The Birth of Our Son

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Every first time mommy-to-be ponders about the day her child will be born. Weeks before the due date she wonders how it will feel when the contractions start and where she will be when her water breaks. She thinks about all the possible things that could happen and prays that her day will go smoothly. She knows she is soon about to experience one of the most amazing events ever, but has no real idea what to expect.

This was me. Exactly me. The days and even weeks approaching my due date were spent in thought over what would happen the day my baby came into this world. The biggest question I had, “how will I know when I am in labor?” That may seem silly, but it was a fear of mine. Funny thing, even after recording contractions for six hours, which were 2-3 minutes apart ,I still was hesitant to claim that labor had begun. I guess I just wanted to be 100% sure.

So how was my labor and delivery experience? Wonderful. The birth of my son was the most amazing day of my life. Please allow me to share our story.

I started having cramps at 4 am on July 21st. That is when it all began. I actually blogged about the first part of our day already, so I will give you the short version. Click here if you want to read that post. (http://reneebooephotography NULL.com/?p=3219) I restlessly laid in bed until about 7am, until I decided to get up and go for a walk. I thought if I was having Braxton Hicks contractions that the walk would make them stop. Well my morning walk was lovely, but the cramping didn’t stop. Around 9am I began to record my cramps. I was still refusing to call them contractions. My husband came home from his morning workout to take a shower and go back to work. When I told him I wasn’t feeling normal he decided that he would just stay home and see if today was the day. We spent the morning and early afternoon together. We went to lunch and even the mall for a bit. Then we sat on the couch and just tried to take it all in. I was still unsure that labor had started, but Andy was not. He was very excited and kept saying to me, “you’re in labor.”

At about 3:30pm the cramps had turned into contractions and started to be more painful. I looked at Andy after an intense one and told him it was time. We gathered our things, got in the car, said a prayer together, and then headed to the hospital. We had planned out our hospital route, but Andy let his nerves get to him a bit and took an alternate way. Despite this hiccup we arrived in good time, parked the car, and headed in. After surviving an attack by the elevator doors we finally made it to the labor and delivery unit.

After being admitted and getting my iv the contractions began to become quite painful. The nurses and the doctor both told me to let them know if I wanted an epidural. In the back of my mind I always planned on getting one. But I wanted to wait a while before getting it. I wanted to experience it. I wanted to know what hard contractions felt like. So from about 4-7pm I experienced hard contractions. I spent those three hours squeezing the heck out of Andy’s hand and then trying to relax after each one. Andy was amazing. He stood by my side the entire time, watched the clock for me, reminded me to breath, and helped me focus to get through the pain. Not to mention he sacrificed his hand! I didn’t anticipate the hand squeezing, but it really helped me get through. After having 4 contractions back to back with only about 30 seconds of rest in between I told Andy I was ready for the epidural. I had experienced enough. So at 7cm dilated we told the nurse we were ready.

The epidural was one of the scariest parts for me. I have a large fear of needles. I was shaky when they did my iv, which they had to do twice by the way, so the idea of the epidural really frightened me.  Not to mention that I was having horrible contractions right in the middle of it all and trembling from the anxiety. The anesthesiologist had me lean over the bed and arch my back. I gripped Andy’s hands and just prayed. Unfortunately the first attempted caused pain to shoot down back, so he had to take out the needle and do it again in another spot. Really!!! Who has to get their epidural done twice? Me apparently. So after a second try the epidural was successful. AND AMAZING. In a matter of minutes I went from excruciating pain where I couldn’t even talk, to feeling enough relief where I could carry on a conversation. Good thing too, because the anesthesiologist decided it would be a good time to inquire about my photography business.(He saw my camera in the room and ask what I did for a living. He even asked about my session fees and took a business card. Too funny.)

So with the epidural in place I could finally relax. I am glad I got the epidural. I know that there are so many opinions about meds during labor and I respect those opinions. For me this was the right choice. I was able to rest and even take a nap. I slept for a bit, but woke due to shivering. The epidural was making me feel extremely cold. I was physically shivering and felt like my legs where frozen. This was one down side to the epidural. I was given a blanket, but it didn’t help. The shivering continued.

At about midnight the nurse came in and said that it may be time to start pushing. She checked me and said that I was not thinned out as much as they would like. So they went to deliever another baby and would be back for me once they were done. I started to get nervous because I knew it was getting close. Andy pulled a chair close to my bed and held my hand. He encourage me with sweet words while we listened to some worship music on my iphone. Andy is the main reason my labor experience was so great. I never felt alone. He was supportive and very active during the entire event. Even when I became nervous he was able to calm me down. I am so thankful for him.

After spending some moments together Andy and I were both were able to catch another quick nap, but were soon wakened by the nurses saying it was time to push.

It was go time. Or so we thought. For the first half hour pushing was a problem. My contractions were not reading on the monitor and I couldn’t feel them enough to know I was having them. The nurse told me to tell her when I was contracting so I could start pushing. Well I couldn’t feel them to tell her.  So they turned my epidural down a bit and gave me some pitocin to start my contractions again.  Once I could feel my contractions again the delivery began. The doctor joined us and the hard part started.  No one tells you how tiring pushing actually is.

The nurse instructed me to hold my breath and push as hard as I could. This was a struggle at first because I kept exhaling while I pushed, which apparently wasn’t what the nurse wanted. She said every time I would exhale the baby’s head would move back up the opposite way. My perfectionism and desire to please people kicked in and I asked the nurse to be very clear about what she wanted. Once I understood that I had to actually hold my breath and push we started making progress. But holding you breath and pushing as hard as you can is so exhausted. Each time I got to take a break was amazing. The best air I have ever breathed. I kept thinking how crazy this concept of pushing was. The idea of bench pressing actually came to my mind. If I was going to bench press lots of weight, I would not hold my breath. I would breathe out! But I guess that’s not how breathing is done when you are trying to deliver a baby. Ha!

Strangely enough pushing was one of my favorite memories of labor because of Andy. He was amazing. He held my leg and got in my face and encouraged me to breathe. He had always said that he didn’t plan on looking, that he would stay right by my head. However, once the doctor said she could see the baby’s head Andy could not resist from taking a peek. Seeing his face light up after looking was inspiring to me.  It meant that all the hard work I was doing was actually paying off.  After that point Andy became very involved in all that was going on. He asked the doctor tons of questions and watched the entire process bright-eyed as could be. His excitement and joy was what I needed to keep going.

After an hour and a half of pushing the doctor asked if I wanted an episiotomy. She explained that I would probably rip anyway and that it could speed the process along. Originally I did not want one, but at this point I was so tired that  Andy and I agreed it was best. This is one reason why I am glad I didn’t have such a strict birth plan. Sometimes things change and you have to be willing to adapt.

So after an audible episiodomy the moment finally arrived. ( I could actually hear it! You should have seen Andy’s face from hearing that sound. So funny. I said to him, “did you hear that?” He said, “nope, I didn’t hear a thing.” But his face could not hide the fact that he did.)  I was pushing intently and the nurses and the doctor were encouraging me to not stop. I didn’t even realize that this push was going to be my last. I was expecting to get a break but everyone kept saying to keep pushing. I felt immense pressure and then this huge release. It was a surreal feeling. Then, just like that, I saw our baby laying there in the doctors hands. He was really here. He cried very quietly, such a precious sound. Andy’s eyes were huge and his smile seemed endless. Andy cut the cord and then the nurse took him for a moment.  I remember Andy moved in close to me and kissed me sweetly. Words can not even describe that beautiful moment. Then the nurse laid a blanket on my chest and placed our son on me. I will never forget that moment. He looked up at me with his eyes wide open and just starred back at me. Instant love.

After a few minutes of soaking it all in they took him back to the warming table to clean him up.  I got to watch Andy go over to the table and talk to our boy. I have never seen him so happy. I can still see his elated face when I think back on it. Beautiful. Andy rubbed Elijah’s hand and he quickly squeezed Andy’s finger with a tight grip. Eli stole Andy’s heart at that very moment.  Once they were done assessing him they wrapped him up and gave him to Andy. Andy brought him over to me and I finally got to hold my boy again.

The nurses and doctor congratulated us and told us that they had so much fun delivering our boy. Perhaps it was because we didn’t know the sex before, or because Andy was so inquisitive. But they really wanted us to know that they enjoyed the experience.

Once they left the room reality sunk in. I was laying in bed, with my husband beside me, holding OUR SON. Life had changed forever for the better. I was totally in love with our little man and more in love with my husband than I even thought possible. We prayed over Elijah and thanked God for him and for being with us during this experience.  It was truly the best day of my life.

Please enjoy some images from our amazing day.

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Above: This is me before the epidural. I asked Andy to get some shots of the room and I think he did a great job.

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Above: This is a light in the ceiling used during delivery. Andy is very proud of this shot.

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Above: I had to snap one of Andy. He used his watch to time my contractions.

Below: The first photograph of our boy.

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Above: One of the first things I heard the nurse say was 9.9. I freaked out because I thought she said this because Eli weighed 9.9lbs. She laughed at me and told me this was is Apgar score.

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Above: These are our amazing friends who waited in the waiting room for hours. This picture was taken around 4am. We were so thankful they stayed.

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Above: The first picture I took of Eli.

Below: My parents drove 16 hours straight to get to the hospital. It was so amazing to have them there.

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Above: A proud grandpa.

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Above: Andy, my dad, and brother Dustin

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Above: After being awake for so long I finally got to take a short nap.

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Above: I remember the day Dustin was born. And now, here he is holding my son on the day he was born. Wow.

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Above: I remember looking at a picture of my mom in a wheel chair coming out of the hospital holding me in her arms. So this picture means a lot to me.

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Thanks to all our family and friends for your support, prayers, and love. We are truly blessed and thank God every day for each one of you. We can’t wait for you to meet Elijah.

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