Everyone has a birthing story. Some seem more beautiful than others. And for some of us, even if our experience was tough, horrific, painful, and exhausting, we would go through it all again just to experience the touch of our precious newborn baby. Do you remember how it was for your first born? The first time you touched that adorable little face. And the first diaper change was so exciting, Not so much for the hundreds thereafter. Remember trying to breastfeed. You just know you want to grow your family by adding a sibling, an offspring, a son or a daughter. I will forever remember my Cole’s birth.
I was 41 weeks pregnant and Cole had not dropped. I know my body very well, and you can bet I was concerned because I was feeling nothing. My doctor had scheduled me to be induced on Thursday evening. The only catch was that I had to call two hours in advance to make sure they had a bed for me. Of course, they were busy and told me they would call me around 4 am.
I was so anxious to meet Cole. There was no way I was getting any rest before the phone call. I always have my phone on silent, but I turned the ringer on and made sure the volume was on high. I was tossing and turning most of the night.
The phone rang at 4:00 am and whoo-hoo, they were ready for me! I woke my Husband and, of course, our bags were packed and ready to go. I’m only fifteen minutes from the Hospital and there was no way I was waiting for another second. I was early because I just couldn’t contain myself. I was able to get myself checked in and escorted to my room. I was told my nurse was going to be in shortly, but she was dragged into another room because the woman was at her pushing stage. I didn’t see my nurse for about an hour and a half.
Here’s where the story flips. First off, my doctor was out of town. Not that I cared that much, but I must have seen almost all the Residents at my Hospital because I was in labour for a while and their shifts were changing. I went through 4 different nurses and they all told me a different story about my progress. I got different answers about how far along I was. Frustrating!
When the nurse finally hooked the monitors up to watch the baby, Cole’s heart rate had dropped, and the nurse called for help. As you can imagine, I was terrified. Cole’s heart rate jumped back to normal pretty quickly and that was a major relief. I was beyond nervous—remember first delivery. They started me off with Pitocin which didn’t work after the first round. There was slight discomfort but I was able to rest. Because I never progressed with the first cycle of Pitocin they decided to use a Foley bulb, which is another method for inducing labour. It involves inserting a Foley catheter into the cervix to help you dilate. A Foley catheter is a long, rubber tube with an inflatable balloon on one end that a doctor can fill with air or sterile water. I endured that for twelve long hours. While that was in progress, they inserted Cytotec which helps induce labour. It works by ripening the cervix and inducing contractions. During this part of Cole’s journey, I was in extreme pain. I was contracting every 5 minutes with hard contractions. This lasted for about four and a half hours. It was no small miracle, but I was able to sleep and rest after that horrific, painful episode. When they inserted the second Cytotec I was barely cramping.
Twelve hours past and the doctor came back and removed the Foley. He checked to see how dilated I was, and believe it or not, I was only 3 CM! Like, what the Bleep! After all that I had barely progressed. I rested for two more hours and then they began Pitocin again. I had a feeling it wasn’t going to work since it didn’t work the first time. To make a long story short, I had one and half more rounds of Pitocin until they finally decided to take me for an emergency c-section.
After many tears, things shoved in me, hunger, pain and exhaustion, Cole Jackson Francy was born. September 1, 2018, at 10:42 pm he came in at 7 Ibs – 14.3 oz and 19 inches long. Words can’t express how much our little boy means to us. He is the greatest gift God could have given us. I’m honored that we have the privilege of being his parents.
I want to thank my Husband Chris for being by my side through it all. He was watching the monitors, consoling me through my toughest times, and being my cheerleader when I needed it most. When we took our birthing classes, he paid extra attention on how to be a birthing partner. It was a long and arduous journey for Cole to come into the world. Like most mothers, I would do it all over in a heartbeat.
I’d love to hear about your birthing story.
