3rd Labor Story

Zoe Jane

June 30, 2016

Just a fair warning that things get personal in here, FYI. 

Zoe's birth was almost the exact same as Hannah. I knew something was up and I went with my gut (again) this time. 

My body had not been happy for quite some time, starting in April I started to bleed. After weeks of touch and go bleeding and contractions I was put on bed-rest. Which if anyone has tried bed-rest with a 5 year old and 2 year old -- it's almost worth laughing about. But I tried my very best to stay off my feet as much as possible. Zoe was due July 22nd but I just had a feeling it would be the last week of June/first week of July. I had been saying it for weeks. 

Sure enough, on Wednesday, June 29th I started having contractions. This wasn't out of the ordinary and as usual, it was back labor. I had spoken to several people on the phone that morning and told them that I thought this was it. In addition to contractions, I just didn't feel well. I felt like I was on the verge of getting sick. Cue -- hint # 1 this was just like Hannah's birth.

I laid around much of the morning just trying to feel better. The contractions were hit or miss. Around 2 or so I started to feel like I was running a fever so I took my temperature. Sure enough, I was at 100.0. I wrote in to my on call nurse and told her I was having contractions, nothing super painful and was starting to run a fever. I asked her if I should come on in and get checked. 

She wrote right back and said that it probably wasn't anything and to take some Tylenol and rest. Hint # 2 this was just like Hannah's birth. As soon as I read that, I knew she was wrong. She was new and didn't know my history and how this is exactly how things started with Hannah and went scary quickly. I called my sister in law and she told me she though this was it. So did I. I called Adam and told him I was running a low grade fever and I thought this was it. When he got home from work, a little before 5 usually, we were heading to the hospital to get checked out. I also called my mom and let her know we would be bringing the girls by later. 

I had our bags already packed and ready to go a few days prior. Last time, I didn't take a shower or really get ready and since I knew this was probably it, I hopped in the shower and got myself ready. Ready as in -- enough makeup to feel good for pictures and made sure to shave my legs. (priorities people). I remember once I got ready, I felt awful, like fever -- sick -- and contractions awful. My back was aching so bad that I laid on my knees and said to the girls, " I better not come back tonight like this, I am DONE". 

Adam got home and by then I was laying on the couch just miserable. We got our last minute items and headed out the door, I could feel my contractions coming on stronger now. It was about 5 pm when we headed out and I knew we had at least a 20 minute drive with traffic to my mom's house. We were stuck in traffic outside of BNSF and my contractions were now 7-10 minutes apart and getting stronger. I started to think, okay, fever or not I am for sure having contractions. 

We got to my mom's house and at this point contractions were every 5 minutes. I told Adam we had to hurry because this was the real deal. He was driving as fast as he could and I was now contracting every 1-2 minutes. We whirled into the hospital and I hopped out the car and walked in the ER. 

Adam was right behind me after he parked the car.

The check-in person was young and new so when I told them I was probably in labor she seemed a little shocked. She asked how many weeks I was and I told her 35 weeks 5 days. They got me a wheel chair and took me to the labor triage.

Once we got up and settled, a nurse came to check me in, first thing she checked was my fever. 101.7 Hint # 3 this was just like Hannah's birth. This was the same exact fever I had ran with Hannah and I knew in that moment this was not good.

I was also NOT 35 weeks and 5 days as I had said downstairs, I was 36 weeks and 6 days. I had no idea why I had said that, but 36 weeks and 6 days was the EXACT same day I was with Hannah when I went into labor with her. 

The nurse  asking questions was acting so normal. It freaked me out. I thought everything was going too smooth and slow because I knew how bad this was. She had no clue. A second nurse came in and the first nurse told her I was 36 weeks and 6 days, contacting, and running a 101.7 fever. The nurse looked and me and said, " Oh my goodness, I remember you, I was here when you delivered last time". Yup, same story, different labor. We all laughed about it.

She took things a little more seriously and had called in the nurse anesthetist to do my IV because she knew how difficult my veins were. He came in and began talking me through my IV and let me just say -- HE even had difficulty, it took what felt like half an hour to get an IV in me. At this point, we had 2 to 3 people in the room with Adam and I when things suddenly changed. 

The first nurse starts moving the Doppler around on my belly, back and forth, up and down almost in a panic. She tells me to lay on my left and then on my right. I look over at Adam concerned but he's on his phone (obviously not paying attention -- why not he knew the 411 on labor). I could hear her voice become tense as she tells me to quickly flip over on my hands and knees. My hospital gown is WIDE open at this point and there is NO sense of privacy. A third nurse rushes in with a hospital mask, she puts an oxygen mask on face as the first nurse tells me, " We cannot find the baby's heartbeat and we are prepping you for an emergency c-section". Everything was happening so fast, they pushed some paper in my face agreeing that they would knock me out for the c-section and I would not be awake. At this point, Adam put his phone down and realized something serious was happening. I also began to panic, all I could think of was, " How am I going to recover with Adam only being off work for 5 days??" and " I don't want to be knocked out for a c-section, I wanted to be awake". 

Dr. Tse rushed in at that moment and we now had 5 people in this tiny room, I could tell things were getting serious and scary real quick. I started to pray. I prayed that Zoe would be okay, that her heart rate would go back up, that they would find it. I prayed with all that I had. 

Dr. Tse came in serious but still light hearted -- which I had needed. She yelled out something about Zoe trying to give us all a scare and how she needed to quit. The nurses and her were talking heart rates and how it was too low. Dr. Tse said to give it one more minute to come back up. Everyone was watching the monitor ---

And just like that -- her heart rate came up. It was still low but it was up and it was there! 

Everyone seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and the tension went back down in the room. I don't remember who said it, but they told me with that little scare we were going to be admitted. Really? It's not my contractions that were 1 minute apart by this time? 

I finally was checked and was 4 centimeters dilated. 

They kept me in my bed I was on and said it would still be touch and go. We wouldn't know if I would go for a c-section or if I would still be able to deliver vaginally. 

Once we got settled into my room and things calmed down, I could really feel my contractions. They weren't painful, but super uncomfortable and lots of pressure in my back. I labor in my back. I was getting checked in with the insurance person when she noticed I seemed a little uncomfortable. I said, yeah I haven't had an epidural. She was surprised I hadn't. Yes -- 5 centimeters dilated, every 1 minute and we're talking insurance here. 

At one point the nurse came in and told me my White Blood Count was high, 24 is what I thought they said, so it was obvious something was going on. I was also strep B positive (which I was with Hannah and knew I was with Zoe) so they were starting antibiotics. It was also at this time that the nurse anesthetist came back in to talk about my epidural. This was going to be my third one so I was pretty familiar with how it worked but he wanted to talk through my elevated risk because my white blood count was so high. It was decided we would still do it because if I did need a c-section this would give me the option to stay awake versus having to do a spinal block last minute. 

Did I mention he was a Texas Wesleyan University grad? (Where I worked) So, I knew I would be in good hands. And let me say, he did a great job. 

It was shortly before my epidural that I had started sweating -- and sweating -- sweating like I never had before. I had sweat running down my back and neck. I was just SO hot. They thought it was my fever but I had to idea what was going on. I begged for a fan and they tried their best to go find one. During my epidural he could see the beads of sweat just pouring down my back. This was so unusual for me because when I sweat I hardly have BEADS. However, once they got my epidural going and I relaxed FINALLY the sweating stopped.

Then came the chills. The chills I so remembered with Hannah. Not chills from my epidural but chills from my fever spiking. My fever was spiking again and they rushed in to give me medicine. At this point, it was about 9 or 10 at night. I was 5 centimeters dilated and they were letting me go naturally (no pitocin).  Adam's dad had showed up for the big night. He stayed for a little bit and went and grabbed Adam some dinner. Lucky me, I had to just watch. 

In this time, we had decided that it would be best for the girls to not come up to the hospital. It was after 10 and I knew they would be SO tired if they came up once Zoe was born. I really didn't know at this point, when she would be here, I was only a 5 and it was 10 at night. 

The nurses brought in the "peanut" which is like an exercise ball that is shaped like a peanut. It goes in-between your legs and is supposed to help you with labor. I had no idea, I just did what they told me to. 

Right around midnight, my nurse came in and checked me and I was  6 centimeters dilated. I thought it was going pretty slow and and at this rate it would be sometime in the middle of the night. The nurses turned down the lights and Adam and his dad were talking. The nurses left and I was just listening to Adam and his dad talk when I suddenly felt a whole bunch of pressure. I felt it again and again and knew something was up. I finally piped up and told Adam and I thought I felt pressure and decided to page the nurse. But there was NO way this was it -- I was just a 6 not even 5 minutes ago. The nurse came in and checked me -- I was a 10 and ready to go. 

Okay, so this is it. Adam's dad left and the nurse began prepping everything and paging Dr. Tse to come in for delivery. She asked for us to do one test push, I pushed, " Okay, don't push!!". I guess she was right there.

Dr. Tse rushed in and they prepped me for delivery. Dr. Tse asked me to push and I did. I could feel so much more this time around, not pain, but I could feel Zoe. She was coming out! I pushed a 2nd time and with a gush of a river she came FLYING out. Seriously, the nurses shouted, "Woaaaah". Because she went flying and Dr. Tse literally had to catch her!

They brought Zoe to my chest and Dr. Tse said said, "She's just a little peanut". And she was -- the tiniest of my three girls and the least amount of hair.

I only had a first degree tear this time and Zoe was my ONLY baby to come out the right way --meaning she wasn't sunny side up. I wish I would have wrote Zoe's labor story sooner but as most things go with the third .. you do what you can!

We love you Zoe Jane!