Simon's Birth Story

After a busy tax season and having a stomach bug the week before, I took Tuesday, April 16th off work.  I saw my midwife, Jessica, in the morning and she checked me.  I was 1 cm dilated and soft at 35 weeks, which she was not concerned about.  I had lunch and checked in with work before heading out for an appointment with my nutritionist.  After the appointment I went to the gym for a swim before going home.  At 5:15 PM I laid down on the couch for a little nap and woke up an hour later.

I got up to use the restroom and felt a small gush.  I ran to the bathroom and there was some fluid but not that much.  I wasn't sure what to do.  I was standing in the kitchen trying to figure out what to do next when I saw Steve and Hannah pull up.  It was a nice day and they were still outside when I opened the door and told Steve I thought my water broke.  He asked if I had called someone and I said no.  I called my midwife who said I needed to call the OB office and get checked out.  I called and spoke with the office staff who said Dr. L would call me back.  She called back fairly quickly and said I could either come in to the hospital or put on a pad and see what happened.  Hannah was screaming for my attention at this point so I said we would decide and call back.  I called my midwife back and she asked m how it felt compared to last time.  I said it felt very similar.  I really didn't want to go to the hospital and have another preemie but it was clear that's where we were headed.  I called the OB office back and left a message saying we were headed to the hospital.

I packed a few things and Steve made Hannah a bag dinner and called his mom and we were out the door a little after 7.  At this point I was feeling antsy and saying, "We need to go."  We got to the hospital around 7:30 and Steve dropped me off at the maternity entrance and went to park.  The security guard asked me if I needed a wheelchair and I declined.  I went up to the front desk and said I though my water broke.  They looked me up in the system (a lot less paperwork this time!) and got me into a triage room where I put on a gown, got into bed, and got hooked up to a monitor and an IV since I had not had the GBS test yet.  I was swabbed foe amniotic fluid and it was clearly positive.

It felt like forever until Steve and Hannah came in.  Hannah was not in a good mood initially but luckily there was a walk-in closet in the room that kept her entertained while she ate her dinner.  I was feeling some contractions at this point and feeling antsy and wanted to get up.  The nurse left for what felt like a long time. She came back with a resident who finally checked me around 8:20.  I was 5-6 cm dilated.  I asked if I could get up and the nurse said the baby's heart was decelerating with each contraction and they wanted to watch it.  I texted Jessica with this information and she said she was on her way.  I got moved to a labor & delivery room (the same one as with Hannah!) where Steve kept Hannah somewhat contained.  They put an oxygen mask on me because of the decelerations, which freaked me out a bit.  Hannah said it was funny.  Luckily my backup OB, Dr. Garfinkle, came in at this point, took one look at the monitors, and said I didn't need the oxygen.  He also said I could get up.

Around this time my midwife came in and shortly thereafter Steve's mom came to pick up Hannah.  Finally I felt like I could focus.  We got me on the mobile monitors and out of bed.  I headed for the bathroom as I did last time.  I got my feet up on a couple of stools and tried to relax as the contractions picked up.  Jessica and I were chatting between them.  (Steve was gone seeing Hannah off for what felt like a long time.)  After about an hour things picked up and I had trouble sitting still through the contractions and I was complaining that it hurt.  I kept trying to tell myself it wouldn't be much longer and that the baby would be here before midnight.  Around 9:40 Jessica wanted me off the toilet.  She and the nurse had to help me stand at this point.  She had me lean forward on the bed and my legs were shaking.  I also started grunting and felt like pushing.  Dr. Garfinkle came in and wanted me in the bed.  I had a hard time getting in.  He checked me and said I was 9 1/2 cm.

At this point I felt like I needed permission to push.  I asked if it was OK to push at 9 1/2 and if I was in a good position to push.  I got the go ahead and started pushing.  It really hurt.  I was also really hungry, which I commented on between pushes.  Steve held one hand and Jessica the other and I tried to focus on pushing through the pain.  It hurt like crazy but I knew I had to push to end it.  I gave a big push and I could feel the head come out.  Dr. Garfinkle said the cord was around the neck pretty tight and cut it right away.  At 9:58 PM I gave one more good push and the body was born.  I felt a huge sense of relief, and joy as the doctor said "It's a boy!"  Baby Simon was 6 lbs 7 oz and 18" long.  He was a little grunty so after I got to hold him for a minute it was off to the NICU with Daddy while I got fixed up.  It was almost 3 hours before I got to see him again, and 3 days before we got to take our sweet boy home.