Liam is a week old today! I know that no one would give us a hard time if we didn't blog for a while, but there are so many special moments from the past week I want to make sure I record them. I'm going to make a few posts rather than one long one. This post is dedicated to my labor and Liam's delivery. Skip if you're not interested!
Liam's Birth Story
Liam wasn't due until December 15th but around 36 weeks pregnant we started getting some indications that he would be coming early. For one, at my 36 week appointment I was already 1cm dilated and his head had dropped. Just before walking in to my 38 week appointment on December 1st I lost my plug and during my exam Linda told me I was not 2cm dilated, 80% effaced and his head was even lower. Even with this news we knew it could still be awhile but we knew we would be having him prior to his due date.
On Thursday morning (December 2nd) Steven got up to go to work as usual. I woke up with his alarm and after a minute felt something wet on my leg. I ignored it as first, until I felt it again. I sat up in bed and realized my water had just broken- 2 weeks early! I ran in the bathroom to let Steven know. He said "hey baby!" I said, "my water broke!" He tore back the shower curtain and said "WHAT?!" I laughed and told him "I guess I win!" because I had chosen December 2nd as the baby's birthdate in our friends & family birthday bowl, lol.
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Taken that morning. The last of the preggo pictures!
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Everyone who commented that I was "all baby" was right! The belly literally deflated immediatey after Liam was born
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Obviously we got really excited but it was another 3 hours before I felt a contraction. During those 3 hours I sat and caught up on email (yeah I know... what can I say, I'm committed to my work!) and we let our jobs know. We also had time to take the pictures above- my last pregnant pictures! When contractions finally came they were inconsistent. They were anywhere from 7-25 minutes apart and not very intense so we knew it wasn’t true labor yet.
We called our midwife and they told us to come in at 1PM if labor had not started yet. So there we were at 1PM, excited as can be with no labor! Deanna hooked me up to the fetal heart beat monitor and another monitor to track my contractions. She confirmed that yes, my water did break (duh, like anyone could mistake that!) and told me true labor would likely begin about 18-24 hours after it first broke. She sent us home and told us they'd see us soon!
When Steven and I were planning our delivery we looked at a lot of options and decided that Active Birth would be best for us. It's a technique for couples interested in natural labor and involves staying active and upright through labor to let gravity do it's work and get the baby here faster. Rather than laying on your back you move around and be in whichever position feels right: squatting, walking, on your knees, etc. This is how women gave birth before the 20th century and it's the way our bodies are designed to deliver a baby. So when we wanted to get labor started we decided to do some walking to get things moving. So we went to the mall! We walked for about 2 hours, stopping to have contractions along the way. Green Hills Mall will never seem the same to me after having to stop and have a labor contraction in the Macy's mens department! Even with the walking my contractions were still inconsistent at that point. We came home and I stayed upright, sitting in a squat when I could.
Around midnight active labor kicked in and I was having regular contractions, about 6-7 minutes apart. Since we were doing a natural birth we had planned to stay stay at our house as long as I could so I could be comfortable. Hot water is awesome at relieving labor pains so I got in the shower twice to help ease the pressure of the contractions. The shower was THE BEST! The hot water was so good at helping take down the intensity of the contractions and I would have stayed in there the whole time had the hot water held out! Steven was my birth coach and he was absolutely wonderful! He helped me get through each contraction by telling me I was doing great, reminding me to breathe, holding my hand, and stayed by my side the entire time. He kept my confidence up by telling me I was doing great and reminding me each step of the way that what I was going through was normal. I absolutely could NOT have made it through a natural birth without his support!
I tried to take each contraction one at a time. The contractions stayed were at 5-6 minutes apart at 2:30AM so Steven called our midwife office. The midwife on duty said I should try and stay home a little longer since they were at best 5 minutes apart. At 4AM I told Steven I wanted to go to the hospital. Contractions were still 5 minutes apart but they were getting longer (2-2.5 minutes) and very intense. He called again and Soheyle (midwife) said we could come but said for me to still try and stick it out until about 7AM. At that point I was coming a bit undone and just really wanted to be at the hospital, no matter what. That was also when I told Steven I thought I wanted the epidural. He said OK but asked me to hang in there until Soheyle could check me and see how far along we were. I had every intention of wimping out at that time! However, there were many, many instances during labor when Steven would say to me “OK, remember, we talked about this in birth class…. This is supposed to happen. You're doing great." I was completely driven by instinct and couldn’t remember a thing when the contractions got that intense. He kept me grounded!
We left for Vandy at 4:30 and were in our L&D room by 5AM. Soheyle checked me and to our absolute shock I was at 8cm! I was expecting 4, hoping for 5 (I was actually thinking “PLEASE GOD let me be half way there!” I was almost done!) We were all surprised that we made it that far at home. Soheyle said to me “I know you want the epidural, and you can have it, but I want you to know that YOU CAN DO THIS. You are so close, hang in there.” I knew she was right so I told her I wanted to get through the last 2 cm in the shower. I was having a tough time with transition…. I threw up several times and was shaking from all of the hormones. It hurt! Thank God for that hot water.
By 7:30AM I was at 10cm so it was time to push. At 7 Soheyle’s shift ended and Lauren came in to deliver the baby. We tried some pushed with me sitting up in the bed but the baby’s heart rate would drop when I pushed so they were afraid the cord may have been getting pinched. Lauren (who was absolutely AMAZING) suggested I sit up backwards on the bed and push while on my knees. It worked out great. I held on to the back on the bed frame and pushed when my contractions came. Lauren was patient and told me to just push when my body told me to. I became very focused and determined to get our son here. I always figured the pushing would be the most painful part but it wasn't! Those last few centimeters were the hardest and once I made it to the 10cm point I felt much better. Pushing was like the getting to the end of a marathon: it was exhausting but I was focused and determined. I just had to get through how tired I was!
After two hours of pushing Liam Gabriel was born! It was the most amazing feeling to be pushing and finally hear that little cry! I heard Lauren’s voice say “Shay, he’s out! Reach down and grab your baby!” They passed him up to me, between the bed and my stomach- Steven said it was like a football hike! He was perfect and beautiful from the very beginning. It was a miraculous, beautiful time- one we will always look back on as one of the best moments in life!
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| Steven and Liam with Lauren, who did our delivery. Liam was 10 minutes old. |
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| Proud and exhausted dad! |
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| Proud and exhausted mom! 1 hour old |
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| He knew our voices right away and even held my finger after he was born. What a great moment for me! |
After he was born Steven and I enjoyed about an hour and a half of bonding time with Liam. We held our little boy, laughed and cried and told him we loved him so much. At the time he was born we STILL had not decided on a name so we had to decide what he looked like. Liam is a name we loved from the beginning and Gabriel came from the Bible. The Sunday before his birth day we studied Luke 1 in church and heard about how God sent the angel Gabriel to Zacarius and Elizabeth to tell them he would answer their prayers and give them a son. It seemed very fitting and we loved the name, so that's how it came about!
We were lucky enough to deliver at Vanderbilt, where the staff is really good about not making you send the baby off to the nursery before you're ready. We asked that they delay his bath, shots and eye goo so that we could enjoy the first 2 hours with him. Because I had no narcotics during birth Liam was WIDE AWAKE and so alert during that time. Not only did we get great bonding time, but Steven's parent's and my mom were able to meet him right away and hold him.
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| My mom- Mimi |
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| Steven's mom- Grandmommy |
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| Steven's dad- Papa B |
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| My sister, Aunt Lindsey |
Steven and I feel very lucky and blessed that we were able to have the birth experience that we really wanted. It started out in a bizarre way.... I never imagined I would have my water break and no labor for almost 18 hours! Those 9/10 hours that I was in labor were intense but I wouldn't want to do it any differently. We love our little boy and will always remember his birth as being one of the most wonderful and special times in our lives!
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| Two become three! |
