Where to begin…let’s see. Jaxon’s due date was June 7th. At our 20 week appointment and ultrasound, we were told that I had a shortened cervix. This was surprising to us, because even with Gentry being 10 days late, my cervix was still rather thick. However, after having Gentry, I had an anterior prolapse. Anyways…my cervix was measuring 2.5-2.6 cm, and usually around 20 weeks, it should be closer to 4 cm. I was told to avoid working out and excessive walking. (Let’s be honest…I hadn’t worked out in a few weeks because I just couldn’t get myself to wake up any more…but now I had an excuse! LOL!) Having a shortened cervix could mean preterm labor, but my Dr. wasn’t too concerned with that because I was able to carry Gentry 41 weeks and 3 days.
At 35 weeks, my Dr. decided to check me to see how my cervix was measuring, and it seemed to be doing well, and I was already beginning to dilate and was at 2 cm! After hearing that, we just knew he was going to come early! Even my Dr. thought he would be here around 38 weeks. So we finished up the nursery, took a weekend trip to Dallas with Gentry, and tried to get everything prepared as much as we could!
At 36 weeks, I measured 3 cm and 75% effaced! This was totally shocking to us, because with Gentry, it took nearly 12 hours of active labor (I say active because my contractions were 5 minutes apart the entire time) to make it to 4 cm. So we are being more cautious than ever now, because we really want to make it to 38 weeks for full development!
At 37 weeks, I’m now closing in of 4 cm! By this point, I started taking PTO every Friday until he decided to make his arrival. I was having Braxton Hicks contractions pretty regularly throughout the days, and am losing sleep due to either my mind racing or Jaxon keeping me up!
At 38 weeks, Jaxon was so low and uncomfortable I decided to take the week off in hopes that he would decide to make his appearance early. I was still at 4 cm, and tried to stay very active! I went to the zoo, shopping, walked a par 3 course with my mom and dad, visited both of my grandmas, got a pedicure, went for a long family walk…nothing was working. This was by far the most uncomfortable week I had due to how low he was.
At 39 weeks, I went back to work since Jaxon still hadn’t made his appearance, and tried to stay as active as possible. Now that we were into the full term time frame, we did everything we could think of to help Jaxon come into the world…and let me tell you from experience…NONE OF IT WORKS!!! LOL! I was still at 4 cm…
At 40 weeks, we officially had reached our due date…he was still happy as could be…right where he was… We continued staying active visiting family, going to the splash pad, going to the movies, and STILL trying everything to help him find his way out…because at this point…he must be lost…RIGHT!?
At 41 weeks I worked through Thursday and left at lunch time. I was VERY uncomfortable, as I was now over a week past my due date. We were still trying everything…and I even broke down and tried acupuncture! Friday, June 18th, we finally had our last Dr. appointment, and by then, I was 41 weeks and 2 days. She couldn’t believe I had held on this long! I was now 5 cm dilated, and due to being past my due date, I had to do BPP and NST testing. Basically they had to hook me up to the monitors for an hour and monitor Jaxon’s heart beat over the hour and see how he handled any contractions during that time. We also had to do an ultrasound to see how he was moving, and he passed both tests with flying colors. So what did that mean? That he was just fine, and super content…no need to rush him out! However, since I was closing in on my 42nd week after the weekend, they scheduled me for an induction for Monday, June 19th. I was NOT excited about being induced, because I had planned a natural labor and delivery like I did with Gentry. And from what I’ve read…being induced makes it really hard to endure the contractions because the Pitocin makes them harder and longer, and often times one intervention leads to another, and that was not what I wanted. But I knew he needed to come out, because the longer they stay in, the more risk to mom and baby…such as meconium.
Monday comes, and we are scheduled to arrive at 4:30 AM!! Uhh…what? But it really didn’t matter, because neither of us could sleep anyways. It’s hard sleeping when you know you’re going to have a baby in the morning! LOL! I knew this labor would HOPEFULLY be faster, since I was already dilated 5 cm! They immediately started hooking me up to the IV machine…which I HATE by the way. With Gentry, I only had the port, never any fluids…so this was all new! I had tested positive for Group B Strep early on in my pregnancy, so I also had to have a round of penicillin every 4 hours of labor. If I only had 1 round in before delivery, Jaxon would have to be tested for GBS. If I got 2 rounds in, he didn’t have to have any blood work done…so I was really hoping for 2 rounds…just so he could avoid blood work! After getting the IV going, the nurse checked me to see where we were. I was at 6 cm now, still not having any contractions! SERIOUSLY?!
Around 6:30 AM, my amazing friend and labor and delivery nurse, Ellen, showed up! We both breathed a sigh of relief…she just brings so much peace for us! Around 7 AM, according to the monitor I was having “contractions” every 3-5 minutes, but they were painless…still just felt like Braxton Hicks. My Dr came in around 8 AM to break my water and “get things going”. By this point, the Dr said I was a good 7 cm now. And I STILL don’t feel like I’m in labor. She knew I didn’t want to be induced, so she told Ellen that I could get off of the Pitocin after a few minutes and walk around if I wanted to. You better believe I was off that thing within 15 minutes and walking the halls of that hospital! Ha!
We walked a couple laps, and then came back to sit on the peanut ball…oh I hate that ball. SO uncomfortable…but it helps get everything in line and drop the baby into position…so we sat on it and just talked. Talked to each other, and to Ellen. She was there just for us, so she hung out with us most of the time. She checked me around 10 AM, and I was at 8 cm, but once I got off of the Pitocin, I quit feeling any contractions, especially while I was up walking. I only felt them when I was sitting on the peanut ball, so we stayed on the ball most of the time, just to make sure my contractions didn’t stall out on us.
Around 11:30 AM, Ellen told us the my Dr was leaving for the day at 12 PM (she had been on call over the weekend, so she only works 1/2 days on Monday), so I would need to get back on the pit if I wanted her to be my Dr. I didn’t really want to do that, so we talked it out, and decided to just use the on-call dr if he didn’t come in the next 30 minutes. LOL! My Dr called to check on me around 12, and Ellen updated her. She said she was going to do some paperwork before leaving the office, and she would come by and check on me before going home. Around 12:30 PM, I finally started feeling contractions that were getting intense, and I was focusing on them, and trying to breathe through them…hey…we might be getting somewhere! But they were still 8+ minutes apart! By 1 PM, Ellen called to have the room set up for delivery…uh really? Already? I’m just now starting to feel some intensity…am I really that close?
By 1:15 PM, I felt the urge to start pushing, so I gave a few gentle pushes, and could definitely feel him moving into position! So I quickly decided to get in the bed. Ellen said, you’re ready…start pushing on the next one…which was still 8 minute away. So I pushed a little bit on that one, and he was moving right along! Ellen called my Dr over, and I continued giving gentle pushes until she got there, and he kept getting into position. My Dr showed up and we were all just talking…she said…are you sure she’s ready?!? When’s the next contraction? Ellen replied…oh yes…she’s ready…he’s right there…and she has a pretty nice break between each contraction. A couple minutes later and a few laughs later…here comes another contraction and a good push! And now we wait again…and visit…and laugh. One nurse actually kept saying, “I am so excited to witness this delivery! You are so relaxed, and chill! You don’t even look or act like you’re about to deliver a baby! This is so AMAZING!!” One more good push, and Jaxon was here! At 1:46 PM!
They immediately put him on my chest, and that feeling of holding your new baby is just overwhelming. There are tears of joy and happiness that only a mother can understand and know. It’s totally indescribable! He never quite cried very well, so we told the nurses to check him out. Turned out the he had a LOT of fluid in his chest that he needed to cough up, and once he was away from me, he started crying hard enough to cough it up! My Dr and I also heard a few pops during the delivery, which turned out to be Jaxon’s left collar bone, and my tailbone…which my tailbone broke with Gentry too, so that wasn’t a huge surprise. But poor Jaxon, he fractured his left collar bone. It wasn’t a complete break, but what Josh called a “green stick” fracture. It was bent, but not broke, so we just needed to be gentle with it, and it has healed up just fine!
Aside from those 2 issues, the other complication was a minor post-partum hemorrhage. I had to get a shot in my leg and also a few pills packed in my mouth to help the bleeding stop, and thankfully that was all that was needed. But after a decent amount of blood loss…you talk about the shakes! OH MAN…it was horrible, and uncontrollable! Ellen got me a blanket with a fan that attaches to it…I feel like I was inside a Jupiter jump! Lol! But it worked…I warmed up and was able to quit shaking! I had to stay in the labor and delivery room for recovery a little longer due to the hemorrhage, but that was ok, because we were able to rest and get a few hours of one-on-one time with Jaxon before introducing him to family.
We told family to come up after 5PM, once we were moved to our recovery room. All of our family came up to see him that evening, and the next day. We had to stay 48 hours due to testing positive for GBS. We were SO ready to go home…you just don’t get much rest in a hospital.
Aside from my broken tailbone…recovery was fantastic. The tailbone took about 4 weeks to feel significantly better, and after 6 weeks it was completely gone. I say completely…I can still feel a little tenderness if I sit a certain way, but for the most part, it is completely gone.
This labor and delivery was SO much different than Gentry’s. SO fast, and practically painless! Seriously, no intense contractions until less than an hour before I was pushing. I couldn’t believe it. I had been using Evening Primrose Oil capsules, and taking red raspberry leaf tea capsules for about 2 weeks before delivery, and I really think that could’ve had something to do with it. If you’re curious about either of those, and want to know a little more in-depth detail on those and perineal stretching, holler at me! I really think they make a difference, and I highly recommend them!
Whew! Never thought I could write so much…but I think I’m done now! Thanks for reading…if you made it this long!
