Nicholas' Birth Story

My pregnancy was fairly normal and included the usual first trimester symptoms of fatigue and nausea, which did make it difficult to eat. Things got progressively better as I got into my second trimester and the nausea subsided. However in my sixth month, while at work I started having extreme pains. As this was my first pregnancy, I got very nervous and called the doctor. He told me to go straight to the hospital.

When I arrived at the hospital they hooked me up to an IV and gave me fluids right away. I was there for about five hours before the contractions stopped (which had been the pains I had been feeling). I had been under a lot of stress and hadn't been taking in enough fluids. I was told to stay hydrated and was sent home.

After that episode the rest of the pregnancy was great. The holidays were approaching and before I knew it, it was a month before my little one was going to be in my arms. I went to my doctor's office for my weekly checkup and they ordered another ultrasound although they never explained why. The technician showed us our sweet little one and I was relieved that everything seemed in place. But then they gave me some disturbing news. They wanted to induce me because the baby wasn't receiving enough of what it needed through the placenta and could be stillborn. I was so nervous because I had to wait three days to be induced, and those days were torturous.

I was nervous because reality was setting in. I knew the day my baby would be born and that he might not be alive when he arrived. When I was induced, they inserted a medication that would open up my cervix called Cervadil, which takes 12 hours to work. Then they gave me Pitocin, a synthetic hormone to start contractions. I was already contracting when I got to the hospital and didn't even know, and by the time they started the Pitocin, I was already two centimeters dilated. I hadn't planned on getting an epidural but when I was dilated to three, I was in so much pain that all my fears of the epidural disappeared, so I decided to get one. It gave me relief like you couldn't believe.

The doctor broke my water shortly after I got the epidural and I was fully dilated in three hours, which is great progress for a first pregnancy. I was just getting ready to push when I overheard the nurse tell my mother, sister and fiancé that it would probably be about three hours of pushing since I had the epidural and wouldn't be able to feel the contractions. When I heard that, it was motivation for me to give it all I had to get my little one into the world as soon as I could. In just under 45 minutes, my baby boy, Nicholas Aidan, was born.

I only saw his feet when they put him on my chest. Then my fiancé cut his cord and Nicholas was placed in the warmer. I still never got to see his sweet face. The doctor told me he needed oxygen right away. I could only think the worst as they took him out of the room, never showing me his face. I didn't know anything for about ten minutes and then the nurse and my fiancé came back in and told me he was doing fine and he was beautiful. Three hours later, when I was in my own hospital room, they brought my son to me. As I held Nicholas in my arms I knew right then why they call it the miracle of life.