Birth story - Jessica and baby Koda

In between the feedings and diaper changes I found time to write down my birth story. Although there were a lot of things that didn't go as planned, I 100% believe that I was able to still have a positive experience because of my preparation with the hypnobirthing course.

I have had a strong intuition that I would go early but I certainly wasnt anticipating it would happen the way it did. Plans quickly changed by week 34 as I began feeling extremely itchy on my hands and feet and it was becoming unbearable. I called my midwife and she decided to run some tests to be sure everything was okay. I am glad that I went with my gut and called her because it turned out that I had Obstetric cholestasis. When the results came in my midwife told me that I needed to be induced the following Tuesday. Baby was healthy and doing well on all of my NST so my midwife felt confident that the induction would be wise before anything changed for me or baby healthwise.

I had so many different emotions running through me when she told me, but after taking some time to process all I kept focusing on was that I was going to get to see my baby soon!

As fast as I accepted the new plan it changed yet again! Sunday night my fiancé and I went on a nice "last date" to a pub we like. Afterwards came home and sat in the baby room and my fiancé made me laugh and all of a sudden a gush of warm water ran down my legs. I got up very calmly and went and called my midwife. She told to me to pack and come in within the next few hours if water was still clear. She said unfortunately due to having OC and just finding out my GBS test came back positive that I couldn't labor at home. She also said that because we have a smaller time frame than we normally would with my waters breaking, that I might need to take something to help me move further along. She was very calming and told me we would figure it out more when I got to the hospital.

I felt so calm at that point and I remember my fiancé (who is typically the rock in our relationship) was way more frantic than I was. I stayed in my own head and started saying my positive affirmations to myself as we headed out to the hospital.

We were checked in at around midnight and about an hour later I started feeling mild menstrual like cramping so I felt this was probably a sign that things were starting to happen.

A few hours later my nurse came in to monitor me and the baby she said my surges were 5-6 mins apart. She told me to rest as much as I can now and she will come check me again in a few hours.

I woke up on my own a few hours later with what seemed like more frequent and more intense surges. The nurse came in shortly after and said that my surges were 3-4 mins apart. Still manageable enough for me to sleep a little while longer. My midwife came in at this point to check me and said I was almost 2 CM dilated and 80% effaced. Since we were on a push for time due to some of my complications she had me take one dose of cytotec under my tongue which she said should help my cervix soften a little faster. She said she wanted to try and avoid pitocin since she knew I was really hoping for the least amount of intervention.

About an hour later at about 6am is when things started becoming much more intense. I started using a contraction timer and found that my surges were between 2-3 mins apart and lasting about a minute long. I used my up breathing and light touch massage to help me get through each surge. Although I was still managing to breathe through surges I knew I needed to change things up so I could stay focused. I asked the nurse if I could go into the tub to see if I could get some relief.

I went into the tub and instantly felt more calm. My fiancé put on my positive affirmation soundtrack and I was really kicking ass during my surges! My midwife came in to check on me and could tell by the way I was moaning that I was probably further along than she thought. She checked me and I was already at 7 cm! Because of the OC/GBS/baby being premature I was not advised it be best to deliver in the tub. At that point I started feeling panicked knowing that I soon would have to get out even though it was a big relief during my surges. My midwife told me that I was at a rough part of labor and that to remember that I will get through this part and to stay calm. I remembered Siobhan mentioning nitrous being an option for those who need some thing to take the edge off without going numb. Thankfully I was offered it!

Once I was back in my room I started using the nitrous. It felt so amazing that I remember telling my nurse that I loved her. Any relief is so appreciated at this point!

I progressed pretty quickly yet again and I went from 7 to 9cm and that's when things stalled a bit as the baby was stuck on the lip of my cervix. My midwife had me get into a few different positions to help the baby move down more which seemed to help as I started feeling the urge to push.

Thirty intense minutes of pushing later I met my son! Koda Grey was born on July 16th at 12:24pm weighing 4lb 15oz. The love of my life