Jaiden's Birth Story

A cab arrived for Jaimie and I at about 7:15 pm on Thursday, January 8^th. After saying our goodbyes to the boys and Luna, we headed to Alegent Health Midlands Hospital and arrived around 7:45 pm. As I started doing paperwork, our nurse, Connie, put in an IV for later use.

Connie checked my cervix at about 8:40 pm. I was still only 1.5-2 cm dilated, but I was 60% effaced! The baby was still high, but the cervix was feeling soft. Five minutes later, Connie came back in with the “blue pill” …actually, it’s not blue, but that’s a Matrix reference because by taking it I was opening up a whole new world to myself. =D The pill was Cytotek to help soften my cervix more.

By 9:30 pm, my contractions were about 4 minutes apart and lasted for a minute. At this point they only felt like mild period cramps … nothing I hadn’t felt before! At 10:15 pm, the contractions were about 3 minutes apart and still felt the same pain-wise.

Nurse Connie brought me a sleeping pill just before midnight so I could get some rest. She came in a little after 1 am to check my cervix and I was 2 cm dilated and she pronounced I’d entered ‘active labor’. My Group B Strep antibiotics were started and Connie predicted I would have Jaiden by 2:30/3:00 in the afternoon! My antibiotics were recalibrated about 15 minutes later because it *really* hurt my arm and hand. That’s something they don’t necessarily mention …Group B Strep antibiotics hurt!

Just after 2 am, I got another Cytotek pill. When I went to the bathroom, I noticed a light bloody discharge, so things were definitely progressing! Two hours later I was still only 2-3 cm dilated, but at 5:45 am when I went potty again, the bleeding was a bit heavier.

I got to eat breakfast around 7:45 am. My sleep was not very solid since they kept waking me up to poke and prod at me … but I was too excited anyway! At 8 am the day-shift nurse, Sue, started me on what Jaimie likes to call “Go Juice!” aka Pitocin. I was 3 cm dilated when they started Pitocin in my IV. Not even half an hour later my contractions were MUCH stronger. Dr. Gina came by an hour later to check on me, and while she was there she broke my water. Talk about getting wet! Whoo!

Because the contractions were getting a lot stronger and I was moving around more trying to find a good “spot” to deal with the pain, my belt that monitored the baby’s heartbeat kept losing it. So at about 10:15, Nurse Sue put a scalp electrode monitor on the baby’s head. His heartbeat was still very strong! =D

By this time the contractions were super painful. The best way I can describe the pain was that it was very intense and sharp. I opted to get the epidural and we started prepping for that with a bag of fluids at 10:35 am. By 11:30, Dr. Rhogan came in and had my epidural in and set! Wow …it *immediately* took the edge off the contractions. That sharpness became dull …then all the pain was gone! My legs eventually became ‘dead’ and I could really only move my feet. I had no control over my left leg and very little over my right … but I couldn’t feel any pain, so I took a well-needed nap after 12:30 pm!

Nurse Sue came in after 1 pm and checked my cervix (5 cm!) and put in a catheter. At 2:30 she returned and I was 7 cm, and when she checked on me again at 3:30 pm I was 10 cm and ready to push! However, we didn’t start the pushing till 5:45 pm. It took quite a while to get his head down, but they could eventually see the top of his head. For every set of pushes, I could get Jaiden out just a little bit, but when I stopped his head would scoot back to where it was. I could feel when my contractions were coming … there was this feeling of pressure on my bottom, but not one drop of pain. Nurse Sue had me try a few different techniques for pushing. Finally, when Dr. Gina came in, they set me up with an oxygen mask and had me do sets of 4 pushes instead of 3 like I had been doing. That 4^th push is what helped a lot.

After an hour and a half of pushing, Jaiden finally made his way into the world. Dr. Gina had made a small cut to help get his big pumpkin head out, but again, I didn’t feel any pain at all … even when I pushed his head, then shoulders and body out. Dr. Rhogan’s epidural rocked!!

Dr. Gina cleaned him up some and he started crying. I can’t tell you how wonderful that moment was. That was my baby she was holding … a baby I just pushed out of me … that I had carried for 9 months! OMG! =D

She clamped off the umbilical cord and handed the scissors to Jaimie. The proud papa freed his son and they set him on my chest while Dr. Gina finished working on me. Everything else went smoothly … no complications whatsoever, and we are very thankful for that!

I would most like to thank Jaimie for all his love and support throughout the entire pregnancy and the labor (and now thru parenthood!). He may say he didn’t do anything, but I am here to tell you that I could not have done it without him. He is my rock and I love him with all my heart!!

So now, the journey really begins. I’m ready for the ride … how ‘bout you?