Julian's Birth Story

When we found out we were pregnant again it was a bit of a shock. We had only been "sort of" trying for 2 months. Yes, it's true. We stopped the pill in Sept. and became pregnant in Nov. By New Year's Eve I was feeling green around the gills and thought I had a stomach bug. I was so nauseous I could barely enjoy my New Year's Eve dinner out with Lovey. He was the one that made me take the test despite my protests and sheer denial that I could be pregnant.

Well, I took the test and defiantly looked at the little window and proclaimed up the stairs to him, NEGATIVE!! Kevin comes down and says "It has not even been one minute!" I say, "The lines are too far apart to be positive." When Kevin looked at the window on the stick he says "Babe, it's either two lines or one, it doesn't matter how close together they are...Mommy". Wow, well, here we go again!!

The pregnancy was great despite the gestational diabetes I mention in an earlier post. Won't go into that too much. Suffice it to say, not fun. I do however owe a huge thank you to all of the people who supported my health and ensured Julian was healthy as well. The Perinatal Center, OBGYN Specialists, the Diabetes Center, etc. And of course my family and friends who called all the time and brought me sugar free foods (mom) and put up with my counting carbs while out to dinner and charting all of my glucose numbers constantly. It was depressing in the beginning but worth it of course.

As our due date approached we were told that our OB would like to induce around 38 weeks. Babies whose mom's have GD have a higher risk for still birth. Aside from increased risk of a big baby and less of a chance for me to have a VBAC.

A VBAC is an acronym for vaginal birth after cesarean. Since Mira was breech, I had a C section with her. I had made up my mind early on that I would try for a VBAC this time despite the risks. My OBs were open to it and supported my wishes throughout the pregnancy.

Kevin and I pushed back a bit on the induction as many times women who are induced end up having to have a c section anyway. This was definitely not what I wanted and it concerned us. After running it by our perinatologist, our Doula and researching on our own, we agreed to the induction at 38 weeks. Each of the OB docs agreed it was the best thing.

So, the quest for induction avoidance began. We embarked on a journey to try everything and anything that would bring on labor naturally and spontaneously. These things included acupuncture, walking, spicy foods, more sex, herbs, etc. No go on the labor.

The day the induction was scheduled was pretty tense to say the least. We even went for super spicy Indian food and no luck. Julian was staying put until he had no other choice!

We were instructed to call the labor and delivery charge nurse that evening at 6:00 PM to find out what time to come in. When I called I was told they were too busy that night and to call the next day. "I'm sorry, what?" (We knew this was a possibility, however my induction was due to medical need so we were surprised." After a call to Dr. Senior (the OB doing my induction) she called the charge nurse/scheduler to see what she could do. The hospital called me 10 minutes later and said to come on in. A good thing considering our nerves were shot and we were all packed up. We had told Mira were were off to have Julian and then told here we weren't. And then we were...so, off we went after some deep breaths.

When we got to the hospital we met our Doula, Megan there. A Doula is sort of a birth coach, support person. Not a medical person like a midwife. Megan was with us to keep us calm and relaxed. And that she did. Thank you Megan! Megan was a godsend when it came to any questions we might have had about the process. We were in it for the long haul once the induction began.

Around 9:00 pm Dr. Senior came into the room to insert the Foley catheter balloon which would be placed on the placenta side of the cervix to put pressure on it as would the baby's head. This would cause the cervix to open. This impending procedure had caused me great stress over the week before and I did ask for Stadol to help me get through it and be a little calmer. Thanks for that! The entire procedure probably took less than 3 minutes to insert it. And no, did not really hurt. Just uncomfortable. Once the catheter was placed I was settled in for a little rest and given a sleeping pill. It didn't help much as those hospital beds and not the most comfortable. Oh, and every 3 hours my nurse would tug on the catheter. Around 5:30 or 6:00 am the catheter came out when tugged on. By that point I was about 3 cm dilated. It's at that point that they started pitocin. Pitocin causes contractions and is the "traditional" methods used to induce. The pitocin dose was low throughout the day and I was feeling mild contractions but they were not bad enough to warrant an epidural.

At noon I was 4 cm. Dr. Kasper asked if she could break my water. She did and then the flood gates opened. The contractions REALLY started. Fast and strong. EPIDURAL PLEASE!!! Arund 1:00 I received the horribly uncomfortable, painful epidural. That was the worst of the entire experience for sure. Crying for 15 minutes at least. No fun. Kevin and Megan helped me through it as best they could but it was terrible. I was so glad when it was over.

It did help so much with the contractions and I was grateful for pain meds. We waited, talked and tried to rest during the day as the pitocin was increased ever so slightly. If it had been too strong it might have caused issues and my VBAC could have been a distant desire. About 4:30 I was 8 cm!

At 6:30 pm I was completely dilated!! I started pushing at 7 pm and pushed for a total of 2 grueling hours. That was definitely the most exhausting 2 hours of my life. The physical toll that took on my body was indescribable to anyone not having lived it themselves! Wow, what an amazing experience. Kevin, Megan, the Drs and nurses were all so great at coaching me to push more efficiently. At one point toward the birth Julian's heartbeat fell off of the monitor and the Dr. was ready to place a fetal monitor in his scalp. I heard this and gave one super big push and out he came. No monitor necessary. It's amazing what the body and mind can do when motivated.

Julian was placed on my chest immediately and he picked his little head up and looked right at me. How about that??!! Miraculous.

I am incredibly grateful for everyone and everything that made this miraculous birth possible. To be able to experience birth as G-d intended was such a gift. To have two totally different birth experiences is also a true blessing. Nothing can compare to growing a tiny human being inside your body and watching as he or she comes into this world to meet you.