Meleah’s Birth Story {September 3, 2008}

I wasn’t blogging when Abby Grace was born (or when Reese was born, for that matter!), but I wanted to share both of their birth stories. I love reading birth stories and I love sharing mine! While there are so many things I would go back and change if I could, I am blessed to have had very easy pregnancies, labors, and births. There were a few (minor) complications, but nothing to ever complain about. To catch up, you can read Abby Grace’s birth story here and Ella Reese’s birth story here.

Note: This story was originally written in 2008, and was one of my first posts. It has been edited where necessary, and pictures have been updated. Enjoy!

Shane and I went to the hospital on the evening of Tuesday, September 2. I needed antibiotics because I tested positive for Group B Strep. Unfortunately, I am allergic to penicillin, which is their go-to med for treating GBS, so I had to come in the night before to receive two four-hour drips of the other antibiotic. I also took a pill to soften my cervix (which was supposed to help me dilate faster the next day).

After a restless night – for me; Shane slept just fine! – I got up at 5 am to take a shower and “get ready” for delivery. Yep, I got up an hour before they were to induce so I could put on make-up. What can I say? I wanted to look good for all those pictures (I must have forgotten what birth does to you… my hair was crazy by the time we took pictures!).

At 6 am, Shane and I made our way down to Labor and Delivery. The “plan” was that I would be given Pitocin (to bring on contractions) and they would eventually break my water. For my other girls’ births, Shane, Barbara, Mom, and Kristi were all right there with me, while the rest of the family waited behind the curtain. Even Abby Grace was there for Reese’s birth! That was the plan for this time, of course.

Before my nurse could administer the Pitocin, I had two contractions less than a minute apart. She decided to wait on it. A little bit later, they took my blood pressure, and it was high (of course… I’m in labor!), so they made me lay on my left side to re-take it. As I laid there, I felt a “pop” in my stomach and then a “whoosh!” of something down below. I looked at my nurse and said, “Um, I think my water broke.”Then I made Shane check. He wasn’t thrilled. Sure enough, my water had broken, and I was a little too excited that I didn’t have to have it broken.

The nurse checked me, and I was only dilated to a 3, so we figured it would still be awhile. The medicine they gave me the night before began to kick in and made me a little woozy. I fought it though, and after several minor contractions, they finally began to hurt. Really hurt. I was wanting to do this birth without pain medicine or an epidural, but I was thinking that if those got much worse, it wasn’t going to be pretty. Not to mention, I wasn’t getting a break from the contractions; they were constant. I have a high pain tolerance, but I really didn’t understand why they hurt so badly; neither of my other births felt like this.

I said something to the nurse, and she offered pain medication, and I decided to wait a little longer. All of a sudden, I told Shane that I felt pressure, and wanted to push. I asked him to call the nurse, and I caved on the medicine. She checked me before leaving to get them. Now remember, this is around 7:30 am. I’ve only been in labor for a little over an hour. My labor with Abby Grace was 22 hours, and Reese took 11 hours to get here. The nurse’s eyes got HUGE and she said, “You aren’t going to believe this, but you are a 9 and ready!” So much for the pain meds! It was too late.

That’s when the chaos started. My two nurses began running around, getting the tools and pads and baby stuff ready as fast as they could. It was quite comical. Shane and I just sat back and watched, a little shocked at how quickly things had progressed. They kept telling me not to push because it was shift change and there wasn’t a midwife available. I didn’t push, but she was coming anyway; I could feel her.

One of the nurses ran to get the doctor on call, who was prepping for a c-section. He comes running in, trying to get his gown on, and says, “I’m going to try to get these gloves on before I catch this baby.” Meleah was coming without any help from me, and the doctor didn’t know if he was going to have to catch her bare-handed! As soon as those gloves were on, her head came. Three pushes (and that’s because they made me stop), and she was born.

It is the most incredible feeling to give birth. It didn’t hurt at all. It was so awesome. I watched the entire thing. It was just Shane and me (and one doctor, and two nurses). The doctor was in our room less than five minutes. Meleah came in about two. After Meleah was put on my chest, he pulled off his gloves, shook Shane’s hand, introduced himself, told us congratulations, and bid us goodbye. He thanked us for the great story he had to tell now!

TMI alert – The nurses set about helping me deliver the placenta, when the midwife walked in. Afterward, I asked to see it (oh yes I did), and she gladly showed me, explaining all of the parts. It was fascinating!

Shane called my parents, who were halfway to the hospital and said two words, “She’s here.” I could hear my dad yelling. Hilarious stuff, because he thought Shane was joking. If I remember correctly, Shane actually had joked that Meleah had come in the middle of the night during their earlier conversation.

Meleah Faye Estelle was born at 8:00 am on Wednesday, September 3, 2008. She weighed 7 lbs, 4.9 oz, and was 19.6 inches long. Meleah’s two middle names are in honor of my grandmothers, Faye Hilton Suggs and Frankie Juanita Estelle Idell Bone. She is perfect.