Our Birth Story
Tuesday, October 17th, 2017 was the day we met the love of our lives.
On Monday, I worked a normal day at my job. I was scrambling to get everything ready for my impending maternity leave. My due date was officially October 23rd; however, Dr. Morrison scheduled my induction for Thursday, October 19th. That meant that I was going to work my last day on Wednesday, but we ended up going in early!
After I left work on Monday night, I went "home" to Grandma Bohlen's house. That's where we were living while fixing our house. Grandma Bohlen made dinner for just the two of us, because Daddy and Grandpa Bohlen were working at the house. She made shrimp, sweet corn, and easy peasy bread. After dinner was over, I decided to go upstairs and check my blood pressure.
During my entire pregnancy, I have been monitored for preeclampsia. I have always had some troubles with my heart, so the doctors wanted to take extra precaution to make sure that you (and me) were healthy. My home monitor showed that my blood pressure was sky high! I decided to drive to a local Walgreens to check it again on one of their machines. A pharmacist checked my blood pressure, but her readings were also high. I drove over to CVS in Mahomet to check there, but I had just missed their pharmacist. I ended up driving back to Grandma Bohlen's house.
I called "Patient Advisory" and they insisted that I come into the ER to get checked out. So, Grandma Bohlen drove me to the hospital. I brought my hospital bag in case they were going to keep me there. Dr. Morrison was on call, so it was nice to see a friendly face. She told me that I've done a good job monitoring my heart issues, but it was time to FREAKING DO THIS! I was scared, but I knew she was right. So, I agreed, and they moved me to the room where you would be born!
Grandma Bohlen called your dad to tell him that the hospital was going to be keeping me. Your dad hurried to shower and come see me in the hospital. It was actually pretty funny, because he was so nervous that he accidentally put his toothbrush in his pocket when he was rushing out the door. He went to put his hands in his pocket and found his toothbrush! We all laughed so hard!
I originally planned on having a natural birth. It's something that I really wanted to do...something that I thought I could do! But after being given the highest dose of pitocin, I was still only about 2 cm dilated. However, I was having contractions which were very hard on my body, because there was no "let down" from each contraction. They piggy backed on top of each other, so I could barely open my eyes while I was clutching the side of the hospital bed.
Dr. Dillard came to check on me and decided that they needed to manually break my water to get things rolling.
Your dad was worried about me, because I was in a lot of pain. He kept telling me that he wouldn't be disappointed in me if I chose to get an epidural. I thought I could keep pushing through, but the nurses were also encouraging me to seek some relief, because I couldn't stop shaking. I ended up buzzing the nurse and got the epidural. A rush of calmness overcame my body and I immediately lost feeling in my legs.
Your dad was texting everyone to let them know that I was doing ok. No baby yet! Hah!
Soon after my epidural, I had an emotional breakdown. A lady in another room in Labor & Delivery was obviously giving birth to her baby. There was so much screaming and pain coming from her voice. It almost felt like the devil was talking when she would yell, "GET. THIS. BABY. OUT. OF MEEEEEE!" I started to cry and shake. Your dad jumped up and kept asking me what was wrong. I told him that I was scared. He also heard the lady's screams. He kept telling me it was going to be ok. Two nurses came into my room because it was the end of their shift. I tried to hide my tears, but they noticed and seemed very concerned. They asked what was wrong, and I couldn't speak, because I was so scared and shaking. Your dad told them I heard the other lady. One nurse put her hand on mine and said, "Oh hunny, that's not going to be you! That lady didn't get an epidural." I breathed a sigh of relief, but I was still scared.
I could see the fetal monitor following your heartbeat and my contractions. I could see the contractions getting bigger and bigger, but I couldn't feel them. You were making your way down the birth canal, as I was dilating much bigger. On Tuesday night, I started feeling like I wanted to push, so I told a nurse that I thought I needed to. We pushed for 2 hours and 39 minutes. YES, you read that right! I was so exhausted and frustrated.
The nurses kept putting me in positions that didn't feel right to me. I tried to tell them it wasn't working. I kept saying that I couldn't do this. I definitely tested my nurse's patience. I was moreso talking to myself about how I didn't think I could do this anymore. I wasn't yelling. I was just in major self-doubt. The nurse, Zoey, said, "Should we just give up then?" I was a little taken aback by that. I didn't expect to hear her say that after she had been so encouraging for the last 2 hours. I whimpered, "No." She said, "Either you need to REALLY push or we need to take a break!" I almost lost my mind! "REALLY PUSH?" What have I been doing the last 2 hours!? I've been giving it all my strength! 10 seconds at a time with no breaks for 2 hours!
So, I said, "I guess we can take a break then." She agreed and walked off to go check on some paperwork. In reality, there's no breaks. Your body WANTS to push; it NEEDS to push. So, I just reached down and picked up my own legs behind my knee and pushed as hard as I could. Waylin was coming out! The nurses ran over and told me to give it another push, so I did and Waylin was really close to being all the way out! And then the nurses said, "Stevie. This is going to be really hard, but I'm going to have to ask you to STOP pushing, so we can wait for the doctor."
That was the hardest thing to do. Finally, Dr. Dillard came into the room and jokingly said, "Oh my goodness! I don't even have to do anything!" I gave one more push and you had arrived. It was the best moment of my life. It was the best moment of your dad's life.
Your dad was so great during the entire labor process! I wasn't sure how he would react, because he gets queasy with blood and hospitals. He was right next to me the whole time encouraging me, and EVEN LOOKING! Your dad even cut your umbilical cord! I couldn't have done it without him. We spent the next 45 minutes holding you and saying "Hi baby!" over and over.
I experienced a lot of trauma and hemorrhaged pretty badly, along with tearing and needing a D&C because my placenta would not come out. So, it was awhile before we were able to go to our "resting room." But this is the first picture I took of you. You were so, so beautiful to me. I hardly slept in the hospital, because I was so in love. I let your dad sleep and go home a lot, because he needed to get some rest as well.
I took this video at 3 AM, because I just felt blessed to have this little family surrounded by me. You and your dad (and Vader) are my entire world. I had never felt such a calming, peacefulness like this moment in this video.
You've changed our world for the better.
Thank you, Waylin Kenzi Bohlen.
