Labor and Delivery Blog | The Birth of Our Son!
39 Weeks 3 Days
Around 9 am, I leashed up Leo and headed out for our morning walk. My walks had officially turned into waddles, but we still hit our one mile goal. I headed inside to shower and get ready for my 39 week appointment. I already knew there would be no progress in labor because I did not feel any different from my 38 week appointment.
The only symptoms I had been experiencing were lightning crotch (gosh, it is a real thing), swollen ankles, severe heartburn, and the typical aches and pains of being 39 weeks pregnant. I had started to dread appointments once they became weekly. It always felt like the same routine: getting weighed, giving a urine sample, having my blood pressure taken, explaining how I felt, and then leaving.
I had refused all cervix checks after the 36 week appointment. First of all, no one warned me how painful they were, and second, they are not very necessary unless you are past 40 weeks or already in active labor. During this appointment, the doctor mentioned the possibility of induction if I had not gone into labor by 40 weeks. I did not want to go that route, so I decided I was going to do everything possible to encourage labor naturally.
I was still eating plenty of pineapple, drinking raspberry leaf tea, walking daily, sitting on my exercise ball, and eating dates. After doing a little Googling, I read that spicy food could also help move things along. I know many of these methods are probably bogus, but once I heard the word induction, I was willing to try just about anything.
On the way home from my appointment, I stopped at HomeGoods to pick up a new wreath for the front door and grabbed some extra spicy sushi (pregnancy safe) from my favorite spot. Kyle and I ate dinner, put up some blinds in the nursery, sat on the porch for a bit, and then headed to bed after watching Jeopardy.
4:30 am 39 Weeks 4 Days
I woke up at 4:30 am, the same time I had been waking up every morning. A few minutes later, I felt a small gush, nothing like the dramatic scenes you see in movies when a woman’s water breaks. When you are pregnant, peeing a little when you sneeze or cough is pretty common, so I did not want to get too excited.
I softly said Kyle’s name a few times to wake him up. When he did not respond, I went for the arm punch move and said his name a little louder. He woke up in a panic, probably ripped right out of a good REM cycle, and sat there trying to catch his breath as I whispered, “I think my water broke.”
It took him a few seconds to process what I was telling him. I never pranked him about my water breaking during pregnancy because I did not want him to think I was joking when the real moment actually happened.
I got out of bed and walked into the bathroom. When I pulled my shorts down, there was a large wet spot. Once again, I was not sure if it was pee or actual amniotic fluid. Kyle and I started getting excited, thinking this could really be it.
I decided to try using the bathroom to see if anything else would happen. When I wiped, there was blood on the toilet paper. At that moment, I knew for sure it had to be my water.
Kyle started getting dressed quickly, while I was moving like a snail. He was clearly concerned that I was not eager to throw on my shoes and rush to the hospital. As I stood there trying to figure out what to wear, he asked, “Shouldn’t we be hurrying?”
I just laughed and told him I needed to shower, have my morning coffee, and use the bathroom first. We already had all of the hospital bags downstairs in the office and ready to go, so while I showered and drank my coffee, he packed everything up, took the dogs out, and made sure we were fully prepared to leave.
I definitely made him nervous by going about my morning as if I was not in labor at all.
5:30 am
The car was packed, and we headed to the hospital. It was only a fourteen minute drive, and since it was so early, we did not hit any traffic. We called our moms to let them know we were on the way. My mom planned to stay at our house with the dogs while we were gone, but I told her I would keep her updated if we were admitted or if it turned out to be a false alarm.
Aside from the leaking, I was not experiencing any real signs of labor. I had no contractions and barely felt Braxton Hicks throughout my pregnancy. If I had not felt that initial gush, I probably would have gone about my day like normal.
When we arrived at the front desk, the hospital felt like a ghost town. I casually told the nurse that I thought my water had broken, and she laughed at how calm I was. She had Kyle fill out the paperwork while she prepared a triage room for us.
6:20 am
I was more nervous about this being a false alarm than actually being in labor. The last thing I wanted was to go back home feeling embarrassed after peeing myself and thinking my water had broken. Since I had tested positive for GBS, it was important for me to get to the hospital as soon as my water broke or strong contractions started. That way, I could receive a few rounds of antibiotics through my IV before delivery.
The triage room felt like a hot yoga studio. As soon as I put on the hospital gown, we had to leave the door open until the air finally kicked on. It easily felt like it was ninety degrees in there.
The nurse came in to do a quick swab to determine whether the leaking was urine or my water breaking. By the time we arrived at the hospital, I was fairly certain it was my water since I had completely soaked a pad on the drive there.
It took a little while for the nurse to come back with the results, so I made Kyle walk up to the station to check the test. We were both grinning ear to ear when we saw that it was positive. We were officially going to have a baby.
Spicy sushi… just saying.
8:00 am
A few minutes later, it was time for the dreaded cervix check. I do not know if it is like this for anyone else, but cervix checks are almost more painful than giving birth. I would honestly rather have multiple epidurals than go through another one.
At my 36 week appointment, I was not dilated at all. Even with my water broken, I was still only one centimeter dilated.
9:00 am
Kyle hooked up our Firestick, which I highly recommend bringing to the hospital. We spent the morning watching Netflix, and we even had YouTube TV available, so we were not limited to local channels. Having something to watch made the morning and afternoon fly by.
As I sat there eating popsicles and sipping ginger ale, Kyle discovered the snack bag and started stress eating all of the trail mix and snack bars. When you are not allowed to eat, it is surprisingly hard to watch someone else do it. I finally understand why everyone told me to pack snacks for the husband.
12:00 pm
I cannot even tell you where the day went. Everything felt like a blur, and with so much happening, I completely lost track of time. By the afternoon, I had already binged an entire season of Selling Sunset.
I finally met the doctor who would be delivering our baby, and she reassured me that I could ask for an epidural at any time. We did another quick cervix check, and even though I had been on Pitocin all morning, I was still only one centimeter dilated.
It was time to increase the Pitocin.
3:00 pm
I finally started to feel stronger contractions. They felt like the most intense period cramps and grew more uncomfortable with each one. I decided to ask for the epidural because I wanted to be able to relax and truly enjoy the labor experience.
4:00 pm
The anesthesiologist came in to give me the epidural around 4 pm. It took him a little while to get into the room, so I highly recommend asking for one before you are in excruciating pain, just in case it takes time for them to arrive.
I was not nervous about getting an epidural, even though I know many people consider it their biggest fear when it comes to labor. Trust me, once the contractions become intense, they completely distract you from everything happening behind the scenes.
After signing all the paperwork, he placed several pieces of tape on my back, numbed the area with a small shot, and then administered the epidural. It felt more like a pinching sensation, and it was over quickly. During the procedure, I leaned on Kyle and stayed as still as possible. I can barely remember what it felt like since my contractions were so strong at the time.
About fifteen minutes later, the epidural kicked in. At first, it only worked on my right side, which made me nervous that I would have to go through the process again. Thankfully, they tilted my body, and within a few minutes, I could not feel anything from the waist down. I could still wiggle my toes, but I had no real sensation.
The contractions disappeared instantly. As soon as the epidural took effect, my legs felt like they weighed a thousand pounds each. I also remember my feet getting incredibly cold, so the fuzzy socks from my hospital bag post were a lifesaver.
5:00 pm
By the time 5 pm rolled around, I was feeling great. I was still only two centimeters dilated, so I decided to put on my sleep mask, plug in my earbuds, and try to get some rest. I told Kyle to wake me up when Jeopardy came on.
I was starting to feel nervous about how slowly things were progressing, and I hoped that sleeping and fully relaxing would help move things along. At that point, my Pitocin was at the highest dose they could give me.
7:00 pm
I felt Kyle gently poking me, telling me to wake up because Jeopardy was about to start. We were very invested in watching Mattea during her win streak. I was not actually asleep anyway since it is nearly impossible to rest when nurses are constantly coming in and out.
After the episode ended, the doctor checked my dilation and, miraculously, I was already at seven centimeters. I was so excited because it meant we would likely be meeting our baby very soon. She explained that going from seven to ten centimeters can happen quickly.
She also broke the rest of my water at that point.
7:45 pm
After the shift change, I met my new nurse, and they checked my dilation again. I was officially nine and a half centimeters dilated, so they called the doctor to come in and start getting all of the tables ready for delivery. I was so, so, so excited.
I was still feeling great and took a few minutes to text my family and let them know it was time to push.
Instead of putting together gift baskets for the nurses ahead of time, I ordered a giant box of Crumbl cookies for their break room. I also ordered a separate box for the amazing nurse we had during the day. I was genuinely sad when her shift ended because I absolutely loved her.
9:00 pm
I spent about forty five minutes pushing through contractions with the nurses. One of them recommended lowering my epidural so I could feel more pressure while pushing. About thirty minutes later, the anesthesiologist came in and adjusted my epidural.
10 pm
Things suddenly started to go downhill. Out of nowhere, I felt like my kidney was exploding and my lower back was being cracked in half. With an epidural, you are not supposed to feel that level of pain. I kept telling the nurse that I could not push through it because it felt like my bones were dislocating. It was one of the worst pains I have ever experienced.
She told me that this kind of pain was normal, but I kept insisting that something did not feel right. I knew deep down that I should not be feeling that level of pain with an epidural in place. This moment reinforced just how important it is to advocate for yourself when something feels off.
10:30 pm
It felt as if every bit of the epidural had completely worn off. I honestly felt like I could have gotten up and walked right off the bed. With the Pitocin turned up so high, the pain became even more excruciating. My ribs felt like they were cracking, my back felt broken, and I could feel every single contraction. They were easily one hundred times more painful than the contractions I had before the epidural.
I told the nurse it felt like I had fallen seventy feet, broken every bone in my body, and simply could not push through that kind of pain. Eventually, she realized that this might not be normal and called the anesthesiologist back to check whether my epidural had come out of my back.
While we waited for him to return, we kept trying different positions to make pushing more comfortable, but nothing helped.
12:00 am
It was two hours of excruciating pain before the anesthesiologist finally made his way back in to check on me. By that point, the pain was so severe that I was projectile vomiting. There is truly nothing worse than throwing up through intense contractions while your body feels like it has been thrown off a building.
It turned out that my epidural had shut off hours earlier. I knew it was not normal. Going from feeling no pain to suddenly feeling everything while fully dilated and on Pitocin was absolutely brutal.
Once he plugged the epidural button back in, my body immediately relaxed and the pain disappeared. If there is one takeaway from this moment, it is this: if someone tells you something is normal and you know in your gut that it is not, advocate for yourself.
1:30 am
Because the pain had been so intense, my body was completely tensed up and labor slowed down significantly. As soon as the epidural started working again, my body finally relaxed and cooperated.
It was time to have our baby.
2:30 am
I was completely exhausted but still determined to have this baby. Normally, after pushing for that long, a C section might be mentioned, but our baby’s vitals were excellent, so there was no concern.
3:20 am
After another hour of pushing, I was so close to delivering. His head was right there, and the nurses told me I only had about five pushes left. I was already crying happy tears when suddenly a nurse rushed to the door to let my doctor know that a baby was seconds away from being born in the hallway.
I started laughing, convinced I must be on some kind of prank show. The doctor told me to stop pushing, and then she left the room.
3:38 am
Ten minutes later, she was back. I could not hold back the pushes anymore. As soon as she sat down, I pushed, and I heard Kyle yell, “We have a baby boy!” I completely lost it.
We both started crying, and I could not believe I finally had my son in my arms. I had thought it was a boy my entire pregnancy, even though most people guessed girl, so Kyle was absolutely shocked.
After the birth, everything felt like a blur because all I could do was stare at him. He was so perfect and so healthy. Every second of the 7 1/2 hours of pushing was worth it.
That moment was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. The second my son was placed in my arms, my entire world changed. I never knew it was possible to love someone this deeply. Nothing else mattered but our family. Everything that once took up space in my mind and time instantly felt unimportant.
He is my whole world, and I still find myself staring at him, crying, completely in awe.
7:00 am
I spent the next few hours holding him and studying every little feature of his face. All of the pain faded away in that moment. A little while later, our recovery room was ready.
Kyle held our son while the nurses helped me stand up for the first time in twenty four hours. As soon as I got up, I felt extremely dizzy and thought I might pass out. After a few minutes, everything started to level out and I felt more alert again.
While this was happening, Kyle packed up our bags as the nurses helped me use the bathroom and set me up for postpartum recovery. I plan to write a separate postpartum blog post sharing all of the products that helped me through recovery, including puppy pads for leaking. The hospital does provide everything you need, but there are a few items you can bring from home that are better quality and made a big difference for me.
8:00 am
We finally got settled into the recovery room. I had been awake for over twenty four hours, but getting any sleep after giving birth felt impossible. Nurses came in every thirty minutes, and all I wanted to do was hold my sweet baby. On top of that, I had a few phone calls to make to our family.
11:30 am
The hospital does provide meals, but since you do not get to choose them, I was not interested in the food they brought. Not that it was bad, I just did not crave heavy, Thanksgiving style meals. Of course, I still took photos for any fellow foodies who might be curious about what the hospital served.
Kyle went out to one of my favorite local delis and picked up all of my favorites. Since you cannot eat during labor, I was beyond excited to finally have a sandwich. While he was out grabbing food and coffee from Starbucks, our son had his first shots, a hearing test, and a vision test, and he passed everything.
The entire day flew by, and with so much happening, I did not get any sleep at all.
1:00 pm
Kyle headed home for about thirty minutes to bring back swaddles with our baby’s scent on them for the dogs. This helped so much when it came time to introduce them to their new sibling.
7:00 pm -4 am
We turned on Jeopardy and got ready for the night, and I was really looking forward to getting some sleep. That said, I had a hard time closing my eyes because our boy kept breaking out of his swaddle with his strong little arms. No matter how tightly he was wrapped, he managed to escape every time.
I could not stop worrying about him getting tangled in the swaddle, so I decided to hold him, feed him, and cuddle him all night instead. I was approaching forty eight hours without sleep, but the adrenaline kept me wide awake. Every time a nurse came into the room, she was shocked to see me still awake.
I highly recommend bringing a zipper swaddle to the hospital if you are even a little paranoid like me. Around 3 am, I finally handed him to Kyle so I could shut my eyes for a bit. Of course, the moment I fell asleep, the nurses came in to draw my blood. I swear those TikTok jokes about people constantly coming into the recovery room are so accurate. It is honestly hilarious.
5:00 am
I decided it was time to fully wake up. Somehow, we convinced the hospital to let us go home around noon. They preferred that we stay another night, but we did not feel it was necessary. All I wanted was the comfort of my own home and the chance to get a good night’s sleep.
I was especially looking forward to taking a long, hot shower.
8:00 am
I was craving oatmeal and coffee, so Kyle headed to Starbucks to pick up breakfast and a few snacks for us.
12:00 pm
Kyle packed up the car and brought the car seat, and we finally made our way home. I was so excited to introduce the dogs to their new brother and see our little guy in his nursery.
These past few weeks have been filled with both highs and lows. A few days after giving birth, I had to undergo a D & C procedure due to retained placenta, which caused severe bleeding, pain, and delayed milk production. It was terrifying, and spending an entire day away from my son was easily the hardest part.
Navigating motherhood has truly been a trial and error experience. My maternal instincts quickly took over, and all of the books I had read beforehand seemed to go right out the window. It has almost been a month since bringing him home, and we have finally found a good routine. Things are starting to feel easier around here, and we are absolutely in love with him. Becoming parents has been such a joy.
I do plan to catch up on blogging, but I have also been soaking in every moment with him. He has been sleeping like a little bean on my chest this entire time I have been writing this post, and I have a feeling this is exactly how I will be writing blogs for the next few months.
I have always loved reading other birth stories because no two are ever the same. Some are smooth, some are incredibly challenging, and some fall somewhere in between. I love how much the experience changes you and the sense of empowerment that comes once it is over.
I am so excited to be back to blogging, and wow, we have so much to catch up on. Thank you for sticking with me through this birth story, even if it feels a little all over the place. That day was truly a blur, and piecing it together was harder than I expected. I have a nursery reveal, a third trimester recap, a postpartum recovery post, and many more blogs to work on this month.
I’ve had 3 babies, my first was an easy vaginal delivery, except for her getting stuck on my pelvic bone and pushing for almost 3 hours. She came out a teeny tiny 6 pound peanut!
The second I was induced and when the nurse checked my cervix, she turned white and called the doctor in, my sons cord was coming out and I was only 5cm dilated. So the nurse had to keep her hand inside me so the cord didn’t get crimped, I remember them cutting my bra and gown off of me and putting a huge gas mask on my face, next thing I knew, I was waking up from an emergency c-section. I woke up bawling because I didn’t know if my son lived. It was awful. He did live, and was 10 pounds of chub with blond wispy hair. He was perfect. All that pain and horror was worth it. My next baby was a planned c-section, it was smooth and easy, and ended with another chubby baby boy! 💙
oh my gosh that is so scary! I’m sorry you went through that. I’m so happy that your son is healthy and perfect!!
Congratulations!!! There is nothing more magical than becoming a parent! I really didn’t want to be induced either and I was terrified of it since it seemed I never heard of anyone having an “easy labor” with induction. It became medically necessary to be induced when I was 37 weeks and I actually had a great experience! It took 26 hours, but I was only in major pain 2 of those hours when my epidural failed, similar to yours! The way you described your pain is exactly how I felt! I truly felt like my pelvic bones were shattering. I was also told it was normal and wasn’t taken seriously until I was vomiting and saying I felt like I was going to black out. It’s truly amazing how all of the pain instantly goes away when your baby is in your arms and they’re so worth it you feel like you could do it 100 times over again.
I’m sorry you went through that pain as well, but you’re so right about it being so worth it!! xo
I literally cried my way through this post, congratulations on your little guy! How are you feeling?
Aww thank you, Krista!
Each day gets a bit better!
Hey Taralynn! I loved reading your birth story ❤️. When I had my first, I was similar in thinking I peed myself LOL. I was in such denial my sister had to come over and smell the toilet paper after I wiped. 🤣🤣🤣 Meanwhile my husband was pacing back and forth in a panic. The rest of her story was smooth, I slept while the Pitocin and epidural did their jobs. With my son two years later the epidural failed like yours! When it came time to push I felt everything, and suffered from back pain til about 6 months after.
I’m so happy for you, Kyle, & your son! Congratulations ❤️
Oh My Gosh! Your sister is the ream MVP 😂
Ghosh Taralynn! After reading your labor experience I’m so glad you’re in a good place now. Given you went in so early for GBS it’s unfortunate they induced you (Pitocin). I was positive as well but choose to stay home as long as possible because I know hospitals prefer to rush things and those are always interventions. I had refused to be induced or have pain meds as it’s so important that I feel what’s going on with my body. I birthed my son at 41 weeks 2 days. My son is almost 8 years old now but reading your story brings back the memories of the anticipation of meeting your little one!
I had a midwife and labored mostly at home and went to a birthing center. I was 9cm dilated on arrival and I barely let them check me bc the contractions were so intense. I didn’t have any interventions / pain meds, etc. I had a water birth and my son was en caul (water never broke). My birth plan was aiming for all of the above minus the water birth – that was spontaneous but amazing.
Thank you for sharing your story, and be ready to have a different child every few weeks as they change SO fast!
Congratulations! I’ve been following you since your tumblr days and feel like I’ve grown up with you. I’m so happy that baby boy is here (I was team boy!) and that you are both happy and healthy. I laughed when you said you wanted a sandwich. That is all I wanted after the birth of my first son as well! It just hits different. Wishing you all the best as you navigate motherhood and I look forward to continue to follow along xo
I just had my fifth baby 4 months ago. My oldest just turned 7 in March and I’m 27 years old 😂. People think we are crazy.
My first three were induced and my last two I either had my water break (#4) or contractions started (#5). All my labors were 12 hours up to 24 hours. I’ve gotten an epidural every time except with #2 I got it too late and ended up having to push before the medicine kicked in. Don’t wait too late ladies!! 😂
I feel bad that getting your cervix checked hurt so much! i have a male doctor here in Montana where I live and he is so gentle it never hurts. One time he was out of the office and I had to see a female doctor and I started crying while she was checking my cervix because it hurt so bad 😂😂 needless to say I’ve seen the same doctor with all 5 because I’m terrified other doctors would hurt me. But I also love him he’s awesome and has delivered 4 out of 5 of my babies also.
Were you able I pee after your epidural wore off? i couldn’t pee for like 6-9 hours after and the nurses would get so worried about me but my muscles just didn’t want to work down there!
Did you have to get stitches? Luckily I’ve never tore but I’ve had some friends get 3rd degree tears.
My go to meal after having a baby is something comforting like soup, casserole, pot pie. Basically anything warm, tasty, and something I DID NOT have to make… 😂😂
Sounds like you did an awesome job! Your ready to have 4 more babies for sure! haha
Oh my gosh, congratulations!!! What a whirlwind. That’s awesome that you advocated for yourself, it’s so important. Your body knows when something is wrong and it’s good that you trusted your instincts. You all look so happy and over the moon in the pictures, I’m so happy for you all!
I actually had my water break like in the movies, which everyone told me never happens lol. We were at the Star Wars May the 4th theme Phillies game last month. I had been feeling really unwell for two weeks but we decided to go out for a date since I was six weeks away from my due date and our little man decided he wanted to start to make his appearance. I got admitted that night and they gave me steroids and antibiotics to make sure his lungs would develop since he was coming six weeks early. They started the Pit on Friday and I went from 1cm on 5/4 to 3cm on 5/6 around 3:30pm. I refused the epidural or cath placement because I wanted to wait until the pain was worse. Then I asked for it around 4:30pm and when they came to place it at 5PM, I told them it was too late and no one believed me until they checked and, sure enough, he was ready to come out. So my whole birth plan of an epidural went out the window and I had the baby quickly after before my husband made it back to the hospital (he was home taking care of the dogs and getting me different clothes since we thought it would be a while). Our little man is stubborn like his parents and makes his own timelines and played the best prank on us all for his arrival. We got sushi and sub sandwiches and all the fun foods I couldn’t eat during pregnancy once I was discharged.
How is the baby doing with the dogs?
Again, CONGRATULATIONS!! And thank you for sharing your story, it’s so nice to hear/read other people’s experiences!
Congratulations! I recently delivered my second daughter in early April and while my labor process with my first was near-bliss, my second was very scary. We’re still a bit unsure what happened but ultimately my first epidural was placed wrong and I had an allergic reaction when it was placed correctly. My blood pressure dropped to 60/40 multiple times and I remember thinking there was a chance I wasn’t going to make it. I delivered my 10 pound daughter without any epidural, on maximum pitocin, and she was face up. When you describe the level of pain it’s incredibly accurate! Especially if you don’t mentally prepare yourself beforehand (someone who chooses to go without pain meds). My go-to after labor with both girls has been Portillos hotdogs (I live in chicago) and a Dr Pepper! And of course, Starbucks too 😉 You’re doing great mama! Looking so forward to reading more about your journey. It’s the best job in the world.
This was the most interesting birth story I’ve ever read, coming from someone who doesn’t even want kids! 😂 Thanks for sharing! 🙂 Glad you’re doing well! Always love reading your blog posts! 🙂 💛
Thanks for sharing!! Loved reading this. I’m due in October and reading this was so helpful.
Been following you for so many years and it’s so cool to in othe same journey again!
Congratulations Taralynn! I am soo happy for you and Kyle! You are such a beautiful family with this wonderful sweet boy 🙂 I loved your story and how authentic you always are sharing your thoughts and experiences, thank you so much for that! Sending you a lot of hugs from Barcelona 🙂
Such a beautiful story. No matter how many times I read a birth story, I always cry and find myself so overwhelmed of joy for the couple. Soak it in – it really is true when they say it flies by. My son just turned one and I’m so emotional, LOL. Sooooo, so happy for you all and congratulations. <3
I love reading L&D stories! I have a 5 year-old boy and still think back fondly on my delivery with him. I was actually 4 centimeters dilated for the last 4 weeks of my pregnancy, and they had to induce me because I went over term. I didn’t remember the thing about not eating, so I had a big breakfast before I went in to be induced since I figured I’d need my energy! That meant as soon as I was induced I had a bowel movement AND I threw up- all that put me from 4 to 10 centimeters within an hour of being induced, so no time for an epidural. I got to start pushing and my baby boy arrived after another thirty minutes! It’s crazy how every story is different, I’m glad you have your healthy boy with you now though!
I loved your story! There is NOTHING like the birth of your children….let alone your first! All the love to you and new little fam!
Hi Taralynn,
Congrats on your beautiful baby boy!! Motherhood is truly the most rewarding, terrifying, exciting, and humbling challenge. My children are my absolute world, as I’m sure you can relate.
1.Did you have easy labor or tough labor?
Baby #1: My water broke at midnight and contractions started a few hours later. Just like you, I was only dilated to a 1 and pitocin took FOREVER to kick in. I didn’t start dilating until my epidural around 4PM. My daughter was born after about 2 hours or so of pushing at 6:59 PM weighing 6lbs 2.6oz. She got stuck on my cervix on her way out and that was difficult for the doctor to stitch back up.
Baby #2: This on was a planned c-section due to some other health issues I had been experiencing throughout my entire pregnancy. I was scheduled to have the baby on my birthday (June 7) but my contractions started exactly one year ago today (it’s my son’s 1st birthday today!!!). They woke me up around 3AM and he was safely delivered at 10:44AM weighing 8lbs 2oz. Recovery was SO MUCH EASIER this time around
2. Do you have any questions for me?
How is your breast feeding journey going? I know how hard it can be sometimes! I reached my goal of one full year for both of my kids and I’m a little relieved to finally have my body back haha
3. What would/was your go-to meal after labor?
I don’t remember after my daughter was born, but I DO recall just being excited to eat in general after my son was born. I was so sick with him and the heartburn was BRUTAL. I just wanted to be able to eat without suffering for it later. I DID however look forward to a glass of wine after each baby was born!
Thank you for sharing- such a beautiful post. So very happy for you! You have created a magical life and wonderful relationship and now a perfect baby (not to forget your gorgeous home and pups!!) Much love from Canada!
Awwww thank you, Sally!
That sounds awful with the epidural wearing off! Good for you for advocating for yourself!!! And thank you for sharing your little boy’s birth story with us 💙 what a privilege.
My 3 births were all very different – the first was a planned c-section due to baby being breech, but labor started 10 days before it was planned for us to have her. They didn’t believe me on the phone because I was so calm, and by the time they reluctantly admitted me… baby’s vitals weren’t great anymore. Then everything went VERY quickly and I was in surgery within 30 minutes. I didn’t get to hold baby until I was in our recovery room hours later and that still stings.
Second birth, I was way overdue… and I wanted baby OUT 😂 I ate spicy food… took a long walk… and then my water broke in the middle of the night just like yours, haha! I got very strong contractions very quickly, and by the time I got the epidural I had pretty much lost any kind of sense and was on all fours on the floor, screaming at everyone wanting to touch me 🙈😂 the epidural was amazing, I got to sleep a little and then it took 1-2 hours of pushing.
Third… I was adamant that I wanted to try a non-medicated birth at the hospital. We had an amazing team on call, and they made my dream come true. It was INTENSE. But nothing near as bad as labor after my water broke with my 2nd. Baby was born within 2 or 3 pushes, and it happened so fast they just about managed to get a doctor running in the door 😅 by far my best birthing experience.
I hope you’re recovering well! Sounds like such a shock with the retained placenta. Enjoy the days of having a tiny baby, it really does go as fast as they say. You’ll blink and he’ll have his first birthday. I cherish the weeks I fully took off after having my third, it was the best for bonding!
Also… I laughed out loud when I saw the pic of your bagel with deli meat 😂😂😂 that was my first meal post-delivery and it was SO GOOOOOOOD after 41 weeks without nice, cold, deli turkey 🤣
Congrats to you and Kyle! Our baby was born in January, we were also waiting to find out gender. I was induced due to high BP and the entire process took 3.5 days. But in the end he arrived at 35+1 and was 6lbs. Breastfeeding hasn’t worked out very well for us, which has been hard.
Can’t wait to follow your motherhood journey!
Congrats. I had a pretty traumatic birth story ending up with shoulder dystocia and baby with a featured arm. He was too big for my pelvis but he’s happy and healthy 6 month old now so all good.
Question for you, why did they start a pitocin drip straight away? Why didn’t they send you to labour at home? Most places give you 24 or 48hours post waters breaking before giving induction meds?
Fractured arm that should say
Because I tested positive for GSB, they wouldn’t send me home since I needed a few hours of antibiotics before delivering. As for the pitocin! I’m not sure. I guess I just thought that was normal!
Coming from a nurse pitocin is used to induce labor and is not a standard drug given.
Congratulations Taralynn! I’m so happy for you and Kyle, and your dogs look very calm ♡ I hope your recovery is going well and I’m looking forward to the upcoming blogs.
Thank you, Shelby! Our dogs are so so so in love with him!
Hi Taralynn! I loved reading your story! Mine was similar with my water breaking but no contractions. I hope you and your family are settling in nicely! Congratulations
Thanks, Katie!
Did you have easy labor or tough labor?
– I’d say it was easy compared to what I’ve read. I was induced and I remember being hooked up, putting on HGTV, and when I woke up I was 9cm dilated. It was crazy lol we always laugh about it lol. Hardest part was post-partum – I was SO anxious about everything little thing and it took 5+ months to feel like my son was going to be okay ever moment of the day lol.
Do you have any questions for me?
– No question but HOW exciting to find out what you’re having at birth! I found out about my son at 12 weeks lol maybe 2nd baby I’ll wait it out 🙂
What would/was your go-to meal after labor? Go to meal.. we had alot of smoothies and burritos lol! Smoothies were great because you dont need two hands to eat it lol and burritos really helped fill me up when I was pumping and STARVING haha
Congrats on such a beautiful boy and writing all this down – it really is a blur! Never thought I would have a son but I absolutely love it and hope you do too.
Congratulations! He is perfect!!! I ended up having to be induced with my son about 2 weeks early because of preeclampsia. My husband had had covid and we literally scheduled our induction for the first day out of his quarantine! My epidural only worked about 45 minutes and then I felt EVERYTHING! So I knew exactly what you were describing! It was so awful but worth every bit of it when they place your baby on your chest! My recovery was super rough tho! I had even more ongoing issues with preeclampsia and ended up having to stay almost a whole week in the hospital because of it and baby also had super bad jaundice. The worst part was that because we had our baby during covid no one could come into the hospital except my husband. We were both new to the whole parenting thing and while we had lots of nurses that were wonderful sometimes you still just need advice and a hug from your mom. Enjoy every second of your son’s infancy! It goes by so so fast! I know everyone says that but it really does!! Hope life continues to get sweeter for you and your new family 🙂
Congratulations on your little boy! I am also a boy mama and it’s just the best! I’m so happy for your little family.
I am also so, so sorry they made you go through that much pain! I’m a medical student who wants to go OBGYN, and this has reminded me, again, how we need to pay more attention to our patients and believe them when they say something is wrong. I’m so glad you were able to advocate for yourself!
My twins were an easy delivery under difficult circumstances. I had a C-section and the recovery was brutal! My littlest one was a repeat C-section and I think the recovery for that one in the hospital was worse. I passed out from how much blood I had lost and it was one of the scariest times of my life. Thankfully, everyone is fine now, and all three of my boys are happy and healthy! It’s so true what they say; it’s like your heart is living outside of your body.
Congratulations to you and Kyle on the birth of your beautiful baby boy! I know you both are so in love with him!
I’m sorry you were in such pain. I had an easy labor and delivery. My water broke at 7:30am and my daughter was delivered at 7:30pm so I was in labor for 12 hours. Like you, I wasn’t sure that my water had even broken. My sweet nurse decided to stay past her shift with me in to the evening. And my doctor was fantastic. I was able to get an epidural and felt no pain. I did feel a lot of pressure from the Pitocin during the birth of my baby. I only had to push about 4 or 5 times. I have to admit I was a little worried about the actual delivery because I was an almost 41 year old first time mom who was 41 weeks along! But the whole day couldn’t have gone any smoother.
I don’t have any questions but I do have some comments. No one had ever mentioned that it was normal to feel that the ligaments and joints in my hips and legs would feel so loose for several months! Also, cuddle baby boy as much as you can because they grow so fast. Especially during the first year!
I think the first meal after childbirth was a smoothie and a biscuit. 🙂
Take care Taralynn!
My delivery was scary. I was 35 weeks and had to have an emergency cesarean. My son was in the NICU for 6 weeks. He’s now 6 months old and thriving thank God. My husband brought me my favorite sandwich from jersey Mike’s and it was glorious. Something about a good sandwich after labor is 🙌🏼
I also love reading birth stories! I have two kids (4 year old daughter and 14 month old son) and both labors were super uneventful and fast. Under 8 hours from induction to birth with my first and under 5 hours with my second. If we go for a third I am afraid we won’t make it to the hospital in time lol!
Good look with settling into motherhood! Remember that every phase is exactly that, a phase that will pass (both the good and bad ones – so take time to enjoy the good stuff!)
Loved reading your story! And so true how crazy different everyone’s is! I too was in denial about labor starting, I was like no I just peed myself. Almost didn’t grab the hospital bags I was so in denial. I had a rough labor, they did pitocin after an hour due to my water breaking and no progress. After that things got very bad. My contractions were all over the place and wouldn’t calm down. After 12 hours of unmedicated labor I got an epidural which helped my body calmed down and actually dilate (I was still only at 2 cm). Even with the epidural the pain was so terrible during pushing I could feel A LOT. Now I know it’s not normal for next time. Congrats on your beautiful baby boy! It’s crazy how your mindset with so many things changes with a baby. Mine is now 16 months old, it flies by!
Congrats!! He’s so precious! I had to get a blood transfusion from losing blood and an emergency NICU stay from a random rash on baby. Turned out to be nothing. It was exhausting but so emotionally powerful to go through. At the time I thought I’d never want to go through that again and here I am almost 6 months pp and I have some strong urge to have another. I wish I could have been successful with my milk supply but losing blood and other health issues got in the way. Never thought I would need to go through a grieving process and find closure for that.
Congrats on your new addition, you look so happy!!! They say some ladies are just meant to have babies and I guess that was me. All very easy deliveries. My 1st being born within 2.5 hours. I thought I had time for the hubby to come home and take me, well needless to say I lived out in the country which was a 30 min. drive to the hospital. Thankfully my brother needed something from the family farm and I said your taking me to the hospital. Upon arrival baby was coming and a doctor delivered her while in the middle of surgery. My 2nd, similar story but hubby was there this time and was I was able to get settled in first. That was a 3 hour delivery from water breaking to delivery. On my last I opted for a scheduled delivery so I wasn’t rushing to the hospital. I got there and they checked me and said you’re in labor. With all 3 my contractions just felt like cramps, no pain, and I never needed any pain meds, they were alwYs amazed at how calm I was during delivery.
Question: How many children would you like to have?
Food: I don’t recall.
Again congratulations!!!
I love hearing birth stories!
I’ve had 3 kids, 1 at a hospital and 2 at a birth center.
Baby #1 I was induced for and let me say, contractions with pitocin are so much worse than completely natural. I ended up with an epidural, which I wasn’t against, but also wasn’t the plan. It wore off before pushing though and they couldn’t get someone in to do it again. This birth lasted about 11 hours arrived at 1 pm and he was born at 12 am, but then we had to stay at the hospital for 3 days and that was the worst because there were no complications and I just wanted to SLEEP and go home. I was only 19 so I didn’t know how to advocate for myself at that point. I never got much sleep because of the darn vital checks! I had hospital food after — I think it was waffles with strawberries. I would have literally eaten anything I was so hungry.
For baby #2 we got to the birth center around 6-7pm and she was born around 8:45. I wanted to try a water birth with her, but it all progressed too quickly for it. The placenta took it’s sweet time coming out which was hard for me because it was like giving birth twice and I just wanted to hold my baby. We went home the next morning! I don’t remember what I ate after, I know I had some oatmeal before we left in the morning though.
Baby #3 I think we got to the center around 8am and she was born just before noon. This was by far the most relaxing one. I’m a morning person so I was more awake, more ready and we didn’t have to stay the night somewhere that wasn’t home. We didn’t have any complications and we were home by 4 pm! For this one one of the nurses went to Panera to get me a sandwich for lunch.
Congratulations!
I thought I was having an easy delivery, started with contractions, they had to break my water, but every time they would try to reposition me for the epidural his heart rate would drop. They didn’t seem to make a big deal about it so I just thought whatever. I couldn’t feel a thing while pushing and after only a little bit they were like well, he isn’t moving we’re going to have to suction him out and they called the NICU team in. I was like wait, what? I can try harder! It turns out he had the cord wrapped around his neck twice, and they didn’t tell us, which obviously I’m thankful for. Less panic. The NICU team was only in there for 5 minutes and he turned out fine! I love those first little baby snuggles. He’s now 8 months old with a little spitfire personality and trying to move EVERYWHERE!
Congratulations!!! What an ordeal you’ve been through! My heart goes out to you for all you’ve been through, but you’re holding your baby now!!! In my hospital, we don’t let people push for more than 4 hours, let alone 7 or thereabouts! I wonder if the retained placenta has something to do with how long they let you push? Are you upset with the hospital — between not believing that something was wrong with the epidural and then the doctor having you wait to push out the baby so that they could deliver someone else!? I’d be furious. And it’s also very questionable that they let you push for that long! I’d strongly consider somewhere else for baby #2!!!
Congratulations on your little baby boy! This post brought tears of joy to my eyes! So happy for you and Kyle!!!
I KNEW IT WAS A BOY!! CONGRATS, I’m so happy for you ❤️ It’s so strange, been reading your blog since the Tumblr days, and now you’re a mom, I love it, feels like we’re growing up together 😭❤️🙏🏽 So so so excited to hear more about what it’s like to be a mom and what else the future brings. So happy for you, Taralynn, again; CONGRATS ❤️
Congratulations on the birth of your baby boy!!
Dear Taralynn,many many congratulations to both Kyle and you on the birth of your son! As a person who has followed you from the early blog and baby Grumples days I love to see what a beautiful journey you are on. I’m now a mum of 3,all born after an induction at 42 weeks, first labor ended up with Caesarian partially working, a cut and foreceps delivery,second was relatively smooth,third one-emergency Caesarian due to baby’s heartbeat dropping. Every labour was different,but i guess the induction is hardly ever easy-and you were right wanting to avoid it! But all is well that ends well as the saying goes. I hope you’re settling into a routine that allows you to get some rest and sleep and I’m sending you the best wishes all the way from the UK. Congratulations again and I can’t wait for more of your blogs and impressions!
Congratulations to you and Kyle! I am glad you and baby are doing well now. I just had my first baby (a boy too) in March and the newborn snuggles are just so sweet. I love the little sounds he makes when he is sleeping. It is so much fun to watch him experiencing everything for the first time, sounds, smells, textures. Thank you for sharing your birth story! I’m so happy for you and look forward to reading your upcoming posts as a new mom!