Preston's Birth Story

Finally getting some free time again! Preston is such a great napper during the day, so I am finally getting caught up on housework, sleep, and blogging!

Here is the story of October 5th. We showed up at the hospital at 5:45 am, after only sleeping a total of 3 hours the night before. (I was way too nervous/excited to sleep, but if I had known that was going to be my last night of uninterupted sleep, I would have tried a little harder, ha!) We got into our room immediately and I changed into my gown. Yes, I ordered my own hospital gown to bring with me. I felt a little silly but I think it made for cuter pictures. Order Here

They immediately came in to check my vitals and put in my IV. This was something I was really worried about, but it was so great because I just thought she was taking my blood, and didn't even know it was happening. (I never watch). So that part really didn't hurt at all. I was so relieved.

We tried to get some sleep while waiting for them to come check me. Around 7 am, they declared I was 2 cm. dilated, -3 station, and 60% effaced. They also did an ultrasound to confirm that Preston was indeed head down, which he was. Good boy!

At 9 am, they started me on Pitocin. Everything was really easy, and I was super bored and SUPER hungry...already! I made Brett eat his McDonald's sausage biscuit in the hall because I was too jealous to watch him eat it in front of me.

Around 11 am, my parents and sister arrived. I was so happy to see them! Still no pain and super bored, so after visiting for awhile they decided to go out to lunch, seeing that I was doing just fine.

Around 2 pm, the resident came in and declared me 3 cm and 75% effaced. At this point, I am still thinking Wow, this is really a piece of cake..no pain and just hanging out--still calling and texting friends. They told me it was time to break my water, and when they did so, I got very emotional. I have heard that this part does not hurt, but I thought it did. I think the resident that did this was not very gentile. It was also emotional to me to feel the gush of fluid because I knew that it was really happening--the baby would really be here TODAY! So I cried a little for about 15 minutes. My family came back from lunch and again, so happy to see them!

Around 3 pm, the pain set in. WOW! Now I know what people are talking about. It got so intense, so quickly, that I felt like I better go ahead and ask for the epidural. There were very little breaks in my contractions, and it was just one after the other. I was so happy to have not only Brett holding my hand, but my Mom, Dad and Sister there to support me as well. You never know how you are going to deal with intense pain, but I quickly found out. I couldn't make eye contact with anyone (nurses or family) and couldn't speak. I didn't ever scream or anything, I was just super quiet with a terrible look on my face. I would just shake my head "no" when someone tried to talk to me. In my head, I just kept repeating over and over "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." It helped to focus on that.

The anesthesiologist arrived after just about 15 minutes and they asked Brett (and my family) to leave the room while they administered it to me. I always thought this was going to be the scariest part, but I was just so excited to have pain relief that I really wasn't even scared. I curled up into the position and held the nurses hand, and it was over in 2 minutes. No big deal, really. And the best part, instant relief. BEST. FEELING. EVER.

Right after the epidural, I was 4 cm. I was hoping I'd be at least a 5 or a 6 by now, so I felt like I was progressing really slow. I was super annoyed to hear I was just a 4 still. At this pace, we started thinking that maybe Preston would not arrive before midnight. Brett's parents arrived just after the epidural, and again, I was so happy they were there!

I had about an hour and a half of pain-free contractions. awesome feeling. Up until now, I believe the Pitocin drip was being administered at about 12 miliunits, but after the epidural, they pumped it up to about 20 miliunits to get things speeding up. This is when I started feeling pain in the right side of my uterus again. Yikes. Was my worst fear coming true? Was the epidural only working on half of my body?! We paged the anesthesiologist again (I insisted) and he came back and gave me what's called a bollis shot into the epidural, and made me lay on my right side so the medicine would work its way down. Not pleasant, at all. Fifteen minutes later and still no relief, so we paged him again and he gave me a second bollis. I finally started to feel some relief and felt great again...for about an hour.

Then it happened again, this time in my back. I could feel everything and was in so much pain. They suspected Preston was laying on my spine and that was causing the back labor pain. We paged the anesthesiologist again. (If you have ever noticed, I feel like all male anesthesiologists are super hot, and Brett was joking that I just wanted the hot anesthesiologist to come back in the room. ha.) Every time he came back in the room, I was like "I'm so sorry." I really wasn't sure if I was just being a wimp or if this was legitimate reason to keep paging. Anyways, this was the third bollis injection. Again, immediate relief...for about an hour.

Around 9:15, I began to get really nauseous and also had the shakes really bad. It was at this time that my parents returned from dinner and were really worried to see me like this. The pain snook back up on me, so once again, we paged that cute anesthesiologist. I felt like I was being so annoying, as this was now our 4th bollis injection. The nurses also had to give me anti-nausea medicine at this time, and had an interesting effect on me. It completely knocked me out, so I was in a dream like state. I was talking, but I knew I wasn't making any sense. I kept telling my family and Brett that I was dying and couldn't wake myself up. I also still had the shakes, and told them I felt like I was having a seizure...and dying. Needless to say, everyone was very worried.

They came in to check me again, and this time, we got a pleasant surprise. I was 9.5 cm, 100% effaced, and a +1 station! Everyone was cheering and so excited! This was the best news of the day...except for the fact that I was completely knocked out and there was no way I was going to be able to have energy to push a baby out! I started getting really worried about the fact that I couldn't wake up! This went on for about an hour as they waited for me to wake up a bit.

At 10:15, I was checked again and this time I was 10 cm. dilated, 100% effaced, and a +2 position! Dr. Dryden wanted me to sit up straight for 30 minutes before I began pushing, to let gravity force Preston down the birth canal a bit more before pushing. This was the most painful part of the whole day. The back pain was so intense. It was the longest 30 minutes of my life as I watched the clock the whole time!

Finally, Dr. Dryden came in and I was so happy to finally see her! All I wanted to do was push this baby out! She asked how I was doing, and Brett said that I told her, "I feel like I didn't even get an epidural. I'm so scared." She compassionately said "Well, let's get you another bollis." That's right, my 5th one! I finally felt relief again, and it was now time to start pushing! It was 10:58 pm. At this time everyone left the room except for Brett and my sister, Lindsay. I wanted her to be a part of the birth, and she took all of the amazing pictures for us during the birth. It was really special.

After my first push, he was crowning, and a few pushes later (just 6 minutes later) Preston Davis was born! The pushing was the easiest part of the whole day! I can't believe I was so worried about that part. Thankfully, I didn't feel a thing.

All the family and friends were called back as soon as we were done, and my mom said it was like night and day seeing me before and then when she came back in the room. She left me in the worst condition of my life, and when she came back in 30 minutes later, I was beaming and so happy! Everyone took turns passing Baby Preston around and giving plenty of kisses and hugs. It was such a special moment that I will never forget!

All in all, the day has so many ups and downs as far as pain relief goes. I thought I would just get the epidural and not ever feel a thing, but I guess they don't call it labor for nothing. At the end of the day, it was all worth it. Meeting my son was the best moment of my life, and I would do it all over again.

But I don't even want to see the bill from the anesthesiolosigts. Ugh.