Isaac's Birth Story

My blog serves as a way to share our life with our family that is far away, and also as a family journal. And so, despite the fact that our son was born 5 months ago, I'd still like to post about his birth story, mostly for my own records...

Isaac was born May 19, 2011 at 4:22 pm. He was 7 lbs 9oz and 20 inches long. He was perfect (and still is)!


For the most part, I felt great during my pregnancy and was even able to continue working out throughout this pregnancy (which I hadn't done with the girls). However my tummy got really big to the point that during the last month people would ask me regularly (at least every other day, without fail) if I was having twins, and then stand there in shock when I told them no. I took a picture the day that Isaac was born because someday down the road I might want to look back at what I looked like during "that pregnancy when everyone asked if I was having twins." Sorry, not posting it though :)

Because of my big belly I started to have really bad back pain (probably a pinched nerve) during the last month. Walking hurt. I would brace myself to take a step after sitting or lying down. It took everything I had just to roll over in bed. It was miserable. The hardest part was having to stop going to my Step aerobics class. I had to quit about a week before he was born (3 weeks before my due date). I had set a goal to exercise up until the day he was born and so I was pretty crushed when I had to do this, but since walking was painful, Step was becoming impossible. I'm grateful that I kept my goal as long as I could and that I was able to continue working out until 37 weeks. If there's a next time, I'm going all the way to 40 weeks!

I found relief in knowing that there was a reason for my big tummy though. The Dr. assured me that it was a combination of a big baby and A LOT of amniotic fluid. It turns out I had polyhydramnios, which is where a pregnant person carries too much amniotic fluid and it could cause complications in the delivery, or even affect the baby's health. Because of this she was concerned about me going past my due date, so I knew there was a good possibility of being induced early. I was also progressing very quickly and so she wanted to see me on May 19th to see how I was progressing. I was dilated to a 3 and the baby was "ready to go" she said. So she sent me to the hospital where she would come and break my water.

We went straight to the hospital and she met us there a few hours later. As my nurse was hooking me up to the monitors she asked, "do you feel that?" Apparently I was having regular contractions, about 2 minutes apart, but I couldn't feel them yet! It was pretty cool to look at the printout and see regular contractions but not be able to feel them. Sadly that didn't last for long. Soon the Doctor arrived and started to break my water. She told the nurse that I had a lot of water and so to bring some extra towels. The nurse came in with a huge stack of towels, saying to me, "usually we only need 3, but I brought in 7 for you." Well, even 7 wasn't enough! After the last towel my Dr. shouted "we need more towels! It's still coming!" It took her about 30 minutes for all the water to come out - granted she did it slowly because she didn't want the gush of water to bring the cord down around the baby's neck. Because I had polyhydramnios and because Isaac was positioned really low she was concerned about this happening, and so it was a long process and more painful than I anticipated. Then again, I'm sort of wimpy, so that's not saying much. I also remember the fluid got all over my Doctor too, but she didn't seem bothered by it (yuck!). I remember looking down at my belly after they broke the water and being amazed at how significantly smaller it was! What a relief!

Of course the contractions came on quickly and were really painful after that. I became nervous that the anesthesiologist wouldn't arrive in time and I'd have to do it without meds. I was annoyingly nervous about it - I kept needing reassurance from the nurse that he would arrive in time, and that the medicine almost always kicks in. (Mike told me later that apparently I was asking a lot of questions - apparently I do that when I'm nervous). When the anesthesiologist finally walked in I remember telling him how happy I was to see him! The tried for about 30 minutes to get the needle in my back because apparently I have mild scoliosis (I had no idea!) and he was having a hard time getting it in the right spot. I was so scared it wasn't going to work. Halfway through, the nurse sent Mike to another side of the room so that he didn't have to watch them poke me over and over again, and she let me hold her hands and lean into her during my contractions. She was wonderful! I hope I didn't hurt her too badly. Contractions are painful! After about 30 minutes it worked and I was so relieved. We rested for about an hour or so and then Mike suggested that he go home to let the dog out before I start pushing. He walked out the door and my nurse stopped him from going home, suggesting that they check my progress before he leaves. Thank goodness, because I was dilated to a 10! So instead of Mike heading home, they called my Doctor and prepared me for the delivery. Dr. Ogunlade arrived and I started to push. I probably pushed for 10 minutes or less and he arrived! The entire labor (from when she broke my water around 1:30 or so) was about 3 hours. He was born at 4:22pm.



I LOVED my Doctor, Dr. Ogunlade. I can't say enough good things about her. During my appointments she gave me her full attention, looked me in the eye, and just chatted. I felt like she got to know me and my life aside from the pregnancy. It was awesome to have a Doctor who cared about me beyond simply a patient/doctor relationship. She is really outgoing and friendly and just funny. My kids' pediatrician is in the same office and so when I go in she goes out of her way to come find me (even coming out to the waiting room) to give me a hug and to chat. I just love her!

Mike was able to cut the cord and then I was able to hold him immediately after he was born. Of course it's impossible to describe how wonderful it was to hold Isaac for the first time. I remember that he had the most adorable little pouty face as he was trying to figure out this brand new world. He ate really well right after delivery. He was so calm and peaceful. I fell in love with him immediately; I'm so glad that he is part of our family.