Aaron's Birth Story - Part 1

On Sunday, September 30th I went to bed pretty bummed out that I'd have to go back to work the next morning. I took this picture of my bump before going to bed, realizing that I hadn't taken any photos of my actual belly the whole pregnancy. 

 

I woke up around 1:15 that morning, having to pee. I was still pretty asleep and when I sat to go, it felt like I started peeing without actually peeing. I figured I was just too sleepy and went back to bed. A few seconds after I laid down though, I felt more water coming out of me and ran back to the bathroom where it just kept on coming. I was so thrilled. Whenever I pictured my ideal version of going into labor, that's how I pictured it going down; my water breaking in the middle of the night at home so that I could go to the hospital right away without having to time contractions, and without having to worry about it breaking in public. 

I went and woke up Sammy who kept asking me over and over again if I was sure. When I showed him the nice puddle I'd made, he woke right up. I called the doctor line and waited patiently on hold. At that point contractions still hadn't started, and part of me wondered if maybe I was still imagining this. I finally spoke with a nurse and they told me to head right over to the hospital. This was actually happening.

Sammy and I scrambled around the house grabbing all our last minute items. Sammy hopped in the shower real quick while I ate some peanut butter toast. I didn't know what to eat for my last meal, and the contractions were starting by then so I didn't feel the greatest. Looking back I wish I'd eaten so much more than that.

Right before we left Sammy gave me a blessing of comfort, something I was so grateful for. In it he mentioned how any people love us and would be there to support us.

With all of our supplies gathered up and the car seat in hand, we headed off to have a baby.
My contractions really started up during the car ride and I started timing them, while also pulling up the map to the hospital so we could be extra sure we didn't miss any of the turns. My contractions were five minutes apart and a minute long at that point, so even if my water hadn't had broken, we would have had to go to the hospital.

The roads were completely empty except for police officers and a few people they'd pulled over. I was so thankful for that because one thing I was worried about was yelling at Sammy while he drove us to the hospital. I'm a backseat driver on a good day, I didn't want to turn into a monster when I was in pain. We made it to the hospital and had to wait in the car for a moment for a contraction to pass. Even though it felt like my water had broken ten minutes ago, it was an hour between it breaking and us getting to the hospital at 2:30 in the morning.

When we checked in the ER, they asked me if anything was coming out. I said yes, and the ER nurses looked alarmed and asked what was. I said my water and they immediately calmed down and told me when they ask that, they mean the cord or feet. My bad.

They asked if I could walk and then led me towards an elevator. I made a little puddle on the floor in the elevator and was embarrassed, but the nurse assured me it happens all the time. There's nothing quite like walking around, leaking every where, and having no control over it. When we reached labor and delivery the nurse told those nurses that I was leaking as they led me to my room.

Once I was in my gown, the nurse checked me and I was 3cm dilated. I was having a contraction while she checked me and it was pretty uncomfortable. I could still breathe through the contractions and talk through them, but they were getting stronger. The OB came by and he checked me out as well. I asked him if it would be a bad idea to get my epidural this early and he told me that I certainly could get it this early, the only concern was getting it in time so that I could sit still through the procedure. I told him I wanted the drugs then. I had no dreams of a natural birth and figured that I might as well be comfortable for however long we were going to be there.

The anesthesiologist came in around 4 in the morning and told me all of the risks of the epidural, then informed me that he's performed thousands and never had anyone get the dreaded headache. He also told me that there are other pain relief options, but that the epidural is the best. Normally if someone was that cocky about their profession, I'd be skeptical. But in that moment, just getting a glimpse of the possible pain I could have to endure, his confidence was reassuring.

The nurse set out a chair for Sammy to sit in and when he tried to stand to hold my hands, she had him sit down saying she didn't need him passing out. I just sat there on the bed and followed the instructions while Sammy held my hand. The anesthesiologist asked at one point if I was having a contraction and I glanced at the screen  to see if I was. He told me if I had to look, I wasn't having one, then started the procedure. All I felt was a tiny sting, and then him taping everything to my back. I got settled into the bed and waited for the medicine to kick in.

I called my work at 4:20 in the morning to leave them a message that I wouldn't be in that morning, before I forgot and things got really moving. I don't mean to brag, but I am the best at leaving 'I'm not going to be here today,' messages. (In the past, I once called and pretended to be the weather lady saying that the forecast from up north was that traffic and the weather sucked, so I was going to be late.) This time I said something to the effect of, 'Hey, this is Kylee, it's 4 in the morning and I'm at the hospital right now, I just got some drugs and I'm in a bit of pain, so I'm not going to be at work today. I'll see you all in twelve weeks, have a great day!' I really hope that they enjoyed my message.

As we waited, my contractions got stronger and stronger, and I was really having to focus on my breathing to get through them. The medicine was supposed to kick in after 30 minutes, but at the 45 minute mark I could still feel the contractions and they were getting worse. My nurse came in and waited out a few contractions with me to see if it would get better. If not, we'd have to have the anesthesiologist come back and readjust. I started to panic, wondering if I was one of those people who epidurals don't work on, and if I'd have to do this without pain relief. Thankfully, the medicine kicked in in the next ten minutes and we were good to go.

After getting my epidural working, time started going by even faster. Sammy sat and watched my contractions on the screen, and I only felt a mild discomfort with each one. My contractions were about 4 1/2 minutes apart at that point, but they felt like they were only a minute apart, so what felt like five minutes was actually twenty five. Our nurse told us we should get some rest, but I was just so excited and nervous that that was impossible.

I saw my brother the day before and joked that I'd be texting him the next day about having a baby, so around six in the morning I texted him this picture to let him know I was in the hospital. 

At six I was checked again and at that point was at 4cm dilated. I'd only gone up one cm in three hours.

At seven in the morning the nurse came by with a bag of pitocin. My contractions were slowing down considerably and it was time to get them going again. By that point I was starving and all I wanted was to eat something, so I was okay with trying to speed things up. The nurse came back to check on me with popsicles in hand which I was so grateful for. It wasn't at all filling, but it was enough to distract me from the hunger while I was eating it. 

At 7:15 they switched out the nurses and doctors, so I was checked again. I was still only at 4cm dilated at that point which was disappointing, but would hopefully change with the pitocin. Right around then, it felt like my epidural wasn't working anymore, and I ended up hitting the button for more medicine twice in an hour. It felt strange every time I hit the button for more, like water was running down my spine. The nurse came by and I let her know that the epidural really wasn't working anymore and she told me the doctor would be by soon to check on me, and if I needed to they'd call the anesthesiologist. 

I kept pushing the button, and had to really hold onto Sammy's hand and breathe through the contractions while we waited for the doctor. I tried eating another popsicle because I was so tired and hungry and hoped that it would be enough of a distraction. A new doctor came in at 8:30, Dr. Weatherwax, while I was in the middle of eating a popsicle. I kept on eating it while he checked me. I figured that I was at six or seven cm dilated at that point, and thats why I was feeling all of that pain as I transitioned from one point of labor to the next. Dr. Weatherwax calmly told me that I was at ten centimeters and I could start pushing right then, or in the next half hour if I wanted. I was absolutely shocked, I'd only been at 4cm an hour earlier. Now we were going to have this baby? One of my first thoughts was that I wanted to at least finish my popsicle first. I wasn't ready to push, we'd just gotten there it felt like. 

Dr. Weatherwax told me that he was going to finish meeting all of his other patients, then he'd be back for us to have that baby. My nurse asked if I wanted to start pushing and said that it would relieve the pain. Apparently the pain I was feeling that the epidural wasn't fixing was that pressure everyone talks about and says they know it's time to push. I just thought it was really bad pain. I told her that I wanted to wait a little bit. She left the room and told us to call when we were ready. Sammy and I just looked at each other. This was happening. I kept eating my popsicle, not able to believe that this was real. I didn't know how to do this. 

The pain got increasingly worse and I called the nurse at 8:40 wanting to get some relief. She pushed my bed up and told Sammy to grab my leg, then told me to push when the next contraction hit. I wasn't really sure what I was supposed to do, so I just tried pushing. There was some instant relief from the pain while I was pushing, but the second I'd stop to take another breath, it was back. 

I tried pushing three or four times when Dr. Weatherwax returned. He looked troubled and I knew this wasn't good. He told me that the baby's heart rate was dropping every time I pushed, and he was worried that the cord might be around his neck or his shoulder. He said that he wanted to get him out relatively quickly, and depending on how good I was pushing, he might assist with the forceps or a vacuum if I was okay with that. If that didn't work, then we'd have to do an emergency c-section. I'd gone from eating a popsicle to talk of a c-section in about ten minutes. He told me either way, he wouldn't be leaving the room until I had my baby and started suiting up. 

He pressed all over my belly to see where the baby was, and said that if the baby was over seven pounds he'd have to leave his job. I'd had two other doctors guess he was going to be seven pounds, so I was easy for my medium sized baby. I was given an oxygen mask to use in-between contractions to try and help the baby. With the doctor watching, I pushed a few more times. As he watched, the baby's heart rate stabilized and looked fine. The doctor waited for twenty minutes while I pushed, then was called to another room since everything was looking fine. 

Time was a blur while I was pushing. I'm not sure at what point I started crying that I couldn't do this anymore, but I did. I would try to push and was unable to catch my breathe, then I'd feel like I was about to throw up. I was so incredibly hungry and tired and just wanted to eat and have this be over. Every time that I said I couldn't do this, Sammy and my nurse would reassure me that I could. The nurse talked me through some breathing technique and with her help I was able to get into a rhythm of three pushes per contraction, then resting in between. Every time I pushed, her and Sammy would say I was doing so good and getting closer, but it didn't feel like it. I just prayed silently the whole time asking for strength to get through this. 

At one point Sammy grabbed a barf bag and put it on the table next to us just in case. I was really feeling like I was going to be sick with each push. Then I was so hot and sweaty and Sammy was able to find me a hair tye in my bag so I could put my hair up. I just kept pushing and pushing and it felt like nothing happened. Sammy was so supportive and positive during everything.

Finally, the nurse called the doctor saying that I'd gotten the baby to a good point and I was so close. He walked in thirty seconds later and got suited back up. More nurses filed into the room, and I spotted a try with a ton of tools on it which made me nervous. Then, I just kept on pushing. 

Pushing with my nurse, the doctor, Sammy, and the other nurses all just staring at my lady bits was a bit awkward. Not when I was pushing, but in the waiting times between each contraction where everyone just stood there, looking around. I felt like I needed to hurry up, but had no idea how to. I just kept on pushing and pushing, still having no idea what I was doing. Dr. Weatherwax was so positive though, along with the nurse and Sammy. The doctor told me that since I'd been at this so long, he didn't expect me to have any tearing because everything had had time to stretch. 

Finally, finally, finally, Dr. Weatherwax told me that I needed to listen to him very carefully so I didn't hurt myself with the next few pushes. I followed his instructions, and then just like in the movies, at 10:42 AM after two hours of pushing, there was my baby, crying. A nurse quickly toweled him off and then Aaron Samuel Gomez was placed on my chest. He was finally here.

 

This is one of my favorite pictures of him

Sammy was in tears from the moment he was born and it was so sweet. He cut the cord and did so good. He saw everything, and I mean everything, and wasn't grossed out at all. I'm so incredibly blessed to have him as my husband and my partner in this parenting thing. 

As he laid on my chest, Aaron stopped crying. A nurse started listening to his lungs and said one of them sounded a little wet, and we needed to get him to cry to clear it out. He gave a few cries here and there, but he just laid there, staring up at me. He was so warm and heavy and it was one of the best feelings in the world having him there with Sammy standing next to me. 

The doctor was working on me and when I said oww, the nurse told me to just focus on Aaron, which I did. It was pretty insane actually, I didn't notice anything else going on in the room after that. Sammy sure did though, and he told me that it's really good I didn't see what was happening ;) At one point I heard the doctor say that the placenta was out and I hadn't even noticed anything happen. 

Dr. Weatherwax started talking to me finally, saying that I'd had a third degree tear. He kept reassuring me that it wasn't as bad as a fourth degree, and said that he'd really underestimated how big the baby was. He'd also come out with his hand next to his face and turned at the last second. It's a testament to how cute Aaron is because I hadn't even noticed he was stitching me up until he called my attention to it.

I held Aaron for an hour and the nurse helped me try and breastfeed him for the first time. It was not as easy as they made it look in the class we took, but he was able to get something. I couldn't believe I was actually doing this, I was actually feeding him. They finally weighed Aaron after and it looks like the hospital is going to be down a doctor because he weighed 8lbs 3.9oz. Nobody expected him to be as big as he was. He was 20.25 inches long. 

After they weighed him and gave him his first shots, Sammy finally got to hold Aaron. Seeing him hold him was one of the sweetest moments. 

Aaron's birth felt like it happened so quickly yet took forever. It was the hardest thing I've done physically, but ended with the greatest reward. My love for Aaron was instant, something I was worried about. Holding him for the first time and watching Sammy hold him are some of my sweetest memories. I'm so grateful for them because, in Sammy's words, it got real dark after that.