DessiraeM: Landon’s Birth Story

Posted Tuesday, August 23, 2011 10:27 AM

“‘Okay, with the next contraction, I want you to push,’ he said. I couldn’t believe it -- I was pushing already!?”

Getting everything -- even the dishes -- ready

On Wednesday, June 22, 2011, at 3:50 a.m., I woke up to a gush of water between my legs. My first thought was that it was my amniotic fluid, but I wanted to make certain. When I got out of bed, sure enough, it kept coming and coming. Right away, I called my husband, Thomas, a cop who had left for work 20 minutes earlier. “You better come home -- my water just broke,” I said when he picked up. “Really?” he asked. “Are you sure?” I said I was 100 percent sure. He said he was leaving and quickly hung up the phone.

At the time, I was 37 weeks pregnant, so I thought I had at least three more weeks before the baby would come. I hadn’t even packed my bag yet! Luckily, I did have my baby’s bag packed -- and we only live two minutes from the hospital, so I didn’t have to rush too much. I showered, got dressed, did my hair and makeup, and packed my bag. It only took Thomas 10 minutes to get ready, and he even did some dishes while he waited for me. We took one last picture of me and my baby bump before we headed out the door to the hospital.

Perfect timing!

We arrived at the hospital at 5:10 a.m. and got settled in. By 6 a.m., I was hooked up to the monitors and having mild contractions every six minutes or so. This was an important day, not just because it was the day I would be 37 weeks pregnant and, therefore, considered full-term, but also because it was the day my doctor would be back from vacation. I remember telling my baby the night before, “Okay, buddy, you just have to make it through at least one more night, and then you’re safe to come whenever you want!”

A nurse called my doctor and told me he’d come in around 9 a.m. to check up on me, but in the meantime, he said to start me on Pitocin since I was only 1 centimeter dilated and that would help speed things up. At 7:30 a.m., they started me on Pitocin. My contractions were still pretty painless, coming in at around 3 to 4 minutes apart. My doctor came in at 9 a.m.; he checked my cervix and said I was dilated 1 to 2 centimeters. They upped the administration of Pitocin a little more, and now I started to feel the contractions. They still weren’t terrible -- I was able to have visitors and could hold a conversation. By noon, I was dilated 4 to 5 centimeters and felt glad that at least the pain I was feeling was getting me somewhere.

A moment of worry

By my second exam with the doctor at noon, the contractions were so painful that I was ready for the epidural. The doctor dialed down the Pitocin dosage so my contractions would become milder while I was getting the epidural. Thankfully, the anesthesiologist was right outside my door, so I didn’t have to wait long for relief. By about 1 p.m., I was in heaven! No pain! I got pretty tired and almost fell asleep, but I wanted to stay awake because I had visitors. Soon, my baby’s heart rate slowed for some reason, so I was put on oxygen and told to lie on my side for a little bit.

It worked at first, but then my baby’s heart rate decreased again a bit later. I started to get worried, and I was in tears. Needless to say, my heart rate was increasing because I was so worried. Rolling on my right side didn’t help this time, so they rolled me onto my left. Within seconds, the room was full of nurses trying to get my baby’s heart rate up. I thought I was going to need a c-section to get him out. The nurse put her hand between my legs and said, “Call the doctor and get him down here now!” I looked at Thomas and could tell that he was extremely worried.

Landon arrives!

Then, the nurse explained, “I’m going to leave my hand here until the doctor gets here and is ready for the delivery,” she said. The delivery!? What!? I thought. I was fully dilated, and my baby was coming! My doctor, who had been at home by this point, ran into the room -- he had made it back to the hospital within five minutes! As he checked on me, he said, “Okay, with the next contraction, I want you to push.” I couldn’t believe it -- I was pushing already!? With the first contraction, I gave three pushes, and they helped me feel the baby’s head with my hand. Crazy! I thought. With the next contraction, I gave two more pushes, and that was it -- he was out! Thomas cut the umbilical cord, and they placed my baby boy, whom we named Landon, on my chest. It was instant love; we couldn’t have imagined a more perfect little boy. Our lives have been changed forever, and we can’t wait to see what our little one has in store for us!

> Want to share your birth story? Email it to Bump Kathleen at kmulpeter@xogrp.com.