So, to recap the pre-birth story: My body was failing me. Baby 2.0 needed to be born sooner rather than later. Caught up?
How do you like that "Episode Goal"? What a weird phrase.
But, as with with any birth and any interventions, there is always some risk. Anytime you force a baby out before your body starts labor on its own, you will need the use of medications and physical manipulation. You face the possibility that your body just won't comply, and the earlier you are in the pregnancy, the greater the chance that your body will resist starting birth. Inductions come with a greater risk for C-sections. Gestational diabetes babies tend to have less-developed lungs and nursing abilities, which is one reason doctors try to keep them in the womb until 39 weeks.
Writing this down, it all seems really scary and risky. These things were always in the back of my mind, but I can't say I was really fearful. I had faith in my doctors and, more importantly, in God, that everything would be alright. I wasn't scared, but I was hyper aware.
Meanwhile, this dude stayed home with his Auntie Anna and didn't act like he missed me one bit.
Sometimes people think that being induced takes a short time, like a few hours. Well, nope. Inductions can take days. I was scheduled to start the process on Wednesday night, so that I could sleep through some of the interventions and have the baby either Thursday or Friday.
Now, my dear darlings, this is where the story gets so boring.
How long had we been at the hospital for this picture--eight hours? Twelve? Twenty-four? It all ran together.
Yes, I'm telling you my labor was boring. Some people have horror stories about being induced, especially the use of the drug Pitocin to create contractions. I'll write a post dedicated to my opinions about labor techniques, inductions, etc. at a later time, but for now I want to say I've been lucky enough to have two downright pleasant induced labors and I was able to avoid pain medications for both! So if you're faced with the possibility of being induced, don't fret, my dear.
My induction with Atticus took about 36 hours, with about 5 hours of actual labor. This time, I'm not really sure how long I was in actual labor, because I had some of the easiest contractions ever. The only reason I knew I was having contractions was because I was being monitored and could see the contractions on a screen, but if I had been at home, I wouldn't have even thought of going to the hospital.
During this boring time, Sean and I buckled down to settle on a name for the baby. We each created a short list of names that we really loved. I added one I'd liked way at the beginning of the pregnancy, and Sean decided it was something he liked, too.
Finally, finally we settled on Callum Patrick.
Finally, finally we settled on Callum Patrick.
A name for this baby felt like such a relief. I could have this baby now, because he would have a name when he arrived. Such a weight off of my shoulders!
One reason why my contractions were so easy was because my water just wouldn't break, and the baby was still "floating," meaning he wasn't really engaged in the birth canal. To get things moving along, Sean and I took walks in the halls. I started doing squats and lunges. Doctors and nurses laughed at me and joked about how long had been there, trying to get this kid to cooperate. We chatted with our third assigned nurse (you get your own personal nurse when you're on Pitocin, score!) about taking her kids to Disney World. And the whole time, I started to worry more and more.
Woah there sexy, don't break the internet.
After hours of boring "labor," the doctor on call wanted to consider breaking my water, if I was dilated enough. By this point, I had been in the hospital for about 24 hours; thankfully, I had gone from just barely one centimeter when I was admitted to about 6.
And this is when the real action started.
The doctor broke my water, and somehow the combination of me moving to my back and the pressure of my water breaking forced the baby to engage in the birth canal.
Hard.
Also, with no water to absorb the force of the contractions, I started to actually feel them.
Hard.
Soon, I got into the shower to manage my pain, but that was somewhat short-lived because my Pitocin and monitors were acting up. With Atticus, I was in the shower for hours, but I was in for maybe an hour with this baby. My nurse suggested I get on my hands and knees and lean on a bean bag. I tried it a bit reluctantly, but once I got in the position I felt some relief.
I labored like this for maybe a half an hour when a doctor came to check on me.
"You are doing so well! You're a rock star, clever girl! You are getting so close! If you start to feel a lot of pressure, especially when you're not having a contraction, call us in. Second babies tend to come much faster than the first! Do you want me to see how dilated you are?"
Since I wasn't feeling any pressure and didn't feel like I was going to barf (which happened about half an hour before I had Atticus), I told her I didn't need to be checked out. She left, and less than a minute later (according to Sean; I thought it was immediately), I told Sean, "Get her back in here."
Sean left. There was no one else in the room with me. I propped up on my elbows and knees on the bed.
And I started to push. I had to push. I had no control anymore. And I was all alone.
Push one.
Push one.
"Oh God. I'm going to have this baby by myself, alone in this room. I am going to have to pull this baby out myself. I am alone and my baby is coming right now."
It felt like I was alone for a long time but it was really only for a minute or so. Sean was returning from fetching the one doctor when everyone heard my grunt-yelling from the hallway. Suddenly Sean, two doctors, my favorite nurse, two more nurses for me and one for the baby were all in the room. They tried to help me move from my hands and need to another position, but mid-movement, while I was lying on my right side, I had to push again.
Push two.
"Emilia, your baby is almost here! You are crowning! Reach down! He is so close!"
Push three.
"Emilia, we need to get you on your back right now." They sounded more authoritative, a little worried; I found out later it's because I started gushing blood. It turned out to be nothing of concern.
Push four. Push five.
Baby on my chest.
Oooh that squishy face!
From the time they broke my water to the time I had the baby was about three hours. I pushed for about ten minutes.
Seven pounds, nine ounces, tons of hair. Callum is Atticus's fatter, hairier twin.
Atticus on the left, Callum on the right.
In other words, perfect.
Coming up next: Comparing births, things I forgot about labor and babies, and going from one kid to two.
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