I like to document my birth stories when I remember, so here I go.
As a little background, this was my fourth pregnancy and baby. Number 1 came spontaneously at exactly 39 weeks. Number 2 was induced at 39 wks 4 days. And Number 3 also came spontaneously at exactly 39 weeks as well.
Also I had an epidural with Number 1 and I had her around 7 hours after being admitted into the hospital. With Number 2, it was about the same, only they started labor for me, but I had an epidural and it took 7-ish hours before I got to meet her. Then Number 3, I wasn't sure I was in labor until the last minute and I literally pushed him out about 2 minutes after arriving at the hospital. So no epidural with that one.
One more note, we are currently a year into our first tour as US diplomats in Saudi Arabia. So the State Department flew me out to Florida (my home town) so I could deliver in the States where medical care is a lot more reliable than abroad. They flew me back 45 days before my due date and the plan was for me to head back to Saudi 45 days after. So the kids and I would spend around 3 months in the States, but my husband, Garrett, couldn't get quite that much time off work. So he was planning to arrive just before baby was due (11 days to be exact) and spend 4 weeks with us before heading back.
So that's where I was at. Hanging out in Florida with my friends and family, waiting on Garrett to come so I could have the baby a couple days later, probably again without an epidural, just because labor tends to go faster with each subsequent pregnancy.
So Baby #4 was due Feb 17 and Garrett would arrive Feb 6th. I really had no reason to think I'd have the baby super early, because often timing is similar to your other pregnancies, so I was really thinking one week early.
But that's not how it happened.
For a couple of days prior, I kept doing a ton of online research to see when other women had their 4th babies in relation to their other deliveries because I was feeling a little nervous about the timing. I also researched tons of random signs labor is on its way and I had convinced myself it was happening soon even though lots of the signs can happen several weeks to several minutes in advance, so none of it really meant anything. But for what it's worth, I got the sniffles about 2 days in advance, which is apparently a thing when your body is preparing for labor, your immune system doesn't have energy to fight off random things like mild colds and stuff. I also felt a cough coming on and had watery eyes. Also my feet were swollen for like the last month, but they seemed to get even more swollen a couple days before delivery. Also sometimes my Braxton Hicks contractions seemed a little more intense than they had been before. Also, one other gross thing happened that I'll spare you.
So Saturday February 3rd in the evening, I started having what I thought were Braxton Hicks contractions. I was reading my kids their bedtime stories and I kept glancing at my watch because I was noticing around 7pm they were coming about every 5 minutes apart. But this wasn't the first time I had wondered if I was in labor. Plus they weren't extremely consistent and they certainly weren't painful and they didn't seem to be getting longer in duration or closer together or more painful. So I super wasn't sure at this point. I did mention to my kids just before prayers that I may be in labor, but that I didn't think I was. They got super excited and prayed that he would come (even though I was super hoping he'd hold on just 3 more days)...
About an hour later, I texted some folks and called Garrett (who was still asleep because it was 4am in Saudi Arabia) because I still wasn't sure, but I was still suspecting that it might happen that night. When I called Garrett, I teared up a little, because I really really did not want to deliver a baby without him, but I was pretty proud at how well I kept it together. He just said, "Noooo, just keep it in 3 more days..." Like I said, I still wasn't sure, so I was kind of worried I was alerting everyone only to have to tell them it was a false alarm.
I also called my midwife (the only 1 of the 3 I hadn't met yet) and she wasn't sure if I was in labor yet either but she did tell me to 1) not wait until my water broke before heading into the hospital (because that's the way I finally realized I was in labor with Number 3) and to 2) just go in if the contractions got painful. So that was my new gauge I was waiting on.
Anyway, my sister, Sunni, my dad, and nephew came up to my apartment around 9pm or 10pm, I sorta forget. They were cool even if it was a false alarm so it was nice to have them there just in case it wasn't.
So my contractions started getting closer together, like very 2-3 minutes apart, but they still weren't painful at all. I put on some makeup, chatted with my family, and was working on packing my hospital bag. Eventually I realized that they were getting a little more intense. Still not painful, but more so than before. I had like 2 painful ones at my house before I was positive I was in labor and my sister and I decided to head in to the hospital.
We arrived at 11pm. They were getting more intense and it was getting difficult to talk to the admissions folks while they were asking me a bunch of annoying questions.
When they admitted me, I was dilated to a 7 and an 8 while I was contracting. So I think I arrived at the perfect time because I spent most of the time at home laboring, and I came in when I was far enough along that they admitted me, but I wasn't so late that I felt like I needed to push immediately upon arrival. So I think I got there just in time.
They hooked me up to the IV, asked if I wanted an epidural ( I said no) and called my midwife. My contractions were getting more and more painful and my goal with this delivery was to try not to panic as much as I did during my contractions with Number 3. I wanted to stay positive and relatively calm. Everyone says to breathe through them, so that was my goal this time and I did pretty well. My mantra was "I'm doing great, I'm doing great" so sometimes during the contractions I would just say that to myself. It kinda worked. Towards the end, when they were getting really really intense, I did have a harder time keeping my cool, but I wasn't as panicky as I was with my last delivery so I still call it a success.
Also, I really wanted to change positions. I kept trying to stand or be on hands and knees and all the nurses and midwives kept restraining me because "they wouldn't be able to catch the baby if I was standing up"... That's garbage to me. That's the one reason I wish I had had my baby in a birthing center, because they actually let you do things that relieve your discomfort, but my insurance either didn't cover it, or there weren't any centers locally. Either way, it worked out fine, but I was still annoyed that I had to lie on my back with my legs in those dumb stirrups, like a... whatever puts their legs in stirrups.
So anyway, I started feeling like I needed to push so I got to. Oh, also Sunni Facetimed Garrett so he got to feel like he was sort of part of the process. So that was really nice too. Anyway, I started pushing and I had pushed out like half the baby when they told me to look down and I saw him for the first time!
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| I still can't believe we have 4 children!!! |
This little purple, crazy looking, beautiful baby boy. I pushed him the rest of the way out and I kept repeating "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh" over and over because, Oh my gosh! I had just had a baby!
Jett was born at 11:51pm on February 3rd. He was 6lbs15oz. and 20 inches long. He was actually my biggest baby even though he was born the earliest! Weird, huh. Good job growing, little man!
I'm so grateful Sunni could be with me when Garrett wasn't able to, and I'm grateful she and my friend Tiffany were able to take turns watching my other 3 rowdy children during my hospital stay.
Anyway, then Baby Jett did the jaundice thing that all my babies love to do. We tried battling it as outpatients for a week but eventually he was readmitted a week later so they could put him on the phototherapy lights. It was very emotional but it worked out. We got to leave 24 hours later and he's been doing well with that ever since.
We are still working on his weight gain and nursing and pumping and battling exhausting and hormones and stuff, but he is a true light in my life.
Life is insane with 4 kids but at least my husband is here with me now! The other three kids and Garrett are all enamored with Baby Jett and everyone loves taking turns holding and feeding him. He's super cute and snuggly and so far, he's not a huge cryer so that's been nice too.
It will be a fun journey back to Saudi in a few weeks with all the kids and a newborn, but we're just focusing on being where we're at now.
In Florida with lots of loved ones and access to all the things they don't have in Saudi!
Happy due date yesterday, Baby Jett. I'm still bummed you couldn't wait a few more days to come, but I'm so glad things went pretty smoothly and that you're here and that we're all together now.
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| Just meeting his 3 day old son for the first time. |
Yay for babies.
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