Seth's Birth Story

I was due May 26 but thought my baby would come early June since most first-time moms go over their due dates. At my 38-week appointment, I was three centimeters and 80 percent effaced so my doctor said it could be soon.

At 4 AM on May 14, my husband got up to go fishing. I offered to go along because I was already up since I was peeing every five minutes. My husband told me I should just go back to bed and get some rest, so I said OK. But before he left, I told him not to take his phone on the boat because the last time he went fishing, his phone got soaked. He said he’d leave the phone in the truck.

I went back to bed and woke around 8 AM because I had to pee again. As I finished, I felt a pop and a gush of fluid poured out! I didn't expect that to happen while I was home alone and unable to get in touch with my husband. I had no idea what to do so I just cried. Then I called my mom and asked her what to do, and silly me, I should have just called the hospital like my mother told me to do! They told me to come to the hospital. I called my husband to leave him a message, but thankfully, he answered! I told him my water broke and to come home. When he got back, we drove directly to the hospital.

When we arrived around 10 AM, the nurse checked me and I was still three centimeters, but now completely effaced. They put me on a monitor to see how I was contracting, but there were only a few, so they suggested I walk for a while. I walked and walked and had a few strong contractions, but only about one per hour. Every hour they put me back on the monitors for 30 minutes. They told me if nothing started by 4:30 PM, they would put me on Pitocin.

Around 4:15 PM, I decided I just wanted to get it started. The doctor placed the order for Pitocin and I walked around a bit more. While I was walking, the contractions started to hit every five minutes and they were one to two minutes apart. I told them I didn’t think I’d need the Pitocin after all! Thirty minutes later, I asked for some pain medication. I was really planning on an epidural, but when they checked me I was at eight centimeters so it was too late. Instead, they gave me some Nubane. It wasn’t worth it though because it just made me sleepy between contractions and didn’t lessen the pain during them.

An hour after the big contractions started, I felt the urge to push. I pushed for about an hour when Seth’s head finally came out, but his shoulders got stuck. It was only a minute before he was fully born, but that minute felt like a century. Right after they whisked him away, my husband passed out and fell to the floor! It had been a little too much for him to handle, but he was fine.

Seth was officially born at 6:46 PM on May 14, 2005. He was eight pounds, eight ounces, and 20½ long. He was very healthy, and after all that work, we were very blessed to be so lucky! He is now a very active two-year-old, and has never had problems because of the difficult delivery.