Grayson's Birth Story

I confirmed my suspicions of being pregnant in June 2006. I was so anxious to find out that I took the pregnancy test in the Wal-Mart bathroom. My husband and I were excited and terrified. Our daughter was only 11 months at the time and we had planned to wait a couple of years before having another.

I did not see my doctor for the first time until I was 12 weeks pregnant (that was the first opening that my doctor had). We heard the heartbeat, which was strong, and I was told that my due date was roughly February 5, 2007. I was unable to receive an ultrasound because insurance would not cover it for a non-medical reason.

My pregnancy went smoothly with no complications. I only had morning sickness during the first trimester, mostly in the afternoons. I loved being pregnant and was so excited when I started showing. I think I was more comfortable with this pregnancy than my first.

Around 25 weeks, my husband and I went to a 3D/4D private ultrasound company because we wanted to see the baby. We found out that we were having a boy! It was great to see him and we even got a CD of the pictures which included a couple of clips of him moving around. We both agreed on the name Grayson.

I was convinced that he was going to be born early because I had gained a ton of weight (all in the belly) and I knew he was going to be big. At 38 weeks, my doctor thought I would be having him soon. At 39 weeks, we were both surprised that I was still pregnant. At 40 weeks, my doctor scheduled an induction. I never made it to the induction date.

I was 40 weeks and four days pregnant when my water broke on February 9 as I bent over to pick up my daughter. I had felt no contractions all day and was surprised when this happened. We dropped our daughter off at her grandparents, and arrived at the hospital around 7 PM (still no contractions).

During an internal examination I went from four centimeters to five, so I was admitted to the hospital. I received my epidural early, because the anesthesiologist was already on the floor. I don’t think I even had a chance to feel any pain with this labor. At 10 PM, I had not progressed and the doctor discovered that I had a fore bag that had not ruptured so she broke it for me.

During my pregnancy with my daughter, I had back labor, and was in the worst pain I had ever felt by three centimeters. I had my water broken in the hospital at 11 AM, and was fully dilated by 3:30 PM. I pushed for 30 minutes and my daughter was born at 4:05 PM. She was six pounds, 10 ounces, and measured 19 inches long.

With Grayson’s delivery, I was completely unprepared for what happened next. I had progressed wonderfully and was in a great mood. The doctors couldn’t tell when I was having a contraction, because I was all smiles (once you have experienced back labor, regular labor doesn’t feel so bad).

At midnight, fully dilated, I began pushing and thought he would be born soon. The doctors asked me if anyone had discussed the baby’s size with me, and then said they believed he would be between eight and nine pounds. After two hours of pushing, the doctors wanted me to take a break. I took a short nap and when I woke up, I wasn’t able to feel the contractions so the epidural was turned down to almost nothing. After more pushing, the doctors discovered Grayson had become stuck on my pelvic bone. I changed positions several times to try to get him to come below the bone.

When all other methods were exhausted, the doctor decided to use the vacuum to help him below the bone. The suction broke twice before it finally worked. On the third attempt, Grayson entered this world at 4:17 AM. He was larger than the doctors had predicted, weighing nine pounds, seven ounces, and measuring 22 inches long.

My husband cut the umbilical cord and Grayson was immediately suctioned (he had passed meconium while still in utero). The doctors then told us there were complications because of the vacuum. It had created a tear on his scalp and there was fluid under his scalp. He was brought back to me four hours later and he nursed incredibly well. The fact that he ate so well comforted me and assured me that things would be alright for him.

By Sunday, the fluid was no longer a primary concern; it completely disappeared by the time he was released. His jaundice levels had been monitored and had increased on Monday. The doctors assured us this was normal with the amount of bruising that was on the top of his head. They decided not to release him Monday, and ran another test on him that night. Around 10 PM, his levels had gone even higher and intervention was required. He was taken back to the nursery to be placed under lights and on a biliblanket. Thankfully, the levels began to drop on Tuesday morning, and he was released Wednesday morning.

Grayson is now just over five weeks old and doing incredibly well. I am so thankful for my son and my daughter. They are everything to us; my husband and I love them more than words could ever express.