Tyler's Birth Story

I got this idea from a friend of mine.  A few of you already know how Tyler arrived into this world but some of you don't.  Seeing as though it has been a year since it all happened, I wanted to see how good my memory is.  LOL

I had two due dates, September 9th and September 12th.  Of course I always used the 9th as my due date; nine months is a bit too long to be pregnant!  When I saw my doctor on the 14th, she was concerned about Tyler's size.  Ummm, it might be a little bit late for that.  Anyway, she sent me over to ultrasound to see if we could get an approximate guess of Tyler's current weight.  If Tyler was 9lbs or bigger, she wanted to talk about an elective c-section.  About this time I really started to panic.  A c-section was the LAST thing I had prepared myself for.  Tyler had always been head down and there were no medical reasons for a c-section, so the idea hadn't even occurred to me.  After a bit of waiting to get into ultrasound and to have it preformed, it was determined that Tyler was 8.7lbs give or take a pound either way.  My doctor decided to go ahead with the scheduled induction.

Well, I tried like crazy to give labor a jump start prior to my induction date.  You name it and more than likely I tried it.  Tyler was very happy and had no intention of exiting my body anytime soon.  We were scheduled to come into L/D  (St. Vincents) on September 18th, at midnight.  It was a bit odd, to me, that we weren't going in until midnight.  Now looking back I hadn't been able to sleep for weeks so what else would I have been doing at midnight?!?!  I cried the entire way to the hospital because I was so nervous/scared/excited/exhausted.  Once we were in our room, it took close to two hours to hook me up to the monitors, put the IV in, do an ultrasound and give me some Misoprostol.  Bless the sweet nurse, it took her SO LONG to find a vein she was happy with.  After about 20 minutes I was starting to wonder if she had ever put an IV in prior to my arrival.  They also gave me an Ambien to try and help me sleep. We were finally left alone around 2:30am.  We did get about four hours of sleep which was fantastic!

At 6:30 my doctor came in to check me and deliver some bad news.  Her schedule had been screwed up and she wouldn't be in the hospital that day.  WHAT?!?!?  A good part of why we had waited so long to be induced was because of her schedule.  I had wanted her to deliver Tyler.  I was also only about 1.5 centimeters dilated.  She put in another dose of the Miso, wished me luck and out the door she went.  I think we tried to sleep a little bit more until Shan arrived around 8:30am.  Shannon is one of my oldest and dearest friends...there was no way I was having a baby without her by my side!  My nurse, Mary Helen, came in to check me around 10:30am.  Still no progress past 1.5 centimeters but her head was still right there.  I was contracting but nothing strong or regular.  She suggested we give the pitocin a try.  "OK" I said...totally unaware of what was to come.

Almost immediately I felt a change in my contractions.  We proceeded to walk the halls of the unit for about 30-45 minutes.  I then used the birthing ball which did help for a little while.  I also had the humor of my husband to help me through all of this.  The contractions were pretty painful and one right on top of another by 11:30am.  That's when I asked to speak to someone about pain management through drugs.  That's right, it was time for an epidural!  My nurse checked me again and I hadn't changed at all.  She then told me that I needed to get to the magic number 3 for an epidural.  WHAT?!?!?  At that point I was confined to the bed, trying very hard to breathe through the pain.  Shannon and Ty were amazing at calming me and helping me through each contraction.  By 1:30pm I was begging for some help with the pain. Although I wasn't a 3, I was given the ok for my epidural.  As they are having me move into a sitting position, on the side of my bed, my water broke.  For me, it really was like what you see on tv; a pop followed by A LOT of water.  Shannon didn't think it was my water breaking.  She thought I might have lost control of my bladder.  My nurse checked and sure enough my membrane had ruptured.  My good friend Jen also walked in right at that moment.  Never have I seen so many people spring into action.  It was a little overwhelming.  

By 2:30pm, I had my epidural.  It took four pokes which didn't bother me at the time.  Little did I know what I was in for after they took out the epidural.  At that point, I was about 3cm dilated.  I was able to relax for the next few hours while Shan, Jen and Ty played some board games.  By 5:30, Jen had to leave to go home and feed Parker.  The midwife came in to check me around 5:50pm.  I really don't think she was expecting it but I was 10cm.  HOLY HELL was the very first thought that popped into my mind.  I still remember that moment as if it happened yesterday.  So many emotions bubbled to the surface and I didn't know if I should laugh or cry so I did both.  Ty and Shan had left the room to get some food, so I had to digest the new information all alone.  They walked back in a few minutes later and I announced the good news.  However,  I did panic a little and asked if we could wait to start pushing.  

We started pushing at 6:30pm.  The epidural was so strong they had to call the anesthesiologist in to cut back on my medication.  I still couldn't feel a thing but I was so scared they would take the epidural away, I calmly kept my mouth shut.  I pushed for an hour and twenty-one minutes before Tyler made her debut.  The second I saw her, I started to bawl.  They immediately placed her on my chest.  It was such an awe inspiring moment for both Ty and I. From that moment on, Tyler had Ty wrapped around her little finger.  It was if I didn't even exist....Ty was all about his baby girl.  It was amazing!  Almost immediately after her birth, my close girlfriend (Jen) came back to the hospital.  She said she had to come back to meet Tyler. The timing was perfect and I was thrilled to have my two of my closest girlfriends there to welcome Tyler into our family.

I know I have probably forgotten a detail or two.  Mommy brain, right?  I'm also going to spare all of you the details of the spinal headaches and such.  The outcome was worth every bump in the road and I would do it all over again!  To know that I was given such a beautiful gift to take care of.....it brings tears to my eyes and a smile to my face.  Tyler's first year had passed so quickly.  Every single day has been such an adventure for Ty and I.  We are both very excited to see what the next year brings for us and for our little baby peanut, Tyler Grace.