Aurion's arrival story in Humanity

I had a doctor’s appointment on Thursday, October 1st; we discussed contractions & cramping and increasing intensity over the past few days. My doctor informed us that he didn’t want us to labor at home very long; especially with increasing intensity and the pre-existing c-section scar. He said that if we had similar contractions to the night before, to call him and plan on coming in.

We asked Aaron’s mom to come stay with us in case we head to the hospital so she could stay with Joaquin and take care of him while we’re in the hospital.

That night I had a glass of wine for the first time since February, tried to relax and prepare for what might be a long night ahead.

Went to sleep around 10p; woke up around midnight with contractions that were coming rather close together and felt pretty intense. Called the doctor with the information and he said to come in to the the hospital. Aaron’s mom is looped into the plan as we head to the hospital.

Here’s the timeline and key milestones:

12a-1a: contractions begin; growing in intensity and making it impossible to sleep / get rest
1am: called doctor to confirm our plans ; packed and left for the hospital
2am: settled in to hospital room; contractions slow and decrease; tried to sleep but pretty much unsuccessful
6:15am: dilated to 1cm; which is basically nothing, so pitocin is administered
6:50am: The doctor arrives to check in and we decide to breaks my waters- discovered meconium-stained water (not good) Also, the process of him breaking my water is SO PAINFUL, ermagherd. Anyway, it’s gross and painful, but there is a bit of relief when the waters have been released.

7am-8:30a: intense labor & contractions; gushing water everywhere (so gross). I request to be able to stand up / move around while I go through contractions, and I end up moving through many contractions bent over a chair trying to sway back and forth and visualize flowers, waves crashing, etc.

Enjoying some intense contractions

Here I am enjoying what I like to call the ‘chair technique’

Some “techniques” and “visualizations” worked better than others, but overall, so much UNBEARABLE pain. (None of the pics above capture the intensity of the pain because I made Aaron stop taking pics at some point in the madness)

The contraction pain is so intense and keeps increasing in intensity; I decide rather quickly that I’m NOT going to want to do this without pain management. Hey! Thanks but no thanks. I did 20 hours of this the last time. Bring on the numbing agent.

8:40am: I request an epidural - and can barely wait to get it in and working

9:05am: Epidural in; AHHHHHHH. I relax and settle into bed since I won’t be able to walk with my legs being all numb and such; contractions are strong and productive, but I can’t feel anything. I check in with a few people via text (my mom, Liana) and watch TV, and try to get some sleep while my body works through the contractions.

10:00am: Aurion’s heart rate starts dropping; they give me oxygen; everything stabilizes, but it’s starting to feel a lot like Joaquin’s labor

10:30-1:30pm I can’t remember a lot during this time, so I assume it was mostly relaxed, quiet labor – and I do know that was checked at noon and was dilated to 4cm, which was good news.

1:45pm: The doctor comes by to check and says we can increase the pitocin; soon afterwards, Aurion’s heart rate d-cells, which causes some alarm. At this point I’m dilated to 7cm; but her head isn’t dropping – still high; we all make the decision to move forward with repeat c-section based on fetal intolerance to labor (same thing that happened with Joaquin)

I’m disappointed on one hand, but on the other hand, I’m relieved. I’m glad we tried for a VBAC, but ultimately, I’m totally OK with doing it ‘the same way’ I did it before because it feels so familiar, and I had a relatively good recovery from my first surgery.

2:00pm: Prep in OR; once everything is in place, I’m feeling relaxed, but super numb, which makes me feel a bit uneasy. The numbness creeps into my upper respiratory system and makes it feel really hard to breathe, which is also very unsettling. But it’s all “normal” so I try not to focus on it and I sort drift into a semi-conscious state.

You can see Aaron’s phone by my head - he put on Bon Iver for me, just like he did for Joaquin’s birth <3

I don’t feel any of the pulling or weird sensations this time when they remove her; I do hear her beautiful cries when she comes out and it’s the best, most emotional feeling to know that the baby has emerged without incident. They weigh her and check her lungs, etc. and they bring her over to me so I can give her little gorgeous face some kisses. I can’t touch her because I’m so numb, but when I kiss her little face, she stops crying for a few moments and it’s glorious. She’s here! And she’s perfect.

2:37pm / October 2nd, 2015: Aurion Rose is born - 7 lbs; 19.5 inches. Apgar score is a 9.

Last updated October 14, 2015