My (5-day long) Birth Story

Part 1: Pre-labor

At 40 weeks of pregnancy, I was hopeful for an easy and natural birth experience. I had a doctor’s appointment on my due date, a Wednesday, and was only 2cm dilated with 50% effacement. The OB was happy with my progress but scheduled me for an induction at 41 weeks anyways and wished me luck. I went home feeling optimistic and continued practicing birth ball exercises and labor positions.

On Friday morning, I woke up to bloody show in my underpants and got excited knowing that labor was on its way. I felt a lot of pressure on my pelvis and hips with a mild cramping sensation in my lower uterus. Our Costco trip was exhausting and I had to rely on the oversized shopping cart to support my weight by the time we left. I napped all afternoon and the pain subsided into Saturday. Bloody show continued to present and I faithfully did my hip rolls, short walks and breathing exercises throughout the weekend with mild contractions coming and going but never consistent or growing in intensity.

I woke up early Monday morning to wet PJ bottoms and thought my water had broken. After calling Labor & Delivery, my mom drove Aaron and me to the hospital and we waited in the triage room to confirm the leakage of amniotic fluid. However, it turned out that my bag of waters was still intact and the wetness was just thinner mucus from my bloody show. By then, I was 4cm dilated and 50% effaced so the midwife sent me home to labor and said “see you soon”.

I rested all day on Monday and then the contractions started getting more intense and consistent. My sister, who was a former midwife nurse practitioner, came over that night to coach me through this stage of labor. She used lavender oil and a heat pack for my neck to relax and massage my tense muscles. At 1am, she checked my cervix and I was still about 4cm dilated and 50% effaced, so I tried to go to bed because my contractions had stalled. However, I did not sleep because they came back every 3–5 minutes and were quite painful.

Early on Tuesday morning, I called L&D again and they told me to slowly make my way to the hospital. I took a bath to soothe my body and ease the contractions before my sister drove Aaron and me to the hospital. We didn’t stay long because I was only 4.5 cm dilated and contractions stalled…again! I was exhausted from 3 days of pre-labor and just really wanted to have my baby! The midwife gave us two options 1) send me home with a shot of morphine to help me rest and continue laboring or 2) get induced then and there. We chose the former because I wanted to go into active labor and give birth as naturally as possible, so we left discouraged that we wouldn’t be meeting our baby boy that day. I finally got to sleep without pain for several hours on Tuesday afternoon and contractions did not return when I woke up, so I begrudgingly accepted that I was going to be induced the next morning at 41 weeks pregnant.

Part 2: Birthday

Early Wednesday morning, intense contractions woke me up with a start. They were so painful that I couldn’t move and I just laid in bed trying to breathe through them. After 30 minutes, I rolled from my right side to my left and all of a sudden: pop and woosh! I felt a huge gush of liquid release from my body out of my control..my water definitely broke this time! I jumped out of bed and waddled to the bathroom as amniotic fluid trickled down my legs. Calling Labor & Delivery for the third morning in a row, I exclaimed that my water did indeed break and they were happy to welcome me back.

This third car ride to the hospital felt much longer than the others due to painful contractions. I was admitted straight into the delivery room and after checking my cervix (which was still at 4.5cm), the midwife explained they wanted to induce me to hurry along dilation so I wouldn’t get an infection since my water broke and I was Group B Strep positive. I got an epidural because I did not want to be induced with Pitocin unmedicated and the pain of my contractions was becoming unbearable. It felt like hours before the anaesthesiologist arrived as I grabbed the hospital bed guardrail with all my might through each contraction, but it was only a 30-minute wait and relief followed shortly after. My legs went numb and I couldn’t eat solid foods anymore to my disappointment.

The rest of the day until 10pm was a hazy blur as I drifted in and out of sleepy consciousness. The Pitocin picked up labor and dilated me to 8cm by noon, but was stalled at 2pm as I developed an infection called Chorio which spiked a fever for me and increased the baby’s heart rate. For the next 6 hours, we prayed for full dilation to 10cm, but alas the infection caused my cervix to swell which perpetually kept me at 9cm. Baby’s body was transverse and his head was “sunny side up” so not in the optimal position for vaginal delivery. Dr. C, the OB on-call, came in at 9pm and explained the high possibility of needing a c-section under these circumstances. We decided to wait one more hour in hopes of full dilation, but 10pm rolled around and there was no change. I was beyond exhausted and defeated from the long 5-day journey of labor that I just wanted it to be over and meet our baby boy!

Part 3: C-section + Postpartum

Aaron, my sister and I decided to go forward with the c-section and it was a whirlwind of frenzy from that moment on. The hospital staff prepared me for surgery and wheeled me to the operating room. They lifted me onto the table and draped a cloth over my chest so I couldn’t see my body. Aaron came in right before the procedure began and stayed next to my head, held my hand and helped me focus on breathing by counting 4 inhales and 6 exhales. The medication caused my upper body to shake uncontrollably and my mind was occupied with trying to stop my shoulders from scrunching up to my ears and prevent my teeth from chattering. I experienced the strangest sensation of my insides being maneuvered and felt like a handbag with someone digging deep inside of me trying to find their chapstick.

Rafael, our son, was born at 11:16pm on Wednesday evening. I felt Dr. C pull him out of my body and I burst into tears as a release of emotion overwhelmed me. The wait was finally over! I heard my baby boy cry for the first time, deep and loud wails: he has his father’s voice! Aaron rushed over to the pediatrician who examined Rafael and sucked out the meconium-stained amniotic fluid from his lungs. My husband ceremoniously cut the umbilical cord (they had already cut it soon after delivery) and held his son for the first time. I looked to the left and saw my boy on the scale which read 9 lbs 5oz as everyone in the operating room exclaimed “what a big baby!” A nurse brought him over and placed him on my chest while Dr. C stitched me up. I couldn’t really see Rafael’s face but I observed that he had a full head of wavy light-colored hair like me and detached earlobes like Aaron. A genuine smile of joy and relief graced my face after days of grimaces and groans before a wave of nausea washed over me and they took the baby off my chest so I wouldn’t vomit on him.

At midnight, we left the OR and paraded down the hall back to the hospital room where my sister was waiting for us. We took many joyful photos together with our new family member plastered on my chest for skin-to-skin and marveled at his presence which we so eagerly anticipated.

Aaron, Rafael and I stayed at the hospital for the next three days as the amazing staff took care of us by teaching us how to breastfeed and helping me recover from the c-section.

The first day postpartum in the hospital was the hardest. After my IV was removed and the epidural wore off the next morning, I experienced severe pain in the incision site which felt like a constant contraction that never eased up. Breastfeeding also caused my uterus to contract, which added to my discomfort. I had to ask for pain medication every few hours so I could get some rest and tolerate moving around. The staff encouraged me to get out of bed and walk as much as possible to promote the healing process, but I was so exhausted and overwhelmed. The first postpartum restroom journey was a massive trek as Aaron and a nurse held me up on both sides and the three of us shuffled a few feet to the toilet. My feet tingled as they hit the ground for the first time in 24 hours and my legs wobbled with each step before I reached the porcelain throne.

The next few days were filled with visits from doctors, midwives, lactation consultants and various technicians who ran tests on baby Raffie to make sure he was healthy and ready for discharge. By Saturday, we were itching to go home for some privacy, peace and quiet! My mom picked us up from the hospital and she started crying the second she laid eyes on her grandson. We strapped Rafael into his carseat then it was his turn to weep, but then he quickly fell asleep all the way home.

Even though nothing went according to our birth plan and it took me several weeks to come to terms with the c-section, Rafael came into the world and changed our lives forever for the better. We couldn’t be more thankful to be his parents and Raffie has extraordinarily exceeded our expectations of a baby. His cuteness grows daily with his chubby cheeks and arm rolls, and his temperament is curious, friendly and easy-going. As a result of this exhausting birth experience, Aaron and I became parents to a healthy baby boy, which is more than we could ever ask for. Although we’re sleep-deprived, we are full of contentment, joy and love as we take care of Rafael and watch him grow and develop into an amazing person.