Ready and waiting: The birth of Parker

My pregnancy with Parker was excellent. It went really well and was as close to perfect as it could have gotten. We were due December 22. I did not want to be induced and did not want any medical intervention (epidural, IV, pain meds, etc.). I was trying to do everything all natural. We were told that we would get to wait as long as December 29 before we would have to be induced.

A couple of day before I was due, we went in for our weekly checkup, and they noticed that my belly was measuring smaller than the last visit. They did a growth ultrasound and determined that our little man was growth restricted, and we would need to be induced within two days—December 23. We went the day before to meet the doctor who would be delivering Parker and discuss our birth plan with her.

At 6 a.m. that day, we were checked in and waited for the fun to begin. I was super nervous. My husband was a godsend and was the best support person I could have asked for through everything. At 8 a.m. they started Pitocin. Their plan was to increase it every 20 minutes to an hour depending on how I was progressing.

I started having contractions, but they were super mild. They were hoping that my water would break on its own, but it didn’t. So, a couple hours in, they came to break my water. There was no liquid that came with it. At first they were not all that concerned, but after a couple more hours and still no sign of any liquid, they started to get worried. Also as they increased the Pitocin, the baby’s heart rate kept dropping dramatically. They decided to put a monitor on his head. They pushed his head back in an attempt to put the monitor in (which was unsuccessful). All of a sudden all the water we’d been looking for flowed out. Then came the hardcore contractions.

I made it to 6 cm dilated before asking for an epidural. After the epidural I progressed from 6 to 9.5 cm in about 30 minutes, and before I knew it it was time to push.

I pushed for right at two hours. I was tired, and I was shaking, which they said was normal. There was talk of a possible C-section—the doctor said one would be necessary if we could not get our little man out soon. I pushed with all my might. Finally—10 hours after labor began—we delivered a healthy 6-pound, 1-ounce sweet little baby boy.

We are currently expecting our second baby, and I am equally as nervous even though I know what to expect … sort of. I am 10 times more impatient this time, though, and am so ready to meet this bundle!

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!