I am sitting here while Blake is swinging in his baby swing at almost 7 weeks old. It’s hard to believe he is already 7 weeks as time has seemed to go by so fast & slow at the same time. He is such a sweet baby– he smiles so easily & sleeps well for us (thank goodness! Our first sort of scarred us for life when it came to sleep, haha!). I am sitting down to write his birth story before it gets too fuzzy in my mind & I don’t remember all the details. I just went back to my old blog & reread Weston’s birth story & realized how special it was that I wrote it down & I want to do the same for Blake. So here we go… It’s a long one!
It was a Tuesday, I was 39 weeks & 6 days pregnant & I had gone to my 39 week pregnancy appointment at 8am. I had no signs of labor so I figured there wasn’t any point in having her check me again (the week before I was 50% effaced & 2 cm dilated). I went home & had a friend & her kiddos over for a play date & it was very much a normal day. My husband came home for lunch as usual, Weston & I spent time playing outside, & before we knew it it was dinner and bedtime for our son. After Weston was in bed, my husband & I sat down to read through & sign the home loan application on the home we were hoping to purchase & I felt my first contraction– it was about 8:15pm.
I had been having back pain on & off throughout my whole pregnancy–not to mention some pelvic pain along with other uncomfortable feelings that come from being pregnant– so I wasn’t convinced it was labor yet. I texted my mom to let her know that I was feeling contraction-y, but I wasn’t sure yet if it was the real thing. Her & my dad were planning on watching our older son while we were in the hospital so I told her I’d keep her updated. I downloaded a contraction timer & to my surprise, the contractions were pretty close together. Sanford was convinced this was it, even if I wasn’t, & started running around getting things together. I decided it wouldn’t hurt to get a shower so I brought my phone to the shower with me to continue to time my contractions (thank goodness for waterproof phones, ha!).
While in the shower the contraction timer notified me that my contractions were close enough together that I should start thinking about heading to the hospital. I still wasn’t all the way convinced I was in labor because during my first birth my water broke at home quite early on after I started having contractions & this hadn’t happened yet this time. I didn’t want to have my parents come over late at night just to get sent home from the hospital for false labor. I decided to text my mom anyway & she said they would gather their things & head over. Things were definitely starting to feel more intense & I was starting to need to stop & breathe through my contractions.
My husband finished packing the car & gathering everything together & my parents showed up. I was able to carry on a conversation with them pretty easily, only stopping every few minutes to breathe through a contraction. Each contraction was short, less than a minute & that seemed confusing. My phone consistently kept telling me to head to the hospital & so around 10:15 we left to go. We checked in & they sent me upstairs to make sure I was actually in labor before allowing my husband up (Covid protocols). I gave my urine sample & just as I was about to climb into the bed to get a cervical check, my water gushed. I laughed & told the nurse I was SO happy that didn’t happen in my car or downstairs as I was checking in. She did my cervical check & was shocked to find out I was dilated 7cm. She told me I was so put together & smiling that she could hardly believe it–I just laughed because that was the exact same thing they said to me last time when I came in for my first son’s birth & I was also dilated to a 7.
They allowed Sanford up & quickly got us to a room & things were beginning to get intense after my water breaking. It was SO HOT in the room we were in (the heat was on in June & the thermostat wasn’t working) & I was so thankful that we had brought a mini fan. I labored by walking around as much as possible, kneeling on a pillow on the floor against the bed, & having my husband push & put counter-pressure on my hips & back. Once again, it was back labor & I’m not really sure why. I’m assuming he was positioned near my right hip like my first son, but it was excruciating. Once they got me monitored up & things signed, Sanford & I were pretty much left on our own. There were 5 other women in labor that night as well, so the floor was quite busy. It was very peaceful being just the two of us. I was checked again at some point– I don’t really know times because the pain & getting through it was all I was thinking about–but I was at 9cm & I felt encouraged that things were progressing. I continued to labor, Sanford continued to support me & I kept telling myself to let my body open & not to fight the pain; to let it come & it’ll soon be over & our baby will be here.
I was checked again a bit later & still at 9cm & I was discouraged. We continued to walk, kneel & press & I started to feel the urge to push. I got myself into a position where I was up on the bed kneeling over the top & began to push. The doctor came in at some point & I barely noticed. They were monitoring the baby closely (I had gestational diabetes) & they said his heartrate was dropping some & they wanted me to turn around on my back & give some good pushes to get him out as soon as possible. I was very adamant that I wanted to continue to labor on my knees but they continued to push me to move to my back until I eventually gave in. My husband & the nurse held my legs & I was able to go through several rounds of pushing & he came out swiftly. It was relieving & he cried right away & was put right on my chest for skin to skin while my husband cut his cord.
It was 1:24am– I had been in labor for just over 5 hours starting from the first contraction. Labor had felt so much more intense this time around because of how short it was & how much needed to get done in such a short amount of time. Blake had long dark hair & barely any vernix on him–so different from his big brother who was born at 37.5 weeks who was covered in it. Right from the start Blake was such a calm & sweet baby & latched so well for breastfeeding right away. I allowed them to take him to the other side of the room for measurements & vitals & he was 7 lbs 15 0z & 20 inches long.
(This next part has a trigger warning–mentions bleeding & postpartum complications)
I needed a few stitches & to birth the placenta & then we held him & took some photos & then finally settled in to rest. I had been up to use the bathroom twice & I was feeling good. A few hours later, as I was trying to rest, my ears started ringing, I was feeling lightheaded & I felt some blood gushing– I knew something was wrong. I told Sanford I needed to call the nurse & she came in & I told her what I was feeling. She pulled the blanket back to check & ran to the hallway to call to the other nurses & doctors. For some reason, I was hemorrhaging. They pushed hard on my stomach many times & many blood clots & blood gushed out. They continued to do this for quite some time & it was almost worse than giving birth. Some of the clots were small, but most were the size of a 1/2 gallon of milk. They couldn’t understand why I was hemorrhaging as I had been up and around & I was doing just fine. They ended up putting a catheter in, giving me shots in my thighs to help firm up the bleeding, & pumping me with fluids. I’m still not really sure why any of that happened, they never gave me an explanation of any sort– they just continued to monitor me closely the rest of the time we were in the hospital.
The rest of our stay was uneventful. Blake passed all his tests & we were able to go home by noon on Thursday. My recovery was SO much better this time around– a lot less pain & I was able to do a lot more sooner. SO thankful for that. Our family time has been so sweet–Weston is a doting big brother. He Loves to talk thisclose to his brother’s face (working on that, ha!) & be right with him whenever he’s not sleeping or nursing.
Oh! And he looks like me! Which is fun because my older son is my husband’s mini!
Thanks for reading this longer than expected birth story! Now for a few pics!
