Hellobee

Now that Baby Pizza is over three months old, I’ve had some more time to reflect on the earlier days. It’s hard for me to not compare my experiences with both kids, but I guess it’s only natural for that to happen. Every birth story is different so I thought I would share the birth stories of my girls.

Lil’ Pizza’s birth story (January 2013)

3 : 0 0  A M

I woke up at 3 am to use the bathroom and noticed some blood and mucous discharge. I had read that once the mucous plug comes out, it could be anywhere from a couple hours to three weeks, so I wasn’t too concerned. A couple hours later, I woke up again feeling like I almost wet my pants. I figured it was still the mucous discharge because it wasn’t a large amount like I always heard it would be when your water broke. I decided to go to work but was constantly going to the bathroom because I kept leaking. I finally decided to call the doctor’s office and after explaining what was happening, I was told to get checked. I was working at the hospital where I was going to deliver, so I conveniently took the elevator to the labor and delivery floor.  Even at this time, I kept telling my coworkers that I would be right back because I felt pretty good and didn’t feel like I would have the baby anytime soon. It was still 3 weeks and a day from Lil’ Pizza’s EDD. When I got checked, the nurse confirmed that my water broke and that I wouldn’t be going home without a baby!

10 : 3 0  A M

It was 10:30 am and I was only one cm dilated at this time. I did not feel ready to have my baby just yet. My hospital bag was not packed. Lil Pizza’s room was not ready with clothes, diapers and other baby essentials. The car seat was not installed. And Mr. Pizza was still recovering from the flu.

I had mentioned to the nurse about Mr. Pizza’s flu and about 5 minutes later, a resident told me that Mr. Pizza would most likely not be able to be present during the delivery. I started to cry wondering who my person was going to be. I called Mr. Pizza frantically crying and told him he wouldn’t be able to be present for our baby’s arrival. He calmed me down and was able to call his sister to help get the room ready at our house and called a friend to be with me in the hospital until things got figured out. About an hour later, the head of infectious disease came in and told me that in order for Mr. Pizza to be here he had to get medically cleared by a doctor and wear a mask at all times. Mr. Pizza then spent the next few hours trying to make a doctor’s appointment, which of course was nearly impossible since it was the peak of flu season.

2 : 0 0  P M

While this was happening, I was given Pitocin to speed up my contractions. I couldn’t really feel my contractions until about 2 pm and even then it just felt like mild menstrual cramps.

5 : 0 0  P M  –  E P I D U R A L

I was still talking normal, texting friends and family and feeling pretty good. At around 5 pm, Mr. Pizza came with a letter in hand and a mask over his nose and mouth, ready to support me. Coincidentally, right around that time was when the contractions became stronger and I really did need his support. He helped me through the contractions, but it started to get more painful. Each passing contraction started to wear me out. I was pretty open to getting an epidural, so after a few more contractions, I let the nurse know my decision. The initial injection from the epidural didn’t bother me compared to the contractions I was starting to feel. Once the epidural kicked in, I was feeling very relaxed and comfortable. About an hour and a half later, the nurse told me that I would be ready to deliver soon.

8: 0 5  P M  –  B I R T H

With every contraction that came, I gave two hard pushes. The nurses were great at helping me figure out how to push and spurred me on when I was pushing the right way. Basically, pushing feels like you are trying to pass a really big bowel movement…and you may pass a bowel movement in the midst of all this pushing. Don’t worry. By this time, you really won’t care. After some time, my OB asked me if I wanted an episiotomy. Mr. Pizza and I looked at each other, unsure how to respond by the choice given to us. The OB stated, in a not so kind way, that we didn’t have much time so I just said yes to having an episiotomy. I pushed for 30 min and at 8:05 pm Lil’ Pizza was here!

I actually don’t remember the part about delivering the placenta. I think I was just focused on looking at Lil’ Pizza while the nurses were with her and just relieved that Lil’ Pizza was out. The OB also took my cord blood because I had wanted to donate it. This was painless since they just take the blood from the cord and placenta after the baby is born.

Because Lil’ Pizza was born 3 weeks and a day early, she was considered premature and the NICU team did some additional tests as soon as she was born. She was 6 lbs, 2 oz  and 18. 25 in long. The little girl we were waiting for was finally in my arms!

Baby Pizza’s Birth Story (June 2015)

7 : 0 0  A M

Because Lil’ Pizza was born 3 weeks and a day early, I tried to be extra cautious as I neared 37 weeks with Baby Pizza. It definitely was not ideal because we were in the midst of packing up to move into our new home, and caring for Lil’ Pizza was getting more and more difficult as my pregnancy progressed. We were a week away from Baby Pizza’s EDD and had settled into our new home for just one week when I felt my first contraction at 7 am on a Sunday morning. Since I didn’t experience contractions prior to this one, I wasn’t sure if what I was experiencing would lead to true labor. The contractions came almost every 40 min so I went about my day. I went to church, hung out with friends and came home around 3 pm. At this time, I still didn’t think I would have the baby that day (it seems like I’m always in denial when the baby is coming!).

3 : 0 0  P M

Soon after I got home, the contractions were every 20 minutes and then quickly became 10 minutes apart. During this time, a friend had come over and generously decided to cook for us that day (actually she promised Lil’ Pizza that she would make her some fancy pink noodles). I was eating between contractions knowing that if it really was THE day, then I wouldn’t have much of a chance to eat later. My doctor told me to call when the contractions were 10 minutes apart for an hour, so I gave her a call.  She told me to hang out for about another hour and to give her a call again when the contractions intensified. I decided to lay down on the couch, but within 5 minutes I was starting to groan in discomfort. My husband encouraged me to call my doctor again, so I called her and the first thing that came out of my mouth with shortened breathing was, “I think I need to get some medicine in me.” She told me to go ahead and start driving to the hospital. We quickly said bye to Lil’ Pizza and our friend, who thankfully stayed over that night with Lil’ Pizza.

6 : 0 0  P M  –  T H E  H O S P I T A L

The ride to the hospital felt like a movie. Mr. Pizza was driving so fast trying to pass up cars. My contractions started to be about 5 minutes apart, and I was groaning and squeezing Mr. Pizza’s hand so hard.  I think by the time I got out of the car, the contractions were about 3 minutes apart. I got into a wheelchair while I waited for Mr. Pizza to park the car, and I was clinging to the side of the wheelchair in so much pain. When we got up to the labor and delivery floor, I couldn’t really respond to any of their questions.

T H E  E P I D U R A L

The first thing I said when I got to my room was if I could still get an epidural. The nurse checked me and said I was between 7-8 cm dilated. Within 5 minutes I had an IV and the anesthesiologist came and gave me an epidural. Even though just minutes before I was groaning in so much pain, I was pretty calm while they gave me the epidural because I knew my pain was going to be alleviated soon. Almost immediately, I was pain free, relaxed and smiling. Oh, how I love that epidural! The anesthesiologist, OB and nurse were all saying that I could have the baby really soon. However, because I had Group B Streptococcus (GBS), they wanted to get an antibiotic to run through the IV for four hours, so Mr. Pizza and I just hung out in the room. If the urge to push got strong before the four hours of antibiotics ran through and I had Baby Pizza, I would have to stay at the hospital for 48 hours from when Baby Pizza was born for close monitoring. I waited, took a little nap, listened to music, and updated our friends and family that we were in the hospital.

1 1 : 1 9  P M  –  B I R T H

As soon as the four hours passed, I started to have the urge to push. My OB checked me and said that the baby was definitely ready to come out. During this time, my OB, nurses and Mr. Pizza were all encouraging me as I pushed. Mr. Pizza finally looked at me and told me that I had to push harder and that it seemed like I was relaxing a bit too early (Mr. Pizza later told me that Baby Pizza’s head would peek out and then slide back in with my pushes). I repositioned my body and Mr. Pizza supported my back a bit more and I gave one final big push. When Baby Pizza came out, I did end up tearing and my OB said it looked like it tore along where I had the episiotomy before. I pushed for 15 minutes and Baby Pizza was born at 11:19 pm. She was 7 lbs, 5 oz and 19 in long.

Lil Pizza meeting Baby Pizza for the first time

What were some of the major differences between Lil’ Pizza’s birth and Baby Pizza’s birth? 

– Lil’ Pizza was born early because my water broke. I wasn’t experiencing contractions so the nurse gave me Pitocin to speed up my labor. The nice part about already being in the hospital was that I was able to ask for the epidural as soon as I decided I wanted it. For Baby Pizza, I experienced contractions that sent me to the hospital. Because the contractions came more frequently much faster than I expected, I was really nervous that I wouldn’t get the epidural in time.

– With my first pregnancy, I chose to go to a practice where there were four doctors in the group. I didn’t like my experience of having so many OB’s because I felt like I wasn’t a patient of any of those doctors. One of the doctors even said to me in the delivery room that this should be a smooth delivery since it was my second! When I became pregnant with Baby Pizza, I decided to switch to a new OB who worked on her own. It made such a positive difference! My appointments were more personal and never felt rushed. I was definitely more comfortable in the delivery room because I knew my doctor and liked her.

– During my pregnancy with Lil’ Pizza, I had asked one of the doctors (I was constantly rotating doctors with every visit) if they do episiotomies.  The OB responded that all the doctors will perform an episiotomy if it looks like it’s necessary.  I think that’s why I was caught off guard when the OB asked me if I wanted an episiotomy in the midst of pushing. I assumed I should get it since he brought it up. During my pregnancy with Baby Pizza, I asked my new OB if she performed episiotomies and she said that that it was almost rarely necessary. With Baby Pizza, I tore naturally. I’m not sure if that made recovery different down there. Overall, my recovery with my second was much better than my first, but that is also due to many other factors. Looking back and also reading more about episiotomies after both births, I think I would have declined the episiotomy with my first.

Were there any similarities between the two births?

– I am so grateful that my labor and delivery for both the girls were pretty smooth.

What were some concerns leading up to the birth of Baby Pizza?

– We didn’t have a solid plan for who would care for Lil’ Pizza when Mr. Pizza and I would need to go to the hospital. We were so lucky to have our friend already at our house when we needed to leave, and she also graciously took the next day off of work so she could sleep at our house and be with Lil’ Pizza.

– Because I had no prior experience with contractions occurring on its own, I had no idea what to expect and how it would feel. I wondered if I would be able to tell the difference between false labor and true labor.

– People always say that your second will come out sooner than your first. However, since my water broke with Lil’ Pizza, I didn’t really know how quickly things would happen the second time around. Now I know I have to get to the hospital fast!

– Starting around 37 weeks of my pregnancy, Mr. Pizza and I were relieved every night that the baby hadn’t come yet. I did my best to not do too much during the last weeks of my pregnancy because I didn’t want Baby Pizza to arrive too early, but the timing was a bit crazy. We moved to a new home and unpacked everything a week before Baby Pizza came!

For moms with more than one child, how would you compare your birth stories?