My Birth Story

Well, tomorrow marks John Parker's two month birthday. :)  It has definitely  been the most rewarding and wonderful two months of my life.  Difficult?  Yes.  Worth it?  Most definitely.  I can't believe he is already two months old - it seems like just yesterday I was hugely pregnant, swollen, and miserably wishing him here.  This is my birth story.

2.21.11:
A little background:  I had been swelling excessively and my blood pressure had been borderline high for the previous 6 or 7 weeks, so my doctors had decided to put me on twice weekly OB visits as of 37 weeks.  This was my first visit of the week and I was scheduled to go at 3pm.  I preferred to go in the morning, so I called at 8:30 to see if my appointment could be moved up.  The receptionist told me there were no openings but called me a little bit later and told me a 9:30 had opened.  I rushed to get dressed and headed for the office.  When I arrived, my blood pressure was OUTRAGEOUSLY high - 190/115 and over the hour, never went down.  The OB decided that because of the blood pressure, protein in my urine and swelling, it was time to induce labor.  He allowed me to go home and get my things, and I was admitted to the hospital at 2pm.  At 2:30, the OB on call broke my water and checked me; I was dilated to 1 cm and 80% effaced.  They started Pitocin and labor began.  I had dedicated myself to not get any medications or an epidural and I had hired a doula and taken classes directed at natural childbirth.  Induction was definitely not in my plan because I knew Pitocin caused contractions to be much closer together and more intense even early on in labor, plus I had to be given Magnesium for my blood pressure so I wasn't allowed to get out of the bed, but I tried to stay committed to my epidural-free birth.

2.22.11
12:30 am - I had been having painful contractions for 10 hours, and for 7 hours, they were severe and intense with only 30 seconds to 1 minute between and lasting up to 1 minute.  I had started having cluster contractions, where I would have a one minute break then contract for 3 minutes with 3 or 4 peaks.  This was definitely not how natural childbirth was supposed to be!  I had learned all about the stages of labor and I felt like I had been in transition (the most painful and hardest stage) for hours.  When the OB came in and checked my progress, I was only between 4 and 5 cm dilated and 100% effaced.  I was crushed.  I decided then to get an epidural, and my doula agreed - I had endured enough, and I could no longer relax.  Thirty minutes later, I sat up to have my epidural inserted and desperately struggled not to move or tense up during the contractions.  When it was finally in, I felt relief, but not total relief like I had envisioned.  I thought I would be able to take a nap - but I could still feel the contractions to an extent and I started feeling pressure almost immediately after it was started.  My nurse checked me again at 1am and I had progressed to 8 cm!  I don't know if it was sitting up or if I was progressing prior to the epidural but things were really going strong.  At 2am, I was dilated to 10 cm, still feeling the contractions but not nearly as painful as before.  It was time to push.  I felt relief that it was almost over.
...3 hours later at 4:57 am John Parker was born.  The last 3 hours of pushing were the most exhausting hours I had every experienced.  The OB said John Parker was still up very high and not ready to come down, but he finally decided to meet the world.  It was exhilarated to finally hear him cry and hear the words "It's a Boy!"

John Parker Branyon
2.22.11; 4:57am; 6 pounds, 11 ounces; 19.5 inches