My Birth Story: Thomas Bjorn

I knew I wanted to share my birth story and I have finally found the time to put it into words. We are almost 4 weeks postpartum and I am LOVING Motherhood. My labor and delivery were actually pretty uneventful and fast but I wanted to share my story because my birth plan completely went out the window by my own choice and I want to remind Mothers To Be that labor and delivery can be unpredictable.

Labor:

The last week or so of my pregnancy was miserable, I was cramping off and on for well over two weeks and I was SO ready. I didn’t really have a lot of activity until the cramping got rhythmic that Monday. It was mild enough that I was able to do some light housework, took a bath, and just lounged around. It continued into the night but I was able to sleep through…Then…BOOM…I woke up Tuesday and felt like I had the flu…Yeah…that is something no one warned me about. I was vomiting, in and out of the bathroom, and felt like a truck hit me. I pretty much was slumped over the side of my bed completely miserable vomiting and sobbing(It must have been a pretty hilarious sight actually).

Around 10 AM on Tuesday, May 18th, they were so bad that I started telling my husband that I think we needed to start the drive to the hospital. I was super nervous I was only going to be 1-2 cm dilated and so was my husband but the pain was getting rough and the hospital is over a 45-minute drive.

We decided to make the drive around 1:30 and we made it to the hospital around 3:00. At L&D I was brought into triage and we quickly discovered I was in fact…..7 CM DILATED! The nurse was SHOCKED that I walked into L&D…so was my husband!

I was quickly admitted and settled in, I was hooked up to IV antibiotics meds as I was strep b positive. I tried settling in using the in-room shower because I was MISERABLE. That is when the back labor started to kick in HARD.

My Original Birth Plan:

My original birth plan consisted of wanting a natural birth with the use of either the shower or laboring tub. I was actually heavily against the idea of an epidural because I suffer from an illness called Ankylosing Spondylitis.

Ankylosing spondylitis (pronounced ank-kih-low-sing spon-dill-eye-tiss),  or AS, is a form of arthritis that primarily affects the spine, although other joints can become involved. It causes inflammation of the spinal joints (vertebrae) that can lead to severe, chronic pain and discomfort.

-Spondylitis Association of America

The reason I was against the idea of an epidural was because of my experience with an injury during an epidural steroid injection.

1Now, this is why I am bringing up my birth plan

Around 6:30-7:00 I started talking to the nurses about the possibility of an epidural. They even asked me if I was sure because they were all aware of my birth plan but my back labor was just WAY too much to handle. This will make sense further in the story. I received the epidural around 7:30 and I will say…I have ZERO regrets. All of the staff was actually shocked at how I was in such good spirits and was actually laughing with my husband when they came to check in on us. Around this time was when I started having funky issues with my heart rate staying around 108. I continued to labor and my nurse Oliva was PHENOMENAL! They did come in and fully break my water as it was bulging. I don’t remember exactly when…

Oliva was amazing and stayed with me for hours and even though I had an epidural and a catheter both the midwives and the nurse came in with a Peanut ball and helped me switch positions over the next few hours. I received some Pitocin off and on to help push me from 7cm to 10.

At 8 am on the 19th I started getting INCREDIBLY nauseous again and it felt like the flu hit me again. I ended up having to get around the clock Zofran from this point until the day before I got discharged. I was fully dialted at 9:16 am and started pushing around 9:20.

Delivery:

I ended up pushing off and on for HOURS. I will say that my team was AMAZING and Thomas was completely fine and safe which is why they let me try off and on for HOURS. It is all a bit of a daze but my husband told me after that I ended up pushing for over 4 hours with multiple position changes and we had ZERO descent. My Midwives were seriously so phenomenal and I was the first one to bring up a C-section. My midwives and nurses discussed a c-section delivery vs continuing to push.

They actually told me that because Thomas was in zero distress if I WANTED to I could keep trying but that it would be like “pushing against a brick wall” and it wouldn’t be “impossible” but I would most likely wear myself out further. My husband and I discussed as the staff left and I decided fully that I was just DONE and a c-section was the way I wanted to go. I feel like the staff was super supportive and I felt totally in control.

C-Section:

I was prepped for my c-section around 12:30 and I LOVE the doctor who delivered Thomas because he asked me what music I wanted to listen to and I told him 2000’s pop-punk! My son came out to Worst Enemy by Lit and I got my first glimpse of him to First Date by Blink-182. The entire staff LOVED it and many of them mentioned they felt back in High School.

It was discovered during the C-section that due to my Ankylosing Spondylitis that affects the right side of my hip that Thomas was nicely wedged and they actually had to maneuver him. The doctor who performed the C-section said I made a good decision because with how wedged he was, it would have been INCREDIBLY hard for him to descend and I most likely would have been pushing for many more hours.

Thomas was born at 12:56 and the FIRST.THING.HE.DID….was BURP.

Thomas weighed 8lbs 3 oz and was 21 inches.

I was so happy that they did delay cord clamping and while I didn’t get to do skin to skin right away I did get to hold him not long after and held him the entire time I was wheeled back to our room and settled in.

My husband went right into Daddy mode which was wonderful as I got to rest for a bit after the c-section.

Lactation came in, met with us and Thomas was having NONE of it, he was what the LC called a “lazy boy” and wasn’t down for really wanting to eat. She was super nice and she set me up to a pump so the nurses could help feed him when he cued and I was able to get a little rest. The hospital I gave birth at has a wonderful milk donor program as well and I was able to take advantage of that as well while I was there.

While I was resting, Thomas REALLY bonded with one woman named Sevde Felek. She is a pediatric resident and Thomas instantly latched onto her. She bonded with him as well and spent a lot of time watching over him while I rested because I was just so spent from over 24 hours of violently throwing up.

We settled in well and were discharged on the 21st….this is where things got interesting…

Recovery:

So in case you DIDNT know…because a c-section is MAJOR surgery(apparently my brain failed to completely comprehend that I had just been cut open, had my organs rearranged, and had a squatter who is like “HECK, NO I won’t GO” ripped from my body). You are supposed to rest…I was ALREADY getting stir crazy while in the hospital and less than 4 hours after my c-section I was BEGGING to have my catheter taken out so I could shower and move around. My nurse had to yell at me several times when she walked in and caught me changing bedding, washing bottles, etc. My husband didn’t even bother to say anything because he KNOWS how stubborn I am and knows I would just be argumentative…

Well…less than 48 hours after discharge I was being rushed back to the hospital….that was because upon coming home I decided that instead of resting, I was going to do major housework like clean my kitchen, fold a bunch of laundry, etc. This resulted in SEVERE edema and loss of feeling in my legs accompanied by a severe headache and dizziness. Luckily they monitored me at L&D for a few hours and it was determined…MY HUSBAND WAS RIGHT!

I can’t even believe I am saying that…..the staff said it…and my husband just about danced the halls. He had been telling me for the entire 48 hours that I needed to stop being stubborn and rest….so I was discharged AGAIN with strict orders of bed rest for AT LEAST the coming 4 weeks.

I am currently still on bed rest but feeling a lot better, the edema completely vanished and while I occasionally still have internal pain my outer incision has healed beautifully. Thomas is currently up to 8 lbs 13 ounces and a solid nurser.

I have ZERO regrets about how my birth went and I felt fully supported by all the staff. A big shout out to the entire staff at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.