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One of my favorite stories: Oakley’s birth story. I cannot believe Oakley turned 18 months old today! I wanted to share her birth story to my blog (we do have a podcast on it as well if you are someone who enjoys podcasts). We are also about to welcome baby #2 into our lives in a few short weeks and I am just beside myself in my pregnancy hormones.
Oakley’s original due date was July 30, 2020. I had no idea what to expect, obviously, as a first time mom prepping for labor. The nursery was done, the hospital bag was packed, everything was ready- except she did NOT want to come out. I was a whopping 0cm dilated at 40 weeks and my doctor scheduled my induction at exactly 41 weeks if I didn’t go into labor on my own. Narrator: she did not go into labor on her own
Let me tell you- being induced was a planner’s DREAM. We were able to have the car packed, house sitter ready to go for the dog and cats, I got my hair done that morning, Josh and I worked out prior to the hospital, had lunch at the Cheesecake Factory, and just had a very chill day. I was able to get my covid test ahead of time so I didn’t have to sit in triage by myself until the results came back- literally everything was perfect for my Type A, Enneagram 1 personality type.
We went in to the hospital at 7pm on a Wednesday night. My night nurse came in and told me I was 1 of 3 inductions she had that night and since I was the first one that checked in (because I pre-registered), she was going to start my medicine first around 8pm. She planned to do 3 rounds of misoprostol every 4 hours, its a tablet that is placed behind the cervix to hopefully induce labor. She then asked if I wanted an ambien to help me sleep as contractions probably wouldn’t start until at least after midnight. It made sense in my head so I decided to take one. I really shouldn’t have as I couldn’t sleep at all and when she came to place the second round of medicine at midnight, I still hadn’t slept. My contractions began right after midnight.
I didn’t go in with a birth plan. My only “plan” was a safe delivery, healthy baby, and healthy me. A plan really means nothing (in my opinion), as the baby is going to do what the baby wants to do. I did want to try an unmedicated labor for as long as I could. I think being induced caused my contractions to go from 0-60 within minutes. I wasn’t having any and then all of a sudden, I was having 90 second contractions every 2 minutes. Which only left for a 30 second break. This went on beginning right after midnight. They never let up, they never slowed down, they only got more frequent and more intense. Based on my contractions, my nurse decided to not administer the third round of the medicine. She left at 7am and new nurses came in for the day shift. They were both very sweet (one was shadowing from another hospital as her home hospital was shut down during the pandemic). At around 8:30am they checked me again and I was only at 1cm dilated. The doctor said she was going to break my water around 10am and asked if I wanted to the epidural. I gladly accepted the offer and around 9:30, it was administered. I cannot begin to tell you the relief I felt when I no longer was in so much pain.
I still hadn’t slept so I was able to get a quick 30 minute nap in before the doctor came to break my water. I asked the nurses usually how long it takes to start pushing after that happens and they said as I was only 1cm dilated, it probably wouldn’t be until 4-5pm that night so I should get as much rest as I could. Again, happily took them up on the offer. At 12:30, the doctor came in to check me and she surprisingly told me it was time to push. I guess all it took was for my water to be broken and baby was ready to go. At around 1pm, everything was set up and ready to go- it was time to have a baby.
Josh had been dreaming about being about to pull Oakley out into the world and he asked the doctor and she smiled and said “grab some gloves, as soon as the head and first shoulder come out, she’s all yours”. 10 pushes later, our Oakley was born at 1:38pm on August 6, 2020. I have never felt such an intense rush of emotions as soon as she was placed on my chest. The most perfect angel baby, 21 inches and 7lbs 9.5oz.
I am so excited to see how baby boy’s birth compares to Oakley’s. Who knows if I will go into labor on my own- but truth is, it’s such a small, minute detail in the grand scheme of things. I would love to do the entire unmedicated but I also have zero expectations. I always like to remind everyone online that all births are NATURAL. No one is handing out trophies if you do it at home without a doctor. No one should feel less of a mother if you need an emergency c-sections. ALL births are beautiful and should be celebrated as such!
