I suppose that it is appropriate that I am finally writing down Colton's birth story today- the day before his first birthday. Second child problems, haha!
Colton's due date was February 3, 2016. My mom flew in on February 2nd to help take care of Braxton while I was in the hospital, and to help out with the baby after our discharge. I had been dilated 2-3 cm for a good three weeks, yet my due date came and went. I had an appointment on the 4th with my favorite NP, Ginnene Hall. At the appointment, I requested an induction. Ginnene filled out all the paperwork, submitted the request to the hospital, and sent me on my way. On my way out, she said the best way to jump start labor was to schedule an induction and congratulated me on my soon-to-be baby. Mom and I left the appointment, grabbed some lunch and went out for a long walk in an attempt to get some contractions going.
That night, I went to bed hoping for labor to happen, but not feeling too hopeful. I was worried about my mom having to leave before the baby came (her return flight was on the 9th). I finally drifted off to sleep only to wake around 3:00 AM to contractions. They were fairly strong, so I started timing them. They were consistent and lasting close to a minute, so I got up and decided to pack the rest of my bag, call the hospital, and get dressed. I was in our bathroom packing toiletries when a small gush of water splattered on the floor. It was clear with a pinkish tint. I knew for sure that this was the real deal. I was in labor! I cleaned the water and was about to head out to wake Kyle when I ran into Braxton. I took him back to bed. I try to lay on the bed so that he would fall asleep quickly, but my contractions were starting to become painful. I told him to stay in bed and I would be right back. I went downstairs to the kitchen and found the number for the hospital. I called, but the number I had led to an automated message with no options to forward to L&D. I looked up a number on my phone for L&D and found nothing. Contractions were 4-5 minutes apart at this point. I finally give up, screw it, and decided to just go in. Someone would be there to deliver this baby. My contractions were really starting to hurt, so I went upstairs and woke up Kyle. He got up and started getting dressed, but Braxton came back in. I took him back to bed again, told him I had to go to the hospital because his baby brother was ready to come out. I told him I loved him and that Mynum would take him to school in the morning. I told him he could come to the hospital to see us after school, gave him a hug, and walked out.
Kyle drove like a maniac to the hospital. The normally 40 minute drive took us all of 20 minutes. At one point I almost told him to stop and turn around. I was still timing my contractions and they had slowed to 8 minutes apart. What if I was mistaken?! What if this wasn't labor and I wasted so much money on an unnecessary hospital trip?! I stayed quiet though, just in case.
I had never been to the hospital before, so it took us a minute to figure out where L&D was. Kyle dropped me off at the entrance and went to park the car. I went and signed in.It was almost 5:00 AM. I was waiting on a chair when Kyle came in. We waited for another five minutes and then a nurse came out to escort us to a delivery room. On the walk back, I had to stop once to get through a contraction. I doubled over, Kyle was holding my hand. When we got to the delivery room, the nurse gave me a gown to change into and said she would be back soon.
I changed into the gown, and Kyle tied the back up for me. The contractions were at their strongest. I laid on my side on the bed and asked Kyle to push on my back. I was hurting so bad. I could no longer breathe through the contractions. The nurse was taking forever. Where was she? I noted the time on the clock, mentally noting that if she wasn't back in five minutes that I would send Kyle out to find someone.
The nurse came back just before the five minute mark. She checked me, and I heard her mutter something about "there's a lip." She asked if I had called my doctor. I told her I had tried, but no. She got up, said she had to go tell "them" what was going on, and that she would be right back.
Dread filled me. Expletives flooded my mind. I knew what was going on. I was too late. No epidural, No drugs. I was too late. I was going to have this baby natural, and there was nothing anyone could do about it. I tried to stay calm. People started flooding my room. Plastic bags were ripped apart readying the baby station. A new nurse came in. She went to the computer next to the bed and started asking me questions and entering my information. She wanted me to sign a release for anesthesia, but I was in no state to do that, so Kyle signed it for me. Not that it mattered. I was too late to get anything.
The original nurse came back in with a midwife from my OBGYN practice. Her name was April Teffault, and I felt so relieved when she came in. She greeted me and said she was here to deliver my baby.
I was in the worst pain of my life. It was absolutely unbearable. I tried to turn onto my side, but the nurses kept turning me onto my back. I was screaming in pain. Absolutely screaming. High pitched shrieks ripped from my mouth. It hurt so bad. April started talking to me amid the screams. She told me to "go low" or to yell low. I tried my best to follow her directions and immediately understood why. I could feel my body pushing the baby downward as I "went low." April had to remind me to "go low" a couple times. I would completely lose it at the start of a new contraction. After a particularly strong contraction, my water broke. It got my left sock, and Kyle removed it for me. It was time to push. I screamed/pushed through a few contractions and he was here. His cries filled the air. The nurses wrapped him up and brought him up to my face. He was so beautiful. I delivered the placenta and I even got to cut the cord myself (Kyle declined). I was stitched up while the nurses wiped Colton down and did the APGAR tests. The stitching and afterbirth hurt. My doctor, Dr. Richard Robbins walked in while I was being patched up. He hung out for a while, checked out the baby, and fist bumped me on a natural childbirth.
When the nurses were done, they brought Colton back to me. He was the most beautiful newborn. We hung out in the delivery room for a while until we were moved to the Mother/Baby ward. While I was holding him, Colton started rooting. I unhooked the hospital gown and he latched right on and started nursing. After an incredibly difficult start to nursing with Braxton, this was a wonderful experience. It felt magical. Braxton and my mom came down to meet Colton that afternoon. We were not discharged until Sunday evening due to Colton's bilirubin levels. I was so excited to leave and to be home with my family.
Colton Randall Carson
8 lbs 2 oz
20.5 inches
5:39 AM
