Zeke’s Birthday
I was taking my nightly warm bath which was the only respite I found from the excruciating pain in my hips and pelvis. This was my third pregnancy, and I had never felt anything like this before. I was swollen, itchy and unbearably irritable. I was thinking back to my appointment earlier that week with my OB when she said we would schedule my induction at my next (36 week) visit. I had laughed at her and told her she might as well cancel all of my future appointments because something was wrong, and this baby is coming early. She gently encouraged me that things felt worse because it was my third baby, and my body was just starting preparations for labor and delivery early since this was no new procedure for it. Unfortunately, she was wrong and my own instincts were very, very right.
As I got out of the bath and used the toilet, I lost my mucus plug. I knew exactly what it was, even though I had never seen one before. I began to research immediately. My Pinterest search history looked like: Lost mucus plug early, Signs of preterm labor, When to call the OB, etc. I quickly discovered that alone, a lost or partially lost mucus plug is really nothing to worry about, as they can reform. However, in conjunction with other symptoms, especially contractions, it could signify the begging of labor. I began to feel more Braxton-hicks and crampy contractions, particularly in my lower back. I decided to call the on-call OB at my chosen hospital who reassured me that it was too early for labor and the plug will regrow and advised me to call back if I began to feel contractions. I waited several more hours and anxiously called back around 11:30pm. The contractions had not stopped, felt slightly more consistent and notable, so I was concerned. Again, he said that he doubted it was anything of concern and said that I should try to lay down and relax, on my left side specifically, and drink a couple glasses of water. If the contractions became intense and frequent, then I should head to the hospital. They did not seem at all concerned with the fact that I was only 35 weeks pregnant.
I tried my best to lay down and relax and get as much rest as possible. I was tired but anxious, so I had fitful sleep, interrupted by strange dreams. At about 3am I had the first “real” contraction. I had read that “you’ll just know” when trying to distinguish between Braxton-hicks and true labor contractions but really had no indications for what that even meant. Well, they were right; I just knew. So, I began timing them and at 5am, I realized I had better get over to the hospital ASAP. I woke my then husband explaining that I was rushing off to the hospital and that he needed to get up and get the older two kids ready and get a hold of his parents to head back into town and then meet me at the hospital as soon as we had someone to watch Bentley and Alyssa. They had gone on vacation again and were 7+ hours away but fortunately, a friendly neighbor whose kids were friends with ours, agreed to watch Bentley and Alyssa until his parents returned.
Here I was driving myself 45 minutes to the hospital all the while having contractions every 5-ish minutes. I get there at about 5am and hobble along to the side entrance, stopping for contractions. The hospital was fairly desolate at this time, so I just followed the signs for “Labor and Delivery.” When I got to the front desk, it was empty but there was a doorbell to ring for them to buzz you in. The doors opened so I walked around until I found the nurses’ station. They were absolutely shocked to hear my story and at the fact that I made it all the way up here alone, at this hour, when I should have come through the ED. Oops. They quickly put me in triage and strapped me to the monitors and a quick cervical exam revealed I was already dilated to a 4.5 and was in fact, in labor. There was no stopping it or slowing it down at this point and I was going to have this baby today.
Once I was moved to a room, they really wanted to push things quickly. I did concede to the epidural during which my blood pressure bottomed out, but quickly recovered. I was determined to wait until the baby’s father made his appearance before proceeding further. Finally, upon his arrival, the OB whisked in to break my water. He was very polite and understood my reservations about having a male provider and avoided my room unless absolutely necessary. I used the peanut ball and rotated periodically for the next hour or so until I felt the “I need to push” pressure. Very quickly and before I was really fully prepared, I was in position and pushing to the very loud direction of the team. When he was out, I looked down at the baby as the doctor performed his first APGAR waiting to hear the gender announced as we had waited until birth. I said, “What is it? We don’t know the gender!” The doctor, checking again to be sure, said, “Oh! It’s a boy!”
And thus, Ezekiel was born on November 24, 2018, weighing 9.3lbs. He was taken away quickly to NICU due to being premature and suspected meconium inhalation. He was placed on antibiotics and then fought jaundice and hypoglycemia as well as just the general sleepiness that you can expect with premies. This was probably my hardest pregnancy but definitely my fastest labor and delivery at a total of 6 hours from triage to birth. It felt like a whirlwind and extremely rushed. This hospital was exceptional at providing room and board for parents with babies in NICU who lived more than 30 minutes away and I would say this hospital experience was overall the best of my 4. Happy birthday, Zeke. You’re still living life on your terms and always keeping us on our toes!