Mason’s Birthday
I called my life long best friend and volunteer birth coach, Devin, to tell her the news that my voluntary induction was scheduled. “November 19th at 6am? You got it, I’ll be there, wouldn’t miss it for the world.” She said with excitement even though this would require her to wake up at 3am to make the almost 3-hour drive to me. None the less, she greeted me in the parking lot, ready to walk me in, accompanied by my mom of course. They chittered away while I checked in and sat to be called. I was definitely nervous; this was a whole new experience for me as Mason is my double rainbow baby. I felt a sense of control and empowerment that I was able to choose this induction and I was beyond ready to serve that eviction notice. His due date was only in two days, but I felt like that had already long since passed.
When they got us settled into the room, my OBGYN came in and explained the process. Before inserting the balloon, she checked me, said that I was already beginning to efface and dilate so she was hopeful things would respond well and progress without too much trouble. The balloon was extremely uncomfortable. I remember giggling with Devin as she helped me use the restroom that it felt like I had a weird plastic squid dangling from my vagina.
I was not in too much pain, but I did internalize a lot of my thoughts and feelings, leaving Devin, my mom and provider team to discern my needs through mumbled phrases and indicated head nods. I walked and walked circles around the L&D unit until I felt like I couldn’t walk anymore and needed to rest. The balloon came out and I was dilated to a 6 or 7 now and they broke my water. I continued to labor while some friends stopped in to visit and offer their support. Their presence started to become too overwhelming and distracting so Devin slipped off to have a discreet conversation with my nurses, asking them to dismiss all visitors but herself and my mom. Nobody liked that, but all respectfully abided.
When I was checked around an 8, I was offered the epidural and someone explained that if I waited any longer, there wouldn’t be time for one, so I agreed. Devin held me and coached me through it. It was such a relief. I was able to relax in the bed and rest some. Devin made sure I got a turn with the peanut ball and after a while, I began to feel a lot of pressure and thought I needed to push. Quickly, the nurses and my OB flooded into the room and bustled around, setting up. It was all very overwhelming, and I wasn’t sure who to listen to as so many people were there and giving me instructions like, “Push like you’re pooping.” “Push now!” “Push harder.” Devin grabbed my hand and leaned in close saying, “Ignore them, pay attention to me. I’m right here with you, you’ve got this. Next push, don’t hold back, push with every muscle you have down there. Nobody cares if you shit yourself.” I gave a week laugh but with the next push, I really gave it my all. “That’s it! That’s the way Madi, push like that!” I heard Devin to my left again and on my right my mom, “Oh Madi, I see his head! He’s blonde!”
I pushed for 45 minutes, and I wanted to give up, I didn’t have the strength to keep going like this. But my best friend and my mama, continued the encouragement and support until FINALLY, with a huge rush, Mason was placed on my chest. My mom and Devin were both crying and showering us both with kisses and praise. My mom cut the cord and Devin mopped the sweat off of my face and pushed back my hair as I sleepily admired my baby. He was 9 flipping pounds and had the cheeks to prove it! After they took him for his assessments, things started to go downhill for me. I began to drift out of consciousness. Evidently, being a redhead puts you at a higher risk of hemorrhaging, which I did. They placed another IV and handed Devin the bag to hold over head applying pressure. The last thing she said was, “Hang in there, Madi, we’ve got you, you did the hard part.” My OB worked fervently to repair a fourth-degree tear (yes that means what you think it means; two holes became one) and to stop the bleeding. When I was stabilized, I slept.
Devin asked the nurse giving me pain medication if they would be giving me a stool softener, and she paused, looked between us and said, “If she wants one.” I trusted her judgement and asked for them. Mason and I snuggled and spent a lot of quality time together learning this breastfeeding business and supplementing with formula as needed. We both recovered well, were showered with family swarming in to help welcome Mason to the world and were discharged two days later! I was not expecting to be a single mom throughout my entire pregnancy, and I was most afraid of having to go through everything alone. I was extremely blessed that childbirth was not something that I had to go through alone, and I had an abundance of support from my friends, family and loved ones. Thank you for reading my story and joining me in wishing Mason a very Happy Birthday!