Garrett- A Birth Story

I’m already starting to get weepy just starting to write. The long road to get him here.. the pain, the cardioversion, the frustration that my body wouldn’t just handle what Mother Nature wanted her to do. But now I look at him and see his perfection, his easy going demeanor… I guess it evened out in the end.

On July 14 I was scheduled to be induced at 9:30 AM at Maine Med. We arrived at the hospital on time and so ready to get started. But my room wasn’t ready and we waited an hour in the waiting room. The wing was packed with women in labor, c-sections and inductions. 14 rooms, all taken. I was so nervous that my induction would be pushed back because it was so busy ( the rule is inductions are put off if a laboring woman comes in because a doctor or nurse has to be with you at all times). 11 am passed, 12:00, 1:00 and no word on when the pit would be started. Kay arrived around 12:30 back early from her weekend away (Dr. Kathryn Wadland) and got the ball rolling.

A side note about Kay before I say anything else: This OB/Gyn was the best thing that happened to us in this pregnancy. She shares an office with Dr. Anne Rainville, a well known OB/Gyn in Portland and when I called to make an appt all those months ago, the girls at the desk suggested her. BEST thing to happen, the best. Kay has been the most amazing, attentive doctor a girl could ask for… and felt like a girlfriend the whole time. When things got serious and my heart freaked out, she had the best care possible right there for me. She stayed by my side when I was scared, and never made me feel like I was being a baby. During my labor, she sat by my side for almost 10 hours. TEN HOURS. What OB does that? She watched our baby like a hawk and kept him safe. I love her. I miss her already because now I won’t see her every week. Thank you Kay because without you I would have lost my mind. And my nurse! My nurse Sue who was with me when I had my cardioversion was again by my side. As soon as I saw her face I started to cry. She took amazing care of me that night (in CICU) when I could not have been more afraid. And she stayed, past her shift to see my baby born. We kept saying we had the dream team and I couldn’t agree more. These women were amazing and made the experience a beautiful one in the end.

Cont:

The pit was finally started at 1:30 PM and within 30 minutes my contractions were regular and strong. I was still dilated at 2 cm 3 hours later and started to get discouraged but the baby had moved down quite a bit and Kay decided to break my water. That really got things moving and the contractions picked up. I had a shot of Nubain around 4:30 for the pain and it allowed me to focus and get my breathing back on track. Around 8:30 things started to get unbearable and I then asked for the epidural. This is when things started to get a little crazy. I was shaking pretty violently at this point because I was progressing pretty quick. I was about 4-5 cm when I had the epidural, by the time it was done I was almost 7. The epidural took almost 2 hours because the first one didn’t work and I needed to have it removed and a new one in it’s place. It was horrible but I just breathed through it the best I could. I had a window of pain near my bladder and my left leg wouldn’t go numb, but my right side was completely out. After she put in a new one I was fine. The pain was so intense but Andrew kept me ok going though it. I have by far, the best partner in the world. Man I love him… and now he’s the best daddy… EVER. The pit was stopped around 10:00 (its hazy I have no idea) because the baby’s heart rate was dipping after each contraction. As soon as the pit was stopped he went back to normal and my body took over and did the rest on its own. Around 12:00 I started to feel some pressure and knew it was almost time. The baby’s heart started to dip low and I had to be moved from side to side, Kay assumed his cord was wrapped around his neck. My nurse Sue kept me calm and sane because I thought for sure we were about to head down the hall for a c-section. And we were close, but I was 8 cm and having a c after all that would have bummed me right out.

At 12:45 it was time, my body said push… Sue said it was time because the baby needed me to get him out.,.. I didn’t want to. I was so so scared. I was so afraid for him, that he wouldn’t be ok. But my team got my through it. Andrew, my mom, Kay, Sue and my photographer Mariah. Mariah photographed the ENTIRE thing from start to finish. She spent 13 hours with us and got every detail. When we make a slideshow I’ll post it. But it ain’t pretty… trust me.

So I pushed and pushed… and after about 4 sets of pushes Sue said “One more and he’s out” and I did NOT believe her. How? How in 5 contractions could he be out? But at 1:05 I pushed and saw my little man enter the world.

Andrew. What can I say about daddy? All I could hear was his voice and I could feel his love. With each push he lifted my back and pushed me forward and laid his forehead to mine and talked to me and encouraged me. I can’t think about it with out crying.

My mom had one leg and was in complete awe and tears most of the time, which made me know it was all going ok

Garrett had his cord wrapped around his neck once, which was ok… Kay handled it with ease. He sort of flew out after that and was placed on my chest. He was so waxy and hairy that it’s assumed he was actually younger than 38 weeks. But he was yelling and breathing and doing great on his own. He had been through so so much this little man, and handled it so amazingly. They took him and weighed him while Kay finished up with me. He was a perfect 7 pounds 10 ounces (um big for a 37 week old?). I was able to breast feed within the first 30 minutes and THIS was extremely important to me. I was driving Andrew crazy talking about it before the labor. I got what I wanted pretty much in every way. It was pretty quick, I only pushed for 15 minutes. But Garrett was blue from coming out so fast, he was bruised up. He’s 9 days old now and his bruises are gone and his head is perfect (although he had a c-section head on day 2).

It’s taking me some serious time to recover. I need to be more patient with my body. I was frustrated when after day 4 I felt like I had the flu and couldn’t seem to get stronger. But I had a long 8 weeks. My heart, my soul, has been through it all. And now the reward… my perfect family of Andrew, Thomas and Baby Garrett. Who could ask for anything more?