Baby Joe's Birth Story Part One

Baby Joe's birth story is a long one, so I'm going to break it up into parts. If there are crazy misspellings or words that just plain don't make sense, forgive me- I'm a new mommy!

Part One


While unpacking our hospital bag I found our birth plan. I just had to laugh because I had everything planned to a T. However, I knew that a situation could arise to change my plans, and I vowed that I would roll with the punches in order to bring our son into this world safely.

Boy did I REALLY have to roll with the punches!

On Tuesday, August 31 I went in for a routine doctor’s visit. I was pretty excited because this was my 38 week visit and that is when he first does the cervical check. I was wondering if our little guy had dropped at all and if I was dilated. I had read about all the signs of pre-labor and was curious to see if this show was going to get on the road any time soon.

Our appointment was at 11:40. I stepped on the scale to be weighed and was shocked to see the number. I had gained about 5 lbs in the past week. I had read that this could be a sign of pre-eclampsia, so I had a very bad feeling, especially since my whole body had ballooned up with some very bad swelling.

The nurse then checked my blood pressure, and sure enough, it was high. I was sent to a room with two recliners and a TV. I was hooked up to a fetal monitor and a contraction monitor to make sure that the baby was doing OK. Ryan and I chilled for about an hour watching crappy daytime TV. The baby was doing just fine and I was having regular contractions even though I couldn’t feel them at all.

After an hour the nurse came into re-check my blood pressure. It was still high so the doctor came in soon afterward. He asked me if I had been having any headaches. I had been on occasion, but I thought it was due to the antibiotic I was taking to fight off a bad cold. Other than that I felt just fine. The doctor definitely thought that I had pre-eclampsia but wasn’t sure whether to induce or send me home on bed rest. He decided to send me to labor and delivery to have them monitor my blood pressure in more detail and decide from there.

We went to the hospital around 1:00. I had called my mom and even though we didn’t know anything for sure she was on her way to be with us. As I waited around to get registered it suddenly hit me that I could be having my baby a lot sooner than I had planned. I tried to stay calm and be open to whatever was going to happen.

When I arrived at labor and delivery they put me in a bed and hooked me up to a blood pressure machine where it went off every 15 minutes. After about an hour of that I was told my blood pressure was still high and the next step was to do an ultrasound to determine if our son was ready to make his debut a couple weeks early. I asked the nurse if that meant that induction was more of a possibility and she said yes.

After what seemed like forever I was finally wheeled down to ultrasound. (I hated that I had to be taken by wheel chair!) They took measurements and determined that our little bundle of joy was estimated to be 8 lbs 12 oz. The ultrasound tech thought he was probably ready to be born. The most amazing thing was seeing the side profile of his face. You could see his little nose and chin and his mouth opening and closing. Sometimes you could see his little hand go up to his mouth. They checked for his little boy parts and they were definitely still there! The tech printed out the pictures and as I held them in my hand I was in shock that I could be seeing this little face as soon as the next day.

I was wheeled back to my room where they had a meal waiting for me. It had been hours since I had last eaten and I was starving. Ryan and I relaxed and watched Celebrity Jeopardy while we waited for the doctor. We soon discovered how thin the walls were in labor and delivery. We heard a woman screaming in pain numerous times. At one point we heard, “Get it out! Get it out!” It didn’t freak me out too much. After a while of the screaming we heard the most wonderful sound- the sound of a baby crying. It was a sound that just melted my heart. Again, I was still in shock that I would soon be hearing my own child’s first cries.

After what seemed like forever the doctor came in and said that due to my blood pressure and since our little was a hefty size that I would be induced. They transferred me to an actual labor room and they started me on an IV of fluids. I was still on the fetal monitor and contraction monitor. My contractions were still pretty regular, but I still wasn’t feeling them. It was kind of crazy when the nurse told me when I was having one but I couldn’t feel a thing. The baby was doing great. My blood pressure was still being monitored every 15 minutes and it was still elevated. My mom soon arrived and soon after Ryan’s parents came.

Soon the time for induction came. They first used Cytotec, a pill that was inserted vaginally to ripen my cervix. In a couple hours they would place another pill and check to see if I had dilated at all. The waiting game had begun.