Hypercolor Home: Welcome Baby Brody!

Brody Lee Petersen
October 5th, 2010 - 5:59 AM
8lbs. 14oz. - 20.5 inches

Well I went to my 40 week appointment on Monday 10/4 where the midwife told me due to my elevated blood pressure reading and a small amount of protein found in my urine, that it would be best to have me go to the hospital right then instead of waiting till the originally scheduled Tuesday morning inducement. Both of those things could potentially have meant that I had developed preeclamsia. With this this exciting, and a bit scary news, I left the office and headed straight to the hospital. I called Jeff on my way and was unable to get a hold of him, which brought me to tears. I finally got a hold of him and told him to go home and get the rest of our things and meet me at the hospital. I was really nervous about going to the hospital alone, but it actually ended up working out well because by the time Jeff got there, they had already done the blood draws and started the IV with the pitocin to get the contractions started, so he didn't have to see any needles or anything. :) This was about 3:00 PM. The first few hours were great actually! I could feel I was having lots of contractions, but they didn't hurt me at all. I kept thinking...this is easy! So I visited with Jeff and my mom and sisters for awhile and then things started getting a little more intense as time went on. I ate some popsicles and sat on the birthing ball for a while...

After a few hours the midwife decided to break my water since I was having contractions about every one to two minutes, but they weren't very strong, and I was only about 5 cm dilated. After they broke my water (around 7 or 8 PM) things really started to progress! The contractions were getting a lot stronger so I got in the on all fours position and the midwife put a heating pad on my back and massaged me for a while.

The pain was really setting in then so we decided to try the bath tub, as that can not only help with the pain but also help labor to progress. I got in the tub for about an hour. It definitely helped me feel better, but I could tell also made labor progress because by the time I got out I was REALLY feeling the contractions and thought it was about time for some drugs. They checked me when I got out and was already at 7 cm. I feel proud that I made it that far along on my own before asking for the epidural, but I was definitely ready for one at that point.

The anesthesiologist came in to give me the epidural which definitely hurt, but the worst part was trying to be super still while he inserted the needle and having horrible contractions at the same time. Ugh...Not easy! Once it was in though, I only felt about 2 or 3 more intense contractions and then felt really pretty good. This was sometime just after 10:00 because that is also when the midwives change shifts and the midwife I really wanted to deliver for us came in about this time. Also, I remember not too long after getting the epidural, I felt like I was maybe going to pass out. They gave me some oxygen and I was okay after that.

Once I got the epidural and the pain was a lot better, it was pretty much a waiting game. So, Jeff went out to tell my mom and sisters to go home and get some rest and that we'd call them when it was time to push. Jeff and I tried to do the same, but I couldn't sleep a wink. I tried to close my eyes and at least rest though. About 2:30 AM the nurse checked me again and said I was 10 cm and it was time to start pushing. Jeff called my mom and sisters to come back to the hospital and the midwife came back in then. We started pushing at 2:59 AM. The next three hours are a bit of a blur for me, but I remember at one point thinking I was going to throw-up (which thankfully I didn't), and I also remember having occasional heart-burn, which made pushing difficult at times. About 2 hours into pushing the midwife said I was making good progress but for some reason I was unable to get the baby's head past my pubic bone. She thought it was slightly flat instead of rounded as it should be, and guessed that was why baby wasn't moving past this position. She said we'd need to call in the doctor to see if a vacuum extraction procedure would help. Worst case scenario, we'd have to do a C-Section. I was pretty frustrated to hear that after all the hard work I had put into it, but I was bound and determined to get that baby out of me on my own...or at least with the help of the vacuum (although I wasn't crazy about this idea either). So, the doctor came in about 5:15 AM and while I pushed with all that I had left in me, she pulled with the vacuum. I had my eyes closed the whole time, but Jeff said it was pretty intense to see. We tried it twice and the vacuum popped off both times, which they said they expected would happen since baby's head was already as far along as it was. But, low and behold, it did the trick! I only had to push a few more times on my own, and I was able to get baby out. During one of the last few pushes though, the doctor did have to do an episiotomy, but I didn't feel a thing due to the epidural. I do have to say though, that OH MY GOSH did it hurt as baby was coming out! Holy cow! I was fairly quiet throughout the whole labor process but I know as baby Brody was being born, I'm pretty sure I was screaming out in pain! At least it didn't last for very long. I opened my eyes just as Brody was entering the world and they were quickly wrapping him in blankets and towels, and the first thing I saw were his balls. :) I went from screaming "OW OW OW" to "IT'S A BOY"!!!!!!!! I remember everyone looking up at me, probably because they didn't think I was even looking or paying attention since I was crying out in pain. And I remember Jeff's jaw dropping and him looking over to say in disbelief, "IT IS???". Exactly 3 hours of pushing, to the minute, and the next thing I knew, Brody was in my arms and I was crying tears of happiness saying over and over, "He's perfect...He's perfect!". Because he really was. It was truly the single most amazing moment of my entire life.

You are so so so loved baby Brody!