I don’t know how many of you enjoy a good birth story, but I’m always a sucker for a good birth story. This one is about Josiah’s birth. This one was so completely out of character for what I’m used to, but it was definitely entertaining!
The day we had Josiah, I was not expecting to have him at all. I had gone to my appointment a few days before his birthday, and nothing was happening. We were originally supposed to induce labor the next morning after that appointment. But, since my body wasn’t ready to work yet, there was no induction that day. That was a Friday. My doctor was going to be gone Saturday into Sunday. She told me to text her Sunday morning to get a time to go into the hospital to be checked again. Just in case since my doctor was going to be gone that whole next week. I was definitely a nervous mama at that idea!
I will give you a little history so this birth story might be a little easier to understand. Josiah is my sixth baby. My first child was born via C-section, so the five that came after her have been VBAC births. That technically makes my labors a little more high-risk than a normal labor. That makes me a little nervous about having anything other than a hospital birth with my doctor. I know people have done home births and whatnot after a C-section, but I’m not one of them. I’m all about doing things naturally, but, for me, it’s not worth the risk of attempting a home birth or something of that sort. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy for everyone who chooses to have their baby at home, it’s just not something that I want to attempt. Anyway, moving on.
We had our first two babies in Oklahoma. The first one was a scheduled C-section, so we didn’t have to deal with labor at all. The second one was a natural VBAC. No meds, no nothing. Her labor was 4.5 hours. Not bad for my first actual labor and delivery. Our third baby was born here in MN not long after we moved back here. I was about 30 weeks pregnant with her when we moved back home. I went into labor naturally with her, and we made it to the hospital with about an hour to spare before she was born. Her labor was 2.5 hours long.
Then came our first son. I went into labor naturally with him as well. His labor was 1.5 hours. Now, mind you, we live about an hour away from the hospital where we deliver. We made it to the hospital, but just barely. I didn’t get registered or checked into the hospital. I didn’t get an IV. I didn’t even have time to change clothes when we got there. I made it to the room and he was born a few minutes later.
That boy was the reason we induced our fifth baby. My doctor was nervous that we would have a baby in the car. I was nervous that we would have a baby in the car. Our second son was induced at the hospital and was an amazing birth. From the time I felt anything to when he was born, it was 45 minutes. I’m very thankful she decided to induce him instead of letting me go on my own! By the way, when I say induce, I mean that she just broke my water and let my body take over from there. I have not had any medications at all with any of these VBACs.
That brings me to Josiah. His birth was anything but what I was expecting. I was expecting to go in and be induced exactly the way I was with our fifth baby, Gabriel. But, that obviously was not how things played out. My body was not ready the day it was supposed to be, so that threw everything off kilter. So, when we got to the hospital that Sunday to get checked out, I was not holding my breath that anything was going to happen that day. I was fully expecting to get there, get checked out, told I hadn’t progressed at all, and be sent home. I was so convinced that would happen, that Phil and I brought all the kids with us. Neither of us thought we were going to have a baby that day. I don’t feel any labor pains at all until it’s almost too late. I don’t have any indications that could prepare us for baby time. That is why I was so nervous when my doctor said she had to be gone that whole next week. I really didn’t want to have to have a baby with a different doctor. But that’s why we were at the hospital that day.
I went in, got checked in, and the nurse checked to see if I had made any progress. To my surprise, I was dilated to a three. Not bad, but still nothing to get too excited about. I have previously stayed dilated for a couple weeks before actually having the baby. So, I still was not convinced that I would be staying at the hospital that night. The doctor had told the nurse to sweep the membranes and have me walk a little while to see if anything would get going. So that’s what we did. Phil and the kids and I walked the hallways and the stairs at the hospital for a half hour.
When we got back to the room, the nurse checked me again and said I had progressed to a four. I was excited about the progress, but still wasn’t convinced. The kids were still playing with the games and puzzles out in the hallway. Everything still seemed a little surreal and like we would be heading home. The nurse said my doctor would be in shortly to see me, and we would decide what to do. That conversation made me think even more that I would be heading back home soon, and I would have to try to stay quiet all week and hopefully not have a baby while my doctor was gone.
Just a few minutes later, my doctor made it to the hospital and came in to see me. She checked me and said that she thought it was a good idea to break my water and have a baby that night. I couldn’t believe it! I was so excited! And then I got really nervous. I wasn’t ready! My brain was not prepared to have a baby that night. My other kids were all out in the hallway. We hadn’t brought the bags inside. We did, thankfully, have them in the car, but I hadn’t even brought my purse inside! I was completely unprepared.
So, she broke my water, and I tried to prepare myself to have a baby. Once she broke my water, I went from a four to an eight in half an hour. I was 8cm dilated and still had not felt a thing. If I hadn’t been hooked up to the monitors occasionally, I would not have had any clue that I was in labor. I didn’t feel a thing. That is why I get nervous now about not being induced. I am scared to death to go into labor on my own and not make it to the hospital.
Once I hit an eight, labor sort of stalled out for an hour or so. That confused my doctor a lot. I have never had that happen before. Up until this point, once I get going, there isn’t anything stopping it anymore. She checked me again and decided to do a tiny bit of Pitocin. I had never had Pitocin before, so I had no idea what to expect. Now I know! That stuff is horrible! The baby’s head wasn’t quite in the right position, so she thought that the extra contractions at the upper part of my stomach might push him into the proper position. That wasn’t working overly well, so the nurse suggested that I try switching my position. As soon as I moved into the suggested position, the baby moved and we were ready to go.
I didn’t even finish one contraction in that position before I had to lay down again due to all the pressure. The nurse ran to call the doctor back quickly. All of a sudden, I needed to push. NOW. I couldn’t even wait the ten seconds for the doctor to run back down the hallway. I started without her. They didn’t have the bed broken down. The doctor didn’t even have her gown or gloves on. The nurse was standing at the ready to catch the baby if the doctor didn’t make it back in time. And the doctor was literally ten steps away at the nurse’s station. Once he was in position, there was no stopping this baby! I wasn’t even pushing, but the contractions were! From the time I felt the need to push to when Josiah was born, it was only four minutes. I pushed three times and he was here. The doctor told me that, if I would have gone into labor at home, I wouldn’t have even made it to my car before the baby was born. I’m so glad she had me go in that day!
I’m pretty sure I made everyone nervous that night! The nurses were all bug-eyed with how fast everything went. Two of the nurses weren’t even in the room by the time he was half-way out. They were scrambling to get the rest of the supplies and things ready to go.
The nurses and my doctor were absolutely amazing that day. I couldn’t have asked for a better group of people to take care of me and Josiah. They were all so kind and helpful! I love my doctor and the hospital staff is amazing. They are such a huge answer to prayer. I know I would not want to have a baby without them!
I know this is not how most labor and delivery stories go, but this was how ours went this time. It was anything but normal, and definitely not at all what I expected, but it was perfect for what we needed. God had it all planned out. He knew exactly what we needed and how it needed to be accomplished. I am so thankful for modern medicine and for the amazing nurses, doctors, and medical staff who make it all possible. And I’m thankful for a doctor who pays enough attention to my body and my history to have me come in on her day off so she could make sure that I was comfortable with what was going on.
I’m so thankful for how everything ended up working out that day/night. God has blessed us with another beautiful baby to add to our family. The other kids love him so much, and he has been the perfect addition. I can’t get over how much I love this little guy. He melts my heart every time I look at him. It always amazes me how much love a mother has for each of her children. Even when the mother has six kids! There is always more than enough love to go around! I love all of my babies so much, and my heart grows with each and every baby that God blesses us with. I can’t even explain it, but God grants us the love to give to each child He gives us.
I’m so thankful for my babies and my husband! I love my little family!
Imperfection At Its Finest 