Remington Rose
I guess to start my first birth story I should start by saying we had a COVID baby. Yep. I was one of those moms that gave birth in 2020 to my very first child when the world was in such an uncertain state. My husband and I are both teachers, and our school shut down and went to eLearning in mid-March. This actually turned out to be really nice for me! I was able to rest and take a nap every single day and had time for walks with our dog.
There was still the other side though with the uncertainty and the anxiousness and the nerves. I knew my mom wasn’t going to be able to be with me because I was only allowed to have one support person in the room, so that was extremely disappointing. You also never knew from week to week what new policy the hospital would implement next. I heard the crazy stories of dads not even being allowed in during delivery and couldn’t imagine my first birth without my husband. Then there was the craziness of women having to labor and deliver while wearing a mask, but luckily, I didn’t have to do that. As far as the pregnancy though, everything was great.
The Pregnancy
I had a very normal, healthy pregnancy. I was due June 7th but also kept hearing June 11th (my birthday). It honestly went on like this my whole pregnancy, but in the end, we were waiting for June 7th. Like a lot of first-time moms, my due date came and went. When I say I get big during pregnancy, I mean I get huge, and my first pregnancy was no exception. I’m 5’2” with not a lot of room to spare, so the end of pregnancy was very uncomfortable.
My Last Appointment
On June 11th I went to my OB appointment and agreed to a cervical check. I was 3cm dilated and had lost just a couple of tiny pieces of my mucus plug during the week. I agreed to a membrane sweep and to be induced the next morning at 6 am. I do wish that I would have had the patience to wait and decline the induction, but I had not educated myself enough or done enough research to be able to weigh the pros and cons of that decision. Also, because of Covid, my husband wasn’t allowed at any of the appointments, so he was not there to make me slow down and think through what I wanted to do. All I knew was I was so excited to meet my baby and didn’t want to wait anymore!
The Night Before Induction
I couldn’t get any sleep that night. My appointment was already later in the evening, and we hadn’t packed our hospital bag yet. The nerves of having a baby the next day left me excited and anxious. My mom came to stay at our house to watch our dog for us, and that evening we would watch my stomach tighten up and relax. My mom was convinced I was in labor and kept asking if they hurt, but they just felt like Braxton Hicks and I had had a few here and there all week. I probably got five hours of sleep that night, max.
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Arriving at the Hospital
We arrived at the hospital the next morning for our induction. After a new nurse blew out my vein in four different spots, I finally got an IV in and a pitocin drip started around 7:30 am. As they were attempting to get the IV in, I remember feeling the slightest bit crampy. Looking back I wish I would have known that I could ask to be checked and hooked up to see if I was indeed having contractions. There are many things I would change about my first birth and decisions that were made, but I’ll save that for another day.
Laboring
I was continuously monitored, and looking back I honestly couldn’t tell you why. I felt very limited in what I could do being hooked up like that, and I think it was around 1 pm when I thought I might want an epidural. I was a little surprised because I thought my pain tolerance would be better, but the nurse came in and watched the contractions on the screen for a minute and would comment how they were off the chart. Pitocin contractions are no joke!
At the time I thought of getting an epidural, my contractions were one right after another, or very irregular so I was having a hard time relaxing in between. Plus, I hadn’t made it past 4cm which felt pretty defeating at that time. As a first-time mom, if I could have seen into the future to my second labor, I would have known I had a lot longer to go!
After getting the epidural and taking a nap, I was checked again and still hadn’t made it past 4cm. It was around 4 pm when I had my waters broken in hopes of helping me progress. When I reflect on my birth now, I realize how little I did to help myself along, but also how little the nurses did to help me along. I never received any kind of suggestions for positions to lay in, and I think it had a lot to do with COVID. I think they were trying to be out of the room as much as possible. This is not to speak poorly of them – I liked all the nurses I had during my stay, but I think all the craziness of COVID really affected how I labored. After all the research I’ve gone through, I now know things you can do even with an epidural to keep progressing labor.
Around 6 pm the doctor on call came in and said that our daughter’s heart rate was starting to drop during contractions and was a little slow to come back up. He said he was okay with giving me more time if I wanted it. I labored for probably another 30 minutes before he came back in and suggested a C-section. I agreed, and we started prepping to go to the OR.
Delivery
I had a very standard cesarean with no complications. Our daughter, Remington, was born on June 12th at 7:45 pm, weighing 7lbs 9oz and measuring 20.25 inches. She was perfectly healthy and we couldn’t be happier!
