Ethan’s Birth Story

My baby boy Ethan was born August 18, 2015; 7 pounds, 2 oz; 20 inches long.

I was convinced that we were going to be late. My maternity leave started on my due date (August 17th, 2015), and I had been running errands, and premaking the weeks dinners all day. I had my 40 week checkup that day and I was 50% effaced, 2 CM dialated. My doctor offered to sweep my membranes, but I declined. My doctor said she thought the baby would come soon, but if not we would talk about my options in a week.

While I was walking to back to my car at about 4:45, I noticed I was wet. I figured I had just had a vaginal exam and sometimes things get a little there after that. I then proceeded to go to the grocery store to pick up a few things, the whole time I continued to leak. When I got home, I proceeded to make dinner and discuss with my husband and best friend what was going on. I soaked through another pair of pants and a pad in the meantime. I was not having contractions.

At about 6:40PM, I called the hospital who advised me to come in for observation. We requested a midwife when we got there at about 7:30PM. During observation, the midwife confirmed my bag of waters had broken, and agreed that no cervical exams would be done unless one was needed. I was hooked up to both the fetal and contraction monitor, and I was having contractions, they were just too weak to feel. We then transferred to our labor room, and the midwife said she would check back with us in four hours to see if I was feeling contractions.

During this time, I walked up and down the halls, rubbed my homemade labor oil on my tummy, ate spicy foods and pineapple, hoping anything would get contractions started. I even won a game of scrabble. I attempted a couple squats and lunges, but they were extremely uncomfortable due to the amount of fluid I was losing.

When the midwife checked in with us again at midnight, contractions still hadn’t started. She stated the baby’s heartbeat still looked great, and she was comfortable with letting me labor an additional 4 hours if we were. She explained the potential risks to us, and we decided to keep laboring longer. At this time we turned off the lights and attempted to get some sleep, which was difficult with a nurse coming in every hour to attach me to the fetal monitor and my worry about being induced.

At about 3:30 in the morning, I started to feel some weak contractions. I got up at that point and my husband and I began to walk the halls again until my contractions got stronger. I labored in a variety positions, but ultimately found laying on my side with my body pillow the most comfortable. My husband offered me water, massaged me and continued to comfort me. At around 11 AM, I started to enter transition and I began to panic. In my mind, my contractions were still 8 minutes apart, when in reality they were around 1-3 minutes apart. My husband tried to comfort me, but I was convinced I was still in early labor. The nurse came in and I asked for something to take the edge off. I was given Fentanyl and told it would take the pain down from a 10 to an 8 and would wear off in about an hour. This allowed me to relax and get a little sleep.

When I woke up about an hour later, I felt an intense need to push. I called out for my husband who got the nurses who began to prep everything for me. They told me to hold on, but at that point there was no way I couldn’t push! My best friend and husband held my legs back for me. The ring of fire was very intense as I felt my baby crown. I spent about 20 minutes pushing, and once his head was out, it took one push and his body was out. As he was being placed on my chest, he greeted my husband and family by peeing on them. He came out so fast, I ended up with a 1st degree perineal tear, and a clitoral tear.

Since my water broke before I had contractions, they had me stay a few extra days to monitor baby for possible infections. But in the end, we were both given a clean bill of health. We are so excited to have our little boy home.