Ever since I had Kendall and shared my own birth story, I've been obsessed with hearing birth stories from other mamas. I've also found that so many of my friends enjoy swapping stories and sharing the exciting details that make every birth story unique. So today, I'll be sharing the fast and furious birth of Knox! (Please keep in mind that I'll be sharing the majority of the details - bodily functions and all. Read ahead at your own risk!)
I actually have to start this birth story from a place that, at the time, I wasn't even aware was going to be a part of Knox's birth story. On Thursday, February 15, I woke up like any normal day and realized that I was having very mild cramping in my lower abdomen. I wasn't alarmed and didn't even tell Tolar about the cramping because I was sure it was nothing and would stop soon. More often than not, I get all worked about things that end up being nothing. It's the theatre person in me - we are dramatic with everything. :) I was only 36 weeks anyway.
The cramping didn't stop after about 2 hours, so I called Tolar and told him about it. He suggested I call my doctor to see what they said. After all, Kendall was born at 37 weeks so an early baby was certainly possible! Before I called the doctor, I immediately started packing our hospital bags since I hadn't gotten around to that yet (I was actually planning to pack my bags that coming weekend). When I called my doctor, they asked me all sorts of questions including had I felt the baby move recently? Honestly, I was so distracted by my hurrying to pack that I didn't pay attention to if the baby had moved, so I said no. Well this sent up a huge red flag, so my doctor told me to go ahead in to the hospital to get checked out. I called Tolar, told him to get home asap and then off we went.
By the time we reached the hospital, the cramping had turned into very minor contractions that were very inconsistent with their timing. The contractions were not painful at all, I could totally manage them. The hospital nurse strapped some monitors on me to check on the baby and let me lay down for about an hour and a half. I had several contractions while at the hospital, but the timing was all over the place: 3 minutes, 8 minutes, 13 minutes. They tested to see if I was leaking amniotic fluid and found out I wasn't. So they sent me home with instructions to rest and to drink TONS of water; one glass per hour.
I listened to the nurse and drank as much water as I could. I napped on the couch for a bit and realized that the contractions stopped around 4 p.m. on Thursday afternoon. I went about my day like it was any normal day. Then the contractions started back up again around 10 p.m. Again, the pain was very minor so I wasn't that uncomfortable. And the timing was still all over the place which made me think I was just having another episode of what I assumed were Braxton Hicks contractions. I drank some water and decided to go to bed. The contractions kept on through the night but they never got worse. I drank water and kept thinking "when is this water going to work and make them stop again?" I was able to sleep off and on through the night. Sometimes the contractions would wake me up, but I was able to get some sleep since they were not that painful.
Around 4:45 a.m. my eyes shot open because I all of a sudden felt like I was peeing my pants! I ran to the bathroom and barely made it. I found this so strange because this NEVER happens to me, I'm always able to hold it, but I did drink a ton of water to get the contractions to stop. However I kept thinking something was off. So I googled (yes, I did!) what it feels like to have your water break. My water never broke on its own with Kendall, so I had no clue what it felt like. I read something that said you will often feel a pop right before it happens and I was 95% sure that I also felt a pop. So I decided to wake up Tolar to see what he thought. Not long after waking up Tolar, I had two instances where water started leaking down my leg and I was unable stop or control it. After that happened, I KNEW that my water had broke. Then I immediately started having really intense contractions. Tolar got on the phone with my doctor and I called my parents so they could come stay with Kendall. The timestamp on my phone said that I called my parents at 5:08 a.m.
The contractions were pretty steady now and VERY intense. We had to repack the few items that we had taken out of our suitcases and I was having contractions every three minutes apart, so it was about 5:30 a.m. before we finally left to head to the hospital. The contractions continued to be intense and I had several in the car. Poor Tolar, he had to listen to me scream the whole way to the hospital. They say that you forget the pain of childbirth - it is true! I do NOT remember my contractions being this intense when I was in labor with Kendall.
Once we got to the hospital and walked inside, I had another very intense contraction at the nurses desk. The nurse even made a comment about how intense it seemed. She didn't take us to triage and check me out first, she walked us straight to a room - this baby was on his way!
The nurses got me into a bed, strapped the monitors on my stomach and asked if I wanted an epidural. Of course I wanted an epidural!!! I am quite the wimp and do not handle pain well. At this point, I was in so much pain and ready for some relief asap. I had an epidural with Kendall and was looking forward to not feeling anything again and hopefully getting a nap or two. The nurses checked my cervix and told me that I was dilated 4 cm. Funny thing, I was actually 4 cm when I got admitted to the hospital with Kendall. They called for the doctor on call and everyone went about doing what they needed to do to monitor me and the baby. I continued to have very intense contractions every 3 minutes. I don't remember much as I laid on the bed, I just know that people kept coming in and out of the room and all of them were very encouraging to me. Everyone kept telling me how awesome I was doing. Tolar was by my side, holding my hand and encouraging me. We don't know what happened, but all of a sudden Tolar got very dizzy and white in the face. The nurses had him lay on the nearby couch and put his feet up. I kept telling him to stay laying down because I didn't want anything to happen to him - I did NOT want to do this without him!
My contractions continued and by this point I was in so much pain and quite exhausted. Tolar felt normal again and was back by my side. I asked one of the nurses when I could get my epidural. She checked my cervix then said what I feared most of all..."you don't have a cervix anymore, there is no time for an epidural." I almost passed out. I remember looking at Tolar and I know there was pure panic on my face. HOW WAS I GOING TO DELIVER THIS BABY WITHOUT ANY DRUGS?!?! I didn't have a choice.
The next thing I knew, Dr. Devlin showed up and suddenly there were about nine other people in the room. Dr. Devlin asked how long I pushed with my first child and we told her about 30 minutes. She said "great, you should have a baby in about 10 minutes." I was in extreme pain, I was tired and miserable and scared. I felt the need to push immediately. I pushed and then Dr. Devlin gave me some pointers on breathing properly to help my pushes do more. She wanted me to grab a hold of my own legs and pull them towards me. I was in so much pain and remember telling her "I can't." She was super encouraging and told me that I could. Well, I don't think I did. I vaguely remember some nurses helping to pull my legs up and I do know that I grabbed onto Tolar's hand and a nurse's hand and squeezed HARD. The entire time I pushed was quite a blur to me. I remember Tolar saying very sweet things to me and telling me that he could see Knox, that I was almost done. I had tons of questions for Tolar about the delivery because I just don't remember everything. I guess I kind of blacked out from the pain. I do know that three pushes later I heard Dr. Devlin tell me to look up. There he was!!!!!! He was born at 6:53 a.m. (remember, we only left the house around 5:30 that same morning???).
Like with my first, I busted into tears. I was so excited he was here and SO RELIEVED that it was over.
As I type this story, I'm still shocked that I delivered a baby naturally, without any drugs. That was NEVER a part of my plan...EVER. I never thought I would be able to do it without an epidural. As I think back over the time when I was in labor, I remember the two nurses who strapped the monitors to me. I saw them both lock eyes with each other as they were trying to find the baby's heartbeat. They kept moving the monitor lower and lower on my stomach. At the time, I didn't think much of it. But now I know...they knew that Knox was on his way and that I wouldn't have time for an epidural. But I must say that I am very proud of myself. I'm living proof that you are stronger than you think. And now I have the most precious baby boy who came into this world fast and furious.
Newborn photos by
Stephanie Parker Photography.
