Noah Milton Brown
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
4:12 PM
6 pounds 13 ounces
20.02 inches
We went to the hospital on Monday, October 20, 2008 at 8 am for my dr apt...During the ultrasound they noticed that my fluid had dropped since Friday but it wasn't dangerously low, just low enough to be watched. My midwife checked me and I had finally started to thin so she decided it was best that we go ahead and be admitted as soon as a room became available. We were admitted at 11 ish am. I was so dreading the IV and of course that was the first thing they had to do...no fun at all! We waited and waited and finally at 2 pm they started me on a round of cytotec to thin my cervix. Literally within about 30 minutes I started to have some pretty good contractions, still not regular but at least I was feeling them now! The contractions got pretty steady and increasingly more painful throughout the day...by 6 pm the midwife decided that I was contracting too much to be given any more cytotec (I’d only had 1 dose) but I still wasn't dilated! It was decided that we would begin a pitocin drip and hopefully things would progress a bit more. So we waited and we waited again...finally at 10 pm they started me on the pitocin. It didn't take long for the contractions to start getting more frequent and more intense after that. At 11 pm I was given medicine to help with the pain, to help me sleep, and to nix the nausea...I think it was the combo of the drugs that made me loopy…I looked up and the room was spinning! The next thing I knew I was watching the monitor and could see that I was having a contraction, but I couldn’t feel a thing! I just started laughing uncontrollably and then I was out! I passed out and didn’t wake up until 3:30 am! From then on it was constant contractions and just seemed like a waiting game…waiting for me to dilate to a 3 so I could get an epidural! At 5:30 am I was still a 2 but 80% effaced. Around 8 am I was 90% and finally a 3!! After the epidural things really got moving! Sometime around 10ish Noah’s heart beat dropped quite low. The nurses and midwife had me turning from side to side to try to stabilize it. I remember hearing them ask for a scalpel! I thought, Oh no they’re gonna have to take him out right now! Really what they were asking for though was a “scalp”…they had to put an internal monitor on Noah’s head and while they were doing that my water broke. I held steady at a 4 for a while, but around noon things started moving really really fast…I went from a 4 to a 6 by 1:00 and then by 2:00 I dilated from a 6 to a 10!! I couldn’t feel anything except a LOT of pressure! I was ready to start pushing! After the first push Noah’s heart rate dropped again into the 50s and even though I was loopy I remember looking up and seeing tons of people in the room where before it had just been Jamie, my mom, my midwife, and my favorite nurse Savannah. The doctor had been called in and immediately I heard him say we were probably going to do a c-section and that they needed to get ready. Of course I was in shambles! I was determined to have this baby the “right” way and my midwife was very supportive. Once Noah’s heart rate was stable they decided we would try pushing until 4 but if we didn’t make any progress a c-section would be the best option. Around 3:15 a second midwife was called in and they tried a vacuum on Noah’s poor little head…he was so close but just wasn’t budging. When that didn’t work after 3 attempts, Dr. Short was once again back in my room…this time to try forceps! Jamie shot him an awful look and halfway through the first try Dr Short stopped and said, “never mind we’re moving to section.” After that it was all a blur. I was moved super fast to the operating room where I was given more medicine which made me extremely tired, plus the fact that I had been crying so hard made it difficult for me to keep my eyes open. I pretty much passed out once I was on the operating table and can only remember a few moments in the room. Jamie was brought back once they had me settled and as soon as he heard Noah’s first cry he burst into tears and asked if it was ok if he left my side! What a sweet hubby! The doctor left just enough cord for Jamie to get to “cut” the cord (even though it was already cut! Noah was born at 4:12 pm on October 21, 2008. I was taken to recovery while Jamie and Noah went to the nursery. He weighed 6 pounds 13 ounces and was 20.02 inches long!
Nobody could really explain what had happened, why Noah wasn’t able to be delivered naturally. Everyone said he had plenty of room and was in a great position. Dr. Short later told Jamie, “The mom is like a lock and the baby is the key. The key has to turn a few times to open the lock and Noah just wasn’t making those turns.”
Although the birth experience was quite crazy, long, and not at all what I had expected (or prepared for), in the end we were just so blessed to have Noah here finally safe and sound! There are no words to express what becoming a parent feels like. It’s the most joy I’ve ever experienced and the most scared I’ve ever been all at the same time. Seeing Jamie interact with Noah has been one of the biggest blessings yet. During the birth, Jamie sat by my bed and stared at Noah’s heart monitor for 5 hours straight! When someone would ask if he needed to leave, he said “NO! This is my job!!” Not only did Jamie not leave the room until Thursday afternoon (only for 30 minutes to get lunch!) but he changed every diaper, waited on me hand and foot, and showed more emotion than I could ever have expected. He has been the perfect husband and is turning out to be an AMAZING daddy!
We are in love completely! End of story!
