Caleb’s birth story is different from most, since I was induced. Ross and I had hoped for a natural delivery, so the inducement was a disappointment. However, God is eternally faithful, especially in making disappointing situations into glorious ones. : ) This story is, most definitely, a picture of his faithfulness and protection.
At my 39 week appointment, my ob/gyn took his hands into mine and told me that he thought it was best that I not carry Caleb any longer than my due date. At the past several office visits, my blood pressure had been elevated. Although I showed no other sign of complication, he was adamant that I be induced. If Caleb did not come on his own in the next 4 days, my labor would be induced on Saturday, September 18th.
After that appointment, I got into my car, called Ross and cried. Ross assured me that things would be okay and that God would take care of us.
One positive to being induce is actually knowing when your baby is going to come : ) With that knowledge, I asked Ross if he would take 2 days off of work to be with me at home, preparing for the baby’s arrival and doing whatever we could to induce labor ourselves : ) Those two days were precious times of closeness and eagerness.
Friday evening came. I had been instructed to call the hospital at 9pm. If they had room for me, I would go in at 10pm and begin induction. I called and there was no room in the inn! The nurse told me they would call me when there was room available. I asked when she thought that would be, she politely said she didn’t know, but encouraged me to get some rest. Ha! That’s not so easy to do when you know your baby will be here soon…
Ross and I gathered all of our things and got in bed. I asked that he pray with me. We spent half an hour praying back and forth- that the doctor and nurses would have wisdom, that they would be kind and gracious, that the LORD would protect Caleb and me, that He would be glorified throughout the entire process. This, too, was a very precious time. It helped center our hearts around Christ, bound our hearts together, and a day later, we were able to thank God for answering each of those prayers.
I finally fell asleep around midnight and was awoken by a phone call at 4am. A kind nurse named Emily asked that we get ourselves ready and come to the hospital. Ross packed the car and I ate a humble breakfast of dry toast and jello (very odd, but you’re not really hungry at 4am and the instructions said to eat light…) We took a couple pictures of Caleb on the inside, then got in the car and pulled away from the house.
I had spent some time worrying about me needing to call Ross home from work while I was in labor. That his 45 minutes commute would be too long. That our drive to the hospital in rush hour traffic would be extremely painful and too long. None of those worries were necessary. Our drive was quick, quiet and peaceful.
We arrived at Banner Thunderbird right around 5 am and spent the next hour filling out paperwork and getting settled in our labor and delivery room. I was able to meet the nurse who had called us on the phone, Emily. She politely asked me if I taught school at Orangewood Elementary. I told her I had for the past two years. She then told me that she was the aunt of one of my former students. What a sweet blessing!
Upstairs, I was assigned a very kind nurse who was very excited when I said I wanted a natural delivery. She hurried around and found me a birthing ball and a rocking chair to use. She asked me what my progress had been at my last doctor’s visit. I told her 1 cm and a “soft” cervix. She didn’t seem to like that answer. She checked me herself and said I was “2ish and yes, it was quite soft.”
I had been told that my induction would start with progesterone gels and that I would be able to walk around the hospital to get labor started. However, my doctor changed his mind and I was given half of a Cytotec pill to take. I vocalized my disappointment in not being able to walk, but not being one to argue, I took the pill. I really wish I hadn’t. While Caleb and I turned out just fine, the pill has never been FDA approved for induction and can have some serious side effects when used for that purpose.
I took the pill at 6am and that, unfortunately, marked the end of our time with our first dear, sweet nurse. I was nervous to let her go. She assured me that everything would be just fine.
Our new nurse was pleasant and sweet, but not nearly as excited about my decisions to avoid pain medication. However, she was helpful and several hours later, I wanted her help more than my doctor's : )
Because Cytotec is dangerous, your baby has to be monitored continually. This meant that I had two belts wrapped around my tummy the entire time. One measured Caleb’s heart beat, the other measured my contractions. I was only allowed to take them off to go to the bathroom. If I was careful, I could sit on the birthing ball and hold them on or stand very close to my bed and they could still work properly. Once, they slid off on to the floor and my nurse came running in, afraid that Caleb’s heart had stopped beating. Silly girl, it was just that the floor didn’t have a heartbeat!
By 9 am, not much had happened at all, very weak contractions and no cervical progress. My doctor then broke my bag of waters. This caused a whole lot of mess everywhere I stood, and some slightly heavier contractions, but not much else. I then took the other half of the Cytotec.
By 11 am, I was having contractions every 2 minutes, but they were very weak. I could talk to Ross through them very easily.
Noon comes around and the nurse comes in very chipper to say that I will now to be put on a Pitocin drip. I nod my head, the Cytotec and water breaking are not working, this is the next logical doctor step. When she left the room I broke down into violent tears. This was not at all what I had dreamed it would be.
By 1pm, I was now attached to the monitor by my belly and attached to a pole by my left arm. The Pitocin got things really moving and since my contractions were already 2 minutes apart, things moved very quickly. I now needed to use everything I had learned in our Bradley classes during contractions. Ross was a great coach, helping me relax through each of them. At around 4pm, I had progressed to 5 cm.
And that’s when transition started. In an hour, I would progress the rest of the way. I don’t remember much from that hour at all, except that my legs felt they were being crushed underneath a car and that Ross was having to be very loud and intentional with me. I wanted to flounder about during contractions instead of lying still and he was having to give directions over and over again before I would listen. It was also during this time that some nurses and aides came into our room looking for supplies that they needed. This angered me greatly and I told Ross to keep the people away…
At 5pm, the nurse checked me again and announced that I was fully dilated. All of the sudden, there were LOTS of people in our room, our nurse ripped off the end of the bed, tons of lights were turned on and lots of emergency equipment was brought in the room. Still very out of it, I asked what was going on. Some random aide announced, “We’re having a baby!” I remember this made me smile.
And just as quickly as I had become illogical and lost, I became excited and clear-thinking. I suddenly had several minutes between contractions and spent that peaceful time talking to Ross about the baby being here soon. Pushing, even without pain meds, was by far my favorite part. The contraction didn’t hurt when I pushed. At last, I am doing something to help Caleb along! My nurse was very helpful at this time, but nervous, because my doctor was delivering a baby next door. I told her I wanted her to catch my baby. We didn’t need his help.
He did arrive in time, however, and was present for my last few pushes. When Caleb’s top half was out, he asked me to put my hands down between my legs. I put them down, but outside my legs. He gave me the direction again. I followed it correctly this time and was then able to pull Caleb the rest of the way out and onto my chest.
The doctor then asked Ross where the camera was. Amazed at what just happened, he floundered about looking for the camera. Ross then cut the cord (which he wasn’t sure he was going to be able to handle before that moment. Turns out, it was easy : ) ). And I held Caleb close for a long time.
He was born at 5:40 pm. The entire induction took less than 12 hours and my “hard labor” only lasted 4 hours, with 40 minutes of pushing.
Looking back, we know God was present protecting us. Protecting Caleb and me from any number of things that can go wrong with Cytotec and Pitocin. I am so thankful that I am able to deliver him naturally and do believe that although it was extremely painful there for a while, that it helped us avoid all kinds of scary interventions.
Next time, we are going to go a more natural route. I have heard wonderful things about the nurse-midwives at Bethany Women’s Center. Their approach to pregnancy is much more relaxed and natural. They avoid induction the best they can and use more natural methods when they do induce. We will deliver at Phoenix Baptist Hospital, just a few miles south of our home. We are excited for a more natural experience.
We are especially excited because we have already started that new adventure. We discovered we were pregnant in late July. We will deliver our baby in late March. We’ve seen 2 nurse midwives and LOVE the care that they provide. Much more natural, much more relaxed. Much less invasive.
God is good. So good. I can’t wait to tell you how He is faithful during this next pregnancy and birth story!
