SocialMoms

The Birth of My Son, Jacob

2:02 PM

***This post contains some explicit birthing terms/wording so if that makes you uncomfortable, feel free to skip this post. :) ***


Before I start with my story, I would love to tell you about a new web application that is called "The Day Baby Was Born". This application allows you to record your pregnancy, photos and memories of the "big day". One thing I wish I had remembered more of was just how tiny and beautiful my son was the day he was born. Those memories are rather clouded as he was only small for a short time. Anyway, this application also tells you special events and happenings on your baby's birth day. How cool is that?!? So, I wanted you all to know about this application. I will definitely look into it when I get pregnant again!
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My son Jacob is my second child. My first born was a cesarean...not a planned one...but one that came about due to the baby's heart rate and the question of whether or not she would be able to handle labor. So, due to the fact that I had a previous cesarean, I was very anxious about having a natural birth with the second baby.


I LOVE being a mom and quite possibly, the best part about being a mom is the fact that I have such wonderful and powerful memories of the births that I have had. Each child is a blessing from God...so, without further ado, here is my birth story, from start to finish. My son, Jacob's birth. Enjoy! :)


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By 7AM, on June 18th I was having stronger contractions that were about 6 minutes apart. (I had been laboring lightly all night.) At this point, I decided to get into the shower and see if that would help. I also thought that it would be beneficial to get a shower and get dressed so I was ready for the day. The shower helped immensely and I stayed in there for a good 25 minutes enjoying the heat and the feeling of the water. I woke my hubby up at about 7:45 and told him what was happening. I advised him that he should probably get up and get ready to head to the hospital as things seemed to be progressing quickly. I called my doula who would be accompanying us to the hospital and told her that things were happening and that she should probably head over to our house. My mom had spent the night so she was already at the house to stay with Hannah. My doula arrived at around 8:30 and monitored me through some contractions. They were coming about 5 minutes apart now and I was having to focus on each one. They HURT! By 9, I was waving goodbye to Hannah (who was probably wondering what was going on and why everyone was bustling around so early in the morning) and we were on our way to the hospital. I was promptly checked in to labor and delivery and was checked by a midwife. She said that I was 8 cm, and suddenly the nurses were flying into action. The room was a flurry of blue scrubs as nurses prepared for delivery. Then, I heard someone say: "She said that she is a VBAC...this could take awhile." Then, the room quieted down and people started filtering out of the room. I was left to labor and my labor nurse started the paperwork. Honestly, the labor nurse drove me NUTS. She asked me TONS of questions and didn't seem to care if I was in the middle of a contraction or not. I zoned her out for contractions and then answered her questions afterwards. I think I got REALLY agitated when I told her that I needed to use the bathroom and she put me on a bedpan. Finally, I asked if I could get on my hands and knees on the bed and try to rock through contractions and she said that was fine. It felt so good to be off my back!!! Then, I asked if I could go sit on the toilet and she said yes...I stayed there for quite a while because that too, felt good. Each time I was getting checked for dilation and thinning of the cervix, I was staying at 9 cm and there was still alot of cervix there. It was going on 1:30 in the afternoon now and I was starting to wonder when the baby would start to descend. The nurse said that there was one more thing that we could try to get the baby down and that was the birthing ball. She got that situated for me and I hopped on. The feeling I got from that was amazing...it really helped me get through some serious contractions. I was getting very physically exhausted and felt like dozing off. So, I leaned forward onto Greg and tried to rest between contractions. The poor guy...during some of the contractions I would pull on him so hard, I practically was ripping his clothes. But, he was awesome! He never raised his voice, never flinched...just held me and let me do what I needed to do. At about 3, I was seriously considering an epidural. I was very adamant against one but wasn't sure how much more I could handle...I was exhausted and knew that I needed to be able to push this baby out...whenever that would be. I cried and cried...I prayed and asked God for wisdom. I wasn't trying to be a hero and was not trying to impress anyone by saying that I made it through without drugs. I just needed to be able to birth this baby. My husband told me that whatever I decided would be fine. So, I said yes to the epidural. After receiving that, I was able to rest and began to feel exactly what I would need to feel to push. I remember telling my nurse that I felt like I needed to push and she told me that I needed to just breathe through the contractions because I was still at 9 cm. So, breathe I did! At about 4:30, my doctor came in and checked me. I was so thrilled when she said "baby's head is right here!" I then asked if I could push and she said "go ahead"! That was music to my ears!!! They dropped the end of the bed and I got into position. I pushed for 25 minutes and Jacob was born. They flopped him up on my belly and I couldn't believe that he was here! They whisked him away to the warmer and started to clean him up. I tore slightly so that required some stitching, but that was no big deal...I had birthed my son and had avoided a cesarean!!! Praise the Lord!!!
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Jacob was taken to the nursery for monitoring as he had fluid in his lungs, and I was left in the room to wait for the epidural to wear off. I ate dinner, showered and was moved to the mother/baby unit where I would be for the remainder of my stay. Jacob ended up having some issues. A doctor came into my room on Saturday morning and told me that Jacob would have to have a tube put down his throat to be fed and that I could not nurse him. Because he had fluid in his lungs, they didn't want to risk him aspirating more fluid. Because of the fluid, his breathing was very rapid as well and that required constant monitoring. So, having him with me in my room was out of the question. About this time, his jaundice kicked in and he was put under the bilirubin lights. I went down to the nursery to visit him and while gazing at him in the bassinet, the nurse came quietly to my side. She informed me that they had detected a heart murmur and that he would need to have an EKG. I just shook my head and prayed silently that God would turn things around and heal him. I was discouraged...I wanted to go home...I wanted to be able to take Jacob home...I wanted to nurse. God knew my heart, and by the evening, the nurses brought Jacob to me and told me that I could nurse him again. We were supposed to go home on Sunday, but because Jacob was having so many difficulties, that wasn't going to happen. Thankfully the hospital has some extra rooms near the nursery for moms who need to stay longer than anticipated. I was technically discharged on Sunday, but stayed as a boarding mother...free of charge. I had a nice little room near the nursery and the nurses would come get me when Jacob was ready to eat. It was such a blessing to be able to be there with him. Well, his EKG came back good...he still has a murmur but it is slight and probably will go away. His jaundice didn't drop enough for us to go home until Wednesday. We were so ready to go home by this time!!! I was thrilled when we walked out of the hospital~with Jacob~for the first time! It felt like I had been there forever!
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I was so happy to be home! I had missed my Hannah very much and she looked so big compared to baby Jacob! The adjustment of having two children was interesting...Hannah was (and still is) a little mother! My recovery was smooth and I felt back to normal in a short amount of time. I am so thankful for everyone's prayers for me to have a vaginal delivery...God is so good! I feel so privileged to have been able to give birth to my son...what a rewarding experience!
Here he is!
At this hospital, they put the baby's footprint on daddy's hand. Isn't that cute???
Meeting for the first time
Mommy and Jacob...at last!
Hannah meets her new baby brother. She was thrilled!!! (Jacob has tape on his face to hold his feeding tube in.)
The face says it all...
"Hello Jacob, I'm your daddy!"
One of the reasons I was able to have a VBAC...my doctor! She was AMAZING! Praise the Lord for her.
I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Tommee Tippee blogging contest for a chance to get a gift pack worth $50. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

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6 comments

  1. It's great that you're writing all this down, too - someday you and your family will be able to re-read this and remember all the details!

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  2. Congrats on the new addition! :)

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  3. What a wonderful idea! Both of my kids are teenagers now and you do forget so many things. I wish I had done this when they were little.

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  4. Love the footprint on daddy's hand.. very cute :)

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  5. You have a sweet family. Treasure these posts and photos - I wish I had done this when my children were born. These times are precious!

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  6. oh how I love a beautiful birth story, I've been meaning to write a post for each of mine. he's gorgeous! you forget how small they ever were!

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