Titus' Grand Entrance

Sitting here more than a week after delivering our firstborn, my newborn Titus fast asleep near me, the pain, excitement, and emotions of labor are already beginning to become a distant memory. I needed a few days to rest, recover, and enjoy being back at home before revisiting what happened on September 24, but now it is time to write it down so that the events of that day aren't all forgotten. And I know a few of you are curious for more birth details as well, so for those of you who want to know more, here is your long and detailed account:

I don't think I went into labor with great expectations of it going one way or another although I hoped it would be easy and quick. We planned for the kind of birth we hoped for, even writing out our own birth plan after researching what we thought would be best for me and the baby, but even then, we knew that birth is unpredictable and I didn't have my heart set on anything in particular--except I knew that I really did not want to have a c-section since the idea of both the surgery and the recovery scared me.

The Saturday before Titus was born, I remember telling Chris how odd I thought it was that my due date was the next day (Sunday, 09/22). I did not feel uncomfortable enough to have labor be imminent and was thinking that he would probably be a typical first baby and not want to come for another week or maybe more. We spent the day together, running errands and even picking up a parachute more than an hour away (this is another long story and part of the unique life of being married to a PJ). I felt fine and didn't expect anything to happen in the near future. That all changed that night when I went to bed. I woke up in the night with my first real contractions. They hurt, but not enough that I couldn't doze a bit too. They increased in intensity until they were about 10 minutes apart around 2-3 in the morning and then thankfully petered off so that I could get a few hours of sleep before church. We were officially becoming members at our church that day, something that I really wanted to be at before Titus came, and I was glad that the contractions slowed down so that I could go. They still came and went through the day. I probably had 4 during the sermon and then was able to get a nice long nap in the afternoon. That night we went back to church and then decided to go on Chris' birthday date to the Portland City Grill before we had a baby in tow. We were a month late for his birthday and had a gift card from his parents to use. It was a really yummy dinner and fun to be out together but about halfway through dinner my contractions started picking up again. I was able to sit through to the end, but I think we came home a little earlier than we might have if I hadn't been having contractions.

Sunday night I had contractions all through the night and hardly slept. Poor Chris didn't either because he's such a light sleeper and I was coming in and out of bed all night. I knew the contractions were not close enough to go to the hospital yet, but I took back what I said on Saturday--birth was now imminent and I knew (and hoped) it would be happening sooner rather than later. Chris called into work that I was in pre-labor and he got the day off to come to my already scheduled midwife appointment. When we went in, I was hoping the midwife, Janell, was going to do something to make things happen more quickly, but after checking me she just told me that wow! I was at a 3 already and that this baby was coming sometime in the next couple of days. Couple of days?? I really didn't think I would survive going through these contractions for a couple more days without sleep. But we went home and I tried to rest and get through the day. By evening the contractions were serious and we called the midwife around 11 p.m. to see if it was time to go to the hospital. She said this was still pre-labor (what?!?!?) but that I was getting close and she told us to call her back in an hour or so if things picked up more). So I walked and moved and bounced to get things going even more and by 1 in the morning I was having contractions regularly enough to go in to the hospital. We called Janell and she said she would meet us there.

Last baby bump photo between contractions. 40 weeks.

The hospital is only about 7 minutes from our house, so I had hoped to labor at home as long as I could and then go in when they definitely wouldn't send me home. And when they checked me there, I was definitely in active labor and measuring at a 6. I had not been opposed to getting an epidural for the birth, but after laboring so long at home, I really wanted to see if being in the tub would be comforting through the contractions and I hoped that just continuing what I was doing would make the baby come soon. I probably wasn't thinking too clearly but I was determined to get that baby out soon! I got in the tub and it did help some, but boy do contractions still hurt! Chris was such a huge support through it all and looking back, I know it was hard for him to see me suffering all night long when he was going on no sleep too. But he was a trooper and helped me through each contraction, giving me pressure and encouragement where I needed it and offering me yummy hansen sodas in between. The nurses came in to give me an IV and it took 3 of them (7 pokes) before the last one went to get an ultra sound machine to find a good vein. Apparently I have veins that don't like to be poked, but again this was hard for Chris to watch as he knows how to do battlefield IVs and would have liked to just stick me once instead of a million times. Its pretty bad when you're more aware of your arms/IV hurting than anything else in the middle of labor.

Somehow able to take a silly photo still. Showing off all my IV pokes.

Well, the hours ticked by and by 5 or 6 in the morning I was at a 9. By this time I was completely exhausted and with potentially another few hours of pushing, we knew it was time to get that epidural. Ahhhhh relief! It was the most wonderful thing at that point. I couldn't feel anything on the epidural and it was amazing. Yet, I still had pretty good function over my legs so I didn't feel completely helpless. They put me on oxygen since the baby's heart rate was doing some irregular dipping every once in a while and it seemed to work itself out when I was on the oxygen. So being all hooked up with a mask on my face, I wasn't able to sleep but I did rest as we let the contractions work their magic to get me to a 10. Meanwhile the midwife went and took a nap since she had been up all day too. I'm really glad she got some rest too.

Our sweet midwife, Janell with Titus. Can't imagine having anyone else assisting us.

Around noon everyone came back to check on me and I got the go ahead to start pushing. I couldn't feel my contractions so they had to tell me when to push but I got the hang of it pretty quickly and they said I was good at it. ha. :) I actually didn't mind the pushing, and the midwife said he was so close to coming. But after 3 hours of pushing, we began to realize that he wasn't coming. My midwife was very conservative in her approach to labor and we tried all different positions to get baby to come down, but after this long of pushing, she said that it felt as though baby's head was turned just enough that his face was getting stuck in my pelvis rather than pushing through with the top of his head. He was so so close, and yet not close enough to help him move down with a vacuum or forceps. Apparently the risk involved for the baby when they are that far up is quite high. So at this point, Janell said that we needed to talk to the OB at the hospital about other options. She didn't say c-section at first, but I started figuring out that if they weren't going to vacuum him out and he hadn't budged after 3 hours of pushing, that it must be the only option.

The OB who came in was Dr. Jacobs. He was a really kind man and explained the situation and did recommend a c-section for us. He said we could keep on pushing if we wanted to try for a bit longer, but that probably in a little bit, the baby would begin to become distressed. He said the same thing happened to his wife with their first baby so he could relate that it was not what I hoped for and yet the goal was getting a healthy baby in my arms. Well, the tears were flooding out of my eyes, and I was so exhausted and disappointed that after all these hours and hours of work that I couldn't do it. And the result was the one thing I didn't want to happen. And yet, I knew that since nothing had happened after 3 hours of pushing it would probably be for selfish reasons for me to try and keep on going as we were. I've heard horror stories of doctors threatening c-sections to move things along in a timely fashion, but this wasn't the case at all. Thankfully, I didn't feel pressure in that way at all and my midwife even assured me that this wasn't the fault of the epidural or even how my body is built, but simply that baby was stuck. Chris and I took a moment alone to talk and pray about it and then after one last check from the Dr. who found baby Titus in the same position still, we signed the consent forms for a c-section.

Everything went quickly after that. The nurses prepped me and Chris for surgery. I got my IV switched to my other arm since the first one was a mess--another couple of pokes but thankfully this nurse got it on her second try. They brought me to the operating room and had Chris wait outside while they prepped everything. They upped my epidural so that I couldn't feel anything below my chest. I was freezing cold and shivering and still sniffly and tearful so they put this nice heated blanket on me which was great. The anesthesiologist was really encouraging and caring and made sure that I was okay with everything going on. They brought Chris back in by my side and we were ready to finally meet this baby!

Almost a daddy. Sending the family photos of himself in his scrubs while he waited to be called back to the OR.

This being my first surgery, it was really strange to be awake for it. I couldn't feel any pain but I could still feel a lot of pressure and boy they sure weren't being gentle. Chris had scrubbed in on a few emergency c-sections in the past during his medical training and so he had no problem watching them work on me and got to see Titus being born. I couldn't see it, nor did I want to in that way, but it was a pretty special moment hearing his first cry and knowing that he was finally here. The nurses quickly checked Titus over and then put him right on my chest under that nice warm blanket. Poor baby had such a cone head from all the effort he put into trying to come out all afternoon, but he was still beautiful. 7 lb. 9 oz. and 19.5 inches long. Born on September 24, 2013. He lifted his strong neck while on my chest and looked at me and looked at his dad and we got several moments of cuddling while they stitched me back up. Our sweet boy was here! Titus Anthony in my arms.

And then there were three. First family photo.

We spent an hour in post-op and then went on to our recovery room where we stayed for 3 days (the typical time they have you stay after surgery). The hospital is very new and nice and so we overall had a good experience there, although we were definitely ready to be free from interruptions by the 3rd morning and we were anxious to go home. My mom had come down when I went into labor, to take care of our dog and clean our house. She also made some soup and sandwiches for us at various times. She was Titus' first visitor and came by the evening he was born to meet him. She was a huge help! Mom had to go home on Wednesday night but Chris' mom came on Thursday morning. We weren't planning to have her come so soon after the birth since Chris had 2 weeks off to help me out, but after the surgery, it seemed like the best idea to have her come and she did with barely any notice. It was wonderful to have her here and she took care of everything so that I could rest and take care of the baby. It also allowed Chris to catch up on his sleep deficit. She even took night shifts with me after I fed Titus so that I could go straight back to bed! We are so grateful for 2 moms/grandmas who are so loving and helpful. They both have such servants hearts and just adore their new grandson.

So if you've made it this far, thanks for sticking through the long story. Now that I've experienced every kind of labor, I know which route I'd like to go next time if I'm able, but hopefully that won't be for a while. :) For now we are so happy to have our little Titus here and he is worth every crazy moment of the hours and hours of laboring to get him here. But I still might remind him of that when he's ornery when he's older. ;)

We praise God for a healthy son. For modern medicine that could save both my baby's life and my own. For a quick recovery (I'm feeling so much better already!). And for such loving family and friends who have helped us with meals, changing diapers, cleaning the house, etc. It's all been wonderful and such a happy time.