Rand's Birth Story by Staci Gray
Born on September 5th, 2007

A Long, Strange Trip. Our story begins with a trip to the airport. Tuesday, September 4th 2007 (my husband's birthday,) 11:30am, I'm heading to the airport to pick up my mother when I have my first contraction. Ok, not bad, I'd been having little teasing ones for two weeks but this one was different, more of the rise and fall that you hear about. The "funny" thing is that by this time this baby was 11 days late and I was scheduled for induction (ICK) the next day because my uterus was starting to run low on fluid. I had a doctor's appointment that day at 2:30 where they confirmed that I was indeed having contractions.

At the time I was 1 to 2 cm dilated and about 50% effaced. Contractions continued all day long getting slowly stronger and closer together. My mom, husband and I went to get some Mexican food for dinner and came home to get everything ready for the hospital and then we waited for the magic time when it was time to go. By 10:00pm my contractions were getting to the stop and breathe a bit stage and were about 4 minutes apart and had been for about an hour! It was time to go to the hospital! I got there and got checked in by 11:00pm. My nurse (really cool woman, a Katrina refugee from Mississippi) got me all set up and we discussed my desire for a drug free delivery and to be up and about! No problem! Let me know if you change your mind type of thing.

Perfect. For the next couple of hours we (my husband, mom and two best friends) were joking around, making the nurse crack up and listening to music. My contractions were getting more intense, but still nothing I couldn't handle! By cervix hadn't progressed at all, but it was no big deal at this point. By 3:00am they are getting pretty darn strong, but with my husbands wonderful coaching, I was grooving along. Still no change in my cervix, OK, annoying but still, I'm handling it!

By 5:00am the contractions are now getting really freaking painful and starting to go all the way around my back as well and I was kind of trippin' at this point in a land of pain and fatigue that I have never before experienced. I was spending long periods in the shower with towels all over me and my husband moving the really hot water all over my body. I was shaking a lot and very nauseated and frankly losing my mind, but then the real clencher, I was still only 2 cm dilated and 50% effaced. All the hard work I was doing was getting me nowhere and by this time I was finding it hard not to clench up my whole body and starting to lose my breathing. My husband was the only thing keeping me together at this point. What was taking this baby so long?

7:00am (the time that I was scheduled to be induced and started on pitocin,) 20 hours into labor my nurse tells me that my cervix still has not progressed and she thinks that I might want to consider an epidural just so that my body can rest and relax and have a baby. My husband sends everyone from the room and tells me that he is so proud of me and what I've done but he thinks that the nurse might be right. He says that he will do whatever I want, but every human has her limits and he thinks I might be reaching mine. I'm crying now as I write this. I'm so lucky I have him!!!

My nurse comes back in and tells me that my OB has arrived and she wants to start me on pitocin. She lets me know that this will probably start my cervix to move along, but it's going to make my contractions even worse. Worse, how can they get any worse, you have got to be shitting me! My husband looks down at me and says, "Do you want me to make the decision for you." Through my tears I nod and he tells the nurse to order me an epidural.

Now, here's where my nurse rocked the most. She disobeyed the doctor's orders to start me on pitocin first and waits until I get my epidura, which she had to talk the anesthesiaoligist into because she usually doesn't give them before 4 cm. Needless to say she got in trouble for that later, but I could have married her for it! OK, are you ready for this? 8:30am, I get my epidural (not a fun procedure,) and by 10:30am I am 9 cm dilated and about ready to push so they turn my epidural off! My doctor comes in at about 10:45am and has me push through a contraction. Not bad, but it could still 3 hours of pushing, she thinks. I push through another contraction and try tucking my pelvis, OK, maybe it won't take but a couple of hours that was much better. She has to go to the office for a patient there, call her when we are ready for her. My nurse takes over (a new nurse now, shift change 9 but she's nice too) and tells me to push just like I did the second time. Just 2 more contractions of pushing and she tells me to stop because the baby is there and calls my doctor to come back.

My doctor comes back and two contractions later, 11:16am, September 5, 2007 and I have the most beautiful baby boy in the whole world!!!!!! Just like that. Crazy! It didn't work out the way I planned, but it never does! It was probably a good thing I was still pretty numb from the epidural because I had a pretty good amount of tearing most likely due to a previous surgery I had to have "down there" 11 years ago and I'm not sure if I could have pushed as well. Still, I'm slightly disappointed that I had to get one, but on the other hand I'm so high on my son right now that I really don't care! Even the pain of recovery is dulled by his presence. Plus he's paying me back by being the best, most laid back baby one could hope for. No problems breast feeding, very little crying, our pride and joy! But what a long strange trip it was!

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Email Lisa Taggart at lisat@yogayoga.com