holden’s birth – part 1

Monday Holden was born. We were scheduled to be induced at 7:00a, so we packed our bags, set the alarms, and went to sleep on Sunday night.

We were in our delivery room and I was undressed and on the bed by 7:15a. Labor was progressing nicely. I was up to receiving 10 units of pitosin, was having regular contractions, and was dilated to a five by 11a. I estimated Holden would be born at 3:18p, Steve said 6:38p.

The anesthesiologist had to be somewhere at 11:30a, so they decided to give me my epidural. Steve sat in a chair while they did it. I wasn’t yet numb when our nurse decided to put down some more pads for when my water broke. No sooner had I readjusted on the bed afterward than my water broke. The nurse decided to feel where Holden’s head was because earlier when my doctor was in, Holden’s head was not yet in the birth canal, but was up and on the side a bit.

The nurse felt around and announced that I was at 5 cm, but couldn’t feel the head. Then she said she could feel the umbilical cord in the birth canal and a complete frenzy began.

I think every nurse on the floor rushed in after she radioed someone. One nurse called my doctor who works across the street from the hospital. The nurse still had her hand inside me so she hopped onto the foot of the bed while the other nurses wheeled my bed down the hall. On nurse stayed behind to tell Steve to put on scrubs so he could be in the operating room.

No one said it, but I knew Holden was about to get cut out of me. The nurses were panicked. I was crying and kept asking if my baby would be OK. Finally a nurse answered me and said he would, they just had to get him out of me first.

My doctor showed up and told me they were going to get Holden out in a hurry. I still wasn’t numbed completely from the epidural so when she began pinching my stomach where she planned to cut, I told her I could feel everything. I thought she was actually cutting me then. Someone gave me a painful shot in my arm and after the nurse on my bed yelled, “I lost the pulse!” my tears really streamed and my doctor announced he needed to be out within five minutes. She ordered someone to put me to sleep. The last thing I saw were the bright operating room lights and the mask they put over my nose and mouth. I remember praying that my baby would be OK. It didn’t matter if I never awoke as long as Holden was alive. 

After what seemed like eternity but was only about an hour, I woke up. I saw Steve with that ridiculous surgical cap on his head. And then I saw a baby in his arms. Then I heard him cry. Everything was going to be OK.

More tomorrow.