What a gift to be able to sit down for a moment almost two weeks after Cole's birth to reflect back on his birth story. With three boys all born at the same hospital, you'd think their birth stories would have more similarities than they do. Cole's pregnancy was very different from his brothers'. In fact, it was so different that I was convinced that we were having a girl this time. :)
Leading up to the birth, I wore a maternity support belt to help with round ligament pain, pendulum belly, and hopefully to get him to engage and not be AS overdue as his brother's were. I also had weekly chiropractic appointments with an amazing doctor who specializes in adjusting pregnant women. I was much more uncomfortable earlier with this pregnancy and was convinced that our sweet boy was going to make his appearance early...maybe even before the due date.
The night before his due date (Jan 30th), I was up for a good portion of the night with contractions. They were strong but not very long and definitely not rhythmic. His due date fell on a Saturday and the day came and went without any fanfare. This time I found myself feeling discouraged as we entered post dates for the 3rd pregnancy. I started realizing that the potential for another 42 week pregnancy was certainly there and I may not get to meet this baby until Valentine's Day after all.
And then at breakfast on Sunday morning (January 31st), I leaned forward in my chair and felt a little gush of fluid. Initial thought: "Oh man, I just peed my pants...bummer." Isn't that funny? For those that have had multiple babies, you know that peeing your pants isn't exactly a shocking or unusual event. I went to the bathroom and didn't think it was my water breaking. So we got ready and headed to Emmaus Church to witness the baptism of our dear friend, Leslie. It was so wonderful to be there to support her! After church, I took a good long nap and then headed to the baby shower of my friend, Katie.
When I woke up that night to go to the bathroom around 2am, the real deal contractions began. These were not Braxton Hicks. Each contraction came as a wave, wrapping around from my lower back to my front. Because Jack and Cade were both face up (posterior) when they were born, I only ever had terrible back labor with them. This time was different. These were the contractions that you read about in the books. With Jack and Cade, I literally could not make it through any contractions without making a fog horn-like moaning sound. With this labor, I was able to relax completely and "ride the wave" up to the peak and back down. I visualized Cole riding the wave with me and with each time as I consciously relaxed, it was as if I invited him to move down and out.
In total, I had 39 contractions (thank you app on my phone for keeping track) that night. They were intense but still not settling into a distinct pattern. By the morning (Monday, Feb. 1st), I was completely exhausted, emotionally and physically. Dave had to head in to work, but I told him I was going to try and get this baby out TODAY. Leslie brought her brood of 4 kids over to play in the front yard with my kiddos so that I could try and get labor going. I was determined to do a four hour cycle in one hour chunks - 20 minutes of pumping with a breast pump, 20 minutes walking, 20 minutes of rest, repeat 4 times. After my second time through the cycle, not a single contraction had come and I was even more tired and worn out. I gave up and sent my friend home.
Contractions weren't coming and the only activity I experienced was actually non-activity. It seemed that Cole was moving a bit less than normal. I mentioned this to my mom on the phone and she absolutely insisted that I go in to the hospital to get checked out. I felt too tired to go but when Dave got home, he thought it would be a good idea to go in as well. So at 3:30pm on Feb. 1st, our dear friend and neighbor Katie Parker, popped over to watch the big boys while we headed to the hospital for a simple non-stress test (standard protocol for women who are pregnant after their due dates).
The labor and delivery floor was hopping. There was someone in the operating room getting a c-section and another emergency c-section heading out right in front of us. Needless to say, we were not top priority. We ended up waiting, and waiting, and waiting to even get into a room for the test. It was 5:30pm by the time they hooked up the monitors and were able to check me. Upon checking me, Dr. Cheung found that the forebag of waters was still intact (whew...I guess I did pee my pants after all!) but she wanted to do another test just to make absolute sure. And you know what, after that second test, the results came back positive. Apparently a tiny hole broke up high on the bag which is why there was no big gush. Change of plans, I guess we need to have this baby today after all.
Because it had been 36+ hours since my water broke, the doctors were eager to get things rolling ASAP. When they checked me a second time at 8:15pm to see if I had made any progress (I hadn't), the act of them checking me actually got my contractions going on their own. They started coming every 4 minutes. I was surprised that they still wanted to start Pitocin but they said I needed to not only have rhythmic contractions but also progress in dilation.
Pitocin contractions are beastly. They are strong and long with very little break in between. I did all of Cade's labor induced with Pitocin and without any pain meds. It was such a negative experience that I had promised myself never to do that again. I knew if I had to be induced that I would choose to have an epidural but when faced with the reality of this choice, I wavered. So many friends of mine have had terribly negative experiences with epidurals and I was worried about too many interventions leading to a c-section outcome.
But when the anesthesiologist walked in at 10pm to talk about the details I knew right away that I would trust him to put a needle in my spine. He was kind, warm, calm, and very knowledgeable. The epidural experience was pretty dreamy top to bottom. The only negative part was about 45 minutes after it was started, my already low blood pressure dipped way down. I felt dizzy and my face turned ghostly white. Luckily after a dose of ephedrine and more fluids, I perked right up.
By midnight, contractions were really regular and Dave and I were settled in a quiet room just enjoying chatting and being together. The whole atmosphere was very peaceful and calm. At 1 am, one of Dave's med school classmates, Matt, came in to visit. He was the senior anesthesia resident on call that night and was exhausted. He sat down to chat for a few minutes and catch up. After 20 minutes of chatting, I started feeling some intense pressure in my tailbone. At that point, Dave and Matt were talking back and forth and I was looking for a good moment to interrupt to tell Dave about the pressure.
Just then, we heard what sounded like a gallon of water being poured into a toilet from 3 feet up. We each looked at each other and then Dave peeked under the hospital bed to see a biohazard bag definitely filling up with amniotic fluid. "Uh, honey... I think your water just broke." Before I even had a chance to fully register that fact a new, equally loud and disturbing noise overtook the room. Let's just say it was a VERY un-lady like moment. Matt, very awkwardly, popped up from his chair and said as he scrambled for the door, "Um, yeah, you can't help that." Hahaha....I laugh about it even now.
Our nurse came in to check on me and one look confirmed that baby was ready to make his entrance. One problem. There were exactly ZERO doctors on the L & D floor at the time. In a teaching hospital like Loma Linda, this is actually quite impressive. Both the attending on call, the back up attending, the senior residents, interns, and even med students were all engaged in other deliveries or c-sections. The charge nurse came in and said, "Don't do anything." I thought this was pretty funny to say to a woman with an epidural. I wanted to say, "No problem. I haven't been doing anything all along!"
They put in a quick call to the resident on the gynecology service to rush over but then realized there wouldn't be enough time. Next the nurse said, "Ok, Daddy, are you ready to deliver this baby?" Dave popped up and got ready to glove up (bless him!) just as Dr. Cheung, the attending on duty zoomed into the room. She had scrubbed out of the c-section, sprinted into my room, gloved up and with 3 pushes, baby was out. She quickly stitched me up, congratulated us, and then sprinted back out of the room to go scrub in again to finish the c-section. Pretty amazing!
Two of the concerns I had in getting an epidural were knowing how to push if you couldn't feel anything (not a problem) and whether or not I would experience that overwhelming sense of relief and love for the baby if I didn't get the natural rush of oxytocin. In many ways, I would say that surge of emotions was actually greater than any of my other births. Rather than just relief that the pain was over, I was really able to take in what was happening and enjoy this sweet baby right from the beginning.
It took us a full two days to finally choose a name. Cole Steven Panther (7lb. 1 oz., 19.5 inches long and born at 1:38 am on Februrary 2, 2016) Cole was my sister's nickname when we were growing up and it felt fitting to name him after his wonderful auntie even though she is a girl. Nicole loves the Lord, is an amazing mother to her three kids, serves tirelessly in her community, and is someone for my kiddos to look up to. Cole's middle name is Steven which is conveniently the first name of BOTH of his grandpas. Two birds, one stone. Both of his grandpas are outgoing, hard working, humble and godly men.
Mama chatting with Dr. Hart, her AMAZING doctor
The Panther Boys first meeting
Headed home from the hospital
