I know I don't blog regularly, but I wanted to have this documented somewhere so I can go back to it and not forget this awesome experience. So here goes Liam's birth story...
For a week,
I had been having severe back pain. Not
just an annoying kind of pain, but a constant, unmanageable pain. I actually ended up going to the ER on
November 24th because it was unbearable. I couldn’t sit or sleep and I was constantly
having Joel massage my back. While at
the ER they gave me a shot for the pain and tested to make sure it was not a
kidney issue. This back pain continued
through my due date(Nov. 29th), which came and went with no signs of Liam making his
debut. The night of my due date I
actually got a full night’s sleep and woke up the next day back pain free! Mixed emotions filled my mind. I was happy the back pain was gone, but I was
sad that I hadn’t gone into labor and I was now past my due date, that magic
number that is stuck in your head for 9 months.
Since my back pain was gone, I decided to attempt several of the old
wives’ tales that we had heard could cause labor. Joel and I started the day by taking a long
walk and then eating lunch at Torchy’s Tacos.
I drenched my tacos in the Diablo sauce (this is hot stuff for those of
you who have not tried it). We went home
and relaxed for a while. I actually got
a nap in (I was trying to catch up on the lack of sleep I had gotten from the
week prior due to that pesky back pain).
We went and did some shopping and then came home for what we thought was
going to be a quiet night. Pumping was
another thing I had heard would start labor so I popped on the breast pump for
about 20 minutes. I had been pumping
occasionally for about 3 weeks, but this was the first time that I actually got
some milk in the bottle. I got a whole
ounce, which is a lot when your milk hasn’t come in yet. As I was pumping, I was texting some
friends. I remember telling someone,
“Well, I guess I’m going to have a December baby.” Another friend was encouraging me to be
positive and reminding me that God would allow it to happen at the right
time. She also told me to do some deep
squats to help get baby in position so he’s ready to go when labor starts. Around 7:45, while Joel and I were watching a
new show on Netflix called “Alaska: The Last Frontier,” I decided to do a deep
squat for a short while. Minutes later,
I went to the bathroom and I will spare the details, but at that moment I knew
labor would be starting within the coming days.
I was excited and in denial at the same time. I told Joel that we might be meeting our son
soon; little did I know how soon that would really be.
At 8:00, I
had a sharp pain in my back and abdomen.
It was not too painful, but enough to get my attention. I looked at Joel and said, “Hey, I think I
just had a contraction,” and then went on about my business. Moments later, I felt it again. Joel said that if these really are
contractions then maybe we should start timing them. We pulled up the app on my phone and at 8:10
pm began timing my contractions. Each
one got a little more powerful. After
about 20 minutes, we noticed that my contractions were approximately 5 minutes
apart, lasting about a minute. The
contractions were now at a point where I had to stop talking and breath deeply
reminding myself to relax every muscle in my body. I decided to take a shower, but before I got
in I remember looking at Joel and saying, “I don’t know if I can do this…” At
that moment, Joel knew that I was in active labor. We had learned in our Bradley class that when
the woman gets serious and/or starts doubting her abilities, active labor has
begun. Joel immediately started loading
our bags in the car while I was in the shower.
When I got out of the shower, it had been an hour of steady contractions
so we decided to call the doctor. Dr.
Schneider (not my doctor, but one from the practice) was on call and said to go
in to Labor and Delivery. So we hopped
in the car and headed to the hospital.
Once in the car, my contractions had progressed to every 4 minutes. I called my parents in between contractions
and said, “It’s time!”
The car
ride was torture. I felt every bump and
turn with every fiber of my body. I
tried moaning and mentally telling myself to relax through each contraction,
but they were getting super intense and relaxing was not possible anymore. We pulled into the hospital parking lot
around 9:45 pm right as I was having a major contraction, which were now happening
every 3 minutes. We waited until it past
and then walked in to the ER. We got to
the front window right as I was having another contraction. They began asking me questions like, “Is this
your first pregnancy?” and “What’s your social security number?” as I’m doubled
over moaning in pain. Joel was getting
pretty frustrated with the people because they were just letting me stand there
in pain while asking the same questions multiple times. My parents walked into the ER right before I
was plopped into a wheelchair. We were
off to the L&D floor. The only thing
I could tell you about the ride to my room was that my mom said, “Look at her
toes, they’re so tense.” Other than
that, I think I kind of blacked out until we got to the room.
Once in my
room, the nurse said to put on a robe. At
that moment I had a sharp contraction and Joel says I got really loud, the
nurse knew I was incapable of doing it on my own so she began undressing me in
the wheelchair and putting the robe on me.
At this point, the contractions were happening one on top of the other,
with only seconds between each one. I was now at the point of asking, I mean breathlessly
panting for an epidural. The nurse,
whose name was Michelle, reassured me that she was getting the stuff ready for
one. Little did I know that it was too
late for an epidural and the nurse was looking at Joel and my mom shaking her
head and mouthing that there wasn’t enough time. The nurse checked me and said I was ready to
go and that we were just waiting on the doctor.
Michelle was quickly getting everything ready, moving at beyond human
speed while still calmly reminding me to breath and focus through each contraction. Other nurses were quickly moving about my
room as well. I, on the other hand, felt
like time had stopped and a million knives were being shoved into my back. I remember hearing Joel talking in my ear. I
couldn’t tell you exactly what he said, but it helped get me through the pain. My moaning was getting higher and my
breathing was getting quicker. In
Bradley class, we had learned to breathe slow and deep while keeping our
moaning very low. At this point, I could
not control the sounds coming out of me.
I also could not control my urge to push, so as the contractions came I
began pushing. Let me remind you that
the doctor still had not arrived to the hospital. At this time, I was dry heaving and pushing
with each contraction. Somewhere around
this point, I yelled that I was not going to have anymore kids. The pain was indescribable and I would not
wish it on my worst enemy. A woman then walks
in my room and the nurses announce that since my OBGYN hadn’t arrived yet, that
this doctor from the ER would be present to assist in the delivery. I didn’t care who it was, I was just ready to
have this baby.
Moments
later, Dr. Schneider rushed in. She
didn’t take off her jacket or beanie, but simply slipped into an apron and
gloves and got to work. As I continued
to push, she tried to massage me so I would not tear, but the baby was coming
too fast. I pushed for about 10 more
minutes (although to me it only felt like 2 minutes). I felt the pressure of the head and then the
rest of his body shoot out like a rocket on a water slide. A sense of relief came over me as the pain
was over and my baby was placed on my chest.
I think I was in a state of shock at that moment and all I could do was
pat Liam’s bottom and say, “it’s ok, it’s ok.”
He was beautiful and I could not believe that this moment had finally
arrived. They let Joel cut the cord and
gave me some time with the baby as they worked on sewing me up (I ended up with
a 3rd degree tear and some internal lacerations as well due to the
quick delivery). They took him to
measure him and as they did, I asked the nurse what time he was born. Liam Wallace Cowen entered the world at 10:30
pm on November 30th, 2013 weighing 7 pounds 9 ounces and 20 inches
long. Once things settled down a bit, I
began calculating in my head how quickly my labor occurred. I felt my first contraction at 8:00 pm and he
had made his debut by 10:30 pm, so I was in labor for only 2.5 hours. From the moment we got to the hospital to the
moment he was born was only 45 minutes. Thankfully,
we left when we did and did not get stopped by traffic and did not have far to
drive to get to the hospital. Otherwise,
we may have had a baby in the car. The pain was very
intense, but I would do it all over again now that I know how wonderful it is
to hold your own child in your arms. We
are so grateful to God for the gift of Liam.
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