Liam.

On Thursday, July 13th I had been exercising at home when my water broke. 55 hours later, Liam was born!

The day before, I had actually gone to the hospital out of concern for preeclampsia. Everything was fine, but no one expected me to come right back.

Unfortunately no other labor symptoms accompanied my water breaking. The midwife team advised we check into the hospital by midnight even if nothing else occurred. I had hoped that getting some sleep might relax my body enough to initiate contractions, but Zach was restless at home and the hospital environment didn't allow much relaxation or sleep.

I was woken up at 6AM by a nurse and realized contractions still had not started. We decided to wait another 6 hours before committing to augment labor since we had learned that contractions usually start within 24 hours of waters breaking.

By 12PM on Friday, we decided to start pitocin to augment labor. I was extremely disappointed as I had wanted my contractions to start on their own. Because I used pitocin throughout my entire labor, I'm still not fully convinced that I ever experienced a natural contraction. Pitocin is known for making contractions feel more intense and provide less relief in between contractions and I certainly agree with those statements.

By evening, the contractions had severely ramped up and I was showing signs of transition including moaning and throwing up. Everyone seemed happy with my progress and I thought I might deliver soon. I was definitely feeling exhausted and ready to deliver. I hadn't slept since Wednesday night and at this point, the sun was coming up for Saturday morning. Unfortunately when my cervix was checked, it had only progressed to 4 cm dilation, much to everyone's surprise. At that moment, the midwife team recommended I receive the epidural so I could get some rest and potentially relax.

I received the epidural and finally felt comfortable enough to lay down. Eventually we all fell asleep (except Zach who decided to go to CVS). About an hour later, the midwife Melissa came in to check my cervix. I had somehow progressed to 10 cm dilated and she said it was time to push.

I called Zach who hurried back although he really didn't need to. The pushing stage typically lasts about 1-2 hours so I was relieved this would be over soon. Because I had received the epidural though, I didn't really feel my contractions well enough to know when to push. We decided to turn down the administration and I began to feel labor better. I was fortunate enough to still be able to push in various positions on the bed.

Hours went by and I felt like I was still not progressing. I was bloated from receiving constant fluids and despite the head crowning, it did not look like I was making as much progress. Since the epidural had been turned down, I was feeling the painful contractions again and it was beginning to discourage me. I started to say things like, "I don't want to do this anymore," and "Can someone tell me how much longer?" (Obviously not.)

I somehow managed to keep going, but I was feeling exhausted again. Eventually I entertained other methods to finish the labor, specifically using a vacuum which would have required a doctor. The doctor came in to speak with me, but by that point, I was not able to participate in a conversation. I do recall hearing the risk of escalating to a c-section which I think gave me the determination to continue pushing.

Toward the end, a swarm of nurses and hospital staff came into the room. They were distracting and we didn't know why they were there. Later we learned the head nurse had directed that because I had been in labor for so long and was considered high risk because my water had been broken for 48+ hours. Zach took it upon himself to let them know they were distracting me.

Finally at 7pm - after 5 hours of pushing - our son was born. He had been positioned in a way that had made it difficult for him to come out of the vaginal canal. I instantly felt relief that it was (mostly) over and my baby was actually here. I had been waiting for this and I never fully believed it would happen until he was finally safely here.

Soon after I birthed the placenta and received stitches for a small tear. My recovery was amazingly quick. We left the hospital the next day!

A couple weeks later, a rush of family members came to meet Liam and help around the house.

He's growing so quickly already.

After the initial novelty, it's definitely been more challenging to reconcile the sleep deprivation. I miss having help around the house, but I hope we'll get sleep soon.

We are still establishing a routine, but mostly these days we are just home and concerned with getting the baby to eat and sleep. It's getting close to his next feeding time so...

Until next time....