anesthesiologist. She was so absolutely amazing; I have no words for how thankful I was for her during the delivery!

I was wheeled into the operating room, and my husband had to wait for the epidural to be administered before he could join me. Even though the anesthesiologist explained exactly what would happen after I received the epidural, it was still very surreal. At one point, I told the nurse my leg was sliding off the table, but I couldn’t control it!

I just kept looking at a focal point across the room and focused on my breathing. I felt like I was going to faint if I didn’t.

The nurse who prepped me ran to get my husband. When he came in, the doctor had already made his first cuts! My husband sat on one side of me, and the anesthesiologist was on the other side explaining everything that was happening.

The blue curtain blocking the surgery went up really high. At one time my husband was looking at one of the equipment pieces that was reflective metal, but she quickly blocked his view. I whispered to him that maybe too many people have fainted by seeing glimpses of the surgery.

She let me know what the doctor was doing at each moment and what I might feel. When she told us that my uterus was out, and that I might feel a bit queasy, I was ready for our little man to be out!

Right then the doctor said, “Now that’s a lot of hair!” My husband and I smiled at each other and knew we were on the homestretch.

He didn’t cry when he first came out, having not squeezed through the birth canal. They had to suction his mouth and lungs. My husband was right next to him, and I could see everything they were doing.

Within a minute or two, the nurses brought baby Cruz over to me and put him on my chest. He looked right at me! We stared at each other; it was complete love.

I’m not even sure how long it took to stitch up my incision. We eventually were wheeled into recovery, and our little man slept on my chest. Because only one person could be in recovery with baby and me, my husband went and got my mom, so she could come in. She rubbed his arms while he got his heel prick and his shots. Then he was back in my arms.

Mr. Independent has helped mommy be more flexible and the go with the flow, which has served us really well since our little family has grown! As for our weight guesses during our drive the morning of, my husband got it to the ounce: 7 pounds, 12 ounces!

Send us your birth story! Whether you had a home birth, hospital birth, 37-hour labor or emergency C-section, we’d love to read the tale of your little one’s grand entrance. Write up your birth story (click here for tips on getting started) and email it, along with a few photos, to birthstory@pnmag.com. We’ll share it on our Birth Day blog and may even print it in an upcoming issue!