Birth Stories

Funnily enough, all three kids had the same due date of November 6th. That date was pretty special to me, as it was my cousin’s birthday and he is no longer with us. I like to think he had a hand in keeping these kids safe.

Taylor was born on November 7, 2011. I went into the doctor for a regular weekly, Monday morning appointment as I was already full term. My doctor told me that she had a dream about me over the weekend. In her dream, I was 4cm dilated and ready to have the baby. Sure enough, she gave me an exam and I was 4cm dialed and in labor. I had no idea that the back pain I was feeling all weekend was actually back labor. Fortunately, I was already at the hospital and had my bag with me, so it was easy enough to be admitted. They monitored me for a while and decided that I needed to be induced to help labor progress because I had preeclampsia (pregnancy-induced high blood pressure). They broke my water, and I was on my way. My entire labor and delivery with Taylor was like something out of a comedy. It was fun. It was easy. Who has ever used those words to describe child birth before? I had en epidural, which only partially took, so I was feeling half of everything that was going on. When my doctor told me it was time to push, I pushed for 22 minutes, start to finish before my beautiful girl was born. The doctor and nurse were hovering over me and yelling “She has red hair! She has red hair!” as I was pushing her out. Apparently, they had a bet going on at my OB’s office about this. She was 8 pounds, 2 ounces and 20.5 inches long. They put her on my chest immediately, and I was instantly in love. It was the most beautiful experience of my life. We stayed in the hospital for three days, and were released without any issues.

The boys’ birth story is completely different. Jackson and Joseph were born at 34 weeks, 5 days gestation. I had been having back pains and cramping for a few days before their birth and was monitoring it. I had to have weekly NSTs (non-stress tests) at the hospital since it was considered a high risk pregnancy. On this particular Monday morning, I did not want to go alone. I told Todd that I had a weird feeling and I wanted him to be with me. He came with me to the hospital, where they hooked me up for monitoring. After telling me that I looked pale and awful, the nurse looked at the screen to see that I was having regular contractions. She sent the results to my doctor who told her to bring us upstairs as I was going to be admitted to Labor & Delivery. The doctor on call checked me again and said that my contractions were coming steadily and Baby A (Jackson) was coming out, butt first. We had to deliver the boys within the hour. It was a whirlwind of emotions and not what we were expecting on that morning. Everything happened quickly. I was prepped, brought to the OR, and the boys were delivered quickly. The boys were delivered and I got to see them each quickly as the nurses snapped a few pictures. They were having trouble breathing and gasping for air, so they had to be immediately brought down to the NICU. Thankfully, since they knew the boys were preemies, there was already a Neonatologist and a NICU team in place for each of the boys. They were quickly whisked away and I did not get to see them until I was stable enough after recovery. Todd got to visit with them first and ensured me that they were handsome and getting taken care of. It was the longest wait in my life. The boys had a host of issues from being premature. Jackson had a pneumothorax and required a bedside surgery to have a chest tube put it. They had trouble feeding. They were severely jaundiced. They required CPAP machines. They remained in the NICU for 11 days. Leaving the hospital every day without my babies was the hardest thing in the world. I did not want to leave them there, yet at the same time, I knew they were receiving the best care possible. The NICU doctors and nurses were some of the best people I have ever met in my life. They cared for our babies and loved them when I couldn’t be there to care for them myself. They will always hold a very special place in my heart. I try to keep in contact with them and have visited a few times.