Our Birth Story: a Novelette

Oscar Kenneth Carlson

               Before proceeding with this post, I’d like to give a word of caution. First of all, it’s lonnnnnggg. Labor and delivery was a long process and in order to capture all of it, I spared no detail. That being said, this entry was really my way of recording that day for our family so that in the future we can reminisce over every moment. I am more than happy to share this story with my blog readers as the miracle of birth is a God-given gift and I’d be a fool to keep it to myself. There are a few details that aren’t so pleasant but this is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth – so, here goes:

Once we reached 37 weeks, or full term, we were both quite anxious to meet our little guy. With our baby to-do list almost complete, that anxiousness increased with idle time. Most of our family and friends had guessed that he would be born in September, as his due date suggested, and some even guessed that he’d be late. It might have just been my sheer anticipation, but I was bound and determined to have him early. Our labor class instructor informed us that it is very common for women who work up until their due dates to deliver late. In her experience, women who take time off before their due dates have a higher likelihood of early delivery as their relaxation allows their bodies to go into labor. Well, when I passed my mucus plug at exactly 38 weeks, I was even surer that this baby was coming soon! What to Expect suggested that the mucus plug is not a clear indicator of when labor will begin because many women wait one to two weeks past that point to deliver. Regardless of what the books said, Alex and I readied ourselves and paid close attention to any changes in my body.

            One day passed. 1:30am on Wednesday, August 22^nd I began feeling uncomfortable cramping that I first misread as gas pains. After several trips to the bathroom I realized that these pains weren’t going away and that they were fairly regular. I woke Alex up at about 2:30am and asked him to time what I believed were early labor contractions. Sure enough, they were about ten minutes apart and had been regular for over an hour. We were going to have our baby today! These contractions were quite manageable and I even remember saying to Alex, “If this is what labor’s like, it’s gonna be a piece of cake!” Oddly enough, we had a prescheduled appointment with our midwife that morning but hoped that labor would progress by then. By the time our appointment slot rolled around, my contractions had become very patchy and irregular. 10 minutes apart. 7 minutes apart. 15 minutes apart. 5 minutes apart. 25 minutes apart. Was this false labor? Was I just exaggerating the situation out of hopefulness? We described our evening of excitement to our midwife and she checked my cervix to see if there was any progress. 3 ½ cm dilated – I was at 0 cm the week prior. Feeling a bit more optimistic but still lacking any regularity of contractions, we went to our last elective ultrasound. Our midwife had suggested we monitor his growth as the last ultrasound suggested he might reach 9 or 10lbs. All appeared healthy and the technician predicted that his current weight was between 6.5 and 7lbs.

            By this time, it was 9:30am but after our long night, we were both starving. We ate “lunch” and then went home to catch a quick nap. If labor was going to come that day, we’d both need at least a little rest to make it through. Eventually, the contractions started up again but remained irregular. One minute I would be very uncomfortable and the next it felt simply like a menstrual cramp. We were in touch with the Baby Line but they instructed that active labor does not begin until the contractions were consistently 5 minutes apart for about an hour. To kill time, I indulged in my last odd pregnancy craving: watching Ferngully: the Last Rainforest.  

            At about 1:00pm, I was getting frustrated. Was he on his way or wasn’t he? At this point, I didn’t care how painful the contractions may be; I wanted them to come! In my disgruntled state, I asked Alex to call the Baby Line again to see if there was something we could do to help things along. As he chatted with the nurse, I felt a sudden thud inside of me, almost like a blunt kick from Baby, and then there was a great gush of fluid. My water had broken; there was no doubt about it. I hollered to Alex to let the nurse know and he said that the hospital would have a bed waiting for me.

            The drive to the hospital was pretty calm. Our car was already packed from the morning’s excitement so there was very little to do besides get in the car. We took our time and the contractions were still relatively mellow. I was a little embarrassed that I was still leaking through my freshly changed clothes but if that meant my boy was on his way, I didn’t care. When we got there, a nurse at Labor and Delivery asked us, “What brings you in today?” I looked at her dumbly…why else would someone come to Labor and Delivery?! We want to have our baby! We skipped triage as they could see I was pretty soggy and uncomfortable.

            When we reached our room, we reviewed our birth preferences with the staff, checked my vitals, and hooked me up to the monitor. Everything looked great so I was definitely still an ideal candidate for a water birth. The only downside was that I was only 4 ½ cm dilated. Our midwife, Ann, suggested that I start labor in the bathtub to see if I liked the water before they went to the trouble of brining in and filling the birthing tub. Alex and I made our way to the bathroom and began active labor. With the musical stylings of Stephen Sondheim in the background and the soothing warmth of the water, I was feeling pretty good. Alex and I had a routine down – when a contraction began, I would nod my head and he would pour warm bath water over my belly. It was amazing to see how much his touch and the water soothed my pain.

            My contractions definitely picked up quickly once we went to the tub. I was worried about the baby’s positioning as my back ached terribly. Alex massaged me through each and every contraction even as I squirmed and writhed in pain. Standing. Sitting. Hanging off the birthing bar. Squatting. I worked every inch of that bathtub.  The contractions were now one on top of another and I was getting extremely tired. I felt my body quake with pain and I even vomited twice; my body knew no other way to handle the intensity of the contractions. No matter what Alex or I did, the pain was becoming unbearable, even for a person with high pain tolerance like me. At this point, I asked the nurse, “How much longer before I can deliver?” I was desperate to hear a note of optimism from her. She avoided a straight answer by saying that, “every delivery is different.” I wanted something concrete. I asked her to give an average to which she responded, “Most women dilate a centimeter every 1-2 hours.” I could not believe this! I had only been in the tub for about two and half hours, which put me a little over half way to 10cm at best with that estimation. I looked Alex square in the eyes and said something I never thought that I would, “I don’t think I can do this.” The natural way that is. I was exhausted and in excruciating pain. Drugs were not even on my radar but neither was this extent of pain. I knew that if I went through with medical intervention I would be disappointed in myself, but in that low of lows nothing else seemed possible. Thankfully, Alex coolly asked me to really think about this. Was this what I wanted, for me and for the baby? He suggested that we ask our midwife to check my cervix the next time she stopped by our room. I agreed that this was a good idea; the progress, or lack thereof, would help me make this decision.

            Oddly enough, before the midwife returned, we were asked if another medical personnel, from the emergency department, could assist in the labor and delivery process.  We agreed, and just as she entered our room I heard, “Oh. I know this couple. I’m not sure this is appropriate.” Alex confirmed that she had indeed attended Morris with us and we had known her from Improv Club. This experience was definitely a shameless one at this point so we invited her back in the room. The last time I saw her, we were goofing off in the Morris rehearsal hall and here she was about to help deliver our baby. Weird. Leave it to Morris alums to show up anywhere and everywhere.

            Anywho, our midwife returned and her quick inspection concluded that I had moved from 4 ½ cm to 9 ½ cm in a little under two hours – a feat that she deemed “quite impressive!” I told her that I had a moment of weakness in which I considered medical intervention but with this rapid progress, my decision was made for me. This baby was coming faster than I knew and we were past the point where drugs would make a difference. My contractions were overwhelming. I couldn’t speak, think, or move. They asked me if I’d like to get into the birthing tub now but every movement was just excruciating and so we opted for a land birth. The next part of this experience really surprised me; my body began involuntarily pushing. I asked if this was okay because I had little control. The midwife said that my body knew what it was doing and that I should follow its cues. With that, I began the pushing stage. I could feel myself make progress so much so that the midwife had to tell me to slow down. “You are really strong!” she said in response to my fast pushing. I followed her instruction and after a short 20 minute pushing session, our baby boy was brought into this world! Although the rest of the room was in awe of how quickly delivery went, I couldn’t keep my eyes and hands off of our sweet little boy who was now quietly snuggled up on my chest. 

            Everything after that is pretty much a blur as both of us were completely intoxicated by his presence. I do remember that Alex was thrilled to cut the umbilical cord and that I delivered the placenta with ease. I was surprised at how large it was; it looked like I had lost an organ or something. We held our 8lb 2oz boy for the next hour and a half as I received the only drugs from this whole ordeal: a local anesthetic for the two stitches I would receive for minimal tearing. 

            We will remember this day forever for so many reasons. Becoming a mother was more than I could have hoped for and we were truly blessed not only with an amazing birthing experience but also the most precious reward of life. Thank you, God for entrusting us with your sweet little Oscar and we will do our best to raise him to be man of integrity and love.